Shadrack and his difficulty:
Dan 3:12
Sir, you appointed three men to high positions in Babylon Province, but they
have disobeyed you. Those Jews, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, refuse to
worship your gods and the statue you have set up."
Dan 3:13
King Nebuchadnezzar was furious. So he sent for the three young men and
said, Dan 3:14
"I hear that you refuse to worship my gods and the gold statue I have set
up. Dan 3:15
Now I am going to give you one more chance. If you bow down and worship the
statue when you hear the music, everything will be all right. But if you
don't, you will at once be thrown into a flaming furnace. No god can save
you from me." Dan
3:16 The three men replied, "Your
Majesty, we don't need to defend ourselves.
Dan 3:17
The God we worship can save us from you and your flaming furnace.
Dan 3:18 But even if he doesn't,
we still won't worship your gods and the gold statue you have set up."
Dan 3:19
Nebuchadnezzar's face twisted with anger at the three men. And he ordered
the furnace to be heated seven times hotter than usual.
Dan 3:20
Next, he commanded some of his strongest soldiers to tie up the men and
throw them into the flaming furnace.
Dan 3:21
The king wanted it done at that very moment. So the soldiers tied up
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and threw them into the flaming furnace with
all of their clothes still on, including their turbans. The fire was so hot
that flames leaped out and killed the soldiers.
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David, rightfully a King….and his
difficulty.
1Sa 30:5
David's two wives, Ahinoam and Abigail, had been taken captive with everyone
else. 1Sa 30:6
David was desperate. His soldiers were so upset over what had happened to
their sons and daughters that they were thinking about stoning David to
death. But he felt the LORD God giving him strength,
1Sa 30:7
and he said to the priest, "Abiathar, let's ask God what to do." Abiathar
brought everything he needed to get answers from God, and he went over to
David. 1Sa 30:8
Then David asked the LORD, "Should I go after the people who raided our
town? Can I catch up with them?" "Go after them," the LORD answered. "You
will catch up with them, and you will rescue your families."
1Sa 30:9
David led his six hundred men to Besor Gorge, but two hundred of them were
too tired to go across. So they stayed behind, while David and the other
four hundred men crossed the gorge.
(Back)
Daniel, and his difficulty…..
Dan 6:9
So King Darius made the law and had it written down.
Dan 6:10 Daniel heard about the
law, but when he returned home, he went upstairs and prayed in front of the
window that faced Jerusalem. In the same way that he had always done, he
knelt down in prayer three times a day, giving thanks to God.
Dan 6:11
The men who had spoken to the king watched Daniel and saw him praying to his
God for help. Dan
6:12 They went back to the king
and said, "Didn't you make a law that forbids anyone to pray to any god or
human except you for the next thirty days? And doesn't the law say that
everyone who disobeys it will be thrown into a pit of lions?" "Yes, that's
the law I made," the king agreed. "And just like all written laws of the
Medes and Persians, it cannot be changed."
Dan 6:13
The men then told the king, "That Jew named Daniel, who was brought here as
a captive, refuses to obey you or the law that you ordered to be written.
And he still prays to his god three times a day."
Dan 6:14
The king was really upset to hear about this, and for the rest of the day he
tried to think how he could save Daniel.
Dan 6:15
At sunset the men returned and said, "Your Majesty, remember that no written
law of the Medes and Persians can be changed, not even by the king."
Dan 6:16 So Darius ordered Daniel
to be brought out and thrown into a pit of lions. But he said to Daniel,
"You have been faithful to your God, and I pray that he will rescue you."
Dan 6:17 A stone was rolled over
the pit, and it was sealed. Then Darius and his officials stamped the seal
to show that no one should let Daniel out.
Dan 6:18
All night long the king could not sleep. He did not eat anything, and he
would not let anyone come in to entertain him.
Dan 6:19 At daybreak the king got
up and ran to the pit.
Dan 6:20
He was anxious and shouted, "Daniel, you were faithful and served your God.
Was he able to save you from the lions?"
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Joseph, and his difficulty…..
Gen 39:14
she called in her servants and said, "Look! This Hebrew has come just to
make fools of us. He tried to rape me, but I screamed for help.
Gen 39:15
And when he heard me scream, he ran out of the house, leaving his coat with
me." Gen 39:16
Potiphar's wife kept Joseph's coat until her husband came home.
Gen 39:17 Then she said, "That
Hebrew slave of yours tried to rape me!
Gen 39:18 But when I screamed for
help, he left his coat and ran out of the house."
Gen 39:19 Potiphar became very
angry Gen 39:20
and threw Joseph in the same prison where the king's prisoners were kept.
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