THE NEW EWE

"What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'"

Luke 15:4-6

September 9, 2020

LIFE IN THE FOLD:

In Daniel chapter three we read a story that is very familiar to many of us; the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and the fiery furnace.

The three Hebrew men had been taken captive from Jerusalem and sent to Babylon. They, along with Daniel, had been trained in the ways of the Babylonian government in order to be used by the king for his own purposes.

Daniel found favor in the eyes of the king. The king promoted Daniel and lavished on him many marvelous gifts and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief over all the wise men of Babylon. At Daniel's request the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the administration of the province of Babylon, while Daniel remained at the royal court.

King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold and set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. He then summoned all of the authorities of the provinces to come to the dedication of that image.

The herald loudly declared, "You are commanded O peoples, nations, and languages, that when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Whoever does not fall down and worship will that same hour be thrown into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire."

The music played and everyone fell down to worship, except for these three Hebrew Jews.

Certain Chaldeans came forward and reminded King Nebuchadnezzar what he had decreed. Then they said, "There are certain Jews whom you appoint over the administration of the province of Babylon -- Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego -- those men pay no heed to you, O king. They do not serve your gods, nor will they worship the golden image that you have set up."

The king was furious with rage and ordered that the three Hebrew men be summoned. He asked them, "Is it true that you don't serve my gods or worship the golden image that I set up?" He told them that he would give them one more chance to fall down and worship the idol. If they failed to do so, then they would immediately be thrown into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire. He ended by saying, "Then what god will be able to deliver you out of my hands?"

The man responded by saying, "Our God whom we serve is able to save us from the furnace of blazing fire and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. Yet even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods, nor worship the golden image that you set up."

King Nebuchadnezzar was filled with so much rage that the appearance of his face changed toward those three men. He ordered the furnace be heated seven times hotter than it was normally heated. He then commanded that some of the mighty men in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and to cast them into the blazing furnace.

The fire was so extremely hot that the raging flames killed those men who carried the Hebrews and threw them into the midst of the furnace.

Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and leapt to his feet. He asked, "Didn't we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? Look! I see four men walking about unbound and unharmed in the middle of the fire, and the fourth has the appearance like a son of the gods!" He then walked closer to the furnace and commanded Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to come out.

Those three Hebrew Jews came out from the midst of the fire. Everyone saw that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men. Not a hair on their head was singed, nor were their robes scorched, nor was there the smell of fire on them.

Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him! They defied the king's edict and gave up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore I hereby decree that any people, nation or language that says anything slanderous against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego will be torn limb from limb and their house made a pile of rubble, because there is no other god that is able to deliver in this way."

There are a couple things I would like to point out in this story that God recently showed me.

The three Hebrew men were doing good work and being faithful to God when this event happened. They weren't doing anything wrong to deserve being thrown into this fiery furnace. In fact, they were doing right be refusing to bow down and worship this false idol.

Many times christians tend to have the mindset that if we are faithful to God and doing everything right and have enough faith, then nothing bad will ever happen to us. But there is nothing in the bible that proves this mindset. Over and over again throughout the bible, godly men and women endured hardships and often suffered.

After Jesus descended back to heaven, His disciples and the early church were often imprisoned, killed, persecuted and suffered all many of hardships. From that time throughout history, we see many instances where godly people have endured all manner of persecution and horrible situations. Jesus never promises that we will have a life of ease and comfort, but He does promise to always be with us.

Here is something I would like to focus on: Even though the Hebrew men had a relationship with God and were faithful to Him, even as captives in an ungodly, evil nation; it wasn't until they were put in the fire that God manifested Himself and showed up in a way that proved to the king and the others in Babylonian authority that He was truly the one, true God.

Sometimes we may have to experience the "fire" and adverse situations in order for the world and ungodly to truly see God manifest Himself in a way that shows them that He truly does exist and is the one and only true God.

Also, those men were bound hand and foot before being thrown into the flames. But it was while they were in the fire that those bonds were broken and they were set free.

Sometimes it takes a fiery furnace experience in our life, circumstances that seem horrible or unbearable or beyond difficult, in order for us to truly experience being freed from things that often tend to bind us. The fire purifies and gets rid of ungodly attitudes, mindsets, habits, and all those things that need to be burned up and gotten rid of. These men experienced freedom in the fire! We, too, can experience freedom from bondage when we go through difficult situations; because God, Himself, is walking through those times with us.

Lastly, in reading the previous chapters, it seems as if Daniel was the leader of their group. He was the one who spoke on their behalf and had gotten them their positions. Apparently, all four of the men feared God and walked in His ways, but Daniel seems to be the one who was their spokesman and who had found favor with the king.

When the king called all of those in positions of authority to come to the dedication of the golden idol, Daniel was in his position within the royal court and had not been commanded to go. Yet, because of the other three men's positions within the province, the king had ordered them to attend. The thing is, the king could have made the decree that all those with any position of authority to attend, which would have included Daniel, yet he hadn't.

