Their real names are Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendego, but thanks to Veggie Tales we now know them as Rack, Shack, and Benny. If you really want to get technical their names were Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. They were changed when the men were exiled to Babylon and placed in the king's training program. We first see them when they join Daniel in refusing to eat the king's lavish food and opt for water and vegetables instead. From this story we know several things about these three men: they were handsome and intelligent, they feared God more than man, they were committed to obeying God no matter what the outcome.
The next time we hear of these men is when Nebuchadnezzar has had a dream. He outrageously demands that his astrologers tell him what his dream was and then explain it to him. Of course, this is humanly impossible. With the lives of all the astrologers at stake, Daniel steps in to save the day. He says that he can do what the king has asked, if only given a little time. He runs to his friends Rack, Shack, and Benny, telling them the situation and asking them to join him in pleading with God for mercy. Obviously God answered their prayers because He revealed to Daniel both the king's dream and its meaning. Thus, Daniel, his three friends, and all the astrologers' lives were spared. From this story we see that these men, like Daniel, were men of prayer, that they knew to go to God with every problem, to trust Him with every situation. They had faith that He not only could help them but that He would.
In the following chapter we see these men for a third time. This story is probably the most familiar to us, thanks to Veggie Tales. And while the cartoon version helps kids understand the importance of obeying God no matter what, the real story has absolutely nothing to do with a chocolate bunny. The flannel graph I grew up with gets a bit closer since it includes a huge golden statue. However, not until recently I have been able to appreciate the character of these three men, their bold, radical faith, the real issue of the story.
Nebuchadnezzar has built an enormous statue of himself and required that all people bow down to it and worship. The consequence for not following orders is quite severe: anyone who remains standing will be thrown into a blazing furnace. Everyone knew that they had two choices -- kneel or die. Not a quick painless death either; no, no, no...they would slowly be burned alive. Given their options most people choose to go along with the king's command, but not our friends Rack, Shack, and Benny. They remained faithful to God. They knew God had said not to make any idols nor to bow down and worship anyone but Him. They didn't have to sit down and write out a list of pros and cons before they made their decision. It was immediate. Their confidence in God did not waver. When the music played and everyone around them fell to the ground, they stood tall.
The king was so outraged at their defiance, he demanded they come before him. I think he was so taken aback, he explained his orders once again and gave them a second chance to bow and worship the statue. The men were resolute and stood firm. Their response is what blows me away. “King 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 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.”
Their obedience was not dependent on whether or not God saved them. Their were no strings attached to their commitment to God. They would serve Him no matter what. It wasn't a "God if you do this for me, I will live for you." or "If you help me out here, then I will do what You want." They didn't make any demands of God. They simply placed their live in His hands. They knew He could save them from the fire. They knew He had the power to protect them from the flames. They also knew there was the possibility that God would choose not to spare their lives. But that didn't matter. All that mattered was that they were obedient to God.
And so, fuming at their total disregard for his authority, Nebuchadnezzar had Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendego ordered them thrown into the fire. But first, he had it heated to 7 times its normal temperature, which actually ended up killing the soldiers preparing the furnace. Our friends, though, remained unharmed when they entered the fiery blaze. Not even a hair was singed or their clothes scorched. (Sounds like Daniel coming out of the lions' den without even so much as a scratch!) But the story gets even better...not only did God spare their lives, He joined them in the fire.
The story ends with Rack, Shack, and Benny coming out of the fire alive. Nebuchadnezzar is amazed, exclaiming how these men were willing to die rather than worship any god but their God. He in turn praises God and promotes our 3 friends. Another happy ending! You would think that the Bible is full of fairy tales that end with "and they all lived happily ever after." (Sadly, not true.) Of course I want to ask God why He felt I needed to go through this fire of pain and loss in the first place. But since I did get thrown into a fiery mess, I want to know why He didn't let me come out unsinged like Rack, Shack, and Benny. Why did I have to get burned? And then He showed me the verse, "These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world."
Then, to top it all off, He reminds me that I am not in the furnace alone. He is here with me.
And once again God has reiterated the lesson that knowing how the story ends is not the point. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendego didn't know what the outcome would be of refusing to bow to Nebuchadnezzar's statue. Well, they did know it meant being thrown into the fiery furnace. They didn't, however, know if the next page of their life would tell of their death or a miraculous rescue. They were okay with letting God write the story how He wanted and trusted Him with their lives, even if that mean dying.
Once again the verse in Hebrews comes to mind, "Run with endurance the race set before you, fixing your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of your faith..." It seems God is trying to teach me that I need to let Him write my story. I don't have to know how things are going to turn out, that isn't the point. The only thing that matters is living for God, no matter what. My faith shouldn't depend on how my story will end, or even what happens in the middle. In fact, I have no idea where I am at in my story. All I know is that God is busy writing it. He's a published author, so I shouldn't worry about what kind of job He is doing. I should just let Him write and look forward to reading the finished product, only then will I be able to understand why things happened and fully appreciate the intricacies of the plot He picked for me.
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