Daniel 3:8-25
The Three Friends of Daniel were
Thrown into the Blazing Furnace
Daniel and his friends were taken as captives
to the land of Babylon, and they served King Nebuchadnezzar in his palace.
The king set up a very huge image of gold on
the plains of Dura in the province of Babylon, and he held a grand dedication
for the image. The golden image was
extremely tall. It was of ninety feet high and nine feet wide, and people, be
it far or near, could see it.
The king then summoned the satraps, prefects,
governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other
provincial officials assembled for the dedication of the image. And so, they
came and stood before the golden image.
Then the herald loudly proclaimed, “This is
what you are commanded to do, O Peoples, nations and men of very language: As
soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all
kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King
Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Whoever does not fall down and worship will
immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.”
The Bible went into great details repeating
the list of government officials and musical instruments in order to emphasize the
extravagance and grandeur of its lineup, as well as the sovereignty of the
king.
However, there were three men who stood
staunch and refused to fall down to worship the image of gold under such a broad daylight of
arrogant demonstration. They were none other than the three friends of Daniel: Shadrach, Meshach
and Abednego.
Some Chaldeans (the astrologers in the palace)
complaint to Nebuchadnezzar. They pinpointed the three
friends of Daniel who refused to serve the god of the king and bow down to the
image of gold. These Chaldeans (the Babylonians) accused against the three out
of their jealousy and racism, for King Nebuchadnezzar had appointed the three
as the administrators over the province of Babylon.
Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and asked
them about it. He said, “Is it true,
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship
the image of gold I have set up?”
He even offered them another chance by saying,
“Now when you hear the sound of the
horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready
to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship
it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”
The three friends of Daniel were not afraid
even unto death, and they replied, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves
before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the
God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will
deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand.”
They strongly believed that the LORD, their
God would rescue them out from the blazing furnace. The Lord is faithful, and
He will save those who put their trust in Him. Nevertheless, their loyalty to
God surpassed their conviction, for they continued saying, “But even
if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve
your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
They meant that even if God chose not to
deliver them, they would still keep their loyalty intact. They would not fall
down to worship the image of gold. It
was an
extraordinary noble faith. They would not worship other gods except the LORD
(YHWH), even at the cost of losing their lives, they would not forsake the
stand of their faith.
Nebuchadnezzar
was furious and he ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual and
he commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace.
Shadrach, Meshach
and Abednego were tied up and thrown into the blazing furnace. The king’s
command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed
the soldiers who took up the three men.
Something unusual had caught the attention of
the king then and he leaped to his feet in amazement and he asked his advisers,
“Weren’t there three men that we
tied up and threw into the fire?”
They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.”
The king said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and
unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”
Hence, Nebuchadnezzar approached the opening of
the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High
God, come out! Come here!”
So Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire.
The satraps,
prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw
that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads
singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.
What does that tell us? Some commentators say
that the fourth person is actually the eternal Son of God, the Christ. God protects
His faithful servants. Or if I were to put it more precisely, “Christ is walking
with His people in the blazing furnace”.
God could keep the blazing furnace from
burning his people, and it was just an easy task for Him. Yet He chose to actively involved in human
history by walking with His people in the blazing furnace.
It is interesting to note that finally, it was
the king who called them to come out of it.
Then Nebuchadnezzar
said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his
angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied
the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or
worship any god except their own God. Therefore, I decree that the people of any nation or language
who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into
pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god
can save in this way.”
To our surprise, the pagan king gave praises
to the God of the Jews in front of the officials of Babylon and all
nationalities. In addition to this, the
king appreciated the fact that these Jews went against his commands because of
their loyalty towards their God.
As if it were not enough, the king decreed
that the people of any nation or language who said anything against the God of
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego would suffer pains of losing both their lives
and their homes.
Conclusion
God walked with His people in the blazing
furnace, and caused the Babylonian king to acknowledge His power and authority
and to humble himself willingly. What
God does is marvelous and exceeds our wisdom.