Perhaps these three Hebrew men needed to know how strong their faith truly was, and not be dependent upon Daniel and his leadership and boldness. Had Daniel been with them, he likely would have been the one who would have spoken on their behalf, considering how he had in the past. But it was time for these three men to endure testing, without Daniel being present. When they were ordered to bow their knee and worship this golden idol, they refused and boldly told the king that regardless of what happened, they would only worship their God. They knew that God was able to deliver them from the fire; but also know that if He chose not to and they died, then they had nothing to lose. It was a win-win situation for them either way.

At times it may be easy to try and allow someone else to speak on our behalf, or to try and allow someone else's relationship with God to be ours. Not Parents, pastors, leaders, nor anyone else can make that commitment for us. We have to decide to follow Jesus and choose to remain faithful, even when we may feel as if we are encountering a fiery furnace experience.

King Nebuchadnezzar died and his son became king; then he died and Darius became king. Daniel had so much favor with King Darius and had an extraordinary spirit in him, that the king planned to appoint him over the entire kingdom. (Daniel 6:4) We know the story of how the others in authority were jealous of Daniel and set him up.

Daniel was thrown into a den of lions. In this instance, the king spoke to Daniel regarding his God. "May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!"

When this occurred, it is likely that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were in another place in the province of Babylon. This was Daniel's time to be tested, not theirs. Perhaps when Daniel was brought to the entrance of the den of lions, he remembered what his friends had encountered when they had faced the fiery furnace, and it gave him assurance and hope that that same God, would also deliver him; therefore, he was able to enter the lion's den without fear. He had that same confidence that his friends had had years earlier, knowing that God was well able to protect him while in the lion's den; but if not, then he would still would not denounce God and would be faithful to Him and Him alone. Whether he lived or whether he died, He was going to serve God and be faithful to Him!

Once again, a king of Babylon made a decree regarding God. "I issue a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom people are to tremble with fear before the God of Daniel. For He is the living God, enduring forever! His kingdom will not be destroyed, His dominion will never end. He delivers and rescues. He performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on earth."

Adverse circumstances are when we become purified and the strength of our relationship with God is truly revealed. It's also when others can truly see God's power revealed, and because of that, it draws others into a relationship with Him.

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

I had been taught that fire was used to purify gold, silver, and other metals. I hate to publish anything that I can't verify, so I tried. I was able to verify that fire (or more accurately, heat) has been used to purify gold since at least the bronze age (probably before 3,000 or 2,000B.C.). I only found passing reference to using fire to purify silver, and a lot more on other more complex methods for silver.

The real process is mostly about heating the gold with impurities to a very high temperatures. At the higher temperatures, the base metals (the majority of impurities) begin to burn off (or oxidize). They turn into a slag of solids, much like ashes. Most of them settle in the bottom of the crucible, and some float to the surface. The ones on the surface are skimmed off and discarded. Then the pure gold is poured out. And last, the slag in the bottom is scraped out and discarded.

If you start with rocks that only have about 5% gold, the first round of purification discards around 94% of the original rocks. A little of the original impurity is usually caught up in the gold, and a little gold is lost with the discarded rocks and slag.

But, if you start with nuggets that are 95% gold, the refining process does nothing but remove most of the 5% impurities, leaving practically all the gold behind.

So, how does this relate to Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego? The scriptures don't say they were 100% pure, but it sounds like they must have been. They and their clothes were left behind by the fire. Only the ropes were burned away.

Will it be great when all the impurities tying us to this world are burned away? It will be for those who have already been purified. On the other hand, for some, it will destroy them almost completely.

ON THE MENEWE:

One of my favorite ways to cook a beef roast is to place it in the crockpot. Sprinkle a package of au jus gravy mix over the top (dry mix), then place a stick of butter on top. Cook until the roast is tender. The juices make an excellent gravy base.

You can also cook a pork roast basically the same way. I place the pork roast in the crockpot. Then I sprinkle a package of Lipton onion soup mix over the meant, then place a stick of butter on top. Cook until meat is tender. The juices from this also makes an excellent gravy base.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

Recently, my nephew's 8-year old son decided to make breakfast for his parents and serve them in bed. They took a picture of their breakfast tray. He had made them each a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a piece of toast, then had heated a waffle up in the toaster and had the dry waffle lying on the try. Thankfully, with all those carbs and bread, he had also made them each a glass of chocolate milk to wash it down. His parents bragged on him and ate their breakfast and enjoyed it. It may not have been what they would have chosen to have made for themselves, but they recognized the love with which their son had prepared this breakfast tray for them, so enjoyed it and made sure that he felt appreciated for his efforts.

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

No matter how long you have traveled in the wrong direction, you can always turn around. - TobyMac

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org