UNROLL
Dawn on a wide flat plain: far off on a high mud-brick base a tall, narrow gilded statue catches the first sun, tiny crowds gathering at its foot, palms on the horizon.

The fiery furnace

Daniel 3

When everyone around you bows, what keeps you standing?

30 verses≈ 7 minBSB

Images are artistic interpretations.

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Where we are

  1. 1Exiles at courtBabylon, 605 BC: four young men and the king’s food
  2. 2The king’s dreamAbout 603 BC: a statue, a stone, a kingdom forever
  3. 3The fiery furnaceThree men who would not bowChapter 3
  4. 4The great treeNebuchadnezzar humbled, then praising God
  5. 5The writing on the wall539 BC: Belshazzar’s feast, Babylon’s last night
  6. 6The lions’ denDarius the Mede, and a man who kept praying
  7. 7Four beasts and the Son of ManBelshazzar’s first year: the kingdoms again
  8. 8The ram and the goatMedia and Persia, Greece, and a proud horn
  9. 9Seventy weeksDarius’s first year: Daniel’s prayer and Gabriel’s answer
  10. 10–12The last visionCyrus’s third year: kings, the end, and the rising

Nebuchadnezzar’s Golden Statue

At midday a tall, narrow gilded statue of a robed figure stands alone on a high brick base on a flat plain, sun flaring off it, earth ramps still at its foot.

King Nebuchadnezzar made a golden statue sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and he set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.

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Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to assemble the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the other officials of the provinces to attend the dedication of the statue he had set up.

So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the rulers of the provinces assembled for the dedication of the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it.

The herald

Then the herald loudly proclaimed, “O people of every nation and language, this is what you are commanded: As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. And whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into the blazing fiery furnace.”

Therefore, as soon as all the people heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, and all kinds of music, the people of every nation and language would fall down and worship the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego Accused

The astrologers

At this time some astrologers came forward and maliciously accused the Jews, saying to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, may you live forever!

The astrologers
The astrologers

You, O king, have issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the golden statue, and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into the blazing fiery furnace. But there are some Jews you have appointed to manage the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—who have ignored you, O king, and have refused to serve your gods or worship the golden statue you have set up.”

Nebuchadnezzar
Nebuchadnezzar

Then Nebuchadnezzar, furious with rage, summoned Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, is it true that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden statue I have set up? Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the statue I have made, very good. But if you refuse to worship, you will be thrown at once into the blazing fiery furnace. Then what god will be able to deliver you from my hands?”

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego

If the God whom we serve exists, then He is able to deliver us from the blazing fiery furnace and from your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden statue you have set up.”

Daniel 3:17–18

Reflect

Even if

“But even if He does not,” they said, they would not bow. What would your faith look like if God did not do what you are asking Him to do? Write it down, and tell Him honestly.

The Fiery Furnace

A great brick kiln with its door white-hot, heat shimmering and sparks flying; soldiers far off shield their faces.

At this, Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He gave orders to heat the furnace seven times hotter than usual, and he commanded some mighty men of valor in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the blazing fiery furnace.

So they were tied up, wearing robes, trousers, turbans, and other clothes, and they were thrown into the blazing fiery furnace.

The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the fiery flames killed the men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, firmly bound, fell into the blazing fiery furnace.

Nebuchadnezzar

Suddenly King Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in amazement and asked his advisers, “Did we not throw three men, firmly bound, into the fire?”

The advisers

“Certainly, O king,” they replied.

Nebuchadnezzar

“Look!” he exclaimed. “I see four men, unbound and unharmed, walking around in the fire—and the fourth looks like a son of the gods!”

Nebuchadnezzar
Nebuchadnezzar

Then Nebuchadnezzar approached the door of the blazing fiery furnace and called out, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out!” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire,

and when the satraps, prefects, governors, and royal advisers had gathered around, they saw that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men. Not a hair of their heads was singed, their robes were unaffected, and there was no smell of fire on them.

Nebuchadnezzar

Nebuchadnezzar declared, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him. They violated the king’s command and risked their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.

Nebuchadnezzar
Evening on the plain: the great kiln gone dark, its door open, a thin smoke rising; the gilded statue small far off.

Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego will be cut into pieces and their houses reduced to rubble. For there is no other god who can deliver in this way.”

Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

0:22

Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain

Question

Quick question

The king looked into the furnace, where three men had been thrown, firmly bound.

How many men did the king see walking in the fire?

You’ve experienced

Daniel 3

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A verse to carry with you

If the God whom we serve exists, then He is able to deliver us from the blazing fiery furnace and from your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden statue you have set up.

Daniel 3:17–18

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