“Without the fiery furnace, we will never know if we passed the loyalty test”
In Daniel 3, Nebuchadnezzar had set up an image that whoever did not fall down in obeisance to it at the sound of the music, they were to be immediately thrown into the furnace of fire.
As the story goes, the three Hebrews refused to bow down to the image, so they were brought to King Nebuchadnezzar. When the king gave the ultimatum to the three Hebrews, it was their reply that caused the king to stoke the fiery furnace 7 times hotter than normal. What was their reply that caused Nebuchadnezzar’s rage? The reply of loyalty to their Elah (God). You see, the three Hebrews had already made their declaration when they stated that whether their Elah (God) delivered them or not, they would not bow down to a foreign image.
Loyalty to the Potter does not depend upon if the clay is happy or not with the vessel that the Potter is shaping out of it, but pledges it’s devotion to be pliable regardless of the end result in how it will be used.
It is easy to apply the loyalty analogy to a potter and his clay, however, it is a different story when you are faced with a brutally hot furnace – so hot – that it burned up those who threw the three Hebrews into the fire.
Without fire, true loyalty can never be tested.
What happened next describes the true nature and character of the Elohim (God) we serve. This is what sets Him apart as the Only True and Wise One…
Nebuchadnezzar, upon seeing the three Hebrews thrown into a furnace, burning 7 times hotter than it was, all wrapped in multi-layers of clothing in order to extend the pain and agony of being burned alive, saw something he never expected to witness… not three, but four men walking in the midst of the flames.
The fire had no power over them, the hairs of their heads were not singed, nor did their clothes smell of smoke. Why? Because when you proclaim your true devotion and loyalty to Yahuweh, He enters the fiery furnace with you – proving His true devotion and loyalty to you. He has and never will ask you to do anything that He is not and has not already done for you. In sending Messiah Yahushua His Son, He proved His loyalty to those whom He would save because how can He ask His creation to do something that He isn’t willing to do Himself? Messiah was tempted in all manner as we are, yet without sin. There is our supreme example that we can 100% lay our entire devotion upon One Who has proven Himself faithful – never to leave us alone in the blazing flames.
Messiah had just finished making the proclamation that He was the Bread of Life (John 6). He was speaking to His taught ones and had said that there were many that would not believe in Him, and only those whom the Father had given to Him, would come to Him. It was the words of Messiah that caused many who were there to withdraw and not walk with Him anymore.
Yahushua had to radically reduce those who followed Him out of curiosity from those who followed Him out of loyalty.
After the curious followers left, Messiah turned to the Twelve disciples and asked them, “Do you also wish to go away?”
And what Shim’on Kepha (Simon Peter) answered, has always been and always will be, in my opinion, the greatest and most loyal words ever spoken in Scripture – He said, “Master, to whom shall we go? You possess words of everlasting life.”
For whatever reason, those words have impacted my life more than any other. I suppose it is the example of loyalty that touches me the most. Loyalty is a product of security. If we do not feel secure, we will never pledge our loyalty. Only in His fidelity, are we confident enough to hinge our entire life on His ability to do that which He said He would do.
Without His proven track record, we have no grounds or basis to place any loyalty on Him. Think about it. What in your life has enough anchored fidelity that you would be willing to risk your life for?
If Elohim (God) Himself is not your only anchored fidelity, He will not enter the fiery furnace with you. Messiah has already entered the fiery furnace long before we were ever faithful and loyal to Him. While we yet cursed Him and bowed down to other images, He descended into the depths of the fiery flames to prepare the way for those who would follow in His footsteps in His faithfulness to His own Father.
If we are not willing to enter the furnace for Him, based upon His prior redemptive deed – we have already declared our loyalty to the image. The religious fantasy world, through a concocted false loyalty program taught in our Sunday Schools, Children Churches, and Youth Groups, have programmed the younger generations that to be loyal to anyone but Elohim is to mark yourself as a freak, indifferent, and not fitting in – an outcast of society and a beggar on the streets of what psychologist deem, “the normal world”.
When is it NOT ok to proclaim loyalty to Elohim (God) in front of people we love and respect, while at the same time, sacrifice the Lamb of Elohim on the satanic altars of religion and popularity? Just as long as our loyalty to Him doesn’t extend past the four walls of our church social circles, it is ok. However, please don’t let loyalty to the One who saved us from the pit of hell stand in the way of what others might think of us…[sarcasm in italics]
Are you kidding me? To those of you who take this stance, I fear the day when the god you serve is crushed by the “God” I serve! Wake up! Look around! Are you sleeping? I should hope not, because the world is quickly licking up the spilled milk of religious pride, popularity and greed. Who spilled the “milk” you might ask? The One Who sits upon the Throne, the Creator Himself, because He wants to know who the deceptive cats are who go after the false milk of the Word. For those who do, He has already secured a kerosene soaked blanket to wrap you in because when you are finally thrown in THE fiery furnace, there will not be a 4th Man around to comfort you – – nor save you.
For those of you who refuse to partake of the deceptive milk of today’s ‘be your own gods’ religious groups – wishing to declare your loyalty to the Only Wise One Who is set-apart from all of mans inventions and systems of hypocrisy – I leave you with a new rendition of the Pledge of Allegiance which I wrote out this morning.
As you declare these words, do not place your hand over your heart but raise both of your hands and arms in the air, stating your utter submission and loyalty to Him:
I pledge allegiance to Yahuweh
And to His Son, Messiah Yahushua
And by His blood in which I stand
One ransomed, under mercy, wholly set-apart
With loyalty and duty to Him
Pledging my own loyalty to Him, for He first was loyal to me,
Derek
For a printable version of the above Pledge of ‘Loyalty’, please click here
For a more in-depth study of loyalty, from Genesis to Revelation, click here (article #39)
I loved this, especially the pledge of loyalty! I said it! Thank you, blessings to you and your ministry.
Well said from the spirit of one who has put his hand to the plow and will not look back! The way is hard pressed that leads to the narrow gate. Yes, loyalty comes from security in knowing the nature, ways, and thinking of Yahuweh. Knowing Him comes from testing, trials, endurance-training, and more testing. Only by His testing can He know where we stand with Him. And only by putting Him to the test of faithfulness, can we know where He stands with us. His disciplines are not easy, but once disciplined, the security in His faithfulness is eternal.