Fiery Trials
Daniel 3:1-30
Message #5
God uses the fire of our trials for good. Sometimes when the fire of our trials is so hot we think for sure we are going to be destroyed, it’s right at that time that we actually end up meeting the Lord in the midst of the fire.
God uses the fire of our trials – for GOOD.
He’ll use them for our good and for his glory
IF we will join him in what he’s doing
IF we will trust him in what he’s doing
IF we will have the unbending faith to meet him right in the midst of the fire of our tribulation.
God will take us through the deep waters; he will take us through the fiery trials. And… we have a part. We have a role. Our part – is to never bow. We must take our stand for God, trusting him completely no matter what the circumstances look like. We must never bend the knee to our own flesh or the temptations of this world.
God USES the fire of our trials – for GOOD.
Years ago, an archaeologist discovered the Mounds of Dura. It’s a brick structure 45 feet long and 20 feet high with the appearance of being a huge pedestal, right in the place the Bible says a 90-foot statue once stood.
In Daniel Chapter 2, ("History of The World Part 1" "History of The World Part 2"), King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream of a huge statue with a head of gold that Daniel told him represented him and his Babylonian Empire. Now, it’s possibly up to fifteen years later, and it seems like the dream had been gnawing at Nebuchadnezzar. Finally, he decided, why am I just the head of gold? I want to be the entire statue of gold. And I can be! I’ll just make my own statue.
Daniel 3:1 (NLT)
1 King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue ninety feet tall and nine feet wide and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.
A massive gold statue, 90 feet tall and 9 feet wide, placed on a 20-foot high pedestal. It seems like Nebuchadnezzar was doing what so many rulers since him have done. He was trying to unify his kingdom, religiously, and what better deity to worship than himself. They say Hitler was moving toward the same thing, and we know the Antichrist will do this exact same thing. So, King Nebuchadnezzar erects a 90-foot gold statue of himself.
Daniel 3:2 (NLT)
2 Then he sent messages to the high officers, officials, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the provincial officials to come to the dedication of the statue he had set up.
These are all the officials of Babylon, of which Daniel had made Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
Daniel 3:3-5 (NLT)
3 So all these officials came and stood before the statue King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
4 Then a herald shouted out, “People of all races and nations and languages, listen to the king’s command!
5 When you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and other musical instruments, bow to the ground to worship King Nebuchadnezzar’s gold statue.
The first ruler of the world wanted to be worshiped as a deity, and not much has changed since 600 BC. Then, Nebuchadnezzar attached his “signature motivation.”
Daniel 3:6-7 (NLT)
6 Anyone who refuses to obey will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.”
7 So at the sound of the musical instruments, all the people, whatever their race or nation or language, bowed to the ground and worshiped the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
But it seems some of the officials were bowing with one eye open because the King’s wise men were keeping an eye on the Hebrew wise men and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to bow to this statue of gold.
Daniel 3:8 (NLT)
8 But some of the astrologers went to the king and informed on the Jews.
These are the guys who, back in Chapter 2, couldn’t interpret the King’s dream, and apparently there were some hurt ego’s over that, especially when Daniel and his friends were elevated OVER them.
Now, I’d like to focus on this for a minute, because I’ve actually been put into fiery trials by people with the same motives as these pinhead astrologers. (Maybe some of you have as well.) This happens not only in the world’s workplace, but it also happens too much in the church. It used to make me sick every time I saw it, and now it just makes me cynical. And so if this has happened to you, in the workplace or in the church, this is for you.
Daniel 3:9-12 (NLT)
9 They (the astrologers) said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “Long live the king! (enough pleasantries - now down to business)
10 You issued a decree requiring all the people to bow down and worship the gold statue when they hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and other musical instruments.
11 That decree also states that those who refuse to obey must be thrown into a blazing furnace. (remember, remember?)
12 But there are some Jews—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—whom you have put in charge of the province of Babylon (sense any animosity there?). They pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They refuse to serve your gods and do not worship the gold statue you have set up.”
Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah. Now we’ll show you little Hebrews. This is pretty standard worldly politics, which is why it’s so disgusting when you see it in the church. These guys were “one-up’d” by Daniel and friends in the dream chapter, and now they see an opportunity to get back to where they once belonged. They see a way to get their position back and to improve their standing with the king.
