They stared into the flames. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego watched as the soldiers who had brought them to this place fell over dead due to the overwhelming heat. Can you imagine what must have gone through these three men’s minds as they heard the crackling of the fire, felt the intense heat, and saw its effects on the soldiers who once stood along aside them? How did Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego find themselves in this terrifying situation?
It was around the year 600 BC and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were among some of the first Jews who had been deported by the Babylonians when they invaded Judah. The Babylonians were masterful in their conquests. Realizing the difficulty that came from ruling a land from hundreds of miles away, they usually began their conquests by deporting or shipping back to Babylon some of the most influential and intellectual people from the lands they conquered. These deportations accomplished a couple of things. First, it left very few people who were capable of leading a revolt in the conquered nation. Second, the Babylonians were able to take advantage of the skills and abilities of the people they conquered to benefit Babylon and make it stronger. Third, by providing the exiles with opportunities to use their abilities and advance their careers, the exiles quickly saw the benefits of being loyal to the Babylonians.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego along with a man named Daniel (the man who would later be thrown into the lion’s den) were among the first of the Jews that the Babylonians had deported when they invaded Judah. They were among those people who fit the qualifications that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon was looking for, “Young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace” (Daniel 1:4). What King Nebuchadnezzar hoped to accomplish through his taking some the brightest and best of Judah back to the Babylon was nearly realized. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego used their God-given intellect and abilities to serve within the Babylonian government and quickly advanced to powerful positions within it. We’re told, “Then the king placed Daniel in a high position and lavished many gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wisemen. Moreover, at Daniel’s request the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego administrators over the province of Babylon” (Daniel 2:48,49).
Now imagine for a moment what it must have been like to live in Babylon during this time. You have all these different people from all of these different nations who had been ripped away from their homes, forced to leave their friends and families and to live in Babylon. All of these people have their own languages, their own customs, their own religions. So King Nebuchadnezzar comes up with what seems to be another brilliant idea to unite the people of Babylon. We’re told, “King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, sixty cubits (90 ft) high and six cubits (9 ft) wide, and set it upon the plan of Dura in the province of Babylon…Then the herald loudly proclaimed, ‘Nations and peoples of every language, this is what you are commanded to do: 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’” (Daniel 3:1,4-6). Suddenly, God’s people faced a truly life-or-death decision. Up to this point, things seemed to be going just about as good as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego could have hoped. They had become some of the most powerful and influential members of the Babylonian government. But those prominent positions also painted a target on their backs by those who were jealous. Certainly, these men would not be able to “fly under the radar” and think that the Babylonians wouldn’t notice what they were or were not doing. What would they do? Would they bow down and worship a false and powerless god, or would they continue to claim the Lord God of the Bible as the one and only true God and reap the consequences for doing so?
For Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego it didn’t seem to much of a choice. They stood before an infuriated king with quiet confidence and respect and boldly explained, “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. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, the we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up” (Daniel 3:17,18). Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego trusted the Lord completely. They believed that God was going to deliver them one way or another. Either the Lord would perform a miracle and protect them from the blazing inferno that had already claimed the lives of the soldiers who brought them there, OR the Lord would deliver them from the blazing inferno through death, delivering them to the home of heaven that God promised. One way or the other, they believed that God would deliver them.
Their speech did nothing to dissuade Nebuchadnezzar from doing what he threated. The three men, bound and still wearing their highly flammable clothing were tossed into the raging fires. For a moment, how foolish their words must have seemed to everyone who heard them. That was until Nebuchadnezzar took a closer look at the furnace. We’re told, “King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, ‘Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire? Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods’” (Daniel 3:24,25). Nebuchadnezzar couldn’t believe what he was seeing! Not only were the three men alive, but there was a forth figure which he describes as “a son of the gods.” But this isn’t just A so of the gods, this is THE Son of God, Jesus, who had joined the three men, providing a visible sign of his presence and protection.
The three men walk out of the fire without the slightest indication of what they had been through. When they got home that evening and told their families what their day had been like, they may have had a hard time convincing other what they had been through. There were no burns on their bodies. Not a hair on their head or thread of their clothing was singed. They didn’t even smell like smoke! As amazing as all of that was, let’s not lose sight of the point of this account. Even Nebuchadnezzar got it, “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” (Daniel 3:28). They did what they did because they trusted God to do what he promised.
Dear friends, are you ready to step into the fire? While I am not aware of our government forcing us to do something that is contrary to God’s will as was the case with Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego, there are plenty of times when Christians are called upon to make decision – decisions that can bring some burning results if we trust God and do what he asks. Maybe it’s a college classroom where students are belittled and humiliated because they are a confessing Christian who refuses to deny the authority of the Bible. Maybe it’s at home where a parent enforces certain boundaries for how a child will dress, what they are allowed to or not to watch or do, and the result? Maybe it’s the burning wrath of an angry child and the being labeled an old prude by fellow parents. Or maybe it’s at work when you make it clear that you will not publicly support the promotion of something that you know to be contrary to God’s Word. The results are losing out on a pay increase or a promotion. Those things burn. Those are hard and they hurt.
While we might be tempted to follow the sage advice, “If you don’t want to get burned, stay away from the fire!” the fact is that for the Christian, there are always going to be blazing furnaces, decisions that when we make them are going to result in difficulty. Jesus himself warned, “If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also” (John 15:20). So why step into the fire? Because we know that the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego is also our God – a God who we can trust to deliver us. Like those three men, we also must admit that the Lord’s deliverance and blessing does not mean that we will be spared from every scary situation or sadness or loss. No. But we do know that like those three men, the Lord Jesus is with us through it all, protecting us from anything that might be eternally harmful. This is the Savior who has guaranteed our rescue by stepping into the fire himself. He faced the choices that we face, the temptations to doubt God’s goodness when his plans included suffering and loss. But unlike us, Jesus always trusted God fully saying, “Not my will, but yours be done.” Jesus trusted that God his Father would use his suffering and death at the cross as a way to deliver people from the punishment of sin, and deliver to us forgiveness and life eternal. Jesus demonstrates his power to deliver what he has promised, as he rose from the dead and declared to all, “This is why you should trust me! I have the power to do what I have promised. I will bring you through the fires of this life and safely bring you to life eternal with me in heaven.”
While suffering and scary situations are something that we would rather avoid, Jesus promises to bless us and others through them. Look at the affect that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego’s trust in the Lord had on their fellow Jews and King Nebuchadnezzar. The king promised protection for anyone who chose to worship the God of these three men, and at least for the moment, Nebuchadnezzar confessed, “for no other god can save in this way” (Daniel 3:29). Yes, not on can, but God promises to use the fires of this life to bring blessing as we trust in him and his strength. Amen.
