Abednego

 

    Abednego is not a huge character in the Bible, but he is one that people know if they grew up in church.  He was a close friend to Daniel.  This group stood for faith.  However, Abednego was his own person too.  He had his own relationship with God.

    When King Nebuchadnezzar ruled Babylon he conquered Jerusalem.  It was a precarious time in history for the Jewish nation.  The king like beautiful things, so he took the best of the Israelite youthful men to serve in his palace.  After all having servants of conquered nations that are eye candy makes him look good.

    Nebuchadnezzar was a smart man.  He knew where to invest and where to discard unneeded things.  He took the time to help the young men become the best looking men and provided them with an education too.  He invested in them for three years before they would be seen by the royal society.  

    Abednego was one of these good looking and smart young Israelite men.  His birthname Azariah was Hebrew.  It means helped by God.  That is true for his story.  He was wholesome and held gratitude for what he had.  

    When it came to the Babylonian diet.  It was food that would taste good and very appealing, but it defiled the faith of the Hebrews.  He knew his heritage.  He knew his faith (some would call religion).  He could not defile himself and neither could his four friends.  

    They were smart enough to bite the hand that fed them, so they used reason.  They turned their diet into a test.  Instead of getting weaker, malnourished, or fatigues, they thrived.  They looked better than their peers.  They came across smarter by holding wisdom and understanding.  They were blessed by God for standing for their faith.

    When the king began to have disturbing dreams no one could help him.  Finally it came about where Daniel, with the help of the wisdom of Abednego and friends, that he could interpret the dreams and ease the kings mind.  Together the faithful friends prayed and when God answered they praised Him.  

    The gift of wisdom that the group got from God put them in the spotlight with the king.  They were treated extremely well.  They became administrators over the provinces of Babylon.  They went from pretty little slaves to people of power.  God put them there where they could make changes as things got complicated for God's people.

    The king made a huge idol of himself declaring himself a god.  This is not something the Jewish nation could ever get behind.  They could not worship a man when they were committed to worship only God.  However, if they refused then they would be killed.  Not an easy decision: live or faith?  However, the right answer is easy.  Always chose faith and trust God to handle the hard situation.

    The young men were now notable leaders.  Abednego was one that would not sacrifice his faith to appease a king that he may had liked or even admired.  He went from being a leader to ending up in a furnace.  However, God was with the group.  He protected them and they walked out of the inferno without even smelling like smoke.  

    That is what faith can do.  It doesn't just save your life, but it preserves it.  If you loose something, then you just have to trust that God will give you something better or something that you need more.  God didn't stop there with the group.  He also had them promoted and they were respected by the entire Babylonian and Jewish nations.

Daniel 1-3