Saved In a Fiery Trial
April 5, 2019
Commentary
Although angry at these three young men for refusing to bow down to the image, the king did not order their immediate destruction, but instead offered them another chance. They steadfastly refused to worship the image and expressed their confidence that God was able to deliver them from the fiery furnace. They further stated that even if He did not deliver them they would not disobey God and His direct command of Exodus 20:4-6. In these days of compromise we need the moral and spiritual courage of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
Enraged the king commanded that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual (v. 19). Then he ordered a group of his strongest men to bind the three Jews and throw them into the furnace (v. 20). Then these men were bound in their cloaks, their tunics, their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace (v. 21). If this fate seems horrible remember it is not to be compared with the second death in the lake of fire (Rev. 20:15). The fire was so hot that it killed the men who carried the three youths to cast them into the furnace (v. 22). They were thrown into the burning fiery furnace (v. 23). It appears that the king had some sort of peephole by which he could view these three men in this huge furnace. When he looked he saw that the only things that had been consumed by the fire was the ropes that bound them. Also he saw a fourth person walking with them in the flames which could have been none other than Christ Himself (vv. 24-25). Convinced by this great miracle he called them forth and decreed that no one could speak anything against the God of these three youths (vv. 26-29. Then he promoted them to higher positions (v. 30).
Application
When a person stands true for God, often his opponents will come to respect him. I want to stand true to the Lord no matter what people may say for or against me.
Daniel 3:19– 30 (NET)
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage, and his disposition changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He gave orders to heat the furnace seven times hotter than it was normally heated. 20 He ordered strong soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and to throw them into the furnace of blazing fire. 21 So those men were tied up while still wearing their cloaks, trousers, turbans, and other clothes, and were thrown into the furnace of blazing fire. 22 But since the king’s command was so urgent, and the furnace was so excessively hot, the men who escorted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were killed by the leaping flames. 23 But those three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell into the furnace of blazing fire while still securely bound.
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was startled and quickly got up. He said to his ministers, “Wasn’t it three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?” They replied to the king, “For sure, O king.” 25 He answered, “But I see four men, untied and walking around in the midst of the fire! No harm has come to them! And the appearance of the fourth is like that of a god!” 26 Then Nebuchadnezzar approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire. He called out, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the most high God, come out! Come here!”
27 Once the satraps, prefects, governors, and ministers of the king had gathered around, they saw that those men were physically unharmed by the fire. The hair of their heads was not singed, nor were their trousers damaged. Not even the smell of fire was to be found on them!
28 Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, “Praised be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent forth his angel and has rescued his servants who trusted in him, ignoring the edict of the king and giving up their bodies rather than serve or pay homage to any god other than their God! 29 I hereby decree that any people, nation, or language group that blasphemes the God of Shadrach, Meshach, or Abednego will be dismembered and his home reduced to rubble! For there exists no other god who can deliver in this way.” 30 Then Nebuchadnezzar promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.
Illustration: Girl Rescued From Drowning by a Non Swimmer
As Ray Blankenship was preparing his breakfast, he gazed out the window, and saw a small girl being swept along in the rain-flooded drainage ditch beside his Andover, Ohio, home. Blankenship knew that farther downstream, the ditch disappeared underneath a road and then emptied into the main culvert. Ray dashed out the door and jumped into the deep, churning water. He surfaced and was able to grab the child’s arm. They tumbled end over end. Within about three feet of the culvert he pulled the girl to safety. He was awarded the Coast Guard’s Silver Lifesaving Medal. The award was amazing considering Blankenship couldn’t swim. (Paul Harvey, Los Angeles Times Syndicate).