September 3, 2017

The Fourth Man

“So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisors 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 smell of fire on them.”  Dan. 3:27

In basketball there is the first player on the team that comes off the bench when the coach waves him or her into the game.  This person is known as the “sixth man.”  That player, though not a starter, plays a very distinctive and important role in the team. 

And so in the Book of Daniel we find three members of the Hebrew team, so to speak, who have been thrown into a blazing furnace at the order of King Nebuchadnezzar.  The heat is increased seven-fold to get the job done.  The king will not have people disobeying him.  We read in chapter three of Daniel that the guards bringing the three men to the furnace are killed by the heat, yet Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego escape from the furnace completely unharmed.  The king is astonished and notices that though three men were in the furnace, he saw four walking around.  The fourth man is considered by Christians to be the Lord, the Messiah, who protects His faithful servants.

Are you going through a trial where the heat feels turned up seven-fold?  Does the situation feel like it is affecting those around you?  Do you feel like there is nowhere to turn?  Friend, you have the One who came off heaven’s bench and entered the game known as your life.  He plays a very distinctive and important role.  He is the fourth man in that furnace and He is the first one to stand with you, by you, and come to your rescue.  You will – I cannot emphasize this enough – you will come out of this fire unharmed.  For the Lord your God will be with you.