In the book of Daniel, Daniel shared how Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were thrown into the fiery furnace because they would not bow to or worship the golden image King Nebuchadnezzar set up, and afterward “Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spoke, and said unto his counselors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spoke, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, you servants of the most high God, come forth, and come here. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire. And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counselors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them”, and in chapter three and verse twenty-eight of his book Daniel shared how Nebuchadnezzar said, “blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego” where we read,
Then Nebuchadnezzar spoke, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.
The verse reads, “Then Nebuchadnezzar spoke, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ...”Daniel began with the words, “Then Nebuchadnezzar spoke” or “at that time Nebuchadnezzar whose name means 'may Nebo protect the crown' and was the great king of Babylon who captured Jerusalem and carried Judah captive replied and responded”, “and said” which means “and uttered, declared and proclaimed”, “blessed be the God” or “praised and worshiped is the Supreme Deity”, “of Shadrach” which means “belonging to Shadrach whose name means royal or the great scribe”, “Meshach” or “guest of the king”, “and Abednego” which means “and servant of Nebo”. Daniel shared how King Nebuchadnezzar responded and declared praise to the Supreme Deity of “ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego”.
The verse continues, “... who has sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king's word, ...” Daniel added the words, “who has sent his angel” which means “who, the Supreme Deity Jehovah, dispatched and assigned his, the Supreme Deity's, messenger and envoy”, “and delivered his servants” or “and rescued and saved his, the Supreme Deity's, slaves, bondmen, men of servile condition and ministers” “that trusted in him” which means “who put their faith and confidence within him, the Supreme Deity”, “and have changed the king's word” or “and transformed and altered the royal ruler and leader's command”. Daniel said King Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged how the Supreme Deity dispatched His messenger and rescued His ministers who put their faith and confidence in Him and thereby altered the royal ruler's command.
Finally the verse says, “... and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.” Daniel concluded this verse with the words, “and yielded their bodies” which means “and gave, delivered and provided their, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego's, physical bodies”, “that they might not serve” or “so they, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, would not in any way or manner revere, minister or pay reverence” “nor worship any god”which means “no and not in any manner give praise or adore another deity”, “except their own God” or “but their, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego's. personal Supreme Deity”. Daniel ended this verse by sharing how King Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego's” willingness to sacrifice their own physical bodies so they would in no way give adoration and praise to another deity other than the true Supreme Deity.
When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn through Daniel about King Nebuchadnezzar's statement after seeing how God delivered “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego”. He “blessed” the Supreme Deity of “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego”, and acknowledged His rescue of them which altered his command. They willingly sacrificed their own physical bodies so they would never minister to another deity except their own. King Nebuchadnezzar recognized what every person should have in their lives, and when we surrender to God's Son Jesus who died on the cross and was raised from the dead after three days, He made the way for us to be forgiven of our sins, granted everlasting life and given the power of His Holy Spirit to be guided into all truth and to have the ability to live in a committed way which “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego” demonstrated.
Next time Daniel shares how Nebuchadnezzar says, “every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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