This is Faith to Witness 99, motivating us to hear God and share the Shepherd.

Season 3 Episode 194 God May Deliver You From the Fire. Or Not. (three men who let God decide)

Here’s the gist, human. We are faced with false gods all the time. Today, we look at three men who chose God, not false gods. Three men who were clear about who the Great Defender is. God. And only God. It’s a beautiful thing to see.

Daniel 3:16-18

16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 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. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

Join us to see righteous courage in action.

E194

Which is worse, praying to a false god or being thrown into a blazing furnace? What in your life right now would equate to this type of choice? The consequences are the same. One brings spiritual death. The other brings physical death.

Let’s think this through, give it a little of our time. I am not completely clear but I would rather share it now, than wait and try to resolve it. We are working out the truth of God’s Word, yes?

I’m Kathryn Bise, your host.

The prophet Daniel had three friends who were put in charge over affairs in the province of Babylon during the 70 years of 5Jewish captivity. They had been brought to Babylon along with Daniel during the first exile. Maybe you know them by their Jewish names: Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

It’s a well-known Bible story because it has all kinds of drama. The kind that is easy to visualize and relate to. Yet the dialogue between the king and these three men gives us cues on how to trust God and what exactly we are trusting him with.

Here’s what started it sometime in 6th Century B.C.

Daniel 3: 1-12

3 King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. 2 He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up. 3 So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials assembled for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it.

4 Then the herald loudly proclaimed, “Nations and peoples of every language, this is what you are commanded to do: 5 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. 6 Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.”

7 Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the nations and peoples of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

8 At this time some astrologers came forward and denounced the Jews. 9 They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “May the king live forever! 10 Your Majesty has issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of gold, 11 and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace. 12 But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—who pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.”

Ok, so:

The command was to hear the instruments, then fall down and worship the golden image.
The consequence of not doing this was to be thrown into a blazing furnace.
The choice was who to call your God: to worship God or to worship the king’s gods.

So the King gave these men a second chance to make a different choice.

Three Men Chose God and a Blazing Fire

Daniel 3:13-25

13 Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, 14 and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? 15 Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”

This is a critical moment. It is hard to take the right stand, then be faced with being put at the threshold of that decision, again. To rethink the consequence. In this case, a way out of the immediate pending pain, and physical death.

In this moment, when their physical fate was once again hanging in the balance, the three men responded.

Daniel 3:16-18

16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 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. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

What happened here?

First, these men made one thing clear: God needs no defense. He is sovereign. This alone is enough to live on, for them and for us. We do not defend God. He is the defender.

Second, and think about this. The King assumed that these men needed to be rescued. But what he didn’t know is that they had already been rescued. They had been rescued from a fallen heart who worships false gods. God had already claimed them as his. No earthly circumstance can touch that.

Third, these men made clear that God is all powerful. He is able to deliver them from the fire. Or not. Fire is not God’s adversary, it is his creation. That’s not even in question. The divine issue here is that God is able to deliver them from the King’s hand. He is the defender of our worship. He is a jealous God, and he is our only God.

And finally, these men destroyed the King’s false premise: that God would have to rescue them to be the one and only God. That’s the kind of evil, decaying taunt that lives within our struggling human nature. These men had already given themselves to the Lord, to his presence, a holy nature that defies all false representations. False images. False gods. They had already chosen. They had already been rescued.

The victory was not surviving the fire. The victory was being thrown into the fire.

A Fire That Is Seven Times Hotter

So how does the King take this news? How does he respond?

Daniel 3:19-25

19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual 20 and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. 21 So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. 22 The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, 23 and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.

24 Then 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?”

They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.”

25 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.”

Heating a furnace seven times hotter than usual is selfish pride throwing a big, chaotic fit, don’t you think? Coupled with flaunting his strongest soldiers by human measure, only to sacrifice them to God’s Will for this circumstance. A spiritual paradox.

Did God open the King’s eyes to see the fourth person? Many believe this is a Christophany—a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ. Some believe it is a heavenly angel. A divine presence. When God wants to show proof he can. That’s all I need to know.

I also think that although these three men showed what I would call righteous courage, God also comforted them, but even more so, rewarded them with this divine presence in that fire.

False Gods, Fires, and Spiritual Elevation

Daniel 3:26-30

26 Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!”

So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, 27 and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.

28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! 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. 29 Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.”

30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

The King did what God willed to happen. These three men were promoted in the province of Babylon. I think of this as God giving them more responsibility based on trusting that they will make sound judgements for the good of the people. That they have a new measure of power to bring glory to God through their comings and goings in Babylon.

When we trust God with this first step: worship only him. Worship no other false gods. God then measures out from, adds to our trust a new spiritual elevation with more spiritual responsibility. He gives us a better view. Why? Because there is so much work to be done in his Kingdom.

Psalm 115: 1-8

1 Not to us, Lord, not to us
but to your name be the glory,
because of your love and faithfulness.
2 Why do the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
3 Our God is in heaven;
he does whatever pleases him.
4 But their idols are silver and gold,
made by human hands.
5 They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but cannot see.
6 They have ears, but cannot hear,
noses, but cannot smell.
7 They have hands, but cannot feel,
feet, but cannot walk,
nor can they utter a sound with their throats.
8 Those who make them will be like them,
and so will all who trust in them.

Those who make false idols twill be like them. And so will those who worship them.

What in your life right now puts you on the threshold of choosing a false god to avoid the blazing furnace? Earthly life is hard. There is fire everywhere. In relationships. In circumstances. In the stubborn way we pursue longevity to somehow outlive the flesh.

God is asking us to do one thing: choose him regardless of the circumstance. This spiritual decision will set your the soul ablaze with his glory.

It is tempting to want to search for God’s Will and his divine hand in so many places, and to want to test his mighty nature, by claiming that he will save us from the fire.

But that is not the answer.

God may not save us from the fire, in fact, we would do well to expect the fire. He may test our choices, our spirit, human. He will bring the comfort of his Son to walk amongst us. He did that for us to redeem us to him, and he is doing that for us now as we grow toward his Kingdom.

He will reward us by spiritually elevating us with greater spiritual responsibility.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego chose God. Unconditionally.

The trumpet we hear is to worship God. And let him defend.