The Fiery Furnace
By Shauna Leis
“Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, ‘O 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 save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.’ Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. ’”
Daniel 3:16-20
Babylon - The antithesis to Jerusalem in every sense of the word…Corruption and idol worship was at an all time high, and Nebuchadnezzar was at the height of the corruption. Many years earlier, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were taken from their homes and brought as captives, with Daniel, to the country of Babylon. Babylon represented everything these gentlemen did not believe in, and they were probably wondering if God was even still with them. The three friends had already started to push the system when they refused to eat the food from the royal table for fear of defiling themselves. Now, the stakes were just a bit higher.
King Nebuchadnezzar had erected a statue of gold in the plain of Dura and commanded everyone within the hearing of the music to bow down and worship the image. The music played, and everyone within hearing distance bowed down low and worshiped the idol – everyone that is except Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. For years, these men had inscribed the words from Exodus on their hearts, “You shall have no other gods before me,” and they were not about to let the perversion of Babylon corrupt their hearts, minds, and souls to forsake the Almighty God. And they stood against the evils of their time.
Now, I will pause for a minute and ask you – what is your Babylon? What temptation pulls and tugs at your heart, vying for the attention that should belong solely to God the Father? There are so many things in this world that attempt to pull us away from our devotion to Him – money, time, material items, lies, power, success, physical beauty, and the list could go on and on. Do we stand against these temptations like these three did?
So, the three friends were thrown into the fiery furnace. One could not mistake, though, the exchange with King Nebuchadnezzar before entering the furnace….”But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods….” They were willing to stand up for God whether He rescued them from the fiery furnace or not because they knew the eternal rewards were great. Matthew 16:25 says, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.” These three were about to lose their lives for their commitment to God.
Now, just picture with me the scene – the fire is seven times hotter than it has ever been - so hot in fact, that it kills the guards who have thrown the men into it. As the king is walking by, he notices that the men are not burnt to a crisp, but rather standing up and walking around – and there is another man in there, too! Daniel 3:25 records for us, “He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.” So, the king orders the men to come out.
My favorite part is found in verses 26-27. “So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, and 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.” Have you ever been around a fire for any length of time? Over the July 4th holiday weekend, we spent much of the evening roasting marshmallows for S’mores. The next morning all of our clothes reeked of the smoke smell just from being near the fire.
However, the men here had even been inside the fiery furnace, and they emerged without a hint of smoke smell. What kind of significance do you think this might represent? For me, I picture that even though we are near the world and even in it, we are not supposed to pick up its scent. We are supposed to remain pure and focused on God and His will for our lives. Precious Friend, are you willing to go into the Fiery Furnace for God? Can you be in the world, but not of it? If you ask Him, He will help you to have the courage to stand up for Him.
Pray with me: Dear Lord, there is so much significance to the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Give us the courage, Lord, when asked to bend our knee to something other than You, to jump headfirst instead into the Fiery Furnace. Keep our scent pure and smelling of you, not the world around us. We do not want to be tainted by this world around us but to stay focused on You. We love You so very much and pray all of this in the precious name of Your Son, Jesus Christ!