Faith in the Furnace

In Daniel 3, King Nebuchadnezzar is building a large golden statue and commanding the people to bow down to it when they hear music. He goes on to say that anyone that does not bow down will be thrown into the furnace (Daniel 3:1-6). All of the people, at the sound of the music, bow down to the statue. All of the people bowed except for three (Daniel 3:12). King Nebuchadnezzar became furious and called for the three men to be brought to him.

“Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods and you do not worship the golden statue that I have set up? Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, drum, and entire musical ensemble to fall down and worship the statue that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire, and who is the god that will deliver you out of my hands?” (Daniel 3:14-15)

King Nebuchadnezzar threatens the Israelites to heed his command. He even goes so far as to set himself over and above God. He implies that no god can save them from the King’s hand. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego knew that their God was the one true God. They replied to the king’s words.

“O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to present a defense to you in this matter. If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire and out of your hand, O king, let him deliver us. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods and worship the golden statue that you have set up” (Daniel 3:16-18).

The Israelites told the king that they did not need to offer an explanation for their actions. They claimed that their God could save them. Even if He did not save them, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to serve anyone other than the true God.

King Nebuchadnezzar became furious and ordered the furnace to be burned hotter (Daniel 3:19). Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were sent to the furnace. The heat of the furnace killed the guards surrounding the Israelites (Daniel 3:22). As the king looked into the fire, he saw three men standing in the furnace

“Was it not three men that we threw bound into the fire?… But I see four men unbound, walking in the middle of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the fourth has the appearance of a god” (Daniel 3:24-25).

King Nebuchadnezzar called the men out of the furnace and praised God. He also commanded that all of the people would only praise the God of the Israelites (Daniel 3:28). The faith of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and the faithfulness of God, brought Nebuchadnezzar and the people of Babylon into the recognition that God is God.

Many times the application to this passage of Scripture says that if we have enough faith, God will deliver us from all those who look to cause us harm. I think that application is, perhaps, not the best application of this Scripture. It seems to put the good work on us, rather than God.

I think that the main character in this story is God and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego know that this is true. When threatened with death, the Israelite men declare that God is able to save them. They go onto say that even if He doesn’t they will burn. To these three men, God is bigger than the idol, the king and even their own lives. They didn’t know that God would save them. All they knew was that God was their God and alone would be praised.

Sometimes we are set before idols and commanded to bow down. These idols can be addictions, the opinions of others, work or a number of things. A lot of times those idols are ourselves. We think that we are, or should be, in control of our own lives and if we don’t look out for ourselves, what god can save us? Pride, temptation, or fear causes us to bow down to many idols in spite of what we know to be true in God and Christ. Where we find our significance is what drives us to these idols and away from God.

God promises to never leave us or forsake us. He is in control of everything. We need to trust that God is faithful to his promises. We can see that He is by simply looking at His history of faithfulness. That doesn’t mean that everything will always work out the way we think it should, but it does mean that God’s glory is revealed in all circumstances. Whether we are exalted and lifted up or thrown into the furnaces of life, God is with us and will not forsake us. Our significance is found in the glory of God.

The truth is that God is our significance. He is the One that has created us and set us in motion. He leads us and goes with us through the ups and downs of life. He is in control of all things. The truest thing about us is what God says about us and not what we say about ourselves. Just like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, we must be willing to stand for God’s glory even when we are faced with the fire.