Three Men in the Furnace
“Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages,That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up: And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.” (Daniel 3:4-6)
In Daniel Chapter 2, the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar had a troubling dream. He called in the magicians, astrologers, sorcerers, and Chaldeans to tell him the dream and interpret it. They could not tell the dream, so he saw them for the phonies that they were. Yet Daniel and his three friends prayed for God’s mercy, and God gave Daniel the dream and the interpretation. Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar, and the king learned that Israel’s God is God of all knowledge.
The king then had a huge gold statue built and commanded everyone to bow and worship it or be cast into a fiery furnace. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, Daniel’s three friends, refused. The king found out and angrily demanded, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?” (Daniel 3:14)
He gave them another chance to bow and worship, threatening them again with the furnace, and asking, “…and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?” (Daniel 3:15)
They replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. 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.” (Daniel 3:16-18)
They said in so many words that their God could deliver them from the furnace. Yet if He did not, their last statement would be no, they would not serve his gods or worship the image. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter and had the Hebrews tied up and cast in.
The king then looked in the furnace and saw not three, but four men walking loose, unhurt, “…and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” (Daniel 3:25) The Lord Jesus was with the Hebrews. The king told them to come out of the furnace. The fire had had no effect on them.
Impressed, the king decreed “…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.” (Daniel 3:29) Nebuchadnezzar learned that Israel’s God is God of all knowledge and all power. Daniel 4 tells how he learned the hard way that Israel’s God is sovereign, even over him.
Leaders can be tempted to use power wickedly. 1 Timothy 2:1-2 says to pray for “…all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.” We also see that obeying God can cost us, but the Lord can give us grace and promises to be with us in trials: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1) God also uses our obedience to touch people’s hearts, as the Hebrews’ obedience touched the king’s heart.