Maybe you’ve had this happen in the workplace. I’ve had it happen to me in “church politics” more than once. There’s been someone trying to climb up some perceived “ladder” by piling up the bodies of others for them to climb on. Many a church leader has been attacked and slandered by people who almost always have some ulterior motive. And if you find yourself in that type of fiery trial, please do not bow to that nonsense. Do not be moved by flesh-focused people with ulterior motives trying to make themselves look good by making you look bad. It’s the oldest approach in the “Promote your sinful self” playbook. Do not be moved by it, and do not bow to it. Stay faithful to God, and God will bring you through that fire.
Whatever fiery trial we are on the edge of today, we have got to keep our eyes firmly fixed on God’s eternal purpose and God’s eternal plan because, (this is critical), God is always at work in ways we can’t see and in ways we don’t understand. So, trust God, stand firm in him alone, and we must not bow (in any way) to the fiery trials that confront us.
So now it looks like the “jealous revenge plan” of the wise men might actually work.
Daniel 3:13-15 (NLT)
13 Then Nebuchadnezzar flew into a rage (just as planned) and ordered that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought before him. When they were brought in,
14 Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you refuse to serve my gods or to worship the gold statue I have set up?
15 I will give you one more chance to bow down and worship the statue I have made when you hear the sound of the musical instruments. But if you refuse, you will be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace. And then what god will be able to rescue you from my power?”
Oh, that last sentence is a big mistake. And then what god will be able to rescue you from my power?
This is a showdown. The battle lines are drawn, and God has put these three in the cross-hairs of the world. This is their moment. This is their chance. This is their opportunity to bring glory to God! Not to promote themselves. Not to lift themselves up. Instead, it’s a chance to truly demonstrate what level of genuine faith they have in God.
How? How do they do it? Will they rise up and preach an equally fiery sermon? Will they confront their accusers and dismantle them? Or will they demonstrate miraculous trust and faith in God? I pray when we find ourselves confronted by our own fiery trial that we would respond the same way these three did.
Here is our example to follow.
Daniel 3:16 (NLT)
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you.
How many times have we been able to say, in perfect peace, we do not need to defend ourselves in this situation? Instead, how often are our actions totally defined by our desire to defend ourselves? Many of us have gotten extremely good at defending ourselves. In fact, we’ve gotten so good at it; we wouldn’t trust God to defend us because we don’t think he’d do as good a job as we would.
But that’s not the way God is glorified, and it’s not the way these three handled it. Watch closely how they did handle it. Look at Daniel 3:16 (again) and 17.
Daniel 3:16-17 (NLT)
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you.
17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty.
Look carefully here, the God whom we serve is able to save us and then he will rescue us from your hand (power.) He is able to save us, and he will rescue us from your hand. Please hear me, if you belong to God today because you’ve put your full faith in Jesus Christ, then God will ultimately rescue you from your trials. He will ultimately rescue you because his rescue is already complete. His rescue was finished on the cross. The work of your complete rescue is finished. The price has been paid, and your reward is secure and waiting for you in heaven. And in addition to your ultimate rescue, God is able to save you from your current trials as well.
Now sometimes we have a hard time accepting the difference between these two great truths; God has already guaranteed your ultimate rescue, and he is able to save you from your current trials. What this means is God may or may not bring you through your current trials in the way you’d like. But what you can know for sure is, if you belong to God today, then your ultimate rescue is guaranteed.
That is exactly what these three say to the King, which is the pinnacle of glorifying God in our lives. Again, Daniel 3:17 with verse 18.
Daniel 3:17 -18 (NLT)
17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve IS ABLE to save us. He WILL RESCUE us from your power, Your Majesty.
18 But even if he doesn’t (meaning doesn’t save them from this trial), we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”
Our God is able and he will absolutely rescue us, one way or another. But even if he doesn’t deliver us from this current fiery trial, we want to make one thing crystal clear. We will never bow to serve the god’s of this world. WE WILL NEVER BOW! God is able to save us from this current trial, and he absolutely will rescue us from this fallen world. But there’s one thing that is not going to happen. We will never bow to anything else but the God of heaven. We will never bow to serve the gods of self and we will never bow to serve the gods of this world. We are steadfast. We are immovable and our fiery trials will not change us.
