Daniel 3:8-25

The Voice

⁸Meanwhile, certain Chaldean leaders stepped forward to make accusations against the Jews.

Chaldeans: ⁹Long live the king! ¹⁰You, good king, have made a decree that every person who hears the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, lute, harp, pipe, and all the other musical instruments is supposed to bow down and worship the golden statue you erected. You have also decreed that ¹¹anyone who does not obey the king’s command and refuses to bow and worship will be taken immediately and thrown into a furnace of blazing fire. ¹²It has come to our attention that certain Jews whom you appointed to govern in the province of Babylon are ignoring your order, O king. They refuse to serve your gods, our gods, and they do not fall and worship the golden statue you erected. Their names: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.

¹³When Nebuchadnezzar heard this, he flew into a rage and ordered that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego be brought in for questioning; so his officials went out, found them, and brought these men before the king.

Nebuchadnezzar: ¹⁴It is reported to me that you, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, refuse to serve my gods and do not bow and worship the golden statue I had set up. Is that true?

Before they have a chance to answer, Nebuchadnezzar decides to see for himself what they will do.

¹⁵If you are ready to comply with my order and fall down and worship the statue I have made when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, lute, harp, pipe, and all the other musical instruments, then things will go well for you from here. But if you refuse to worship, you will be taken immediately and thrown in a furnace of blazing fire. What god could possibly rescue you from my hands then?

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego: ¹⁶Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to defend our actions in this matter. We are ready for the test. ¹⁷If you throw us into the blazing furnace, then the God we serve is able to rescue us from a furnace of blazing fire and release us from your power, Your Majesty. ¹⁸But even if He does not, O king, you can be sure that we still will not serve your gods and we will not worship the golden statue you erected.

Daniel’s friends are men of conviction. They are ready for anything the king throws at them and know that God can release them from the king’s angry grip. They just don’t know if He will. That line—“But even if He does not”—resonates with faith. Everyone wants to follow a God who does miracles-on-demand. But Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego know the one True God does not always rescue His martyrs. Still they will not back down; they will not compromise. They will follow Him and not serve Nebuchadnezzar’s gods.

¹⁹At this Nebuchadnezzar flew into such a rage at Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego that onlookers saw his face twisted and distorted. With fury burning in his eyes, he ordered the furnace heated up seven times hotter than usual. ²⁰He commanded some of his strongest soldiers to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego so they could be thrown into the furnace of blazing fire. ²¹So the Jews were taken and tied up so quickly that they were still wearing the clothes they had on when they arrived—pants, cloaks, hats, and all.^[a] Then they were picked up and thrown into the furnace of blazing fire. ²²The furnace was so hot and the king’s command carried out so quickly, without any precautions, that the soldiers who took Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego up to the furnace were themselves killed by the heat of the raging fire. ²³And the three Jews, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, tied and bound, fell into the furnace of blazing fire.

²⁴Nebuchadnezzar could hardly believe his eyes. Shocked, the king jumped up and asked his advisors,

Nebuchadnezzar: Didn’t we tie up and throw three men into the heart of the fire?

Advisors: Yes, O king.

Nebuchadnezzar: ²⁵Then why do I see four men, completely unbound, walking around in the middle of the fire? They don’t appear to be hurt at all. And the fourth . . . he appears to be like a son of the gods.

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