Fiery Faith
Daniel 3:16-18
President Harry Truman had a number of “sayings” that are attributed to him. On his desk was the sign, “The buck stops here.” He also said, “If you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen.” That is a saying that three men in Babylon would have understood very clearly. Their names were Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, or as they are better known, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. They were among a number of young men who were brought to Babylon in about 605 B.C. Their story is found in the first three chapters of the book of Daniel. They are most famous for their courageous stand before King Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 3:16-18.
“Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego replied to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
Their story is but one of the many great moments of faith found throughout the bible. We remember the faith Noah when God told him to build an ark. The faith of Abraham when God told him to sacrifice his only son. The faith of Moses when God told him to deliver his people out of bondage. The faith of Gideon when he is told to battle the Midianites with only 300 men. And the faith of Daniel when he refused to worship the idol built by Darius. All these men responded with great faith with faced with daunting challenges.
Like all the others, S. M. & A. did not reach this high point in their faith without some preparation. First they were among the royal family of Judah at the time of its capture by Nebuchadnezzar. They were among the privileged few in Judah and had no doubt received a thorough education in the Jewish faith. More than that they were remarkable for their physical appearance, intelligence and talent. Daniel 1:4 says that they were picked by Ashpenaz, the chief of Nebuchadnezzar’s officials because they were, “youths in whom was no defect, who were good-looking, showing intelligence in every branch of wisdom, endowed with understanding and discerning knowledge, and who had ability for serving in the king’s court.”
Almost immediately their faith was tested for they were uprooted, along with their friend Daniel, from their home and taken to a foreign land where the people spoke a different language, ate different food and worshiped different gods. Upon arriving in Babylon, the greatest city in the world at that time, they were challenged with efforts to indoctrinate them into the Babylonian culture. They were to be educated for three years so that they could be assimilated into the literature and language of the Chaldeans.
Their first stand of faith is found in 1:8. As a part of their indoctrination, they are given Chaldean food to eat. This probably included food that a faithful follower of God under the law of Moses, would not eat. It is Daniel who takes a stand and S. M. & A. follow his lead.
“But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the King’s choice food or with the wine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself.”
The commander of the officials is afraid that if he does this and the appearance of the four men is damaged that he will be executed by Neb. Daniel proposes a test in which he and S. M. & A. would only be given water to drink and vegetables to eat for 10 days. Verse 15 tells us that, “At the end of ten days their appearance seemed better and they were fatter than all the youths who had been eating the king’s choice food. So the overseer continued to withhold their choice food and the wine they were to drink, and kept giving them vegetables.”
As a result of their faithful stand, verse 17 says, “God gave them knowledge and intelligence in every branch of literature and wisdom.”
At the end of their three year indoctrination period, they were interviewed by Neb. And they were found to be more qualified than any of the other candidates and began to be the king’s servants.
Things were apparently going well for them until Nebuchadnezzar has a dream and demands that, “the magicians, the conjurers and the sorcerers” both tell him what his dream was and interpret it. When they could not Nebuchadnezzer ordered that they all, including D., S., M., and A., be executed. In Chapter 2:14 when the soldiers came to Daniel to kill him and the others, he talked with Arioch, the captain of the king’s bodyguard who told him of the king’s dream and his decree. Daniel then approached Neb. and said that if the king would give him time, that he would both tell the king his dream and interpret it. The king gave him some time and he responded in verse 17-18 by going to God in prayer. “Then Daniel went to his house and informed his friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, about the matter, 18 so that they might request compassion from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends would not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. As a result of their prayerful petition to God, Daniel was given the dream and its interpretation.
Daniel was then brought before king Neb. and told the king his dream and its interpretation. As a result, we are told in 2:46-49, “Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and did homage to Daniel, and gave orders to present to him an offering and fragrant incense. 47 The king answered Daniel and said, "Surely your God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, since you have been able to reveal this mystery." 48 Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts, and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. 49 And Daniel made request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego over the administration of the province of Babylon, while Daniel was at the king’s court.”
