The Life of Daniel (6)

Christ has dominion over all the rulers and countries of the world. That was also the strength of these three young men. They could not obey the command of the king to bow before the idol that was erected in the valley of Dura. The king was in a rage when he heard that they had not regarded him nor served his gods or worshiped the golden image which he had set up. We read in Proverbs 19:12a, “The king’s wrath is as the roaring of a lion.” However, the young men were not afraid of this lion. God was their strength and refuge, and God would manifest His work in the flames of the burning fiery furnace. They had taken refuge to the Lord and bowed before Him.

The king wanted to give them another opportunity. After having questioned them, he said, “When you hear the sound of the music, fall down and worship the image which I have made. If you worship not, you shall be cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.” In his arrogance and pride, Nebuchadnezzar even dared to say, “Who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?” That is the same Nebuchadnezzar who had said in chapter 2:47, “Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.” It had just been a fleeting conviction, and we see that his heart had not been renewed and that the king continued in his foolishness.

The Young Men’s Reply

What would these young men say when they heard this terrible threat? Were they not afraid of that burning furnace? We see the power of faith. It was God’s grace that made them say, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter…If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.” What a clear testimony of faith this was. It was a resolute refusal to bow before the idol. This was no arrogance. This was a simple trust in the Lord as His precious gift to them because either God would deliver them and would prove His power, or even if He would not do so, they would bow under Him. His counsel will stand and they knew that God is just in all His works. He will not forsake the works of His hands. They said, verse 18, “But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.”

The unchangeable God was their strength and they may say of Him, “Our God, whom we serve.” He is almighty and sovereign. We are in His hands. He may do what is good in His sight. He can deliver or He can consume, but blessed be the name of the Lord. The honor of God is bound upon their hearts. They have wrestled with the Lord in their inner room, and He has given them courage. What a precious place these young men occupy. God can do no wrong and He will take care of His honor. That is a place where we will not come by nature. Though there may be convictions and promises made unto God, they are like a morning cloud that soon vanishes away, but what God does will stand forever. God’s children may be attacked by a mighty enemy who tells them that everything will come to nothing, that the Lord now has forsaken them, or that they will not be able to endure and to be steadfast in the hour of temptation and affliction. However, by faith, they may be given to believe that God surely will be honored and glorified, for He takes care of His work Himself, so that they may trust in Him.

The furnace

Soon the king, who was full of fury, commanded that the furnace should be made seven times hotter. The young men were bound and cast into the midst of the furnace. The fire was so hot that the men who carried them to cast them into the furnace were killed by it. The executioners perished. How would it go with these young men in such a furnace? We read in Isaiah 43:2, “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.” They are not alone. The eternal Son of God appears for He is the fourth person that is seen in the fire. Christ Himself would be in the fire, and the wrath of God would be upon Him. He has quenched the fire of God’s anger against His people. Now it is true for them, “I will not leave thee nor forsake thee,” for nothing will separate them from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. God’s work will be manifest to the enemies.

The king is profoundly startled because:

a) he does not see three but four men.

b) they are not bound but free.

c) they are not lying down or standing but walking.

d) they are not roasting in the fire but are unhurt; literally, harm was not upon them.

e) the appearance of the fourth was like unto the Son of God.

f) these men were not hastily searching for a possible exit from the furnace. Since it was pleasing to God to deliver them, they were submitting themselves to His pleasure and His mode of deliverance.

The king was astonished and said to the young men, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the Most High God, come forth, and come hither,” so they came forth out of the midst of the fire. The Lord had shown His faithful preserving power.

Deliverance

What a difference with how the king now speaks about the Lord. First, he had said, “Who is that God that shall deliver you?” Now, he calls Him the Most High God. He is overwhelmed by a mystery that he cannot understand. It even brings him to a kind of acknowledgement in which he seems to praise the Lord. “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent His Angel, and delivered His servants that trusted in Him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.” The king even acknowledges in verse 29, “There is no other God that can deliver after this sort.” He promoted the young men to a higher position. However, Nebuchadnezzar does not acknowledge that the Lord alone is God, He is only the highest of gods. Even the performance of this mighty miracle does not convert him. He does not command the idol to be destroyed.

If we praise the Lord with our lips but serve the idols of the world, then our religion is in vain. We may well search our hearts because we can be almost a Christian. We can have a beautiful confession but still cling to some idols and do not completely surrender to God. The Lord makes a new creature who wants to be delivered from all sins. His faith will be tried, but God will give them the crown of life at the end of the battle.

The fire had consumed the bonds of these young men. Sometimes trials are used that the people of God may walk at liberty. The fire consumes the bonds of sin, the love of the world, and in the midst of trials, men may lift up their head, if the Lord gives it, and boast in free grace alone. Isaiah 12:1, “And in that day thou shalt say, Oh LORD, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and Thou comfortedst me.” In prisons and furnaces, they may sometimes have fellowship with Christ. The Lord uses the afflictions and the trials to cleanse, prune, and purify them; once they will be presented as a pure virgin without spot or wrinkle. Should we not be jealous of these young men? Would we be able to stand the test? No, never in our own strength even after having received grace. Though they halt and stumble, they will not be ashamed who put their trust in Him.

(To be continued)

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