Schemes And Palace Intrigue…

Morning!

Raises his cup of coffee

We left off in Daniel 3.

Daniel 3: 7-8

“So at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the horn, flute, harp, and lyre, in symphony with all kinds of music, all the people, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the gold image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.  Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and accused the Jews.”

The schemes and palace intrigue of Babylon.  Not so different from today, it seems that everyone who was involved with the court was doing something shady.  It must have appeared to the magicians and straps that Daniel and his friends were getting ahead in the palace.  So schemes were brought in to get rid of the competition.  It must have seemed to the satraps and magicians that their own schemes and plans to get ahead were coming to fruition and were right in front of their noses.  All the people were required to bow before the image.  All the people were bowing before the image except their bosses.  Their bosses were in trouble and they were going to be the instrument in taking them down.

Isn’t that how it feels when we are in the thick of our trials?

The walls are closing in and the furnace has been heated and there’s nothing left for us to do but worship God?

Psalm 109: 1-4

“Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise; For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me: they have spoken against me with a lying tongue.  They compassed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause.  For my love they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer.”

We are taught that all who want to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution in Timothy.  The question we need to ask ourselves is are we suffering persecution as a result of our own sins or are we suffering persecution from a trial that God is putting us through.

For the Christian, affliction means something entirely different than it does to the unbeliever.  For the Christian an affliction, a trial, is a test of our hearts.  Our God is good.  Our God is merciful.  Our God is the God who sees every heart and weighs each heart according to their works.  He takes every vine that bears fruit and prunes it, readying it to bear more fruit for by the bearing of fruits do we fulfill Scripture and bring praises to God Almighty.

Jesus is the vine that grafts the wild olive branch among the native branches and this is what we call the church.

But it is also written that our God takes the unfruitful vines and casts them in the fire to be burned, readying them for the next round of trails and pruning.

Psalm 119: 65-72

“You have dealt well with Your servant, O LORD, according to Your Word.  Teach me good judgment and knowledge, For I believe Your commandments.  Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your Word.  You are good, and do good; Teach me Your statutes.  The proud have forged a lie against me, But I will keep Your precepts with my whole heart.  Their heart is as fat as grease, But I delight in Your law.  It is good for me that I have been afflicted, That I may learn Your statues.  The law of Your mouth is better to me Than thousands of coins of gold and silver.”

The greater the affliction, the greater the trial, the greater the suffering involved, the greater the gift of God from it.  So we rejoice in our afflictions.

Afflictions foster need.

Need fosters prayer.

Prayer fosters communication.

Communication fosters fellowship.

Fellowship fosters trust.

Trust fosters faith.

Our heroes in the story, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego, this is how they answered in their trial.

Daniel 3: 16-18

“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.  If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand O king.  But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”

And they were promptly sent to the furnace.

Philippians 2: 14-16

“Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the Word of life so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.”

They didn’t fight.  They submitted themselves to the king’s law.  They let themselves be tied up.  They let themselves be lead to the fiery furnace that was heated seven times hotter than normal and they were thrown in.  Only to not burn up.  An outstanding miracle.  We find through the end of the chapter that God gathers all the governors, magicians and satraps to see the men who were not burned.  I can imagine the scene now.  Everyone looking and inspecting the three men.  Touching them, curious as to how this had happened.  It must have been a rather interesting, enlightening and humbling experience for our heroes and it fostered the fear of the LORD in those watching.

Daniel 3: 28-30

“Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, ‘Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God!  Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made an ash heap; because there is no other God who can deliver like this.’  Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego in the province of Babylon.”

Have we considered how much of our trials are orchestrated by God for others to see and understand He is God?

I think that’s a good place to start for the day!

Happy waiting today!

:)