The Faithful and Unpredictable God Daniel 3

Setting the Scene Forsaken and Stranded in Babylon Daniel 1 Forsaken and Stranded in Babylon Forcibly Taken from Their Families Forced to Take New Names Forced to Learn a New Culture and Language Forced to Serve a Godless King and a Pagan Empire

Some Potential Opinions About God God is not real. They have been foolish and deceived to believe in and serve Him. In the light of the gods of the Babylonians, God is weak and incompetent, no longer able save them or His people. He is just one more god among many gods, and not a very powerful one at that. God, although He is real, has utterly forsaken and turned His back on them. They are on their own. God is faithful, but sometimes unpredictable. He is trying to teach them to trust Him in a new way, so that they can be His witnesses, and He can do new and mighty things among the godless nation and people of Babylon.

The Promised Coming of Judgment through Babylon “‘O house of Israel,’ declares the Lord, ‘I am bringing a distant nation against you—an ancient and enduring nation, a people whose language you do not know, whose speech you do not understand. Their quivers are like an open grave; all of them are mighty warriors. They will devour your harvests and food, devour your sons and daughters; they will devour your flocks and herds, devour your vines and fig trees. With the sword they will destroy the fortified cities in which you trust.’” —Jeremiah 5:15-17 “I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people . . . .” —Habakkuk 1:6

The Ungodly Expectation Daniel 3:4-6

Exodus 20:3-5a You shall have no other Gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God.

What are some of the idols people worship today? What are some of the idols you wrestle with in your own life?

When Things Go from Bad to Worse Daniel 3:8-15 The Fiery Furnace

The Unflinching Declaration Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire: and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.

The Unlikely Exaltation The three men are miraculously saved. God is exalted, honored, and praised. They are caused to prosper in the kingdom.

A Different Kind of Exaltation The Stoning of Stephen Acts 7

How do you see God? Is He perhaps a bit senile and incompetent? Is He distant and uncaring? Is He safe and comfortable, like an old shoe or piece of clothing? Is He a little boring and predictable?

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe “Safe? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe! But he’s good.” “He’s wild, you know. Not like a tame lion.”

We cannot, in the midst of our lives, find the resources we need to make sense of them, to know their place in the ultimate scheme of things. From the midst of our experience, we cannot solve the riddle of that experience. Roger Lundin

Through Gates of Splendor A Story of Tragedy and Triumph Jim Elliot Roger Youdarian Nate Saint Ed McCully Pete Fleming

A killer is forgiven and transformed by the love of Christ. Steve Saint and Mincayani

THE KEY QUESTION: Are you willing to entrust your life to a God who is faithful and good, even if He’s sometimes unpredictable?