• Godly government will replace misrule: “There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms ... My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd.” (Ezekiel 37:22 and 24).
• Righteousness will replace sin: “They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offences, for I will save them from their sinful back-sliding and I will cleanse them.” (Ezekiel 37:23).
• Obedience will replace rebellion: “They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees.” (Ezekiel 37:24).
• Security will replace uncertainty: “They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children’s children will live there for ever, and David my servant will be their prince for ever.” (Ezekiel 37:25).
• Peace will replace war: “I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant.” (Ezekiel 37:26).
• Fellowship with God will replace separation: “They will be my people and I will be their God ... I will put my sanctuary among them for ever. My dwelling-place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people. Then the nations will know that I the LORD make Israel holy, when my sanctuary is among them for ever.” (Ezekiel 37:23 and 26-28).
Today, we are as much two nations as ever we were in the time of Disraeli. This is not how God wishes us to be. He wants us to stand back to back in brotherhood and unity. If we turn to him, he will restore, revive, renew and rebuild.
Back from the dead.
On many occasions the fight for union recognition and a political voice for the working classes seemed a lost cause. Thought of present-day renewal for our nation might seem equally hopeless, but we should take heart. God’s words through the prophet Ezekiel have particular resonance for lost causes and for the hopeless, for he speaks of coming back from the dead. Too often, we say: “Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.” (Ezekiel 37:11). God reminds us: “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.” (Ezekiel 37:12-14).
God will do as he has promised, but he will do it through human agency. It is the activity of the prophet Ezekiel, responding to divine command, which is the catalyst for what happens in the valley of dry bones: “So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet – a vast army.” (Ezekiel 37:10). It will be the same in our day. Unless we offer ourselves as God’s agents, regeneration will not come. Above all, we need to “prophesy” (Ezekiel 37:4 and 9) – in other words, to tell forth the word of God and to foretell in accordance with what he reveals to us – and we need to “hear the word of the LORD” (Ezekiel 37:4).
Back together.
If we play our part, God will mend and bind up. He will bring things back together. He will do this on an individual basis as “bones [come] together, bone to bone.” (Ezekiel 37:7). He will do it on a corporate basis by making us “one nation in the land” (Ezekiel 37:22). He will do it through physical renewal by “[attaching] tendons to [us] and [making] flesh come upon [us] and cover [us] with skin” (Ezekiel 37:6). He will do it through spiritual rebirth by “[putting] breath in [us so that we] will come to life.” (Ezekiel 37:6). The result will be the creation of a “vast army” (Ezekiel 37:10). This should cause us to reflect on lessons from the clash of armies past.
One such has particularly resonance. Astride almost sheer cliffs hundreds of feet above the Judean desert stand the remains of a hilltop palace and fortress complex called Masada, built by Herod the Great. Here hundreds of Jewish rebels committed suicide in AD 73 rather than surrender to the Roman legions which were besieging them. The last of the Zealot defenders left alive was their leader, Eleazar ben Yair. Before falling on his own sword he cut Ezekiel 37 from a scroll of Scriptures and buried it with great care. He did so to send a message to succeeding generations: that the nation was not irredeemably vanquished, but would rise again. God has given us a similar message of renewal and regeneration. We need to pass it on.
Conclusion.
To the repressive regimes of continental Europe, all forms of collective activity were deeply suspect: trade associations, friendly societies, co-operatives, clubs and even informal cafe discussion groups. This did not just hinder political activism and trade unionism. It struck at the heart of civil society and the creation of a developed economy. It prevented political, social and economic renewal by peaceful means and made violent revolution more likely, not less. There were interests in Britain that opposed these things, too, but despite stubborn resistance they were eventually forced to give way. They could not forever hold against the things for which Britain claimed to stand: either they must yield or the nation would have to concede that her vaunted ideals of democracy, freedom and justice were nothing but a sham. The ideals won.
The inter-connectedness of life should never cease to strike us. The fact that Britain became a world economic and political power cannot be ascribed to one cause alone. It is indeed almost impossible to disentangle the threads that made this possible. Without constitutional monarchy, tenuous would have been the independence of the judiciary. Without rule of law, there would have been no secure property rights and less impetus for innovation. Without freedom of association, there would have been no Lloyds of London insurance market (whose members first met in coffee houses) and hence less trade, which in turn would have meant less wealth and less capital to finance industrial expansion. Without political stability and due regard for creditors, higher interest would have been charged on government debt, making it harder to finance the wars whose successful outcome helped secure British dominion in Canada, India, South Africa and elsewhere. Without a free press, abuse of executive power would have lacked an important check and the free flow of information that is needed for relationships of trust between strangers (vital for development of business outside tight family-held groups) would have been hindered. Without representative government, there would have been no safety valve for political grievances.