Thing are again going well for our four heroes until Neb. decides to build a huge idol. The story begins in Daniel 3:1. “1 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, the height of which was sixty cubits and its width six cubits; he set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.
The king then commands in verse 5-6, “that at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe and all kinds of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up. But whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire.”
Of course everyone in the kingdom bows down before the idol except S., M., and A. When “certain Chaldeans” “tattled” to Neb., he responded in anger in verse 13-15, “Then Nebuchadnezzar in rage and anger gave orders to bring Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego; then these men were brought before the king. Nebuchadnezzar responded and said to them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? Now if you are ready, at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery and bagpipe and all kinds of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, very well. But if you do not worship, you will immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire; and what god is there who can deliver you out of my hands?"
Now they were in real trouble. Over the years their faith had been challenged a number of times. They had responded to those challenges by refusing to be defiled by Chaldean food and by seeking God’s intervention so that they could interpret dreams. But this was different. Now they were challenged to bow down to an idol or “fry in the furnace.” Neb. Also challenged the power of God by asking them, “what god is there who can deliver you out of my hands?” They responded to this challenge as they had all the others. They declared their faith in verse 16-18, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
Neb. had challenged their faith with his command and they had declared their faith in return. But now their faith was to be tested as it had never been tested before. As they no doubt had expected, Neb. responded in a rage. He ordered the furnace heated to seven times it normal temperature and then ordered S., M., and A. to be thrown into the furnace. The fire was so hot that the soldiers who threw the men into the furnace were burned up. But when S., M., and A. entered the furnace a strange thing happened.
We are told in verses 24-30. “Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood up in haste; he said to his high officials, ‘Was it not three men we cast bound into the midst of the fire?’ They replied to the king, ‘Certainly, O king.’ He said, ‘Look! I see four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods!’ Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the furnace of blazing fire; he responded and said, ‘Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, come out, you servants of the Most High God, and come here!’ Then Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego came out of the midst of the fire. The satraps, the prefects, the governors and the king’s high officials gathered around and saw in regard to these men that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men nor was the hair of their head singed, nor were their trousers damaged, nor had the smell of fire even come upon them.
Nebuchadnezzar cried out in amazement, ‘Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who put their trust in Him, violating the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies so as not to serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation or tongue that speaks anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego shall be torn limb from limb and their houses reduced to a rubbish heap, inasmuch as there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way.’ Then the king caused Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego to prosper in the province of Babylon.”
Their faith had been challenged by the king’s decree. They had declared their faith while facing almost certain death. Their faith was tested in the fire of the furnace and now their faith was triumphant as they came out of the furnace without even the smell of smoke on their clothes.
This is one of those great stories that we like to tell our children but there are some great lessons here for all of us.
1. God will never allow us to be tested beyond our capacity to respond. (I Cor. 10:13). He gave S., M., and A. small tests at first until he knew they would be able to withstand the great challenge to their faith by Neb. and his furnace.
2. We can trust God to protect us even when we don’t know the outcome of the situation we find ourselves in. S., M., and A. believed that God would protect them but vowed to be faithful to him even if they perished in the fire.
3. If God allows us to be put in the furnace, we can be certain that he will be in there with us. Remember 3:24-25. “Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood up in haste; he said to his high officials, ‘Was it not three men we cast bound into the midst of the fire?’ They replied to the king, ‘Certainly, O king.’ He said, ‘Look! I see four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods!’” What he saw was an angel of God protecting them from the fire so that they not only were not injured but they were not touched by the fire in any way.
4. Like so many other things, our faith is purified by the fiery tests of life. Paul says in I Cor. 3:11-15 that our work of faith will be tested by fire. If there are flaws in our faith, the fires of life will cleanse those flaws and purify our faith. Our faith becomes stronger and we become greater and more fruitful servants of God. That is why James can say in James 1:2-4 . . . And Peter can say in I Pet. 3-9 . . .
