Daniel 3:13-27 MSG 13-15 Furious, King Nebuchadnezzar ordered Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to be brought in. When the men were brought in, Nebuchadnezzar asked, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you don’t respect my gods and refuse to worship the gold statue that I have set up? I’m giving you a second chance—but from now on, when the big band strikes up you must go to your knees and worship the statue I have made. If you don’t worship it, you will be pitched into a roaring furnace, no questions asked. Who is the god who can rescue you from my power?”
16-18 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered King Nebuchadnezzar, “Your threat means nothing to us. If you throw us in the fire, the God we serve can rescue us from your roaring furnace and anything else you might cook up, O king. But even if he doesn’t, it wouldn’t make a bit of difference, O king. We still wouldn’t serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up.”
19-23 Nebuchadnezzar, his face purple with anger, cut off Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace fired up seven times hotter than usual. He ordered some strong men from the army to tie them up, hands and feet, and throw them into the roaring furnace. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, bound hand and foot, fully dressed from head to toe, were pitched into the roaring fire. Because the king was in such a hurry and the furnace was so hot, flames from the furnace killed the men who carried Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to it, while the fire raged around Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
24 Suddenly King Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in alarm and said, “Didn’t we throw three men, bound hand and foot, into the fire?” “That’s right, O king,” they said. 25 “But look!” he said. “I see four men, walking around freely in the fire, completely unharmed! And the fourth man looks like a son of the gods!” 26 Nebuchadnezzar went to the door of the roaring furnace and called in, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the High God, come out here!”
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego walked out of the fire.
27 All the important people, the government leaders and king’s counselors, gathered around to examine them and discovered that the fire hadn’t so much as touched the three men—not a hair singed, not a scorch mark on their clothes, not even the smell of fire on them!
Observation
I have been working in Children’s Ministry for almost 40 years. I believe this is my favorite Bible story. Here were men who stuck to their faith in the midst of a foreign culture while facing dire consequences. They were not moved from their faith by the threatened deadly consequences and were willing to trust God and His purposes for them whether they lived or died. They did not know which it would be. Then, in the midst of the fire, Jesus shows up. The guards that threw them in burned up, but they came out without the smell of smoke on them. Please note that the only thing that burned up on these boys was what bound them.
I love this story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and the fiery furnace because it is so relevant today. Often we go through the fire of dire circumstances in our lives to emerge encouraged and strengthened because we looked for and found Jesus in there with us. A wise person told me many years ago that God is more interested in our character than our comfort. Our opportunities to strengthen our faith often put us either under pressure and attack or into impossible situations. I am convinced that. If we let Him, our God will take advantage of our challenging places to persuade us to seek and depend on Him so He can refine our faith and shape us for His purposes and to fulfill our part in His plan. If we will look for Jesus in the fire storms of our lives, we will also come out unbound and fragrant with His aroma.
Impact On Me
Lord, I believe; Help my unbelief. I want this kind of unwavering faith. I want to serve and share Jesus regardless of the cost to me. I have experienced being bound and thrown into the fiery furnace of life. Then, at the age of 32, I embraced Jesus as my Lord and Savior. The difference in my life was striking. All of a sudden, I had a Comforter Who knows the pain, sorrow, hopelessness that left scars on my soul. I know a Healer Who rubs the balm of Gilead on those scars with His own hands. I have a Brother and Friend Who will never leave me and will go with me through even the valley of Death.
So, I try to remember that no matter where life takes me, I never go alone. Jesus is with me and for me – just as He is for all who count Him as Savior. He understands our suffering, but He also modeled for us how to trust God to use our sufferings to change us and the world around us. I don’t have to understand why I am where I am experiencing what I am; I just need to listen and obey, trusting that the cost to me will be well worth the benefit to Him.
Prayer
Father God, Holy One, Lover of my soul, Redeemer, I worship You. Lord, I pray that my perspective, my thinking, my actions will always be grounded in strong and enduring faith in You, Your plan, Your goodness, Your heart to see none perish, Your love for me. I pray that I will not so much need to understand and approve Your plans but, rather, hear and obey regardless of the cost to me. May I be as uncompromising in my faithful commitment to love, honor and serve You as were Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. May the things that bind and hinder me burn up in the process of trusting You through all circumstances. I pray this all in the name of Jesus. Make it so.