Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire. The men are all unharmed, as are their clothes, when they step out of the fiery furnace. Perhaps no other book of the Old Testament, with the exception of the Book of Genesis, contains such a dense collection of famous stories within its first five chapters. It is the first of these stories that concerns us here, of course.
The story thus offers a moral lesson to both Jews living under tyrannical imperial regimes and those rulers who would attempt to set themselves up as higher than God.
The Book of Daniel is a curious thing. But Daniel was included in the canon of Biblical texts, and its stories have consequently become among the best-known in all of the Old Testament. Image: via Wikimedia Commons. Enter your email address to subscribe to this site and receive notifications of new posts by email.
And without giving them time to answer, he warned them: if they chose to worship, he would let them live, but if not, then they would face the furnace.
And then Nebuchadnezzar asked rhetorically , exactly who was their God Who could deliver them from the flames? In answer, the three said that God could indeed deliver them, if He so chose--but whether He did or no, they would not worship any gods but God Himself. Nebuchadnezzar burst into an uncontrollable rage. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than usual--so hot, in fact, that the guards whom he detailed to bind the prisoners and throw them into the furnace, themselves perished in the flames.
But that did not stop the three from falling in. What Nebuchadnezzar saw next astonished him greatly. He saw four men inside the furnace, walking around loose, and one of them had that about Him that strongly suggested that He was the Son of God. Nebuchadnezzar then walked to a doorway in the furnace and called for the three to come out.
They came out--and were not harmed in any way. Their hair was not singed, and even their clothes had not taken any smoke. Then what god K will be able to rescue L you from my hand? He ordered the furnace heated seven Q times hotter than usual 20 and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego R and throw them into the blazing furnace.
I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods. All rights reserved worldwide. First days on us! Daniel had to have known what was happening. Later Daniel interprets another dream Daniel 4 and the writing on the wall Daniel 5. He also serves two more kings. This third king, King Darius, was impressed with Daniel and desired to set him over his whole kingdom Daniel Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.
Now, if we were talking about anyone but Daniel, I would say the way he prayed in front of an open window sounds like the hypocrites Jesus warned us about. But I believe Daniel took a bold stand because of his earlier silence. Daughters of the King of kings, we have been silent far too long. Now is the time to be bold with our faith. Let us boldly proclaim the name of Jesus! Let the righteous remember the fiery furnace and with boldness proclaim the name of Jesus!
Blessed to be linking up with Susan at DanceWithJesus. MB, I agree. I see it as a heart issue.
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