What is with the Name?!

This is a question that I get quite often.  Why Abednego's? What is behind the name? Why did you choose Abednego and not Shadrach or Meshach? 

With this blog, I will address those questions and show the heart behind the decision to name my coffee business Abednego's Coffee House. 

The History:

Let me start by quoting the bible verse that appears on my logo, Daniel 3:28: 

"Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, 'Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king's command, and yielded up their own bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God.'"

This verse is a follow up to three earlier verses (16-18) in the chapter, which are as follows:

"Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, 'O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.  If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver is from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.'"

The Follow-Up:

I just love the boldness of these three servants of the Lord.  You can see from the verses, the fearless longing they have to serve God and remain true to His word.  Despite the threat of death, they remained steadfast in their love for God; and that is an example worth sharing.  In face of an angry king, who had given them a second chance to bow down and worship him and his god and idols, they resisted.  And when faced with certain death, we see them still clinging to the Lord.

"BUT IF NOT"... These three words were a slap in the face to the self-righteous king.  They pointed out two things:

One, we see your threat and don't care because our God is able.  Two, even if He choses not to deliver us from this trial, we are making it known that we'll never bow to you. 

I cannot fathom the boldness this must have taken.  I often think to myself, would I have done the same? I think there is an important question for all of us to ask ourselves--Do we love and care for Christ enough that when faced with certain death, we still stand for Him?

The Outcome: 

But we don't see the story end there, no.  We are told in the remainder of Daniel chapter three that God delivers them from the wicked hand of King Nebuchadnezzar and that the king is taken by surprise when he sees four people walking among the flames.  If you can recall, only Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into the furnace.  Who was this fourth person? We know from verse 25 that Nebuchadnezzar stated the appearance of the fourth was "like a son of the gods".  This was none other than Jesus.  

Jesus is there, always!  He is there in the midst of our most heated trials and walks in the fire with us.  

Isaiah 43:2 - "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you."

Deuteronomy 4:20 - But the Lord has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be a people of his own inheritance, as you are this day."

In Closing:

This should give us hope! That, is why I decided to use this story to represent my business.  I pray that each day I find myself willing to be thrown into the flames for my God--not that I want to, but that I am willing! 

Now, why did I not use Shadrach or Meshach in the name? Simply put, I thought "Abednego's Coffee House" flowed the best and stood out the most! =] 

Make it a great week!

Serving HIM,