Howard W Hunter Chapter 19 - Our Commitment to God
15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
What do you think Joshua is saying in this scripture?
What are some ways Joshua might phrase this verse if speaking it those in our day or to you specifically?
Think about how would you respond?
This lesson is on our commitment to God. What is our level of commitment? Do I say, “Me and my house will serve the Lord “? I have to admit that if I take a hard look at myself I sometimes say, me and my house will serve the Lord... unless there is a movie we really want to see or I will serve the Lord unless traffic gets in my way while I am driving.
Do I obey all of God's commandments or all of them, except that one that really inconveniences me?
Page 244, First Two Full Paragraph
“As I think of the blessings God has given us and the many beauties of the gospel of Jesus Christ, I am aware that along the way we are asked to make certain contributions in return, contributions of time or of money or of other resources. These are all valued and all necessary, but they do not constitute our full offering to God.
Ultimately, what our Father in Heaven will require of us is more than a contribution; it is a total commitment, a complete devotion, all that we are and all that we can be.
“Please understand that I do not speak only of a commitment to the Church and its activities, although that always needs to be
strengthened. No, I speak more specifically of a commitment that is shown in our individual behavior, in our personal integrity, in our loyalty to home and family and community, as well as to the Church. . . .”
Why does a father require things of his children at times and not just always give them everything freely? Does a good earthly father expect certain commitment from their children? How so?
Why does Heavenly Father expect commitment and work from us?
Continuing on page 244
“Approximately 586 years before Christ, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, marched against the city of Jerusalem and conquered it. So impressed was he with the qualities and learning of the children of Israel that he had several of them brought to the king’s court [in Babylon].
“Trouble came to the Israelites the day Nebuchadnezzar made a golden idol and commanded all in the province of Babylon to worship it, a command that the three young Israelites—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego—quietly refused. The king was full of ‘rage and fury’ and demanded that they be brought before him. (Dan. 3:13.) He informed them that if they did not fall down before the golden image at the appointed moment, ‘ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.’ Then with some self-satisfaction he asked, ‘And who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?’ [Dan. 3:15.]
“The three young men responded courteously but without hesitation:
“‘If it be so,’ they said, ‘[that you threaten us with death,] our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.
“‘But if not [if for whatever reason he chooses not to save us from the fire], be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.’ [Dan. 3:17–18.]
“Of course Nebuchadnezzar was more furious than ever and ordered that one of the furnaces be heated to seven times its normal temperature. Then he commanded that these three valiant young men be thrown fully clothed into the midst of the fire. Indeed, the king was so insistent and the flame so hot that the soldiers who carried Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego fell dead from the heat of the furnace as they cast their captives forward.
“Then transpired one of those great miracles to which the faithful are entitled according to the will of God. These three young men stood and walked about calmly in the midst of the furnace and were not burned. Indeed, when they were later called out of the furnace by the astonished king himself, their clothing was untarnished, their skin was free from any burn, not a hair of their head was singed. Not even the smell of smoke had come upon these courageous, committed young men.
“‘Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego,’ said the king, ‘who hath … delivered his servants that trusted in him, … [who] yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.
“‘… Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, in the province of Babylon.’ (Dan. 3:28, 30.)”
We’ve probably heard this story quite a few times. Have we ever thought about what our actions would have been at that time? We live in America and as bad as things get here we don’t really know what it is like to live under a king, especially a dictator king like Nebuchadnezzar.
Would we have just bowed down to stay out of the kings way, knowing he was a tyrant and never had the confrontation in the first place? We wouldn’t really be worshipping it. We would just be following the law. Every choice has consequences. Sometimes good consequences and sometimes bad. What could have been possible consequences of them just going through the motions and doing what the king had said?
Perhaps we would’ve not bowed down, but then what would we do if we were arrested, possibly very forcefully arrested, and brought before an angry man, who had power to do whatever he wanted to do us. He could have tortured us in many different ways or this fiery furnace thing. Would we be scared? Would we be intimidated?
What are we really talking about here? Was this just being told to bow and then saying no thank you and then being asked to come see the king at 3:30 on Thursday so the king can hear your case?
President Benson once said, “When obedience ceases to be an irritant and becomes our quest, in that moment God will endow us with power.” (In Donald L. Staheli, “Obedience—Life’s Great Challenge,”Ensign, May l998, 82). The king and the fiery furnace were potentially a bit more than an irritant. How much less than that would it take for me to waiver in my commitment?
Elder Robert D Hales in last conference asked, “If we love the Savior more, will we suffer less?”. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego indeed did, in the end, suffer less.
Perhaps this is a good challenge to close the lesson with. Do an experiment on the words contained in Daniel and the words of Elder Hales. See if we increase our love for and commitment to the Savior just a little bit, if he doesn’t some of the things that are troubling us.
