Day 222, August 10 Chronological Bible Study Timeline. Map. Go to today’s Bible reading (use your browser arrow to return): Daniel 3; Jeremiah 12:7-17; 19:14- 20:18
The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Many Americans remember the children’s book, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. In an adult version, imagine that your dog bites you, you run out of coffee, your spouse leaves you, you lose your job, the mortgage company is repossessing your house, your car dies, and the big screen television quits all on the same day. As an American, you just might agree that you had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Does God care?
In today’s Bible reading, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego (the three Jewish friends of Daniel), and Jeremiah all experience terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days.
Daniel’s Three Friends
Daniel’s friends are exiled in Babylon. They have recently been promoted from captives to administrators over the province of Babylon, but they have jealous enemies. After hearing the interpretation of Daniel’s dream (Daniel 2), a proud King Nebuchadnezzar builds a statue of gold, ninety feet high and nine feet wide, as a tribute to himself. Now, the enemies of these Jewish administrators see an opportunity to make them look disloyal and get rid of them.
Nebuchadnezzar requires all the people in his kingdom to bow down to this image whenever music is played, but Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are faithful Jews who only worship the one true God. When they are identified as violators of the decree, they are brought before the king and given one last chance to bow to the image or be thrown into a fiery furnace. This would not be a hard choice for most people; they would make the compromise and preserve their lives. However, these Jews answer,
“If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” (Daniel 3:17-18, NIV).
King Nebuchadnezzar is furious! He orders the furnace to be turned up seven times hotter, and then the three men are bound and thrown into the flames. This is definitely a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day! Are they burned up? Amazingly Not! A spiritual being appears and releases them from their bonds. Now the four of them are walking around in the fire. The king describes the fourth man as “looking like a son of the gods.” (Daniel 3:25, NIV), so many theologians believe he is a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ.
God is with them in the fire, and he can be with us in the fire of our trials.
When the men of God come back out, not a hair of their bodies is singed. They do not even smell of smoke. They were miraculously protected. This causes Nebuchadnezzar to praise the God of heaven, for who else could deliver in such a way? This story of Daniel’s three friends has a happy ending, and God is glorified.
We are inspired by the favorable outcome of these men, but it doesn’t often happen this way. Daniel’s three friends recognized that God might not deliver them from the fire. In fact, there have been many martyrs that God did not save from the fires of persecution and death but took them through it. Jesus Christ is an excellent example of this.
God can deliver us, but if he chooses not to, he will help us bear our circumstances for his glory.
Jeremiah
While God is sovereignly working in Babylon, Jeremiah is still in Jerusalem, having some terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days, too. He has been commissioned by God to deliver messages of judgment upon the nation of Judah and its surrounding nations. He is, therefore, extremely unpopular with the people and leaders. By this time, Nebuchadnezzar has already raided Judah twice, carrying away the most prominent people and treasures. Yet, Jeremiah is still telling the remnant that Babylon will destroy them unless they repent. The LORD has been patient with Judah for over 100 years, and the time of God’s long-suffering patience has just about ended.
The people do not like Jeremiah’s words. They deceive themselves into believing the words of false prophets. They declare that Jerusalem will soon be saved and that Babylon will return all the people and possessions which Nebuchadnezzar has taken. When Jeremiah speaks of further judgment and destruction, they want to shut him up—permanently! Time after time, however, God protects him, and they fail.
One day, after completing a mission to preach to the city of Topheth, he returns to teach at the temple in Jerusalem.
When the priest Pashhur son of Immer, the chief officer in the temple of the LORD, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things, he had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put in the stocks at the Upper Gate of Benjamin at the LORD's temple.
The next day, when Pashhur released him from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The LORD's name for you is not Pashhur, but Magor-Missabib. For this is what the LORD says: ‘I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends; with your own eyes you will see them fall by the sword of their enemies. I will hand all Judah over to the king of Babylon, who will carry them away to Babylon or put them to the sword. I will hand over to their enemies all the wealth of this city-- all its products, all its valuables and all the treasures of the kings of Judah. They will take it away as plunder and carry it off to Babylon. And you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house will go into exile to Babylon. There you will die and be buried, you and all your friends to whom you have prophesied lies’” (Jeremiah 20:1-6, NIV).
Jeremiah is tired of being harassed and persecuted for being God’s messenger. He tries not to speak the words of the LORD, but God’s words are like fire within him—he cannot remain silent. He must do God’s bidding, even if he suffers hardships and shame.
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day was written by Judith Viorst and published in 1972
Discussion
What is one thing we might learn and apply from the story of Daniel’s three friends and the fiery furnace?
If God doesn’t deliver us from our fiery trials, has he failed? If yes, please explain. If not, why not?
Focus Verse
1Peter 5:7 (NIV) “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
Write a private prayer response to today’s Bible study:
Please send your comments to mtbiblestudies@gmail.com
Looking Ahead: In our Next Lesson we read the book of Joel and Learn From Natural Disasters.
Back to top of page
Return to Chronological Bible Studies main page
Go to Scriptures main page
Go to Topics main page
Go to Home pagepage last re-edited 8-8-2020
COPYRIGHT @ 2019, MASTER'S TOUCH BIBLE STUDIES