The Connection with Psalm 23
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego remind us of Psalm 23:4:
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4)
The Golden Statue of Nebuchadnezzar
The story of these three men of God begins when King Nebuchadnezzar makes a golden statue 90 feet high and 9 feet wide and sets it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.
The king then sends messengers to all the high officials, administrators, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates—in short, the message was sent to all the authorities of the provinces—so that they would come to the dedication of the statue that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
The Bible relates that all these authorities came and stood before the statue that the king had set up.
The Royal Decree and the Order to Worship
At a certain moment, the herald cried out: “Peoples of all races, nations, and languages, hear the king’s order! When you hear the sound of the trumpet, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and other musical instruments, bow down to the ground to worship the golden statue set up by King Nebuchadnezzar. Whoever does not obey will be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace!”.
King Nebuchadnezzar ordered all peoples, races, nations, and languages that, at the sound of the musical instruments, everyone should bow down and worship the golden statue that he himself had set up.
The Denunciation and the Refusal of the Jews
Some of the astrologers went to the king and denounced the Jews, saying to the king that everyone should bow down and worship the golden image when they heard the sound of the trumpet, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and other musical instruments.
And what was proposed in this decree was that anyone who did not obey would be thrown into the blazing furnace. Some Jews, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, whom the king had appointed over the province of Babylon, paid no attention to the king’s decree and refused to serve the gods and did not worship the golden statue that the king had set up.
The King’s Fury and the Second Chance
King Nebuchadnezzar became furious and ordered Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego to be brought before him. When they were brought into the king’s presence, he said to them: “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, is it true that you refuse to serve my gods and to worship the statue I have set up?”.
The king then grants one more chance for the three to bow down and worship the statue he had made. If they refused, they would then be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace.
Nebuchadnezzar did not understand that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego served a living God and proposed a challenge to them, saying:
And who is the God who will deliver you out of my hands? (Daniel 3:15)
The Faithful Response in the Valley of the Shadow of Death
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, even while in the “valley of the shadow of death,” respond to the king saying:
We do not need to answer you in this matter. (Daniel 3:16)
These three men of God described here understood that if they were thrown into the blazing fiery furnace, the God they served could indeed deliver them from the king’s hands, as well as from the blazing fiery furnace.
And even if God did not deliver them from the fiery furnace, they would still remain faithful to God, not worshiping the gods nor the golden statue that the king had set up.
The Order to Throw Them into the Furnace
Nebuchadnezzar’s heart at that moment was filled with fury against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, for the Bible describes that Nebuchadnezzar’s face at that moment was distorted with rage.
Then the king ordered the furnace to be heated seven times hotter than usual, selected the strongest men from his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego and throw them into the blazing furnace.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego were thrown into the furnace fully clothed with their robes, turbans, mantles, and other garments.
Divine Deliverance in the Flames
We learn that in the moment we are facing the valley, God shows Himself present, teaching us that He is with us.
And because the king’s word was urgent, and the furnace was exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who carried Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the midst of the blazing fiery furnace. (Daniel 3:23)
And since the king, in his wrath, had demanded such hot fire in the furnace that the flames killed the soldiers who threw the three in there.
Thus, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, bound, fell into the intense flames.
God’s Care Even Before the Fall
We can observe that deliverance happens even before they fall into the fiery furnace, for the men who carried Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego to the furnace died because the flame of the fire was so intense that they could not withstand it, but Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego remained alive—it was already God’s care for these three men.
The Fourth Man in the Fire
And when they fall into the midst of the intense flames, Nebuchadnezzar rises in astonishment and asks his counselors:
Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” (Daniel 3:24)
For at that moment Nebuchadnezzar was no longer seeing just three men, but he saw four men, and according to what he will describe, the fourth man resembled a son of the gods. Nebuchadnezzar then relates: “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt!”.
King Nebuchadnezzar was impacted by the scene he was witnessing, trying to get as close as possible to the door of the furnace, and spoke, saying:
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out and come here! Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the midst of the fire. (Daniel 3:26)
The Miracle Visible to All
When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego came out from the midst of the fire of the blazing fiery furnace, the high officials, administrators, governors, and counselors gathered around them and saw that the fire had not touched them. Not a hair on their heads was singed, and their clothes were not burned. They did not even smell of smoke.
The Exaltation of the Living God
The name of the living God at that moment was praised from Nebuchadnezzar’s mouth, who says:
Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who sent His angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, for they violated the king’s word, preferring to yield their bodies rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. (Daniel 3:28)
The name of the Lord was only magnified, for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego understood that going through the valley of the shadow of death means: if God wants to grant us deliverance, we will not die, but if He allows us to die, we will certainly be with Him in glory.
The Lesson of Not Fearing Man
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego understood that God will always be above all, teaching us that we should never fear man.
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. (Matthew 10:28)
After going through the moments of the valley of the shadow of death, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego gained even higher positions in the province of Babylon.
We should not fear death or the harm that man can cause us, but rather understand that even if we die, everyone who dies with Christ, even if they die physically, will certainly live in eternity.
