Fiery Furnace

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego 

walked out of

the

fiery furnace,

and

they

didn't even smell like smoke.

First presented on Beth's Blog.

In the third chapter of

Daniel,

we find ourselves in

Babylon.

King Nebuchadnezzar

made a golden statue that he wanted everyone to worship.

Anyone

who didn't worship the image

would be thrown into a burning furnace.

In verse 12,

we find out that three Jewish men

- Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego -

refused

to bow to the image or to bow to any of the foreign gods. 

~

King Nebuchadnezzar

had them thrown into the fiery furnace

which was 

turned up hotter than usual.

Yet a miracle occurred,

and

they were not burned.

And a

fourth person was seen in the flames!

The Lord saved the three men from the fire.

When King Nebuchadnezzar

saw

that the three men

were not burned,

he took them out of the furnace.

At this point,

as if the story was not magnificent enough,

we find in verse 27,

the amazing fact that

the three men had

none of their hair singed (scorched),

nor their garments touched by the fire,

and

they did not even

smell

like

smoke!

The three men

walked out of the trial

without any physical reminders

of the difficulties

and the trauma

that were part of this earthly trial.

Application

There are many applications

that a person could get from this story.

The one I will highlight

is taken from the fact that:

There was no sign that

they had been in a fire,

including

the fact that

they didn't even smell like smoke.

God wants us to be able to

go through trials and troubles

and when He takes us out of them,

we are not left with

any smoke on us.

God does not want us left with

the smoke

of 

bitterness, anger, resentment,

vengeful thoughts, unhealed emotions, etc.

God wants us to be able to

testify to God's grace

through the trial

without

smelling like smoke.

Note:

People can

smell

our

bitterness, anger, resentment, etc.

When God rescues us from a trial,

he wants us to

exit the trial

free from

any negative things

that have tried to attach to us. 

To God,

handling the trial is not just getting through it.

God wants us

to

get through it

with our

character deepened,

our

devotion to God stronger,

and our

heart

more gentle and tender

and

more yielded to God

than when we entered the trial.

That takes dedication to God and practice!

God wants us to be

free of

negative emotions

toward other people and toward him.

Note that:

We have a new page

that helps people

get over any offense they have

toward God.

Click here

And I am working on a page about

overcoming offense toward people

which has specific steps to follow.

Strengthening Prayer

Almighty God,

May the strength of who you are

propel me

to

who I can be.

In the miracle name of Jesus, I pray,

Amen

Copyright © 2004 Beth McLendon of Inspirational-Prayers.com

God wants us to walk with him 

in the

freedom of forgiveness,

and with the

Fruit of the Spirit -

Love, joy, peace,

patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

gentleness, and self-control.

That is going to take some work on our part.

For one thing,

most of us

will have to

learn 

HOW  to

pray for our enemies

and how to forgive them.

I have several pages giving specifics on

How to forgive.  

You might want to start with a

week-long devotional on forgiving.

And consider my page called

Praying for our Enemies 

which addresses this concept.

The page will help you

to work on your emotions

while going through a trial

and coming out of a trial.

Daniel chapter 3 is below.

Also see our Champion for Christ pages:

The Bible verse of Champions

Victory Prayer

Ephesians 6  = Armor Prayer for Men

                                 Armor Prayer for Women

This page closes with the

Scripture of the Fiery Furnace. 

Daniel chapter 3

Daniel Chapter 3 NKJV

Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was ^[a]sixty cubits and its width six cubits. He set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. ² And King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to gather together the satraps, the administrators, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. ³ So the satraps, the administrators, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered together for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. ⁴ Then a herald cried ^[b]aloud: “To you it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, ⁵ that at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, you shall fall down and worship the gold image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up; ⁶ and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.”

⁷ So at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the horn, flute, harp, and lyre, in symphony with all kinds of music, all the people, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the gold image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

⁸ Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and accused the Jews. ⁹ They spoke and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! ¹⁰ You, O king, have made a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the gold image; ¹¹ and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. ¹² There are certain Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego; these men, O king, have not paid due regard to you. They do not serve your gods or worship the gold image which you have set up.”

¹³ Then Nebuchadnezzar, in rage and fury, gave the command to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. So they brought these men before the king. ¹⁴ Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up? ¹⁵ Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?”

¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. ¹⁷ If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. ¹⁸ But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up."

¹⁹ Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. ²⁰ And he commanded certain mighty men of valor who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, and cast them into the burning fiery furnace. ²¹ Then these men were bound in their coats, their trousers, their turbans, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. ²² Therefore, because the king’s command was ^[c]urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. ²³ And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

²⁴ Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his ^[d]counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?”

They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.”

²⁵ “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the^[e] Son of God.”

²⁶ Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the ^[f]mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke, saying, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here.” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego came from the midst of the fire. ²⁷ And the satraps, administrators, governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together, and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them.

²⁸ Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel^[g] and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God! ²⁹ Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made an ash heap; because there is no other God who can deliver like this.”

Verse 30 - Then the king ^[h]promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego in the province of Babylon.

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This page posted July 2024.