This morning, we come to one of the most well-known accounts in the entire Bible. But our familiarity with the account of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace is actually one of the biggest obstacles we face in being able to understand what this passage has for us today and how we can apply the principles that we find there in our day-to-day lives. There is a tendency on our part to just assume that we’ve already learned everything that we can from this account and as a result we are in danger of allowing our attention to be drawn away to other things and to miss what God has in store for us this morning.
So we’re going to begin this morning by reading the entire account – all 30 verses. But so you don’t have to listen to me read the entire chapter, I’ve asked our elders to come and read the passage for us. I encourage you to follow along in your own Bibles as they read:
1 King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its breadth six cubits. He set it up on the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. 2 Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent to gather the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 3 Then the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 4 And the herald proclaimed aloud, “You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, 5 that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. 6 And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace.” 7 Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, all the peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
8 Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and maliciously accused the Jews. 9 They declared to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! 10 You, O king, have made a decree, that every man who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image. 11 And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into a burning fiery furnace. 12 There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, pay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. So they brought these men before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? 15 Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?”
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated. 20 And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21 Then these men were bound in their cloaks, their tunics, their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace. 22 Because the king's order was urgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace.
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” 25 He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.”
26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. 27 And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king's counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them. 28 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.” 30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.
There is so much in this passage that my main challenge this week was to try to determine how I could narrow our focus to those ideas that are of the most value to this body at this point in time. So with the time that we have this morning, I want to focus on just two aspects of this passage. First, I want to see what we can learn about tribulation from this passage and then I want to spend most of our time developing some practical principles that will allow us to live our lives based on internal principle rather than external pressure.
SOME TRUTHS ABOUT TRIBULATION
Although some would try to claim that this account is only a myth, I believe that it is without question an account of an actual historical event. But as we’ve seen in our journey through the Old Testament prophets, historical events can often be a picture of what is to occur in the future. This is what we have termed typological prophecy.
And since this account is recorded for us right in the midst of the section of Daniel that deals with the “time of the Gentiles”, I have little doubt that this account is in fact one of those typological prophecies. In this case it is a picture of what will occur to Israel as the “time of the Gentiles” comes to a close. And the picture here is completely consistent with what we’ve seen in our study of the Jewish fall feasts as well as in the other Old Testament prophets.
When Jesus returns, Israel is going to experience a time of tribulation, which is pictured by the three young men being thrown into the fiery furnace. But in the same way that the three young men are preserved through the experience of being thrown into the furnace, God is going to preserve a remnant of those who are faithful to Him. This account is a great reminder of some principles regarding tribulation that we have already learned from our previous studies:
1. The purpose of tribulation is to identify the righteous
Although Nebuchadnezzar had paid homage to Daniel’s God after Daniel revealed his dream in chapter 2, it seems that Nebuchadnezzar wasn’t about to accept the idea that his kingdom would one day come to an end. So he set about to “fix” the problem of the statue that he had seen in that dream by erecting a huge statue. But this time, in order to repair the weakness of the feet of clay and iron, the entire statue was covered with gold.
And then he determined to use that statue as a means of unifying the great mixture of people in his kingdom. That’s why we see the reference to “peoples, nations and languages” in verse 4.
So this great statue, measuring about 90 feet tall and only 9 feet wide, is set up on the plain of Dura, where it would have been visible for quite some distance in all directions. A French archaeologist named Oppert has discovered a massive square of brick construction measuring 14 meters square by 6 meters high near the ancient city of Babylon which is likely to have been the foundation for the statue. The statue itself, being covered with gold, was obviously torn down and confiscated by one of the later conquerors of Babylon.
But even though Nebuchadnezzar planned to use the statue as a test of those who were loyal to him, God had another purpose in mind. He was going to use that same statue to identify those who were loyal to Him. And the Chaldeans were only too happy to assist in that process. There is no doubt that they were jealous of these three young Jewish men who had usurped much of the power they had previously wielded after Daniel had interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and had asked the king to appoint his three friends to positions of power.
There is no doubt that there would have been other Jews there at the dedication of the statue, although noticeable by his absence is Daniel himself. There is much speculation about why Daniel wasn’t mentioned in this account, but about all we can be sure of based on our knowledge of Daniel’s character is that he wasn’t there bowing down to the statue. And we don’t really know how any of the other Jews present responded to the command to bow down to the statue. It seems likely that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are singled out here because of their prominent position.
