“He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, loose and unharmed…” Daniel 3:25a
Have you ever been bound? I mean really physically tied up where you couldn’t move at all? I grew up with two older brothers so of course my answer to this question is a resounding yes. And when you are totally restricted in your movement it is quite a disconcerting feeling indeed. The freedom of movement that you once enjoyed, even took for granted, is suddenly absent from your normal equation. As you struggle with effort that you expect to produce movement, nothing happens. I see this often as I practice my signature wrestling move, the straight jacket, on any youngster that challenges me to a match. Which surprisingly happens a lot, even here in Mexico. (Before you call Mexican C.P.S. I promise you it’s safe) In my signature move I reproduce the position of a straight jacket, wrapping each arm around the back of the body opposite its socket. And if you’ve ever been in a straight jacket (I hope your answer is no) you will recognize that with this simple move both arms are rendered useless. Without being able to flex the shoulder muscles and joints, the arm muscles cannot extend. And it’s always interesting to watch the youngsters react to the experience of being restricted. What a surprise it is to feel your normal freedom of movement taken away. Yet as we wax on about physical movement, what about spiritual movement? And what happens when the soul is bound up in the relentless bondage of sin?
Daniel chapter 3 is one of the most famous in the Bible. In it we see king Nebuchadnezzar erect a statue to himself and then demand everyone in the kingdom worship it. Yet as the decree is enforced three men refuse to bow down and worship the false idol, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These three Israelite youths were associated with Daniel and all four were forcefully taken from Judah when Babylon conquered it a few years earlier. This was a common tactic when conquering neighboring kingdoms, that is, taking the youngest and brightest superstars and indoctrinating them into the new kingdom, thereby making the new kingdom stronger and the defeated one weaker. As a result of their defiance to the king in refusing to worship his new statue, the three are prepared to be thrown into a terrible fiery furnace, heated to seven times its normal temperature. But as if the fire wouldn’t do its job quickly enough, we see this done before they are tossed in:
“and he (king Nebuchadnezzar) commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.” Daniel 3:20b
We see the three righteous men first firmly bound before being tossed into the fires of their punishment. But if you know the story, you know one of the more triumphant moments in the Bible. The fire is so hot that the soldiers tasked to toss them in all die from the escaping heat. Yet instead of instant fiery death, the three men can be seen walking around within the furnace. Yet it’s how they are seen walking that strikes me. They are seen free. Loose. Unbound. Without restriction or fetters. And it all has to do with who they are walking with…the Son of God.
Many today see their enemies in this world incorrectly. We see enemies in people that don’t like us or in people that want to do us harm either physically or by damaging our reputation. We see our enemies as people that don’t agree with the same things we do, seeing anyone that debates a closely held personal value or belief as an enemy. We even claim the supposed enemies of the world as our own, listening so closely to the news and to social media that we dislike people we are told to dislike, even though we have no dog in the hunt. But folks, hear me carefully on this, the number one problem in this world today is not the physical enemies we see and fight each day…but one much more elusive…our personal sin. You see, if you boil down all the issues in the world today you can come to a very simple conclusion, the biggest problem our world faces today is personal sin. And friends, there is only one solution to personal sin…the Lord Jesus Christ.
If you are walking today tightly bound in your sin, feeling your spirit so restricted that you feel the only option is to submit to that sin, you are not alone. Every single person redeemed by Jesus Christ walked that shackled walk. The evil of sin and how it slowly and carefully wraps it chains around you, happens before you are even fully aware. That first drink of alcohol can result in restrictive ropes that soon will bind you in the prison of addiction. That first click onto a porn website can start a link of chain that will not relent until you are firmly enslaved and freedom no longer exists. Even a glance or two too long at the opposite sex can start a process of sinful adultery that will not stop until you are bound tightly, no escape seeming to loom. But folks, the same Jesus that walked into that fiery furnace and loosed those ropes is the same Savior that can loosen yours.
Today refuse to live in bondage to sin any longer. Realize that after your countless struggles to free yourself, you cannot loosen the bonds of your own sin. But Jesus Christ can. Call out to Him, admit that your sin separates you from Him and the only way to see those ropes fall carelessly to the ground is through His work upon the cross. Ask Jesus to free you in the fire and He is faithful to answer all that call upon His name. Jesus saves sinners, it’s what He came to do.
May your bondage to sin today be no more…through the powerful name of Jesus Christ.
Dios te bendiga ~ Dan
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