The story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is probably one of the most famous events in the Old Testament (it’s at least in the top 5). We’re talking about three men thrown alive into a fiery furnace for their commitment to God.
However, this story truly begins in Daniel Chapter 2 with a king named Nebuchadnezzar and a bizarre dream. For the sake of this story, I’m going to shorthand Nebuchadnezzar’s name to Neb — bear with me. This strange dream left King Neb sleepless and troubled, so what did he do? He called for his wisemen, magicians, enchanters, and Chaldeans to determine the meaning of his dream.
But King Neb was a suspicious man and didn’t trust this group of advisors, so he insisted that someone first tell him what he had dreamed, and then he would trust the interpretation that was provided. To add tension, if these demands were not met, the entire group would be torn limb from limb — King Neb wasn’t exactly reasonable.
Long story short, our three heroes and their friend Daniel pleaded with the Lord to make known to them both the dream and its interpretation. Thankfully, the Lord delivered, and in Daniel 2:31–35, we’re provided with a description of this dream.
“You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
Daniel goes on to interpret the dream, explaining that…
· The head of gold represents the Babylonian kingdom, which is the superpower on earth (that has to feel good).
· But there’s bad news: an inferior kingdom would one day supersede King Neb.
· And ultimately all earthly kingdoms will fall under Christ, who is the Stone that is cut out by no human hand.
Fast forward to chapter 3: Some time has passed.
· King Neb’s mind has been eaten up with the harsh reality that his kingdom will not leave an enduring legacy.
· And even though chapter 2 records King Neb praising the God of Daniel for supernaturally providing an answer to his strange dream, over time, he appears to have had a heart change, specifically a hardening of his heart.
In Chapter 3, King Neb has erected a massive 90-foot gold-plated sculpture. To dedicate the image, King Neb gathered the most important and influential leaders from his kingdom to be
unified in an act of nationalistic idolatry. At the sound of music, all the attendees were to bow in worship of the golden masterpiece . . . and everyone did . . . except three brave men.
Daniel 3:8–18 describes the unwavering boldness of these men. With the odds stacked against them and their fate seemingly decided, many might question the wisdom of their civil disobedience. Sure, they gave it a good-faith effort. But now their lives are in the balance. Could they not bow on the outside while praying to the true and living God on the inside?
1Thessalonians 5:22 tells us to Abstain from every form of evil.
The Shema in Deuteronomy 6:4–5 reminded Israel to “love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” The word MIGHT takes the act of loving God with our emotions and the longing of our soul and forces them into physical responses. True love is not confined to words. True love is sacrificial, selfless, and other-focused.
The act of bowing before anything or anyone in worship, or even the appearance of worship, would be an act of withholding love and devotion to God. It would also be a denial of allegiance and faith.
The stakes were high for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
In our time, the Western World is unlikely to require our blood for following Jesus. The danger we live with is that our culture is actively attempting to kill us with comfort. I’m not referring to wealth and luxuries, but our chronic aversion to the awkward conversation, uncomfortable schedules, the sacrifice of our preferences, or being on the receiving end of strange and low opinions by those who do not love Christ.
But Jesus says in Luke 9:23 that the Christian life is a call to self-denial at the cost of reputation, opportunities, livelihood, health, and maybe our lives. Anyone can proclaim the goodness of God on the mountain peaks of life. Will we be a people who only shout the praises of God when life is good, or will we shout of His faithfulness in the valley of death to those in need of hope and truth?
For that, we need a Steadfast Faith like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They were bold, but that boldness grew from their faith. Their response to King Neb is simple:
“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” (Daniel 3:16–18).
The hope of every Christian is not in our circumstances. Why? Because our circumstances do not determine our reality. The gospel does. This is why every believer can say along with Paul TO LIVE IS CHRIST AND TO DIE IS GAIN! Suffering makes me look more like Jesus (Romans 8:17). Death only can deliver me into the presence of my God (Phil 1:21). In Christ, I cannot lose because I am more than a conqueror (Romans 8:37).
Christ will never fail us!
He will supply Unwavering Boldness in time of need. He will be the anchor and provider of Steadfast Faith. And He will give you the gift of Humble Transparency.
While we are quick to identify with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in actuality, we most closely resemble King Nebuchadnezzar. These men did not defend themselves to King Neb by listing off their accomplishments. They didn’t presume God would rescue them because He owed them something.
But in humble transparency, they confessed three things: (1) They served the God of Heaven alone; (2) Their confidence that God could deliver them and that He would; and (3) If God did not deliver as they hoped, He had not failed them.
You know what happened. Jesus showed up!
And He will always show up for you. It just might not always look the way we think it will.
