20 March 2024
Nebuchadnezzar said, ‘Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants who trusted in him. They disobeyed the king’s command and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God.’
From Daniel 3:14-20, 24-25,28, NRSV
The names of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and their remarkable story are well known. Their story is an illustration of the battle between good and evil which is a theme that runs through the Book of Daniel. These three young Hebrew men, companions of Daniel, refused to worship the golden statue erected by King Nebuchadnezzar, since to do so would mean breaking the first two commandments. They trusted in God and were miraculously unharmed after being thrown into a fiery furnace. Whilst their names are well known, there were probably many other heroic people who also took a stand for their belief in the one true God at a time when successive kings believed that people should honour them in the same way as they honoured the gods – a stand that cost them their lives.
- What do you think enabled Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (and others) to take a stand for their beliefs?
- Have you ever had to refuse to do something in order to stay true to your beliefs?
Reflect today on the sacrificial love shown by countless men and women who have been punished as a result of their faithfulness to God.
Image – from the Catacomb of St. Priscilla, Rome
