The Book of Daniel, The Lord Delivers, Daniel 3:17-30 - Lesson 15

The scene is the plain of Dura in Babylon.

The three Hebrew children had refused to obey the command to bow down to the great image that Nebuchadnezzar had erected as the centerpiece of a new religion designed to unify his vast nation.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had taken no time, consulted no advisors, conducted no polls, nor did they seek out the political correctness police and therefore were not careful to give an answer which would enhance their physical well-being.

No words were parsed, no double meanings given, no wiggle room was sought with which to avoid the fiery furnace.

Daniel 3:17-18,  If it be so, 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, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

They knew it was wise indeed to obey God rather than man and when the choice was forced they knew not to fear the one who could only kill the body for they chose to fear the one who had power to cast into hell.

Needless to say Nebuchadnezzar’s reaction was to their rebellion was not a surprise.

He had spoken, and what he ordered came about.

There was never an order from Nebuchadnezzar’s mouth that was not carried out.

Daniel 3:19-23,  Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated.  And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.  Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.  Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

Heat up the furnace seven times more than it was wont to be heated!

The order goes out and instant obedience follows.

His word will not be ignored by the furnace tenders who add fuel to the fire lest they be the fuel for the fire.

No doubt the multitudes were shaking in their places as they watched this play unfold.

It seems that the furnace was such that offenders could be cast into the fire by means of an opening at the top.

The king apparently was able to see into the furnace from a side door that was used to fuel the fire.

The furnace tenders were satisfied that the temperature had reached the multiplier of seven and the signal was relayed to the king.

The king’s command, "Cast them into the burning fiery furnace" resounded over the plain of Dura.

No doubt that plain was chosen for its acoustic qualities so that the king’s music and his orders to bow would be easily heard.

The three Hebrews, bound with ropes, still clothed in their palace dress, were carried to the furnace and then thrown in.

We do not have to wonder if the fire was indeed seven times hotter for we are told that those given to cast the three into the furnace were consumed by the flames in the doing of the task.

All who witnessed this had no hope for the three Hebrews but where God is, there is always hope.

The odds against them were a million to one so there were no bets on the plain of Dura for all knew in their hearts that the Hebrews were doomed.

For no one could survive the normal heat of the furnace let alone one which had been heated seven times hotter.

They were cast into the top of the furnace, bound hand and foot with the intention of being seen no more thus allowing the king’s worship service to continue unhindered and with much greater devotion on the part of the worshippers, I’m sure.

Daniel 3:24-27,  Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.  He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.  Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire.  And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.

So Nebuchadnezzar’s plan for this rebellion to be simply a momentary interruption did not come about.

We know that things do not always go as planned for God had another plan and that plan was deliverance of the body of each of his faithful children.

He chose to save the three and in the saving reveal himself to the king and all those who came to worship the great idol.

God will not have any gods before him and he could have chosen to destroy the great image with a stone made without hands but instead chose to reveal himself through the salvation of these three faithful Hebrews.

Now the mighty men had been slain by the fire which tells us of the intensity of the fiery furnace.

Nebuchadnezzar, expecting to see a burning Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, looked intently into the furnace and was amazed to see them walking in the midst of the furnace.

They had been bound hand and foot but those bindings were no longer holding them for the flames had consumed the ropes but had done nothing to harm the three.

But not only was this view astounding to the king another person was seen with the three, walking with them in the fire.

The fourth was of an appearance of royalty, even with a god like appearance.

He thought his eyes were deceiving him and asked his high officials for confirmation of what he saw and yes, they saw the same thing.

The fourth man in the fire was not like the other three but stood apart as though he were the Son of God.

Because of this astounding event Nebuchadnezzar was drawn as close to the door of the furnace as he could safely go and he called the men by name telling them to come out.

I find it interesting that the men stayed in the furnace until ordered to come out by the king.

They were fellowshipping with their savior in the furnace and they had no desire to end this sweet time together and also they yielded to the authority of the king.

Nebuchadnezzar, in calling the fourth man the Son of God called the three not only by their names but as "servants of the Most High God."

This was the same "Most High God" that had visited him with his dream of chapter two.

There was a drawing by God taking place in the life of this pagan king and as we go though the book of Daniel we will see its conclusion in the salvation of Nebuchadnezzar.

He, along with the vast crowds assembled had witnessed the hand of God in the behalf of his faithful children who had chosen to obey God rather than man.

What was burned on these men?

They were still clothed, no hair had even been singed, the smell of smoke was absent, they were completely delivered from that which Nebuchadnezzar had intended for destruction.

Only the bindings were burned from their bodies.

The ropes that man placed upon them were removed by the fire designed to consume them.

They were freed by that which was designed to destroy.

That is so typical of our God.

God takes the wrath of men and uses it for his praise.

When God saves He always removes the bindings of men over man.

Daniel 3:28-30,  Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.  Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort.  Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the province of Babylon.

The intention of the king as given in the beginning passages of Chapter three had been to press all of his subjects into the worship of the great image that was the centerpiece of his new religion.

In doing this the God of the Jew was to be subordinated along with all other gods.

This of course is no problem to those who believe in many gods for all gods of this sort fit into ecumenicalism.

But one thing about those who worship the God of the Jew is that they do not fit into ecumenicalism for there is no other God before them.

This was the king’s intention however God allowed none of it to come to pass for He had three men who refused to compromise.

The vast crowds did not know, that God and you make a majority in any community.

By the refusal of the three Hebrews to bow, the king’s intention of turning the nation to worship his idol failed.

The king’s intention to place all worship, including the worship of the God of the Jews, beneath the worship of the idol also failed.

All the efforts of Nebuchadnezzar to thwart the plan of God and to make his kingdom eternal in spite of the dream of God was to no avail and the king fell on his knees before the very God he had wished to place among the false gods.

He had asked the three in a condescending way, who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?

And interestedly enough we find here that it is the king himself who answers his own question.

Daniel 3:28,  Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies,

Even this pagan king recognized the need to present their bodies to their God as Paul instructs those of Christ’ church to do in Romans 12:1.

Nebuchadnezzar blessed the God of these three Hebrews, as the God who had delivered them from death.

He praised them for their faithfulness in obeying their God, even unto death.

He also recognized their exclusive worship of their God that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.

And he did not stop there for the king’s decree declares punishment for any who interfere with the free worship of the Jews.

Nebuchadnezzar tried to interfere with the religion of the Jews.

Their God had intervened and delivered them from the king’s wrath.

Now the king seeks to insure this will not happen again.

Anyone, the king declared, who so much as speaks against the worship of these men will be torn limb from limb and their property confiscated.

All this because no other God had shown himself able to deliver as their God had done.

Finally, the king promotes Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, causing them to prosper in their administration of the province of Babylon.

It is interesting to note that what Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did resulted in great reward on earth in the kingdom of Babylon.

But had God chose to not deliver them from the fiery furnace and take them to heaven how much greater will their reward be for their faithful and courageous service to God!

God’s children doing right is always right to do even in the face of death.