Not only that, the three experienced their
peaks in their lives while they lived in Babylon. They were willing to risk
their lives to keep their faithfulness to God. In the end, they were promoted.
The people of God should never compromise even
when they are under persecution from their opponents. We might face the
consequence of being thrown in the blazing furnace if we were to insist on our
stand. But God will always be with us. We will be vindicated at the end.
And instead of being persecuted by the
Babylonians, we shall receive protection and exaltation. We can expect a twist
of fate in the darkest hour!
Jews encountered political persecution
throughout various ages. Hitler killed six
million Jews in Germany during World War II.
Yet the Jews remains until this day. God has preserved His elect from
complete destruction.
The Jews finally established their nation in
1948. Since then they won over many wars which were initiated by their Arab enemies,
and they have become stronger nation eventually.
Application
Today, Christians are the most vulnerable
groups in many societies. Like the three
friends of Daniel, they are persecuted by those politicians who have
unscrupulous motives. To make the matter worse, terrorist organizations are
persecuting Christians and burning down churches everywhere systematically. Christians
are hold unwavering faith in such living environments. It will serve to be a
life testimony to the world.
We take note this important faith declaration,
“But even if he does not, we want you to
know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of
gold you have set up.”
The faith of “even if he does not” is not a
conditional faith, that one would only pledge his loyalty to God in exchange of
his deliverance. It is a faith that is faithful unto death and it causes one to
be willing to pay his price and carry his cross.
Evil forces may promise wealth, position and
power for believers as long as they are willing to give up their stand of
faith. Conversely, believers who hold on to their stand might lose their
opportunities in marketplaces and lives.
In today’s context, “Not worship your image of
gold” could mean “not bow low to the wealth, position and power of the
authorities”. We must not bow down to other gods, nor be in union with evil
forces.
Believers should keep watch and pray now, even
if God does not do what we expect Him to do - to deliver us out of the blazing
furnace, e.g. challenges, hardships, persecutions, trails and sufferings, etc.
- we should rather die than to compromise our principles of faith.
The world today is plagued with sins and
violence, but God is still in control of the history of mankind, and He is
actively involved in the human history. God walks with those believers who go
through persecutions and dangers, and His glory is thus revealed.
There is a positive purpose for all hardship
and suffering, and they could be blessed paths for us. Therefore, the Lord
allows us to suffer and go through hardship.
Today, for many of us who live in a free and
democratic nation, our blazing furnace might not be political persecution, but
more of issues in relation to health, study, career and family breakdowns. The
Lord knows it all. He does not necessarily solve our problems in our ways, but
He will not leave us alone in our painful struggles. He will walk with us in
our blazing furnaces. He will not leave us unattended.
God sent His One and Only Begotten Son, Jesus
Christ, to the world. Jesus had experienced remarkable hardship in the world,
and He was crucified on the cross to bear the sin punishment of all. He
overcame the devils and He redeemed us.
On the third day, He was raised from the death
to prove that He indeed, is the Son of God. Jesus had overcome death, and He is
able to give abundant life to those who trust in Him.
Whoever confess their sins to God and repent
and receive the salvation of Jesus this day shall be reconciled to God, and
they will have eternal lives. The salvation of Jesus is given to us freely. He
has already rescued us from the eternal blazing furnace. Now He will deliver us
to the very end and He will not forsake us.
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is present in
our blazing furnace of life, and He is our help in all time. We go through suffering
as though we are hard pressed on every side but not crushed. We need not worry
about our bad environment. We fear not of the evil forces. And we do not
compromise just to taste those benefits offered by the devils.
As children of God, we have to be grateful for
God and to live up to the teaching of the Gospel daily in our lives. We are to
be the children of light in this dire dark world. We must be willing to fight
against terrorism which are evil and unjust at all cost.
We have to set an example by personally taking part in spreading
the Gospel. The world will see that God is with us, and they will receive
Christ’s salvation, and the Kingdom of God shall be revealed on earth.
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