“If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to save us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will save us out of your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods, and we will not worship the golden image that you have set up.”
- Daniel 3:17-18 -
The order was given that when the music played all the people were to bow down and worship the golden image Nebuchadnezzar had set up. On the plain of Dura a decision had to be made. The people had two choices. Either worship the image or burn in the fiery furnace. The music played and hundreds, if not thousands, of people fell on their faces before the towering idol. They all feared the king’s wrath and obeyed his edict. All, that is, except three. Daniel’s three Hebrew friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego were in the crowd. They must have asked themselves: “Is the fire in us greater than the furnace before us?” It was time to find out.
All three men stayed standing when everyone else bowed. As people of excellence, they knew that what burned inside them was far more powerful than anything the enemy could throw at them. They were willing to disobey the law if it contradicted God. They weren’t afraid to swim against the tide. They wanted God’s will done on earth as in heaven (Matt. 6:10). Like Christ, they were willing to be ridiculed, canceled, criticized, and even die. Nothing could put out their fiery faith.
Courage is a product of one’s relationship with God. The will to do what’s right comes from our experience with Him. These three declared with their bold faith: “We don't bow! We don't bend! We don't compromise!” A person’s eternal actions have their origin in God. In order to be someone of excellence you must prepare to stand strong by building strong convictions. If you fear the furnace, you will compromise the high standards you once walked by. People of excellence don’t compromise. They’re like Caleb who followed God all the days of his life (Num. 14:24) and said with Joshua: “We are well able to take the land” (Num. 13:30).
Caleb refused to let the enemy remain in the land of God. He didn’t compromise in the face of giants. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego had that same brave spirit. Wasting no time, some Babylonian officials went to the king and accused Daniel’s three friends of not bowing to the golden image (Dan. 3:8). Their motive was jealousy, a cancer that eats at fallen man’s heart. It was jealousy that caused Cain to slay his brother Abel. It was jealousy that led Joseph’s brothers to sell him as a slave (Gen. 37:11). Jealousy even motivated the betrayal and crucifixion of Christ. Matthew 27:18 tells us Pilate ‘knew that because of envy they had handed Him over.’
These officials spoke to the king, who ‘in rage and fury, gave the command to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. So they brought these men before the king’ (Dan. 3:13). As they were dragged over, we can imagine God whispering in their ears: ‘Do not lose your confidence which has great reward’ (Heb. 10:35). As Hebrews also says: ‘Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful’ (10:23).
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego wouldn’t cave to pressure. Their decision was made by inward, Godly principles. Psalm 57:7 says: ‘My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed. I will sing and give praise.’ Men and women fixed on God turn the world upside down (Acts 17:6). Death threats can’t shake their faith in the One they serve. They know God stands with them if they stand for Him. The threat of a fiery furnace couldn’t cause them to bow as they’d already bowed their hearts to God.
Nebuchadnezzar had an anger problem. He was enraged even before he confirmed the charges. He asked: “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image I have set up?” (Dan. 3:14). It’s hard to keep standing when being interrogated by a vicious dictator. Peter vowed to die for Christ yet he wilted and denied Him when asked: “Is it true?” Before the three men could answer, the king offered a second chance to worship the image. The king recognized the spiritual issues at play but he warned: “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?” (3:15).
Without hesitation, the men said: “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter” (Dan. 3:16). There was nothing to say. His threats meant nothing as ‘the righteous are bold as a lion’ (Prov. 28:1). These three knew Isaiah said: ‘Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust and not be afraid, for the Lord God is my strength and song’ (12:2). They relied on the sufficient grace of God that is magnified in times of persecution (2 Cor. 12:10). They recalled His delivering power when they refused to eat the king’s defiling food (Dan. 1:8). They stood strong and fixed their minds on promises of God like ‘when you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flames burn you’ (Is. 43:2).
They told the king: “If it be so, 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” (Dan. 3:17). They stared down death because, by faith, they had eyes fixed on Him who is invisible (Heb. 11:27). Their courage was reminiscent of David telling King Saul: “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine” (1 Sam. 17:37). God prepared them for “such a time as this” (Est. 4:14). Spurgeon called their stand “well calculated to excite in the mind of believers firmness and steadfastness in upholding the truth in the teeth of tyranny and in the very jaws of death.”
Excellent spirits do not bow! Case closed! End of story! These men had yielded to God, paving the way for a miracle. They trusted in deliverance, which didn’t go over well with the king: ‘Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury and his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego’ (Dan. 3:19). The king ordered the furnace to be heated seven times hotter than usual and for the three men to be bound and cast in. If he’d wanted to make their deaths worse, he should have cooled the furnace down to prolong their agony, but the enemy’s kingdom is dark and irrational. Scripture says: ‘Do not be eager in your heart to be angry, for anger resides in the bosom of fools’ (Eccl. 7:9).
The faith of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego made them invincible, as the king would see. They ‘fell into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire still tied up. Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished’ (Dan. 3:23-24). What caused the king to be so startled? He believed the men would be immediately consumed, but gazing into the fire he said: “Was it not three men we cast bound into the midst of the fire?...Look! I see four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God!” (Dan. 3:24-25).
Spurgeon said: “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego lost something in the fire. The fire did not hurt them but it snapped their bonds. Blessed loss! A true Christian’s losses are gains in another shape. Many of God’s servants never know the fullness of spiritual liberty till they are cast into the midst of the furnace.” The fourth person in the furnace was the Lord Jesus in one of His many pre-incarnate Old Testament appearances. King Nebuchadnezzar did not expect to see the same One who appeared in Eden, walked with Enoch, feasted with Abraham, and wrestled with Jacob. Yet here was the God-man delivering His own from certain death.
After spending time with Christ, Daniel’s three friends were called from the furnace by the stunned king. He said: “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, come out, you servants of the Most High God, and come here!” (Dan. 3:26). The men obeyed and came out. Notice how Nebuchadnezzar said these three men of excellence served the Most High God. They walked by faith and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7). They became living epistles (2 Cor. 3:2); witnesses to a pagan world that Yahweh reigns supreme.
God had used the furnace of adversity for His purposes. “What [the king] meant for evil, God meant for good” (Gen. 50:20). Be confident that pits, prisons, and persecutions are used for God’s glory. The king’s officials saw how the fire had no effect on these men. Their hair wasn’t singed, their clothes weren’t damaged, and even the smell of smoke wasn’t on them. This was total and complete deliverance. Spurgeon said: “Though the smell of fire had not passed on them, I feel sure that it left a glow on their countenances and a glory on their persons.” These three Hebrews were shining cities that couldn’t be hidden (Matt. 5:14).
Nebuchadnezzar responded in wonder: “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who put their trust in Him” (Dan. 3:28). The idolatrous king gave glory to God, but he didn’t call the true God his own God. He knew a lot about God, but he didn’t know Him personally. Not yet. He also praised the Jewish trio for violating his edict, yielding up their bodies, and serving no God but their own. As Paul wrote the Romans: ‘Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service’ (12:1).
Deeply moved by this miracle, Nebuchadnezzar decreed that all men speak well of this God or else be cut to pieces (Dan. 3:29). He even promoted these three men that he had sought to kill, realizing no man-made furnace could hinder their God-given purpose. So live like them and you won’t smell of smoke. Follow your heavenly calling and in the midst of chaos you will have clarity. Let Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego encourage you to stand for righteousness regardless of threats. They changed the world they lived in and you can do the same by saying with Joshua: “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!” (Josh. 24:15).