Shadrach, Meshach, And Abednego Vs. The Blazing Furnace Series

• If I get myself killed and a pagan takes my position, he won’t help my people in exile.

Although all these excuses may sound sensible at first, they are dangerous rationalizations. To fall down and worship the image would violate God’s command in Exodus 20:3: “You shall have no other gods before me.”

The problem is, when we rationalize once, we can rationalize twice. And when we rationalize twice, we can rationalize three times, and on and on. Before long, we are living a life of compromise.

What do we do when our faith is tested by fire?

1. Obey God’s COMMANDS instead of man’s EXPECTATIONS.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter” (Daniel 3:16).

Nebuchadnezzar had given Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego important positions in his kingdom. He had even given them a second chance to escape the blazing furnace. But pleasing Nebuchadnezzar meant displeasing God. They were determined to obey God and not a man.

2. Believe the TRUTH instead of just the FACTS.

“If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king” (Daniel 3:17).

• Fact: The king said, “Bow down.”

• Fact: They disobeyed.

• Fact: The king was angry.

• Fact: The furnace was very hot.

• Fact: The king threatened to throw them into the furnace.

• Fact: Anyone thrown into the furnace would die.

• Fact: They didn’t want to die.

• Truth: God would deliver them.

• Truth: Even if God didn’t deliver them, they would go to heaven.

• Truth: It is always better to obey God. If they had bowed down, they would have lived with regret. If they had not been delivered by God and died, they would have died with a clear conscience.

3. Believe God. Don’t just believe IN God.

“But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up” (Daniel 3:18).

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego said, “The God we serve...” (v. 17). The Lord was not the God they only heard out or read about or the God their parents served. Their faith was not just a faith of words or thoughts or feelings. It was a faith of actions.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego didn’t just believe in God. They believed Him enough to put their lives on the line. “Our God can save us and He will save us, but even if He doesn’t save us, we will not bow down to your image.” We could call their faith “a faith of no matter what.” “Even if...we will believe God no matter what.”

THE PRESENCE OF ANOTHER

Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisors, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?” They replied, “Certainly, O king.” He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods [the Son of God, NKJV]” (Daniel 3:24-25).

When Nebuchadnezzar looked into the furnace, he couldn’t believe his eyes. Instead of writhing in pain, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were unhurt. Instead of being tied up, they were free. Instead of three men, there were four. The fourth person in the furnace could have been Jesus Christ in a pre-incarnate appearance.