All this was subordinate to and dependent on right relationship with God. It is no accident that so many successful businessmen of the era were committed Christians. Strangers were happy to do business with them because they were trustworthy, and they were trustworthy because their Christian faith made it impossible for them to be otherwise. [86] We are presently hollowing out all the institutions and structures of our nation, removing the Christian underpinnings that gave them life and breath, without which they are empty and meaningless. Remove Christianity from capitalism and it becomes only vulgar money-making and an opportunity for exploitation. Remove it from law and we are at the mercy of expediency and the utilitarian. Remove it from our sense of morality and any excess becomes possible and even justifiable. The skeleton on which the life of the nation hangs is becoming nothing but bones that are “very dry” (Ezekiel 37:2). They are lifeless, for there is “no breath in them.” (Ezekiel 37:8).
Things behave according to their natures. If we let a stone drop we do not need to watch to know that it will fall: it is in its nature that it will do so in obedience to the natural laws which govern the universe. So it is with mankind and so it is with God. We are each true to our natures. If we persist on our present course, only ruin awaits. Sinful human beings will always make a hash of things when left to their own devices. If we really want to see renewal and regeneration, our only option is to turn again to our Creator.
36. Furnace
Daniel 3:13-30.
Key word: fire.
Round the back streets of old Nottingham is a
pub called the Bendigo, the only one in England to bear this name. It commemorates a local man, William Thompson, born in 1811 and a boxer by trade. His career in the ring lasted almost twenty years (1832 to 1850) and for six years (1839 to 1845) he was champion prize fighter of all England. He was nicknamed Abednego, and Bendigo is a corruption of that name.
To be a prize fighter was almost unimaginably hard. There were no Queensberry rules (these only became standard in 1889), no gloves, no limits on the number of rounds fought. Not surprisingly, some were literally bludgeoned to death during the most brutal bouts. The existence of prize fighting and the fact that men would contemplate becoming a prize fighter at all, let alone spend almost twenty years at it, shines an unflattering light on life in England. It is testament to grinding poverty.[87] It speaks of a precarious existence: women died in childbirth in large numbers, many children did not live to see their fifth birthday and deadly diseases were commonplace. There were Europe-wide cholera epidemics, for example, from 1830-35, 1847-48, 1853-56, 1865-67, 1869-74, 1883-87 and 1893-95. In Britain, 53,000 died of cholera in 1848 alone.
Prize fighting is also testament to the dark side of human nature, to our willingness to make sport of others and take amusement from their suffering. It is the spirit of the amphitheatre and the reality TV show. That spirit is alive and well now just as it has always been. The story of Bendigo, however, is one of hope. He survived his trial by fire in the ring, became a Christian and eventually a Methodist minister.[88] Thereafter he worked with another Nottingham man, William Booth, writer of the hymn Send the fire!, founder of the Salvation Army and great minister to the urban poor, in bringing the message of God’s grace and love to those whose lives were hardest. The old boxer died on 23 August 1880, well stricken in years (he was aged 69) after a life full of incident and pleasing to God.
What’s in a name?
The protagonists in Daniel 3 include Bendigo’s namesake Adenego and his companions Shadrach and Meshach. Of mature years in this story, they were young men when they were led with Daniel as captives from the Israelite kingdom of Judah after Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion of 605 BC, prior to his eventual conquest in 586 BC. In Babylon, they were given new names[89] and Babylonian education. In the ancient near east, taking away an old name and substituting a new one was a way of exercising authority, expressing overlordship and setting a new direction in life. God frequently renames people in this way: thus Abram became Abraham (Genesis 17:5), Sarai became Sarah (Genesis 17:15) and Jacob became Israel (Genesis 32:28 and 35:10).[90]
As far as the Babylonians were concerned, renaming aimed to mark the captives out for service of pagan gods: the new names referred to Aku, a Sumerian moon-god, and Nabu, one of the major Babylonian deities. As events showed, this was a forlorn hope, for the men remained loyal to the one true God. As the tale unfolds and they undergo their own literal trial by fire, their original Hebrew names are shown to be particularly apt.
Remaining true.
When king Nebuchadnezzar learnt that these three would not bow down and worship a golden image that he had caused to be made, he was “furious with rage ... [and] summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego” (Daniel 3:13), who by this time had risen to high office. They are said to have been “set over the affairs of the province of Babylon” (Daniel 3:12).
