“….For no other God can save in this way!” Daniel 3:29
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon was amazed at the miraculous intervention of God in saving the lives of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego out of the fiery furnace. After the great deliverance, the King decreed that all people, everywhere should be careful not to blaspheme the God of the Israelites, because “… no other God can save in this way.”
Why did God intervene so dramatically in this occasion? What are the conditions that might make for God to display His greatness through miraculous signs and wonders?
It might not be proper to place the faithfulness of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego first in explaining the reasons why God acted on their behalf. We want to be careful not to advocate a system of quid-pro-quo with God, who acts without the counsel of men, for His ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:9). Nevertheless, it is quite clear that God is acting on the behalf of His servants because they are faithful to His covenant: “You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below” (Exodus 20:3,4 NIV). Throughout the Bible God calls His people to, first and foremost, worship Him alone, and the way in which we do that most honorably is to avoid all kinds of idolatry. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to worship the gods of the Babylonians and did not bow down to the golden statue of King Nebuchadnezzar. They were faithful to God. That we too will be rewarded for our faithfulness is not hidden in Scripture.
The more proper reason why God acts on the behalf of His servants is to keep His covenant promises to His people. This is the righteousness of God. He cannot lie; He is the ultimate good; He does not change; His Word is absolute truth: “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17 NIV). This righteousness of God is what God’s people depend upon. We don’t know when He might display His righteousness, but as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego say, “… even if …” God does not act, we will still know that He is faithful and righteous.
Lastly, God wants to declare His glory and majesty, His Kingship over all creation. Because all the leaders of all of the nations of the world were gathered in that place, this became a great occasion for God to declare His ultimate glory. He alone is King over creation, for He is the one true creator God. And though many may not see that “the heavens declare the glory of God [and that] the skies proclaim the work of his hands,” God will sometimes display His heavenly glory in direct revelation so that He might be rightly worshipped by the whole world (Psalm 86:9). Then they too will come to know that no other God can save the way God can save.
This is also our evangelistic responsibility to the world. We, as Christians, are to show that God is working through us to bring Glory to His Name, so that the world might be rescued by and through His Son Jesus Christ.