Now this is going to be a problem if you say this to a self absorbed King who’s demanding your worship.
Daniel 3:19-22 (NLT)
19 Nebuchadnezzar was so furious with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face became distorted with rage. (that can’t be good) He commanded that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual.
20 Then he ordered some of the strongest men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace.
21 So they tied them up and threw them into the furnace, fully dressed in their pants, turbans, robes, and other garments.
22 And because the king, in his anger, had demanded such a hot fire in the furnace, the flames killed the soldiers as they threw the three men in.
This was an intense scene. In a “smelting furnace” where metal is melted, there is a feed platform that is very dangerous. Because when the smelter door is opened, it creates such a vacuum it will literally suck a man off that platform. Which is exactly what happened here, and the soldiers are vaporized in the flames.
And we read in Daniel 3:16,
Daniel 3:16 (NLT)
23 So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, securely tied, fell into the roaring flames.
Sometimes it looks like God is not going to save us from our fiery trial. Sometimes things start to look pretty hopeless when we start focusing on our current situation (like being thrown into a white-hot furnace.)
But then sometimes something happens that is even more shocking. Sometimes something happens that you never expected to happen. If you’ll go into that fiery trial with the faith you see here; if you’ll go in knowing that either God is going to save you from the trial or rescue you completely, you’ll find Jesus is waiting in the fire to meet you. Sometimes your Lord wants to walk with you through the fire because Jesus knows in the midst of the fire, you will come to know him in a way and to a level that you never could outside of the fire.
What we want is to never even feel a spark from the fire.
But what Jesus wants is to meet us in the fire.
What we want is comfort and ease in this life.
But what Jesus wants is to prepare us for eternity.
What we want is for Jesus to make this life easier and better.
But what Jesus wants is to use us for his glory.
Sometimes God’s eternal good is us meeting him right in the midst of the fire, and that was God’s plan for these three Hebrews.
Daniel 3:24-25 (NLT)
24 But suddenly, Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in amazement and exclaimed to his advisers, “Didn’t we tie up three men and throw them into the furnace?” “Yes, Your Majesty, we certainly did,” they replied.
25 “Look!” Nebuchadnezzar shouted. “I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire unharmed! And the fourth looks like a god!”
The most literal translation for this fourth person in the fire is “like a son of the gods.” This is an Aramaic term that means “One that comes from deity.” Nebuchadnezzar wouldn’t use the term Son of God like us. He just recognizes this fourth person as deity and in fact, he refers to him as an angel a few verses later. However, most scholars believe this is a “pre-incarnate” manifestation of Jesus Christ. Meaning, this is the Lord Jesus showing up for a fireside chat with these faithful servants.
Please listen closely. Jesus wants to walk through the midst of your fiery trial with you! He wants to meet you there. He wants you to know him there.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were in a no-lose situation. Either they were going to be walking around with Jesus in the fire, OR they were going to be walking around with Jesus in heaven. This is a no-lose situation. Meet Jesus in the midst of the fire and know him like you could never know him any other way. Or, meet him in heaven and collect your reward there and spend eternity with him in glory. If you belong to Christ today, you are in a win-win situation. God may save us from our fiery trial, but he has already rescued us from this fallen world.
In John Chapter 6, Jesus sent his disciples into the storm so he could reach them in a way that he could not otherwise. And here, the Lord used a fiery trial to meet these three servants the same way. What if God wants to do the same thing in you for his purposes and for his glory? If so, know that God has promised to never leave you and to never forsake you. If he allows you to enter into the fire of tribulation, he has promised to be there with you to walk you through it and bring you out victorious. And remember, people see God with us when we are in the fires.
King Nebuchadnezzar mocked God when he threw these three into the fire, but now his tune changes.
Daniel 3:26 (NLT)
26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came as close as he could to the door of the flaming furnace and shouted: “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stepped out of the fire.
What’s so funny is that these three didn’t jump out of the fire as soon as they realized they were no longer bound, they had to be called out of the fire because they met Jesus in there and they were in no hurry to come out! Suddenly, there was something more valuable than simply avoiding the fiery trial. They had met Jesus Christ in the midst of that fire, and his overwhelming presence caused them to forget that they were even in the fire.
