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Daniel 3 (ESV)

¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. ¹⁷ If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. ¹⁸ 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.”

¹⁹ Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated. ²⁰ And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. ²¹ 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. ²² Because the king’s order was urgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. ²³ And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace.

²⁴ Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” ²⁵ He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.”

²⁶ Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. ²⁷ And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them. 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 bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. ²⁹ Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.” ³⁰ Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

 

REFLECTION:

1. After King Nebuchadnezzar listened to Daniel’s dream interpretation, he once praised the God of Daniel as God of gods; unfortunately, now he has made a golden image and asked people to fall down and worship “it” (1, 5). The reason is that in Daniel’s interpretation of the dream, King Nebuchadnezzar knew that he was the golden head of the image, and the coming kingdoms were not as good as him (2:38～39); he became proud and regarded himself as god, set up a golden image to represent himself. He ordered “whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace” (6).
2. Daniel’s three friends: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, repeatedly refused to obey the king’s order and refused to bow to the golden image, so that they angered King Nebuchadnezzar and he wanted them to be immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace (15); the king even ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated (19). The fierce flames caused several soldiers in the army who carried out the order to be burned to death (22). But Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego said to the king: “…our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace…But if not…we will not serve your gods.” (See 17-18) They are in distress and they don’t know whether God will save them or not, but their heart toward God is unswerving to death. Faith is not based on seeing signs and wonders, nor is it after receiving great favors; it is single-mindedly believe in God who loves us.
3. To those watching by the furnace, the fourth person in the furnace is obviously supernatural. We are not sure who this person is. He may be an angel or Christ before incarnation. What is certain is that when these faithful believers were in severe trial, God sent heavenly messengers to accompany and rescue them.
4. The three young men were not burned and the hair of their heads was not singed, but the ropes that bound them were burned out. If God wants us to be free, no one can bind us. The power of God to save Shadrach and his friends and raise Jesus Christ from the dead can also come to us. (See Ephesians 1:18-20) Believe in God under all circumstances. The hope of eternal life allows us to face the temporary trials peacefully; thank God for our destiny is in the hands of God instead of man!

 

PRAYER:

Pray for God to give you firm faith. Even if you face difficulties and sufferings, you still believe that God is the God who loves you. He will surely protect and save you from distress. Even otherwise, you will never serve other gods.