The Fiery Furnace

Daniel 3

Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was three score cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellers, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. Then the princes the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellers, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then an herald cried aloud, “To ye it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages. That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up. And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. Daniel 3:1-6.

So, Nebuchadnezzar made this image, and when the music started playing, everyone was supposed to bow down and worship it. Well, when everyone hit the dirt, there were three left standing. Those three were Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Do you think they were going to worship a hunk of gold when they had the true God to worship? We are talking about the very God that created them in his own image.

You would think out of the scores and scores of people there that day, that no one would notice them. But, certain Chaldeans did, and God almighty did as well. Do you know that when you make up your mind to do the right thing, no one else may notice. I mean there are scores and scores of people around. But guess what? There is always two that will notice. Those two are the devil and God. The devil is not concerned about the one’s who are bowing, he’s concerned about the one’s who aren’t. And God, well he’s up there with a smile on his face feeling mighty proud of you when you make up your mind to do right.

There were certain Chaldeans who went to the King about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They were not about to let them get away with this. These Chaldeans were probably jealous men. Perhaps jealous because of those Jews being promoted over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Verse 12.

Those jealous men went straight to the king and said, “Oh King, live forever. You have made a decree that at the sound of the music, everyone should fall down and worship the image which you have set up. But there are these certain Jews who you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, and they do not regard your words, and they are not bowing to your image.”

Then Nebuchadnezzar angrily commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought to him. He asked them, “Is this thing true, that you do not serve my god’s, nor worship the image that I have set up? You know, I really like you boys so I’ll tell you what I’ll do. I’ll give you just one more chance to bow down. And by the way, who is this God that will deliver you out of my hands?”

Boy, he asked the wrong question there, because he was fixin to see for himself who this God was and what he can do. But you know what? Out of everything said in this story, I think Shadrach, Meshach, and Abenego’s reply was most important. They said, “Oh King, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace. And he will deliver us out of thine hand, O King. But if not, be it known unto thee, O King, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the image which thou hast set up.”

What powerful words. These men were going to serve God no matter what, even if God did not deliver them. They were going to do right no matter what the consequences. Boy oh boy, don’t you think that moved God? I’m sure he thought to himelf. “You go right on boys, I’ll be there with ya.”

The King decided to give them another chance, so he asked his mugicians to begin playing. But right in front of everyone, those men did not bow. By this time the pride began to well up inside that king. Oh, he was so angry! I personally think he was more angry with them for insulting him than he was for them not bowing. It was King Nebuchadnezzar’s pride that was hurt if you ask me. Boy, that pride can be a horrible thing. Do you know what the Bible says about pride? Well, in Job 41 the whole chapter describes the devil, (leviathan) and down in verses 33, and 34, the Bible says, “Upon earth there is not his like, who is made without fear. He beholdeth all high things: he is a king over all the children of pride.”

Wow! When you get all that pride welling up inside you, you’re making the devil just as happy as he can be because he’s king for a day. The Bible says that God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. 1 Peter 5:5. Also in Proverbs 6, God says he hates a proud look. The devil was kicked out of heaven because of his pride. But you know what? Because of God’s humility, we dirty rotten sinners can be saved. God almighty was made manifest in the likness of human flesh. He came down from heaven and dwelt among publicans, harlots, and sinners just to save them. What humility!

Let’s get back to our story, shall we? King Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and anger, commanded that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than it already was. This shows me that the hotter the furnace, the better. You know, I’m going to prove to you through this little story that the harder your trials are, the better. Just keep reading.

The King commanded his most mighty men that he had in his army to bind up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and cast them into the fiery furnace. Now wait a minute! Why would the king have to get the mightiest, and the strongest men in his army to bind up little ole Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? I’m sure they willingly stood there and let those men bind them up. They did not resist the king at all. I’m sure they were calm, and kept their cool. So, why the mighty men? I thought about this, and you know what the Lord showed me? The Devil knows what’s in your heart. He knows whether you mean business for God or not. He knows how serious you are about doing right. If the Devil knows that we mean business for God, and we want to do right, he’s going to send out his strongest force to bind us. The Devil’s not going to mess around. He doesn’t play games. He wants those lost souls. He knows there’s not much time to lose. So you know what? He’s going to go after the one’s who love God. He’s going after that soul winner, and he’s not going to send puny little demons for the job either. He’s going to send his mightiest. That ole serpent knows that if he can keep a Christian who means business for God bound, or knock him out of the Christian race, then he’s won his victory. He’s already got the lost in his palms. He ain’t worried about the lost at all. No sir, they are already pleasing him daily. It’s you, and it’s me, it’s our pastors and their wives. We are all the devil’s prime targets. If you aren’t doing anything for God, and you don’t care about souls that are going to go to hell and burn forever, than don’t worry about the devil messing with you, cause he won’t.