But the King called them, so they came on out.
Daniel 3:27 (NLT)
27 Then the high officers, officials, governors, and advisers crowded around them and saw that the fire had not touched them. Not a hair on their heads was singed, and their clothing was not scorched. They didn’t even smell of smoke!
If God does this for you, remember it’s for his glory. This is exactly what happens in the next verse.
Daniel 3:28 (NLT)
28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his angel to rescue his servants who trusted in him. They defied the king’s command and were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.
They were willing to die rather than bow to any other God and rather than serve or worship any god of this world, and it had a significant impact on the King.
Daniel 3:29-30 (NLT)
29 Therefore, I make this decree: If any people, whatever their race or nation or language, speak a word against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they will be torn limb from limb, and their houses will be turned into heaps of rubble. There is no other god who can rescue like this!” (God getting the Glory)
30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to even higher positions in the province of Babylon.
The last thing God does for these three faithful servants is to enlarge their influence for him. We don’t hear about them again, but I promise you, the people throughout Babylon heard about them as they operated in their faith in even higher positions.
What if we truly believed in the trial we are facing today that God would do what was best both for us and for his glory? What if we were to stop fighting and stop defending and stop demanding our own way? What if we were to just say with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego “we do not need to defend ourselves . . . Our God whom we serve is ABLE to save us. And He WILL rescue us”? And, either way, one thing we will never do; we will never bow to the gods of self or of this world. We will meet Jesus Christ in the midst of every fiery trial and every difficulty with complete faith that he is able to save us and that he absolutely will rescue us.
May God be glorified in the midst of our fiery trials, and may we stand firm in our faith and trust of him. May we meet him in the fiery trial like we can meet him no other way. May we experience his touch in the midst of our trials. May we long to know him, may we seek him, may we cling to him. May we turn from the ways of the world and the flesh, and may we hold on to Jesus Christ firmly in the midst of our trials.
Let’s pray, as I read Isaiah 43:1-3.
Isaiah 43:1–3 (NLT)
1 . . . “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine.
2 When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.
3 For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I gave Egypt as a ransom for your freedom; I gave Ethiopia and Seba in your place.
God uses the fire of our trials – for GOOD.
He’ll use them for our good and for his glory
IF we will join him in what he’s doing
IF we will trust him in what he’s doing
IF we will have the unbending faith to meet him right in the midst of the fire of our tribulation.
God will take us through the deep waters; he will take us through the fiery trials. And… we have a part. We have a role. Our part – is to never bow. We must take our stand for God, trusting him completely no matter what the circumstances look like. We must never bend the knee to our own flesh or the temptations of this world.
God USES the fire of our trials – for GOOD.
Years ago, an archaeologist discovered the Mounds of Dura. It’s a brick structure 45 feet long and 20 feet high with the appearance of being a huge pedestal, right in the place the Bible says a 90-foot statue once stood.
In Daniel Chapter 2, ("History of The World Part 1" "History of The World Part 2"), King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream of a huge statue with a head of gold that Daniel told him represented him and his Babylonian Empire. Now, it’s possibly up to fifteen years later, and it seems like the dream had been gnawing at Nebuchadnezzar. Finally, he decided, why am I just the head of gold? I want to be the entire statue of gold. And I can be! I’ll just make my own statue.
Daniel 3:1 (NLT)
1 King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue ninety feet tall and nine feet wide and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.
A massive gold statue, 90 feet tall and 9 feet wide, placed on a 20-foot high pedestal. It seems like Nebuchadnezzar was doing what so many rulers since him have done. He was trying to unify his kingdom, religiously, and what better deity to worship than himself. They say Hitler was moving toward the same thing, and we know the Antichrist will do this exact same thing. So, King Nebuchadnezzar erects a 90-foot gold statue of himself.
Daniel 3:2 (NLT)
2 Then he sent messages to the high officers, officials, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the provincial officials to come to the dedication of the statue he had set up.
These are all the officials of Babylon, of which Daniel had made Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
Daniel 3:3-5 (NLT)
3 So all these officials came and stood before the statue King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
4 Then a herald shouted out, “People of all races and nations and languages, listen to the king’s command!
5 When you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and other musical instruments, bow to the ground to worship King Nebuchadnezzar’s gold statue.
