Standing Together

Read Daniel 3:1-30

He looked up at the two cards. Line C on the first card was clearly the same length as the only line on the second card. Lines A and B were obviously the wrong answers. But one by one, the other seven people in the room chose Line A. By the time he was asked to give his answer, he followed along: "It's A." In Solomon Asch's famous psychology experiment, three out of four participants gave in at least once, not knowing that everyone else was an actor who kept picking the wrong line. But when Asch told one actor to give the right answer, participants only complied 5% of the time. King Nebuchadnezzar liked gold, and he liked to be praised. He ordered that a massive statue be built in his honor, had it set up in a prominent location, and gathered everyone to show their loyalty. A herald ordered everyone to prostrate themselves before the statue, and a large, loud band set the tone. Everyone complied. Perhaps some bowed down and said a prayer to Yahweh, or another god. Everyone did what the person next to them did. But as Nebuchadnezzar's loyalists surveyed the crowd, it was obvious that three men were standing: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. The insubordination filled the king with rage, and he ordered them to come before him. Glaring down at them, he directly commanded them to worship or be thrown into a furnace. They speak in unison. Every verb in their answer is plural: we won't answer, we won't worship, and we won't bow. Years earlier, they'd refused to eat the king's food; now they refuse to offer themselves to idols. When Nebuchadnezzar had threatened the wise men with death, Daniel prayed with them, and God delivered them again. They've already decided to be loyal to God together. Now they meet the final boss. They don't assume that God's past deliverance means God will deliver them. Nor do they negotiate with a death sentence. Their courage comes from the simplicity: God first, always, together. Sometimes his servants get promoted to high office. Sometimes they burn to death. God shows up, but only after they're thrown into the fire. It seems too late, but they walk out without a hint of what happened. Only the king reports seeing the fourth man. It's his rival, and he's impressed. So he threatens the death penalty for anyone who blasphemes their God, and elevates these friends. It's a foretaste of Immanuel. To spare us from dying in the fire, he not only had to go into it but also let it consume him. Because God walks with us, we can walk with him.