On Sunday afternoon, Rev. Peter Richmond continued his series on the book of Daniel by retelling the history of three wise Jews who refused to bow down to a golden idol forged by the king of the Babylonian empire and miraculously survived the consequences. "Many governments and great religious systems are seeking to consolidate their power by imposing uniform thought patterns on individuals under them," observed the Pastor. "Nebuchadnezzar was quite reasonable. Everyone could keep their national religion, but all must bow down to the statue he had erected. His purpose was to establish a unified government and a unified religion. It was a way of unifying his empire." But three men defied the edict: Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah are better known by their Babylonian names, Shadrach, Mishach and Abednego. The king was angry and threatened to throw them into the smelting furnace if they did not bow down, but he was fair enough to give them another chance to obey. Peter continued: "The three men could have compromised with the king and defended their disobedience by arguing, 'Everybody else is doing it,' or 'Our office demands that we obey,' or even 'We'll bow our knees, but we won't bow our hearts. We made a stand, now let's give in, we have made our point.' "But true faith doesn't look for loopholes; it simply obeys God and knows that He will do what is best." Then men said, "If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." They were bound and thrown into the furnace, but God was seen with them in the fire, and only their bonds were destroyed by the flames. It convinced Nebuchadnezzar and was a demonstration of God's sovereignty in front of officials from all the nations under Babylon - effectively the whole world at that time. Songs and hymns included 'Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah', 'A Wonderful Saviour', 'There is a Redeemer' and 'We have Sung our Songs of Victory.' There were also prayers and readings. The service ended with refreshments. Carringtons Restaurant, below the Atlantic Hotel in Tenby, is the venue for Hesed services, which take place every Sunday afternoon at 4.15. Telephone 01646 681805 for further details.