The first ruler of the world wanted to be worshiped as a deity, and not much has changed since 600 BC. Then, Nebuchadnezzar attached his “signature motivation.”
Daniel 3:6-7 (NLT)
6 Anyone who refuses to obey will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.”
7 So at the sound of the musical instruments, all the people, whatever their race or nation or language, bowed to the ground and worshiped the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
But it seems some of the officials were bowing with one eye open because the King’s wise men were keeping an eye on the Hebrew wise men and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to bow to this statue of gold.
Daniel 3:8 (NLT)
8 But some of the astrologers went to the king and informed on the Jews.
These are the guys who, back in Chapter 2, couldn’t interpret the King’s dream, and apparently there were some hurt ego’s over that, especially when Daniel and his friends were elevated OVER them.
Now, I’d like to focus on this for a minute, because I’ve actually been put into fiery trials by people with the same motives as these pinhead astrologers. (Maybe some of you have as well.) This happens not only in the world’s workplace, but it also happens too much in the church. It used to make me sick every time I saw it, and now it just makes me cynical. And so if this has happened to you, in the workplace or in the church, this is for you.
Daniel 3:9-12 (NLT)
9 They (the astrologers) said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “Long live the king! (enough pleasantries - now down to business)
10 You issued a decree requiring all the people to bow down and worship the gold statue when they hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and other musical instruments.
11 That decree also states that those who refuse to obey must be thrown into a blazing furnace. (remember, remember?)
12 But there are some Jews—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—whom you have put in charge of the province of Babylon (sense any animosity there?). They pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They refuse to serve your gods and do not worship the gold statue you have set up.”
Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah. Now we’ll show you little Hebrews. This is pretty standard worldly politics, which is why it’s so disgusting when you see it in the church. These guys were “one-up’d” by Daniel and friends in the dream chapter, and now they see an opportunity to get back to where they once belonged. They see a way to get their position back and to improve their standing with the king.
Maybe you’ve had this happen in the workplace. I’ve had it happen to me in “church politics” more than once. There’s been someone trying to climb up some perceived “ladder” by piling up the bodies of others for them to climb on. Many a church leader has been attacked and slandered by people who almost always have some ulterior motive. And if you find yourself in that type of fiery trial, please do not bow to that nonsense. Do not be moved by flesh-focused people with ulterior motives trying to make themselves look good by making you look bad. It’s the oldest approach in the “Promote your sinful self” playbook. Do not be moved by it, and do not bow to it. Stay faithful to God, and God will bring you through that fire.
Whatever fiery trial we are on the edge of today, we have got to keep our eyes firmly fixed on God’s eternal purpose and God’s eternal plan because, (this is critical), God is always at work in ways we can’t see and in ways we don’t understand. So, trust God, stand firm in him alone, and we must not bow (in any way) to the fiery trials that confront us.
So now it looks like the “jealous revenge plan” of the wise men might actually work.
Daniel 3:13-15 (NLT)
13 Then Nebuchadnezzar flew into a rage (just as planned) and ordered that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought before him. When they were brought in,
14 Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you refuse to serve my gods or to worship the gold statue I have set up?
15 I will give you one more chance to bow down and worship the statue I have made when you hear the sound of the musical instruments. But if you refuse, you will be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace. And then what god will be able to rescue you from my power?”
Oh, that last sentence is a big mistake. And then what god will be able to rescue you from my power?
This is a showdown. The battle lines are drawn, and God has put these three in the cross-hairs of the world. This is their moment. This is their chance. This is their opportunity to bring glory to God! Not to promote themselves. Not to lift themselves up. Instead, it’s a chance to truly demonstrate what level of genuine faith they have in God.
How? How do they do it? Will they rise up and preach an equally fiery sermon? Will they confront their accusers and dismantle them? Or will they demonstrate miraculous trust and faith in God? I pray when we find ourselves confronted by our own fiery trial that we would respond the same way these three did.
Here is our example to follow.
Daniel 3:16 (NLT)
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you.