What follows shows the unbridled, unprincipled but ultimately futile exercise of human force, set alongside the saving power of God. It also shows tremendous courage, faith and integrity on the part of “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego [who] replied [to the king’s threats], ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold that you have set up’” (Daniel 3:16-18).
In a rage, the king promptly ordered the men to be bound and thrown into a furnace, which was “heated seven times hotter than usual” (Daniel 3:19). The spiritual depravity of Babylon is clear. This nation was not a neutral force, but stood in opposition to the High King of Heaven. There are echoes of pagan methods of sacrifice: “They have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as offerings to Baal – something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind. So beware, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when people will no longer call this Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter.” (Jeremiah 19:5-6). The Lord’s strictures against such behaviour are clear: “Let no-one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire” (Deuteronomy 18:10).
Like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, we need to remain true to God and his ways, even though we live in a society that no longer honours them and which so often goes deliberately counter to them. This takes courage, whether the threats we face are physical or whether they take other forms. When we are undergoing trial by fire, we need to remind ourselves of the important truths that were spoken to Nebuchadnezzar by Daniel’s friends. They acknowledged the possibility that God, although able to pluck them from “this hour” (John 12:27) might not do so: “the God we serve is able to save us ... But even if he does not ... we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold that you have set up.” (Daniel 3:17-18). Alongside this they had the certainty that, come what may, “he will rescue us” (Daniel 3:17). Our bedrock is that we will be rescued (through our ultimate salvation) even though we may not be kept from the particular trial that is at hand.
Images of gold.
The three Jews were punished because they would not worship a golden image. We live in a land that has images of gold aplenty. United States President Calvin Coolidge said: “Prosperity is only an instrument to be used, not a deity to be worshipped.” Sadly, we have ignored such sound advice. We have taken consumerism and materialism to levels previously undreamt of. We have made gods out of the pursuit of pleasure and the cult of celebrity. We have drunk deep from the wine of unbelief and elevated mere men to the place that belongs to God.
The lure of such things is seductive. There is “the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music” (Daniel 3:15). Society would have us believe that to esteem such things is not wrong: “If you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good.” (Daniel 3:15). We risk being objects of scorn, ridicule and even persecution if we do not follow the crowd. We need to know when to draw a line in the sand. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had faithfully served the Babylonian state for years, to such good effect that they had been promoted to positions of trust and influence. They had been able to do this in a way that was consistent with and true to their faith. When they were asked to step over the line, however, they had the insight, wisdom and courage to know that this was a bridge too far and to refuse. We have to live and work in the society around us, just as these men did. We can be effective and influential without compromising our principles, but we need to make sure that we recognise images of gold when we see them and that we refuse to bow down before them. If we are able to do this, we will proclaim the power and glory of the Lord and it will lead others to say of him that “no other god can save in this way.” (Daniel 3:29).
Trial by fire.
Trial by fire is an awful thing to contemplate. None would willingly submit to it. Fire can burn, scald, scar and kill. It has another side, however. Fire cleanses, purifies and cauterises. It provides heat and light. It transforms through its touch: wood into charcoal, raw ingredients into cooked delicacies. Fire is an element in which God is often revealed: to Moses in the burning bush (Exodus 3:2), to the Israelites in a pillar of fire during the flight from Egypt (Exodus 13:21), to Elijah on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:38) and to the first Christians at Pentecost (Acts 2:3). We are reminded that “our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29), that Jesus will baptise “with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (Matthew 3:11) and that we should “not put out the Spiri
t’s fire” (1 Thessalonians 5:19).
Similarly, God is revealed in the fiery furnace: “Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, ‘Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?’ They replied, ‘Certainly, O king.’ He said, ‘Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.’” (Daniel 3:24-25). Some identify the fourth person in the furnace as Christ. Nebuchadnezzar calls him an “angel”. (Daniel 3:28). Whichever it may be, the Lord is clearly powerfully present. He not only keeps the three companions alive but a divine presence accompanies them, frees them from their shackles and undergoes the same trial that they experience. We need to remember that God is right alongside us in our troubles in just the same way.
The furnace provides an image of hell. It is a place of flame and torment. It is thus no surprise that it “killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego” (Daniel 3:22) but did not harm the three Jews: “Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!’ So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.” (Daniel 3:26-27). Again, there is something for us to learn from this: others may create hellish conditions for us, but they cannot consign us to eternal damnation. We are kept free from the bonds of hell by the blood and sacrifice of Jesus, who went through the fire precisely so that we should not have to do so.
Redeeming a Nation (Timeless Teaching) Page 26
