Chosen In The Furnace

From the Pastor: Dr. M. J. Seymour, Sr.

“Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? And I will not give my glory unto another.” (Is. 48:10-11)

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego are Biblical examples that vividly reveal God’s sovereign choosing out men in the midst of the furnace. The case in point is a temporal reality to teach a spiritual reality. It is a show-and-tell of an eternal truth that it is God that chooses and God that preserves according to His own purpose. There is little doubt that many have faced the fiery furnaces in history, but God did not go into the fire and pull them all out without exception unscathed. Have we the right to put God on trial for not having done so? God worked according to His own purpose.

Twice God says, “For mine own sake.” By this, we are made to understand the necessity of knowing that in life or in death all must and will be done for God’s sake, not for man’s sake. Every action of God labors to bring forth the glory due His name, plus nothing and minus nothing. The Creator will not share His glory!

God said, “I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.” Because all men are in the state of condemnation unto death, dead in trespasses and sin, and incapable of loosing themselves from the bonds of that fiery furnace, God is the only one with power to act on their behalf. When Nebuchadnezzar gazed into the furnace he said, “…the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” (Dan. 3:25) The elect of God’s mercy were not alone in the furnace of affliction; the Son of God went into the midst of their condemnation, unloosed them, preserved them from stench and harm, and brought them out with life. Was it for their sake’s? A thousand times NO! All was for His sake, that His name might not be polluted, or His glory given to any other. If it were possible for man to extract himself out in like perfection unto eternal life, God’s glory would be stolen and quieted.