The Fiery Furnace

The story about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is one of the most amazing stories in the entire bible. If you have never heard this story before, I hope that you enjoy it.

It all started when King Nebuchadnezzar decided to make a golden statue that was sixty cubits high and breadth six cubits. When the king had made this, he set out to get everyone to come out to dedicate the image that he had set up. He gathered the satraps, the perfects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasures, the justices, the magistrates and the officials of the province. Once everyone was there, the herald proclaimed to everyone, "You are commanded, O people, nations, and languages, that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image the King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace."

Basically, there was a golden image and whenever the people heard any sort of music they were to bow down and worship the statue or die in the burning fiery furnace. It's twisted.

There was a time when the Chaldeans came forward and maliciously accused the Jews. When this happened, they discovered that there were three Jews who were appointed over the affairs of the province in Babylon, who were not there. Those three were: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Those three men were accused of not paying any attention to the king and not worshipping the golden image that had been set up.

Nebuchadnezzar was furious and commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. The King asked the three why they don't bow and worship to the image and they replied with this:
"O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up."

The king was even more furious and ordered that the fiery furnace be heated seven more time hotter than it was usually heated. After he ordered the franc to be heated more, he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their cloaks, their tunics, their hats, and their garments, and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace. Since the furnace was so hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who threw the three Jews into the fire.

The king was astonished and rose up in haste. He said: "I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods." The king came near the the door of the furnace and declared, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here! The came out and the people noticed that the fire did not harm to them. The hair of their head was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them. The king then recognized that God had sent an angel and delivered his servants, who trusted him, and set aside the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serving and worshiping a god except their own God."

The king ended with a decree: "Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way."

Such an amazing story right?!

My encouragement to you is this. Don't fall into traps and the temptations of the world. Don't give into putting other things before God. It's so stinking hard trust me! Try your very hardest. Daniel was faithful and God showed him favor, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were faithful and God saved their lives. When we are faithful, God isn't going to just ignore your faithfulness, I promise you that.

The three Jews were so confident that God would deliver them, they never hesitated. They never showed any sort of fear. I wonder if we were put into that situation if we would have the same boldness and confidence in God.

Another thing I want to point out is how the king changed. The king went from having people who didn't worship him being thrown into a fiery furnace to having people who said anything against God being torn limb from limb and having their houses destroyed.  The king saw how God had saved Shadrach, Meshach and Abedengo and recognized that there are no gods like our God, the Most High God. Let this story change how think today.

I want to leave you with that thought and question to yourself. Are you willing to stand up for your faith in God and be thrown into the fiery furnace or are you going to give in and worship and bow down to false gods and idols?