How many times have we been able to say, in perfect peace, we do not need to defend ourselves in this situation? Instead, how often are our actions totally defined by our desire to defend ourselves? Many of us have gotten extremely good at defending ourselves. In fact, we’ve gotten so good at it; we wouldn’t trust God to defend us because we don’t think he’d do as good a job as we would.
But that’s not the way God is glorified, and it’s not the way these three handled it. Watch closely how they did handle it. Look at Daniel 3:16 (again) and 17.
Daniel 3:16-17 (NLT)
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you.
17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty.
Look carefully here, the God whom we serve is able to save us and then he will rescue us from your hand (power.) He is able to save us, and he will rescue us from your hand. Please hear me, if you belong to God today because you’ve put your full faith in Jesus Christ, then God will ultimately rescue you from your trials. He will ultimately rescue you because his rescue is already complete. His rescue was finished on the cross. The work of your complete rescue is finished. The price has been paid, and your reward is secure and waiting for you in heaven. And in addition to your ultimate rescue, God is able to save you from your current trials as well.
Now sometimes we have a hard time accepting the difference between these two great truths; God has already guaranteed your ultimate rescue, and he is able to save you from your current trials. What this means is God may or may not bring you through your current trials in the way you’d like. But what you can know for sure is, if you belong to God today, then your ultimate rescue is guaranteed.
That is exactly what these three say to the King, which is the pinnacle of glorifying God in our lives. Again, Daniel 3:17 with verse 18.
Daniel 3:17 -18 (NLT)
17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve IS ABLE to save us. He WILL RESCUE us from your power, Your Majesty.
18 But even if he doesn’t (meaning doesn’t save them from this trial), we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”
Our God is able and he will absolutely rescue us, one way or another. But even if he doesn’t deliver us from this current fiery trial, we want to make one thing crystal clear. We will never bow to serve the god’s of this world. WE WILL NEVER BOW! God is able to save us from this current trial, and he absolutely will rescue us from this fallen world. But there’s one thing that is not going to happen. We will never bow to anything else but the God of heaven. We will never bow to serve the gods of self and we will never bow to serve the gods of this world. We are steadfast. We are immovable and our fiery trials will not change us.
Now this is going to be a problem if you say this to a self absorbed King who’s demanding your worship.
Daniel 3:19-22 (NLT)
19 Nebuchadnezzar was so furious with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face became distorted with rage. (that can’t be good) He commanded that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual.
20 Then he ordered some of the strongest men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace.
21 So they tied them up and threw them into the furnace, fully dressed in their pants, turbans, robes, and other garments.
22 And because the king, in his anger, had demanded such a hot fire in the furnace, the flames killed the soldiers as they threw the three men in.
This was an intense scene. In a “smelting furnace” where metal is melted, there is a feed platform that is very dangerous. Because when the smelter door is opened, it creates such a vacuum it will literally suck a man off that platform. Which is exactly what happened here, and the soldiers are vaporized in the flames.
And we read in Daniel 3:16,
Daniel 3:16 (NLT)
23 So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, securely tied, fell into the roaring flames.
Sometimes it looks like God is not going to save us from our fiery trial. Sometimes things start to look pretty hopeless when we start focusing on our current situation (like being thrown into a white-hot furnace.)
But then sometimes something happens that is even more shocking. Sometimes something happens that you never expected to happen. If you’ll go into that fiery trial with the faith you see here; if you’ll go in knowing that either God is going to save you from the trial or rescue you completely, you’ll find Jesus is waiting in the fire to meet you. Sometimes your Lord wants to walk with you through the fire because Jesus knows in the midst of the fire, you will come to know him in a way and to a level that you never could outside of the fire.
What we want is to never even feel a spark from the fire.
But what Jesus wants is to meet us in the fire.
What we want is comfort and ease in this life.
But what Jesus wants is to prepare us for eternity.
What we want is for Jesus to make this life easier and better.
But what Jesus wants is to use us for his glory.
Sometimes God’s eternal good is us meeting him right in the midst of the fire, and that was God’s plan for these three Hebrews.
Daniel 3:24-25 (NLT)
24 But suddenly, Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in amazement and exclaimed to his advisers, “Didn’t we tie up three men and throw them into the furnace?” “Yes, Your Majesty, we certainly did,” they replied.
