Wicked Heart, Good Gracious God!

"Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual. And commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the burning furnace" - Daniel 3:19-20

Doesn't it just suck a lot, when someone who has been a beneficiary of your kindness & good will, suddenly turns against you? I mean people shouldn't have to gravel on the floor or become our full time slaves because we helped them. But maybe at least they shouldn't turn around and become the wonderful [insert here wicked] wizard of OZ either right?! lol

In one moment, Nebuchadnezzar is seen honoring a certain someone with his three other friends. He promotes and lavishes Daniel with gifts [Daniel 2].  Then appoints three of Daniel's friends upon his request- Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are appointed as administrators over the provinces of Babylon. Why was Nebz making these moves? good question. Daniel had just bailed him out of a very distressing situation: over a dream that was puzzling, that he was losing sleep over. He was finding it very difficult to interprete this very disturbing dream about the future. Daniel not only told him in detail what the dream was, but also interprets the dream through the help of God. None of his astrologers, none of his wise men, none of his enchanters, magicians or diviners were able to do this. Flabbergasted; he bursts out vein words below that meant absolutely nothing to him,  as we would later come to realize.

"Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and paid him honor and ordered that an offering and incense be presented to him. The King said to Daniel "surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of Kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery" - Daniel 2:46-47

Why on earth would it seem like Nebz ;) would utter the above in one breathe, only to utter the below in another? - to the very same hebrew boys he had just appointed administrators of his provinces?! - short memory maybe? pride? Or maybe even something else....

Nebz - "Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?" - Daniel 3:15. 

You could call him a prideful man, but that's putting it mildly. A more appropriate word perhaps is wicked. Someone who has seen the truth, yet refuses to accept it. We can make a long list of the many things that is wrong with Nebuchadnezzar's heart, but on the top of that list, is self worship and idolatry. Thing is, Nebuchadnezzar's "god" was actually men who seemed to have something better to offer than he was able to. Otherwise how do we explain the "lying prostrate" and the offering of incense before Daniel? We call all that type of stuff  "drama". It's not about putting up a show in front of men, it's about the heart. He was also truly a really forgetful person.  I have just called "Nebz" wicked, but I think it's also necessary that we take a good look at our own hearts too! - sigh

"Humility is nothing but TRUTH, and pride is nothing but LYING" - Saint Vincent de Paul

We may not have set up actual idol 'gods" and call others to worship it like "Nebz" did, but we DENY the truth by living the exact opposite of what we claim to profess. - "Surely your God is the god of gods" yet  he is asking "what god will be able to rescue the three hebrew boys?" in another instance. If someone presents the TRUTH of the bible to us, would we embrace it with all of our hearts? or reject it in another instance when it isn't at all favorable to us in certain circumstances?

Thank God the three hebrew boys were not willing to back down on thier convictions - "and even if God does not come to rescue us, we will not bow to any of these gods" - Sounds to me like people who knew what they were talking about. Our lives/actions tell a lot about what we believe. We can't be passive, we gotta be active. We either accept the truth and the entirety of God's word, or we actually become hardened of heart, proud, conceited and wicked. There are no grey areas.

Nebz was not an honest man. Truth is, he did not really believe that God was the God of gods and the King of kings and a revealer of mysteries, because if he really did, he wouldn't have had to wait until he saw the fourth man in the fire to surrender. Nebz saw that after he had thrown them in the fire, these three boys were willing to give up thier lives rather than serve or worship any other gods. But you see, though men may deny God and deny the truth, he continues to be exalted and stays KINGING! Infact all people of nations and language were warned never to say anything against God because of them. We are even told, he promotes them again - hahaha, I just can't with Nebz *rolls eyes*

Nebz becomes a preacher in Chapter 4 [you can enjoy the read lol] - But would you believe me if I told you that, even after seeing the fourth man in the fire, Nebz still refuses to humble out. He was given twelve months to repent, but only really did, when he started to eat grass and bark like a dog [ok, no dog was mentioned there, but trust me it's way worse what he had to go through to humble out]. Well folks this Monday worth us asking; If our lives, our actions, our every day rising and setting moments, show others that we are not just blabbers but actually doers? When we say we love God, does that mean that we also embrace every truth of scripture no matter how hard it is?! And the ones that are hard and we struggle with: we ask God to help us obey, but never denying the truth. Does it also mean that even if men change towards us or revile us, we will stick out like a sore thumb and damn the consequences for the sake of the truth?! 

Can you like the hebrew boys, beat your chest and say "...and even if He does not rescue us!" - simply because you are absolutely sure, without a shadow of doubt, persuaded fully that He will. 

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says" - James 1:22

Love,

SR