The Fiery Furnace It has been approximately 2600 years since the events we are going to study today took place. Even after all of this time these three men are known for the courage they displayed in front of the most powerful man on the face of the earth. They serve as a great example to us today of courage in the service of God even in the face of death. 1
Da 3:1 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its width six cubits. He set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. 2 And King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to gather together the satraps, the administrators, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. This had to be a very impressive looking idol. It stood 90 high and 9 wide and made of Gold. This was a testament to the wealth of Nebuchadnezzar and also to his arrogance. All of the important people of Babylon had been called to show up at the dedication of this great image. 2
3 So the satraps, the administrators, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered together for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 4 Then a herald cried aloud: "To you it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, 5 "that at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, you shall fall down and worship the gold image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up; 6 "and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace." 3
7 So at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the horn, flute, harp, and lyre, in symphony with all kinds of music, all the people, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the gold image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 8 Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and accused the Jews. 9 They spoke and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, "O king, live forever! 10 "You, O king, have made a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the gold image; 11 "and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. 4
12 "There are certain Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego; these men, O king, have not paid due regard to you. They do not serve your gods or worship the gold image which you have set up." 13 Then Nebuchadnezzar, in rage and fury, gave the command to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed- Nego. So they brought these men before the king. Human nature has not changed. Ever since the beginning of time those who have obeyed God, have been hated by some of those who refuse to obey him. Cain hated Abel, Joseph s brothers hated him, David was hated by Saul Christ was hated by the leaders of the Jews, the Apostles and many of the early Christians were hated and killed. 5
Jesus warned his Apostle this would happen. John 15:18 "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 "If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 "Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. Daniel 3:14 Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up? 15 "Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?" 6
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 "If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. 18 "But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up." What an answer! We have no need to answer thee in this matter In other words Nebuchadnezzar in matters like this we have a higher power than you that we have to answer to! And, to answer the question about what god will deliver us from your hands, Our God! He can deliver us. But even if he doesn t we won t bow down and worship your image! 7
This took tremendous courage on the part of these men. They did not know whether God was going to deliver them but that did not matter. They knew what God wanted and that was what they were going to do. This is exactly the attitude we must have today. No matter what man wants we are going to do what God wants of us. Mankind thru government has set up all kinds of laws and regulations for us to obey with the approval of God. Laws that vary from not to litter, to who can do certain kinds of work, to how much we pay in taxes. And we have a duty to obey all of these laws! Not just the ones that we like! The Apostle Peter explains this to us in words hard to misunderstand 8
1Pe 2:13 Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme, 14 or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men There is only one exception to us not obeying the laws of the land and that is when they violate the Laws of God. Ac 5:27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them, 28 saying, "Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man's blood on us!" 29 But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: "We ought to obey God rather than men. 9
This is exactly the situation these three men were in, Obey God or man. They chose God. Da 3:19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. 20 And he commanded certain mighty men of valor who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed- Nego, and cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21 Then these men were bound in their coats, their trousers, their turbans, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 22 Therefore, because the king's command was urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 10
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, "Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?" They answered and said to the king, "True, O king." 25 "Look!" he answered, "I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God." 26 Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke, saying, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here." Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego came from the midst of the fire. 27 And the satraps, administrators, governors, and the king's counselors gathered together, and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them. 11
Nebuchadnezzar s question who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?" has been answered. This is not the first time that God has been challenged by an arrogant king. Pharaoh challenged God in Exodus 5 and it cost him his life and much of his kingdom Sennacherib king of Assyria challenged God in 2 Kings 19 and it cost him 185,000 of his soldiers in one night. Neither Pharaoh nor Sennacharib, even after their defeats recognized God for who he was but Nebuchadnezzar seems to be a little different. 28 Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God! 12
29 "Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed- Nego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made an ash heap; because there is no other God who can deliver like this." 30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego in the province of Babylon. Unlike the other two kings, Nebuchadnezzar recognized and admitted it when he had been wrong. This is a characteristic that we need to develop. When we are wrong about something especially in matters of religion we need to accept it immediately, rather than allowing our own pride to stand in our way. 13
Conclusion We can come up with all kinds of reasons for remaining in sin. May be afraid of what others will think about us It may cost us money We have been involved in it so long we don t think we can come out of it Do you think any of these excuses popped into the mind of these three men? I don t think so Their decision to do what was right was automatic and ours should be too! 14