25 “Look!” Nebuchadnezzar shouted. “I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire unharmed! And the fourth looks like a god!”
The most literal translation for this fourth person in the fire is “like a son of the gods.” This is an Aramaic term that means “One that comes from deity.” Nebuchadnezzar wouldn’t use the term Son of God like us. He just recognizes this fourth person as deity and in fact, he refers to him as an angel a few verses later. However, most scholars believe this is a “pre-incarnate” manifestation of Jesus Christ. Meaning, this is the Lord Jesus showing up for a fireside chat with these faithful servants.
Please listen closely. Jesus wants to walk through the midst of your fiery trial with you! He wants to meet you there. He wants you to know him there.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were in a no-lose situation. Either they were going to be walking around with Jesus in the fire, OR they were going to be walking around with Jesus in heaven. This is a no-lose situation. Meet Jesus in the midst of the fire and know him like you could never know him any other way. Or, meet him in heaven and collect your reward there and spend eternity with him in glory. If you belong to Christ today, you are in a win-win situation. God may save us from our fiery trial, but he has already rescued us from this fallen world.
In John Chapter 6, Jesus sent his disciples into the storm so he could reach them in a way that he could not otherwise. And here, the Lord used a fiery trial to meet these three servants the same way. What if God wants to do the same thing in you for his purposes and for his glory? If so, know that God has promised to never leave you and to never forsake you. If he allows you to enter into the fire of tribulation, he has promised to be there with you to walk you through it and bring you out victorious. And remember, people see God with us when we are in the fires.
King Nebuchadnezzar mocked God when he threw these three into the fire, but now his tune changes.
Daniel 3:26 (NLT)
26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came as close as he could to the door of the flaming furnace and shouted: “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stepped out of the fire.
What’s so funny is that these three didn’t jump out of the fire as soon as they realized they were no longer bound, they had to be called out of the fire because they met Jesus in there and they were in no hurry to come out! Suddenly, there was something more valuable than simply avoiding the fiery trial. They had met Jesus Christ in the midst of that fire, and his overwhelming presence caused them to forget that they were even in the fire.
But the King called them, so they came on out.
Daniel 3:27 (NLT)
27 Then the high officers, officials, governors, and advisers crowded around them and saw that the fire had not touched them. Not a hair on their heads was singed, and their clothing was not scorched. They didn’t even smell of smoke!
If God does this for you, remember it’s for his glory. This is exactly what happens in the next verse.
Daniel 3:28 (NLT)
28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his angel to rescue his servants who trusted in him. They defied the king’s command and were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.
They were willing to die rather than bow to any other God and rather than serve or worship any god of this world, and it had a significant impact on the King.
Daniel 3:29-30 (NLT)
29 Therefore, I make this decree: If any people, whatever their race or nation or language, speak a word against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they will be torn limb from limb, and their houses will be turned into heaps of rubble. There is no other god who can rescue like this!” (God getting the Glory)
30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to even higher positions in the province of Babylon.
The last thing God does for these three faithful servants is to enlarge their influence for him. We don’t hear about them again, but I promise you, the people throughout Babylon heard about them as they operated in their faith in even higher positions.
What if we truly believed in the trial we are facing today that God would do what was best both for us and for his glory? What if we were to stop fighting and stop defending and stop demanding our own way? What if we were to just say with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego “we do not need to defend ourselves . . . Our God whom we serve is ABLE to save us. And He WILL rescue us”? And, either way, one thing we will never do; we will never bow to the gods of self or of this world. We will meet Jesus Christ in the midst of every fiery trial and every difficulty with complete faith that he is able to save us and that he absolutely will rescue us.
May God be glorified in the midst of our fiery trials, and may we stand firm in our faith and trust of him. May we meet him in the fiery trial like we can meet him no other way. May we experience his touch in the midst of our trials. May we long to know him, may we seek him, may we cling to him. May we turn from the ways of the world and the flesh, and may we hold on to Jesus Christ firmly in the midst of our trials.
Let’s pray, as I read Isaiah 43:1-3.
Isaiah 43:1–3 (NLT)
1 . . . “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine.
2 When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.
3 For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I gave Egypt as a ransom for your freedom; I gave Ethiopia and Seba in your place.