DANIEL SIMPLIFIED

 

CHAPTER 3.26

Gleanings from the Book of Daniel:

A Weekly Verse-by-Verse Bible Study Series

 

DANIEL

Chapter Three

The Golden Image of Nebuchadnezzar

(The Fiery Furnace)

 

 

Prologue

The ceremony had come to a sudden halt. Nebuchadnezzar and all his cabinet members had just witnessed a miracle from God. Because they failed to worship the golden image the King had constructed, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were ordered thrown into a fiery furnace. When the King looked, instead of three men walking around amid the fire, there were four. The fourth person looked like the Son of God (v. 25). God had not allowed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to be harmed by the fire because He was with them. This is a beautiful picture of God’s faithfulness, especially giving the assurance that He will preserve the nation Israel in the Last Days.

 

God supernaturally protected and delivered the three young Hebrew men from the blazing flames. The point stressed: When God delivers, He delivers completely. He has, and will continue to do so in many biblical passages, specifically:

1. Not one Israelite perished in the Red Sea crossing (cf. Exodus 29:22, 29-30)

 

2. Not one Assyrian soldier survived to attack Jerusalem in the days of Hezekiah (cf. 2 Kings 19:35)

 

 

3. Not one of the 144,000 will cease in the Great Tribulation (cf. Revelation 7:4; 14:1)

 

In the final verses of Chapter 3, observe how God triumphs…

 

 

(Verse 26)

 

Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire.

 

The Wonderment of Nebuchadnezzar

After miraculously observing Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego walking around in the flaming fire, Nebuchadnezzar cautiously approached the furnace and conversed with them.

 

The pride that once clouded his mind had now been forgotten. Nebuchadnezzar beckoned the men to come forth (hither or here). Upon his request, the three young men came forth from the fiery furnace. Now, the King was forced to admit Israel’s most high God displayed power far greater than any of the Babylonian gods.

 

 

 

(Verse 27)

 

And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counsellers, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.

 

The Effects of God’s Miracle

The rulers of the Empire’s provinces witnessed an outstanding miracle and also found it hard to believe what they had seen.

Consider four components of their observation:

1. The fire did not affect their bodies

 

2. The hair on their heads was not even singed

 

3. The coats they wore were not altered

a.  One translation recognizes coats as shoes (babouche’s or oriental slippers), reminiscence to the wilderness experience (cf. Deuteronomy 8:4; 29:5; Nehemiah 9:21)

 

b.  Other translations use clothes, robes, garments, trousers, cloaks, or hosen. This harkens back to the difficulty of translating Aramaic into Hebrew

 

4. The smell of fire or smoke was not upon their clothes

 

Consequently and interestingly, only the cords that bound them were damaged by the fire, ironically the only item belonging to the Babylonian Empire.

 

 

(Verse 28)

 

Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent His angel, and delivered His servants that trusted in Him, and have changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.

 

The Acknowledgement of Nebuchadnezzar

King Nebuchadnezzar recognized the omnipotence of the almighty and living God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Instead of worshipping the golden image, he, therefore, issued a mandate for all to honor the God of Israel (cf. 2:47).

 

Surprisingly, the King came to terms with several things as he likewise did in Chapter 2:

1. He praised the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego

 

2. He acknowledged their God sent His angel (messenger) to deliver them from the fire

 

3. He recognized the three servants put their trust in their God

 

4. He confessed their God changed his word, i.e., his decree

 

5. He admitted the three yielded their bodies to the God of Israel (cf. Romans 6:3; 8:5; 12:1) as opposed to not serving, sacrificing, or worshiping  any other god                       

 

Paradoxically, the renowned king who ordered the world to bow before his image was now bowing to the King of the world. Wherefore, as a result of God’s presence and power, He obtained the glory He deserved, only this time from a Gentile nation.

 

 

(Verse 29)

 

Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss (offensive) against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort.

 

The Decree of Nebuchadnezzar

King Nebuchadnezzar issued a directive to all the people, nations, and languages in his Empire. A penalty of death was imposed upon anyone who spoke against or slandered the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (see 2:5).

Reprimands for such actions are stipulated:

1. All would be cut into pieces, including their families

 

2. All would have their homes become a dunghill (refuge heap or outhouse)

 

Even though Nebuchadnezzar was not converted at this point, He was convinced none of the Babylonian gods had the presence and power of Israel’s God. Their true God was able to deliver!

 

 

(Verse 30)

 

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

 

The Promotion of the Hebrews

Now, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are once again in favor of the King. Whatever former rank they enjoyed in the city, Nebuchadnezzar promoted them to higher positions over the province of Babylon. The Greek Septuagint (LXX) of the Old Testament reads with more particulars: “He (Nebuchadnezzar) advanced them to be governors over all the Jews that were in his kingdom.”

 

 

Epilogue

Daniel is never mentioned in Chapter 3. Favorably, the chapter is a thrilling account of three young captives, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego having unwavering faith. And, They remained true to the true God of Israel.

 

In their experiences and journey of faith, however, God put the three men through challenging trials to test their faith. Also, throughout their trials God purified them through the fire of testing, thus setting a godly example for many generations to follow.

Many references in Scripture elucidate this principle. Some encompass:

In the Old Testament

Psalm 12:6 - The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

 

Job 23:10 - But He knoweth the way that I take: when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

 

Isaiah 48:10 – Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. (NKJV)

 

In the New Testament

James - 1: 2-4 – My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

 

James 1:12 – Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love Him.

 

1 Peter 1:6-7 – Wherein ye greatly rejoice though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.

 

As a result of being faithful to God, they quenched the fury of fire with their faith (cf. Hebrews 11:34). And likewise proving the Lord faithfully protects His children:

1 Samuel 2:30 – Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before Me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from Me; for them that honour Me I will honour, and they that despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.

 

Furthermore, their actions are contrasted to the display of God ever ready to deliver His people against Gentile gods who doom their people to judgment.

 

Chapter 3 begins with Nebuchadnezzar trying to unite his kingdom under a one-world religion (Vv. 1, 5), whereas the chapter ends with the acknowledgment of God’s sovereignty and permitting His worship.  In addition, Chapter 3 is a preparation for the next chapter. Chapter 4 focuses on Nebuchadnezzar's testimony and conversion. But knowing God, He usually places obstacles in the way, thus testing a person’s faith.

 

In the next chapter, Nebuchadnezzar will once again experience another trial, dream, and its interpretation as he is prepped for salvation.

 

 

QUESTIONS:

1. In what way did the three men survive the fire?

2. What did Nebuchadnezzar say to the three men?

3. What did the rulers of the Empire witness?

4. What item was burned?

5. What did Nebuchadnezzar acknowledge?

6. What was the penalty of the King’s decree?

7. How does God test one’s faith?

 

 

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