This Sunday we will begin our observance of Advent. Four weeks of hope, peace, joy, and love.
This Advent season our theme is… Be Amazed, where we will look at some AMAZING stories in the Bible.
This week, as we think about, Hope in the Furnace, we will be looking at the actions of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel chapter 3.
The book of Daniel was written about a period of time in Israel’s history when they are living in exile. This story takes place around the time that the Babylonians invaded Jerusalem, destroyed the temple, and brought an end to the establishment of Judah as an independent kingdom. It was a horrible, dark period in the life of Israel, one that was marked by hopelessness, discouragement and despair.
In a brilliant yet nefarious strategy to eliminate their enemies, Babylon would often conscript the best and brightest of their enemies to be assimilated into Babylonian culture, thus eradicating their distinct identity and ensuring that no eventual rebellion would surface. Daniel and his three friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah were part of the group of young Israelite men that watched their home be destroyed and were then carried into exile and forced to work in the Babylonian service.
The book of Daniel tells the stories about how these young men sought to work with excellence and character in their new positions in a pagan empire, even as they sought to be faithful to their God and God’s law. At times their faithfulness led to their advancement, and at other times it also led to great danger and near death. But in each case, God came through for them and provided a way out.
The book of Daniel is less about us and how we should be courageous and faithful under pressure (although that is certainly a lesson of this book). The book of Daniel is more about God. Specifically, it’s about how God promises to rescue God’s people in seasons of great trouble, and points to the promise of God’s ultimate rescue of the world through his Son, Jesus.
This is a story about hope.
I invite you to read Daniel chapter three this week.
How you see God at work in this story?
In what ways do you place your hope in God?
What areas of your life are you experiencing hopelessness?
Let’s talk about it on Sunday.
~ Pastor Dustin
