The Fantastic Four

I know there was a guy who shoots fire, there is a guy who is big like a rock, there is a stretchy guy......and.....ummm...... sorry, if you thought this was a blog about the super characters or the not so super movie that shares a title with this blog, I am sorry to disappoint. Maybe you should hang around while I show you the original Fantastic Four. These four young men were taken from their home country to a foreign land, were given new names, were held captive and forced to serve a foreign king, but they managed to be a part of what is a fantastic turn of events. The names, Belteshazzar, Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego were names that were forced on them by their captors, but Daniel and his friends could not be forced to compromise what they believed in. In case you were wondering, Belteshazzar is the Babylonian name for Daniel. We see these Fantastic Four several times in the Old Testament, and as a result of their faithfulness to God, and as a result of His faithfulness to them, they were all four spared from death in situations where death was 100% assured. Or was it? If you remember, Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego were tossed into a fiery furnace and were saved by an angel, and no harm came to them. This is a remarkable story in and of itself, but I want to focus on the famous story of Daniel and the Lion's den. After King Darius the Mede was tricked into sentencing Daniel to death in the lion's den, the King was greatly vexed and didn't even sleep the night before Daniel was placed in the den. We must remember that Daniel was in a foreign land with foreign gods, and it is in the final words of Darius that we see how great an example the life of Daniel was. As Daniel was being placed in the lion's den, the king spoke, "may your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you." This is an idol worshiping king who spoke these words to Daniel. Do you think that Daniel's faith was real? Do you think it was evidenced on a daily basis? Do you think it had an impact on those around him? This foreign king held on to the thought that the God of Daniel could actually save him. Do you believe this much? Do those around you know that you believe this much? Look at how the story ends. Daniel is saved from lions, and Darius is so amazed that he issues a decree that all people "tremble in fear before the God of Daniel". In fact, Darius' words can only find their poetic equal in the Psalms. "For He is the Living God, and he endures forever; His kingdom will never be destroyed, and His dominion has no end. He rescues and delivers; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth, for he has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions." (Daniel 6 :26,27) Is our God any less powerful today?