But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. Daniel 3:18
Did you ever try to make a bargain with God? I am referring to a bargain such as promising that if God will bless you in a certain way, you will be more faithful in attending Assembly meetings or in serving the Lord in your life. There are times when it is good to put God to the test, to act on His promises in faith, expecting His promised outcome. But there are some areas where there is no option to bargain. The Word of God is plain, and we are to obey it, come what will. That is the situation facing the three young men from Israel as they stand before Nebuchadnezzar. They are going to die if they refuse his command to bow down to the gold image. And they know the Word of God commands them very plainly not to bow down to any false gods. They also know that God is able to deliver them from the wrath of the king. But they go further in their response of faith. If there is a price to be paid for obeying God rather than men, they are prepared to pay it.
In hindsight, it is easy for us to align ourselves with these three brave young men. But the threat to their lives is very real. Humanly speaking, there is no way out. Unless God intervenes, they are to die. And yet, death was preferable to disobedience. Their reliance on God extended to death and beyond. How would you and I fare in such a test? Would we have made some sort of excuse and backed away from the situation? Or would we have stood firm with the faithful trio? We might never have to face such a terrifying decision. But what if we did? Would we be willing to pay the price?
Obedience to the Word of God can be expensive. Many Christians have lost their jobs because they refused to perform illegal or immoral acts on their employers’ behalf. In some parts of the world, believers are being tortured or killed today for their faith. Some dear Saints are willing to pay the price for faithfulness. The little expression in today’s text, ‘but if not’ is very important to them. They are content to accept the price of obedience to God, even if it means they have to pay the price of disobedience to evil men. I believe the time is coming when many of us will be facing tough situations, when we will need to choose whether to be obedient to God or to submit to wrong. God is able to deliver us in such situations. But if He does not, are we prepared to pay the price?
Stand firm on God’s Word. God will see to it that you don’t lose out. -Jim MacIntosh