This entire event is used by God to identify Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego as those who were righteous because of their faith in God. And as a result they are described in God’s faith “Hall of Fame” in Hebrews 11 as those who “quenched the power of fire.”
Jesus confirmed that God uses tribulation for the purpose of identifying the righteous in the parable of the soils as he explains the meaning of the rocky ground:
As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.
Matthew 13:20, 21 (ESV)
God still uses tribulation for that very same purpose and He will continue to do so through the even greater tribulation that will accompany the return of Jesus.
2. God does not always protect His children from tribulation, but He does preserve His children through tribulation
Perhaps this is the most important principle that we can take away from this passage this morning. Although God certainly was capable of preventing these three young men from going through the fire, He did not do that. But what God did do was to preserve them through the fire.
This principle is demonstrated all throughout Scripture. Noah and his family had to experience the violent flood, but they were preserved. Jonah spent three days in the belly of the fish, but he was preserved. David was hunted down like a wild animal, but he was preserved.
But the promise of preservation does assure that our physical life will necessarily be preserved in times of tribulation. John the Baptizer was beheaded. Stephen was stone to death. With the possible exception of John, every one of the apostles died a violent death while standing up for their faith in Jesus. But none of them were alone in their time of tribulation.
Although we can’t be absolutely sure, I’m convinced that the fourth person in the furnace, who Nebuchadnezzar described as a “son of the gods”, was none other than Jesus Himself. It seems that the prophet Isaiah had earlier predicted this event in one of his prophecies:
But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you….
Isaiah 43:1, 2 (ESV)
Doesn’t that last part of verse 2 describe exactly what happened to Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego? But not only did God promise that they would not be burned or consumed by the fire, He also made this promise just a few verses later:
Fear not, for I am with you…
Isaiah 43:5 (ESV)
And that is God’s promise to all of His children when they experience tribulation. Regardless of the outcome, we can be assured that we are not alone in our tribulation. We can endure whatever tribulation we might experience because God is with us. And in this case, it certainly appears that it was Jesus Himself who was present with the three young men.
We certainly see God’s presence with Stephen. Even though he is stoned to death because he is faithful to proclaim Jesus in the midst of tribulation, God preserves him through that tribulation and is present with him through the entire event:
But he [Stephen], full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.
Acts 7:55 (ESV)
Although He is certainly able, God does not always protect us from tribulation in our lives. But we can be confident that if we have truly placed our faith in Jesus, God will be faithful to preserve us through those times of tribulation and that he will never leave us or forsake us.
But when I read this account, the question I always want to ask is, “What is it about the lives of these three young men that enabled them to remain faithful to God in the midst of this time of tribulation?” And what seems to keep surfacing over and over as I ask that question is this thought:
The way I live my life is going to be based on one of two things:
• External pressure
• Internal principle
I’m either going to be like the multitudes who bowed down to the golden statue that day because of the external pressure of what might happen to them if they disobeyed the orders of the king, or I’m going to be like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who were driven by the internal principles that they had developed in their lives. So let’s use our remaining time to explore…
HOW TO LIVE BY INTERNAL PRINCIPLE AND NOT EXTERNAL PRESSURE
We find the keys to living by internal principle in the response recorded in verses 16-18:
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
This response demonstrates three key principles that allowed these three young men to live based on their internal principles:
1. Depend on God’s character
In verse 15, Nebuchadnezzar asks this question of the three young men:
And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?”
And these three young men immediately answer that question with these words: “…our God whom we serve is able…”
Even though Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were only young men, they had established a track record of seeing God at work in their lives and so they had developed a great confidence in the character of God. They had seen how God provided a way for them to not defile themselves by eating the king’s food and how God had even allowed them to develop and prosper far beyond their fellow Jews who had allowed the Babylonian culture to shape their lives. They had prayed and watched as God revealed Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and the interpretation of that dream to Daniel. So they were absolutely confident in God’s ability to either save them from the fire or to preserve them through it
If we want to come to the place in our lives where we can live by internal principle and not external pressure, then this must be the first step. We must understand the character of God so deeply that we are able to trust in that character regardless of the situation. Like these three young men, regardless of our circumstances we must be completely convinced that God is able.
