From It or Through It
When the king renamed them, he thought he was erasing them. He wasn't.
By Steve Wilkins
"...our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up."
—Daniel 3:17-18
Nebuchadnezzar renamed them.
Daniel became Belteshazzar — Bel protect the king.
Hananiah became Shadrach — command of Aku.
Mishael became Meshach — who is what Aku is.
Azariah became Abed-nego — servant of Nego.
He dressed them in Babylonian names the way you dress a prisoner in a number. He was saying: your old identity is gone. You belong to Babylon now.
But their Hebrew names told a different story.
Daniel — God is my judge.
Hananiah — The LORD is gracious.
Mishael — Who is like the LORD?
Azariah — The LORD is my helper.
When faced with the choice of bowing to an idol or facing certain death in a furnace, they didn't hesitate.
"You can call us whatever you want to call us. But we know who we are."
So into the fire they went.
Not because they were certain God would pull them out. They were clear about that — "But even if He does not..." They trusted God completely without demanding a specific outcome. He would save them from the fire.
Or through it.
Either way, they knew who they were.
Nebuchadnezzar looked into the furnace and saw something that stopped him cold.
"Look! I see four men loosed, and they are walking in the midst of the fire without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods!" —Daniel 3:25
Jesus didn't wait outside the fire for them to emerge.
He walked in.
When they came out, the soldiers, the satraps, the governors crowded around them—astonished at the lack of evidence from the fire.
"...the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men nor was the hair of their head singed, nor were their trousers damaged, nor had the smell of fire even come upon them." —Daniel 3:27
The fire destroyed exactly one thing.
The cords that bound them.
The fire meant to destroy them became the means of their freedom. What the enemy intended for harm, God used for release.
(Written in confinement.)
All Scripture quotations are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB), unless otherwise noted.
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