So the Bible tells us that when those mighty men got close to the furnace to throw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in, the flames were so hot that it killed them. You know, our God is a consuming fire. Fire cannot hurt him at all. You know who’s going to suffer the fires of hell one day. Yep, it will be the devil and all his angles.

Just as soon as those men fell into that furnace, the king got up from his royal seat to see the damages done in those roaring flames. With excitement in his voice, the king yelled out, “ Hey, didn’t we throw three men bound into the furnace?”
All those standing by said, “True, o king.”

And the King said, “I don’t see three men now, I see four men. They are loose, and walking around in the midst of the fire. They have no hurt, and the form of the fourth man is like the Son of God.”

Then Nebuchadnezzar walked up to the mouth of that boiling, raging furnace and he yelled out, “ Hey Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the most high God, come on out of there!”
The three men came out of the furnace, and the princes, governors, captains, and all the kings counselors gathered around them. They were all shocked because not even a hair on their head was singed. Their clothes looked fine, and they didn’t even smell like smoke at all. Then King Nebuchadnezzar blessed the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

Do you know what I find that is so very important in that last paragragh? The Bible says that all the kings men were looking on. They were watching. They took notice. They were eye witnesses of how these three men came through the fire. Let me tell you something kids. The lost world is watching, and they’re taking notice. They’re watching to see how you come through the fire. It might be the fire of temptation, the fire of a spiritual battle, the fire of distress and affliction. Whatever fiery trial that is to try your faith, there will always be someone watching, someone taking notice. If Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had not gone through that fire, the King, and his men would not have been able to see just how mighty their God really was. The same goes for us. The bigger the fiery trial, the more real God is. We do not go through fiery trials in our lives for no reason. God has a reason, a purpose, and a plan for every fiery trial that we have to face. It’s through those trials that he is closest to us. I betcha to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, God must have seemed to be a few heavens away before they were thrown into that fiery furnace. I’m sure they were relieved to find out he was only an arms length away.

There’s a beautiful chorus to a song that goes like this:

My God is still in the fire, and he’s walking through the flames.
And he’ll be there to help you when you call upon his name.
He can still deliver by his almighty power.
While here below it’s good to know, he’s still in the fire.

You know something else about Shadrach, Meshach , and Abednego’s fiery trial? It had an effect on the King and his men. It caused them to worship and bless the true God. Let me tell ya, you have no idea who your fiery trial will have an effect on, and what it will do in others lives. How are the lost people supposed to see God in us, if we don’t go through fiery trials? The world is looking at us in that fiery furnace. How we react to the furnace and our faith and trust in God is what’s going to matter. So, the hotter the fire, the more real God will be. The hotter the fire, the more of an impact it will have on the lost. And the hotter the fire, the more encouragement our lives will bring to the saved.

Lastly, in order to test gold to see if it’s real or not, it has got to go through fire. There’s no other way to test gold. You know, gold is worth a lot, but do you know what is worth more than gold? The Bible says in 1 Peter 1:7, “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 honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.”
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ust think about it! Coming through those fiery trials makes your faith more precious than gold. What we need to do is be concerned with the things that will never perish. Can you even imagine what Jesus Christ thinks about the trial of your faith? How precious it is. You know, the hotter the flame, the more precious God is to us. And the substance that endures that flame is even more precious to God. And if that isn’t enough, let me say this. The fiery trials are for our benefit. That we may rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of glory.

Here’s one last thing. Those three men had to die to the flesh in order to be put into those flames. We can’t amount to much if we are not able to endure the flames of our fiery trials. We need to die to our flesh. It is so much easier just to die to the flesh and let God take over, than it is for us to hang onto the flesh and go through the fire. So let’s try to have the trial of our faith to be found precious unto the praise and honor and glory at the appearing of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Let’s come through the fire, and on the other side be found an even greater testimony and encouragement to the lost and to our brothers and sisters in Christ.