You don't have to be a Bible scholar to know about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. The Bible's account of the Hebrew captives who refused to bow down to their new king's idol is a Sunday School classic.
Think about it...
Three young men, hauled away to a foreign country famous for it's ruthlessness. They seem to be doing really well, excelling in the Babylonian system (see Daniel chapter 1).while still being able to maintain their integrity as Jews.
One day King Nebuchadnezzar (who was so full of himself that he had to be a real treat to be around), builds a 90-foot high statue of himself and declares that when he strikes up the band everyone is supposed to bow down to this new idol. And of course our three heroes won't bow.
Now, it never fails that integrity and excellence will tick someone off. Trust me, I've seen time and again how jealousy will grow until folks start working behind the scenes looking for an excuse to knock down the high-performers. You may have experienced this yourself.
So the jealous folks can't wait to go rat out Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to King Nebuchadnezzar. (Isn't copy/paste a wonderful thing?) And, (as often happens in these situations) even before checking the facts the king just loses it--his attitude toward our three immediately turns from favor to fury.
In that frame of mind, he summons them.
And that's a good place for a break. I'll pick this up later.
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