The Bible Challenge day 297
Daniel 3-4, Psalm 93, Revelation 17
As we've journeyed through Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and now find ourselves staring at King Nebuchadnezzar's impressive and seductive golden statue -- symbol of the swollen pride and desire for control of the Babylonian Empire -- I am reminded of the clarity and consistency of the biblical witness: God is the proper and only end of human worship. It's where the ten commandments begin: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the bondage of Egypt, you shall have no other Gods but me. Get worship right and blessings ensue; get worship wrong and all hell -- in the form of economic exploitation, sexual infidelity, national and familial strife, to name just a few -- breaks loose.
Sharach, Meshach and Abednego ("Rack", "Shack", and "Benny" to those whose faith was weaned on Veggie Tales) Jewish exiles in Babylon, but also up and coming leaders in the Babylonian bureaucracy confront the challenge to maintain their witness to and worship of the one, true and sovereign God in the face of all the glitter, gold and ritualized pretensions of the Babylonian Empire. These resident aliens embrace the fiery flames of the super-heated furnace rather than compromising their faith. Miraculously preserved by an angelic-like presence, they emerge from the furnace with not even their clothes smelling of the fire. With God's help, they take the heat and even Nebuchadnezzar himself ends by blessing God. Daniel's interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream in Chapter 4, which concludes with the king humiliation and extended praise of God, only reinforces the message of God's sovereignty in these two vivid and memorable chapters.
I find that "Resident aliens" is a helpful way to understand what it means for me and all of us to be "in the world but not of the world". God created us to inhabit this beautiful world. We are residents in a creation that God declares "very good." But we find true contentment and abundant life in God and not the ways of the world. In that important sense we are aliens. In every age the call to love God with all our heart, mind , soul and strength confronts the cultural undertow that would pull our defining energies and deepest devotions in a direction other than God. Changing the metaphor back to the biblical story, in such moments we must be prepared to take the heat. As the Psalmist bracingly declares: The Lord is king.
Andrew Sherman
Daniel 3-4, Psalm 93, Revelation 17
As we've journeyed through Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and now find ourselves staring at King Nebuchadnezzar's impressive and seductive golden statue -- symbol of the swollen pride and desire for control of the Babylonian Empire -- I am reminded of the clarity and consistency of the biblical witness: God is the proper and only end of human worship. It's where the ten commandments begin: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the bondage of Egypt, you shall have no other Gods but me. Get worship right and blessings ensue; get worship wrong and all hell -- in the form of economic exploitation, sexual infidelity, national and familial strife, to name just a few -- breaks loose.
Sharach, Meshach and Abednego ("Rack", "Shack", and "Benny" to those whose faith was weaned on Veggie Tales) Jewish exiles in Babylon, but also up and coming leaders in the Babylonian bureaucracy confront the challenge to maintain their witness to and worship of the one, true and sovereign God in the face of all the glitter, gold and ritualized pretensions of the Babylonian Empire. These resident aliens embrace the fiery flames of the super-heated furnace rather than compromising their faith. Miraculously preserved by an angelic-like presence, they emerge from the furnace with not even their clothes smelling of the fire. With God's help, they take the heat and even Nebuchadnezzar himself ends by blessing God. Daniel's interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream in Chapter 4, which concludes with the king humiliation and extended praise of God, only reinforces the message of God's sovereignty in these two vivid and memorable chapters.
I find that "Resident aliens" is a helpful way to understand what it means for me and all of us to be "in the world but not of the world". God created us to inhabit this beautiful world. We are residents in a creation that God declares "very good." But we find true contentment and abundant life in God and not the ways of the world. In that important sense we are aliens. In every age the call to love God with all our heart, mind , soul and strength confronts the cultural undertow that would pull our defining energies and deepest devotions in a direction other than God. Changing the metaphor back to the biblical story, in such moments we must be prepared to take the heat. As the Psalmist bracingly declares: The Lord is king.
Andrew Sherman
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