Daniel 3: Into The Fire

The story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel 3 is pretty straightforward.  They are required to either fall down and worship the statue that Nebuchadnezzar has set up, or be thrown into a fiery furnace.  Unfortunately, what the king was asking the Jews to do was idolatry - something forbidden for them by God.

What Nebuchadnezzar couldn't understand is how he was outranked.  I appreciate the little details that add depth to this contest of wills.  Nebuchadnezzar demanded that he be obeyed.  After threatening Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego with the fate of the furnace, he issues the arrogant challenge, "Who is the god that will deliver you out of my hands?" (vs. 15).  When the three men continue to be steadfast in their defiance, the Bible says that the king's face became distorted with rage (vs. 19).  He was not used to being refused!

But the most interesting aspect of this ordeal is what happens when Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego finally make it into the fire.  Though the furnace was heated up so high that the servants who threw the three Jews into the fire were burned, the men themselves were unharmed.  In fact, they emerged from the flames without singe or burn or even the smell of smoke (vs. 27).  Make no mistake - they were actually in the fire, God did not spare them from that.  He did, however, go into the fire with them!

"Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up quickly. He said to his counselors, 'Was it not three men that we threw bound into the fire?' They answered the king, 'True, O king.'  He replied, 'But I see four men unbound, walking in the middle of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the fourth has the appearance of a god'" (vs. 24 and 25).  Who did Nebuchadnezzar see in there with them?  Who was that fourth man with an appearance like a god?

Many biblical scholars believe this may have been an early appearance of Jesus Christ.  Remember, as the divine Son of God, Jesus has always existed.  However our brains conceive of this event, the point is that God provided protection in the fire.  

Sometimes we expect bad things not to happen to us because of our faith: the storm not to hit, the marriage troubles to resolve, the biopsy to come back clear.  But such things don't always go our way just because we are devoted to God.  But what we do find is that those who are faithful get to experience God's faithfulness in going through our trials with us.  I hope that you don't have to go "into the fire" to realize that God has the power to protect you in spite of all its fierceness!