the LORD your God
(Leviticus 26:1).
It appears that
the majority
of the Jews
must have
bowed to the
golden image
because
the Bible
only tells us
about the three
Hebrew boys
refusing to bow.
Never Compromise
At first, I’m sure King Nebuchadnezzar
thought the boys must have misunderstood
what he was asking because no one in their
right mind would choose to be cast into a fiery
furnace. Many people today won’t understand
when you choose to stand for truth either.
They will think you should take the easy route
and compromise.
The Hebrew boys were strong in their faith;
and they were not willing to compromise, even if
it meant death. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar,
we are not careful to answer thee
in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we
serve is able to deliver us from the burning
fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of
thine hand, O king. 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 3:16–18).
When the people heard what the Hebrew
boys said to the king, I’m sure they were thinking
about how foolish the boys were for not
bowing down. After all, how hard is it to get
on your knees or fall to the ground even if you
don’t believe in the golden image? Is refusing
to bow worth being thrown into a fiery furnace?
According to the Word, it is. Jesus said, For
whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but
whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the
same shall save it (Luke 9:24).
If you had been in the same position as the
three Hebrew boys, would you have bowed or
gone into the fiery furnace? Down through the
years, many saints of God have literally given
their lives for the sake of Christ. People may
have thought they were foolish for not sparing
their own lives, but they were using divine
faith and trusting in the true and living God.
Always remember that it doesn’t matter what
others believe. All that matters is what you
believe and that you are willing to help God
make a miracle.
Jairus Sought a Miracle
Jairus was one of the rulers of the synagogue;
but when he had a great need, he didn’t
care what others believed. He went seeking
Jesus for a miracle. Jairus was desperate
because his daughter was at the point of death;
so when he found Jesus, he fell at His feet
saying, My little daughter lieth at the point
of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy
hands on her, that she may be healed; and
she shall live (Mark 5:23). Desperate times
bring many people to the feet of Jesus.
Jairus knew that Jesus was his daughter’s
only hope, so I’m sure he felt great relief
when Jesus agreed to go home with him and
pray for his daughter; but the journey was not
going to go as Jairus thought because much
people followed him, and thronged him
(Mark 5:24).
Jairus knew his daughter’s time was limited,
and the crowd of people around Jesus was
keeping Him from moving faster. That must
have been hard on Jairus. Then as Jesus was
making His way through the crowd, He turned
around and said, Who touched my clothes?
And he looked round about to see her that
had done this thing. But the woman fearing
and trembling, knowing what was done
in her, came and fell down before him, and
told him all the truth. And he said unto her,
Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole;
go in peace, and be whole of thy plague
(Mark 5:30,32–34).
At that point, Jairus probably struggled with
the fact that Jesus had stopped because he
knew his daughter was dying; and he knew
every second counted. However, the woman
with the issue of blood was also in a desperate
situation, and it was a matter of life and death
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