We do that first of all by spending time in His Word, reading the accounts like this that demonstrate the character of God and proclaim Him to be a God who is able. From cover to cover, the Bible provides us with written evidence that God’s character is such that we can completely rely upon Him no matter what we face.
But we also develop our ideas about God’s character when we, just like Shadrach Meshach and Abednego, observe God work faithfully in our own lives as we submit our lives to Him. We’ll focus on that aspect a bit more in just a moment.
And as we do those two things, we can join the Apostle Paul in proclaiming the character of God as a God who is able:
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever.
Ephesians 3:20, 21 (ESV)
Depending on God’s character allows us to move on to the second step:
2. Develop deep conviction
These three men had developed some deep convictions which were based on God’s Word. They knew that God had established some rules about their worship and commanded that they not worship any other gods or any idols. They knew what they believed, but even more importantly they believed what they knew.
We don’t develop deep convictions overnight. That’s why it’s so important that we don’t wait to develop those convictions until we’re faced with a difficult situation. Even though Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were only young men, they were able to stand firm in the face of tribulation because they had consistently worked on developing deep convictions which were based on the Word of God.
Once again, we have already seen this demonstrated in the Book of Daniel. Even as teenagers who had been take from their homes in Judah and taken into captivity in Babylon, they had already developed convictions about their diet. So when faced with the choice of eating the king’s food, which would have violated those convictions, or of appealing to the king’s official to allow them to eat what God wanted them to eat, it was an easy decision because they had already developed those convictions.
Hopefully, as you continue on your journey with God, you’ve been developing some deep convictions that are based on the Word of God. I know that I certainly have a long way to go in this area, but let me share some convictions that I’ve developed in just one area of my life. I share these, not to bring attention to myself, but rather in the hope that it will cause you to think about the kinds of deep convictions that you need to develop in your own lives.
My deep conviction is that God’s plan for marriage is one man and one woman committed to each other for a lifetime, regardless of circumstances. And that conviction leads to a couple of other convictions. First, divorce is not an option. And secondly, the conviction that I am not to ever be unfaithful to my wife.
Not surprisingly, those convictions flow directly out of God’s character, don’t they? They are based on God’s faithfulness to us. But even these convictions are not adequate in and of themselves. There is one more step that I must take:
3. Determine my conduct
The third and final step is that I must determine that my conduct will be consistent with my convictions, regardless of the consequences.
We certainly see this with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They are confident that God is able to save them, but even if He chooses not to do that, they have committed to act in a manner that is consistent with their convictions. Although they did not doubt God’s character and ability, they did not presume to know God’s purposes, plans and ways. In that respect, they were a lot like Job, who proclaimed:
Though he slay me, I will hope in him…
Job 13:15 (ESV)
We see a similar commitment to act according to God’s Word regardless of the outcome with Queen Esther:
“Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.”
Esther 4:16 (ESV)
In all these accounts, we see the kind of mature faith that is demonstrated by a commitment to follows God’s ways no matter what God does – even if He does not save me from the fire, even if He does not keep my house from going into foreclosure; even if I don’t find a job, even if he doesn’t cure my cancer, even if my spouse is unfaithful or my kids rebel.
A moment ago, I mentioned some of my convictions about marriage. But those convictions, without the appropriate conduct, are not going to be adequate to allow me to stand up to external pressures and live by my internal principles. So I have to act in accordance with those principles. I have to guard against putting myself in situations where I might be tempted to be unfaithful to my Mary. I have to live her with agape love that requires that I put her needs ahead of my own. I have to spend time with her, developing our relationship together. And having done those things for nearly 33 years now – certainly not very well at times to be quite honest – I am now much better equipped to remain true to my convictions in that area regardless of whatever circumstances I might find myself in.
What are you doing in your life right now to make sure that when tribulation comes in your life – and it will – that you are equipped to live according to your internal principles and not external pressures? Are you searching God’s Word and yielding your life to Him so that you can learn to depend on His character? Are you constantly developing deep convictions that are based on the Word of God? And have you made a commitment to determine that your conduct will be consistent with those convictions no matter what God does?
