The Fiery Furnace

Daniel 3:1-30

The king threw three men into the fire. He saw four walking around inside it.

Nebuchadnezzar builds a ninety-foot gold statue and commands everyone to bow when the music plays. Three Jewish exiles — Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego — refuse. The king is incredulous: What god can rescue you from my hand? Their answer is one of the bravest statements in scripture: Our God is able to deliver us. But even if he doesn't, we will not bow. The furnace is heated seven times hotter than usual. The soldiers who throw them in die from the heat. Then Nebuchadnezzar leaps to his feet: Didn't we throw three men in? I see four, walking around unbound and unharmed — and the fourth looks like a son of the gods. They walk out without even the smell of smoke on their clothes.

• Courage
• Faith
• God's Deliverance
• Defiance