Reader’s Guide: “The Word for Today” Tuesday, December 18, 2012 Read – Daniel 3 & 4 Two stories make up today’s reading. The first is the more familiar story. The gist of the story has to do with how God’s people are to act when they are demanded to worship someone or something else besides God. In this story the king is out to get Daniel’s three friends – Daniel is not present in this story. The king makes a statue to which all must bow when the music plays – (is that where we get that expression?) Of course Daniel’s friends cannot comply – neither can any of God’s faithful people! So they refuse. When questioned they stand firm. Their words are powerful – “If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire and out of your hand, O king, let him deliver us. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods and we will not worship the golden statue that you have set up.” The king is enraged by their disobedience and orders them to be thrown into a fiery furnace – made seven times hotter than normal. The furnace was so hot that the men who lifted Daniel’s friends into the furnace perish in the flames. The king and his advisors expect instant death to come to Daniel’s friends. To their surprise they see the friends along with a fourth person walking in the flames unhurt by the fire. The story ends with the king making a decree that anyone who does not worship the God of Daniel’s friends be torn limb from limb. The point of the story to those who hear it is abundantly clear. Sometimes the experience of life may throw us into a fiery furnace when we stand up for our faith – but stand up we must. Of course it is very possible that every detail of this story could have happened. It is not because of the miraculous part of the story that the historicity of the story might be questioned but rather whether or not such an event involving this king is likely to have taken place. As far as other sources of history are concerned no decree like the one at the end of the story was ever made. But even if this is just a story – its point it made. The second story we read today is less familiar and involves another dream of the king. Once again Daniel, who is named Belteshazzar after the name of the king’s god in this story, interprets the dream. The king’s dream is of a majestic tree that is suddenly cut down to its roots. Without explanation the dream suddenly becomes the story of the fate of person who is reduced to a mere animal. Daniel is afraid to tell the king the interpretation of this dream because he knows that the meaning of the dream is really about the king himself. The king, so high and mighty as a majestic tree, will be reduced to an animal existence – he will be driven away from human existence and eat grass like an oxen, be bathed with dew, grow hair as long as an eagle’s feathers, and fingernails as long as bird’s claws. And that is exactly what happens to king Nebuchadnezzar! The story is somewhat reminiscent of the story we know as “The Beauty and the Beast.” The story continues. After his demise the king comes to his senses and worships the God of Israel. Of course all of this could have happened. But, there is no evidence anywhere else of such a thing happening to this king. The point of the story is abundantly clear. Mighty kings are not to be feared and will be brought to their end – only God is worthy of worship. That message comes through loud and clear even if this is only a story.