EVEN IF HE DOES NOT . . .

“If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” —Daniel 3:17, 18

As exiles in Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego lived in a continual state of tension between their Hebrew faith, culture, and upbringing and their Babylonian reality. They had been taken from their homes in Jerusalem as young men, trained in “the language and literature of the Babylonians” (Daniel 1:4), and recognized for their wisdom and understanding in the Babylonian court (see Daniel 1:20). But we see evidence of their regular questioning of themselves, their faith, and their relationship to their host culture, from their refusal to eat the Babylonian food (see Daniel 1:8–16) to their determination not to bow to Nebuchadnezzar’s golden idol (see Daniel 3). Undoubtedly, there were many smaller tensions in between.

Each such decision required both wisdom and courage.

Perhaps an adapted form of the now-famous “Serenity Prayer”* would have been a helpful way of addressing such tensions: “God, grant me the opportunities to work with the surrounding culture in the ways I can, the courage to stand against it when necessary, and the wisdom to decide when cooperation, contribution, or resistance is the most faithful course of action.” For Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, this day on the plain of Dura was a time for resistance—and a time for courage. They knew God could deliver them from the king’s fiery furnace, but they had no guarantee that God would choose to do so—or how.

But by affirming God’s ability, they affirmed their faith in a God who was greater than Nebuchadnezzar and all his gods.

And by their submission to God’s will, they demonstrated their courageous commitment to be faithful, whatever the consequences, even if God did not deliver them.

* Popularized by Reinhold Niebuhr.