The Bible

 

Daniel 3 : The Fiery Furnace

Study

1 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits, and its breadth six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.

2 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the satraps, the deputies, and the governors, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

3 Then the satraps, the deputies, and the governors, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

4 Then the herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, peoples, nations, and languages,

5 that whenever you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music, you fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up;

6 and whoever doesn't fall down and worship shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.

7 Therefore at that time, when all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music, all the peoples, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshiped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

8 Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and brought accusation against the Jews.

9 They answered Nebuchadnezzar the king, O king, live for ever.

10 You, O king, have made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image;

11 and whoever doesn't fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.

12 There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, have not respected you. They don't serve your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up.

13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in [his] rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king.

14 Nebuchadnezzar answered them, Is it on purpose, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you don't serve my god, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?

15 Now if you are ready whenever you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music to fall down and worship the image which I have made, [well]: but if you don't worship, you shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that god that shall deliver you out of my hands?

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.

17 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 your hand, O king.

18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up.

19 Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his appearance was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: [therefore] he spoke, and commanded that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated.

20 He commanded certain mighty men who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, [and] to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.

21 Then these men were bound in their pants, their tunics, and their mantles, and their [other] garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

22 Therefore because the king's commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

23 These three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste: he spoke and said to his counselors, Didn't we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered the king, True, O king.

25 He answered, Look, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are unharmed; and the aspect of the fourth is like a son of the gods.

26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace: he spoke and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, you servants of the Most High God, come forth, and come here. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came forth out of the midst of the fire.

27 The satraps, the deputies, and the governors, and the king's counselors, being gathered together, saw these men, that the fire had no power on their bodies, nor was the hair of their head singed, neither were their pants changed, nor had the smell of fire passed on them.

28 Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel, and delivered his servants who trusted in him, and have changed the king's word, and have yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.

29 Therefore I make a decree, that every people, nation, and language, which speak anything evil against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill; because there is no other god who is able to deliver after this sort.

30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

Commentary

 

The Fiery Furnace2

By William L. Worcester, New Christian Bible Study Staff

Commentary - Overview

This lesson from Daniel contains one of those pictures from the Word that make such a vivid impression upon us in childhood that we never forget it. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, set up an image of gold in the plain of Dura. The image was sixty cubits high and six broad. That is about 75 feet high and 7.5 feet broad. Doubtless it was not solid gold, but a gilded image. The plain of Dura in the province of Babylon has not been identified. The image was evidently erected close to the city and must have presented an imposing appearance when the sunlight flashed upon its bright surface. At the dedication, the king summoned the leaders of the people to be present. All were commanded to fall down and worship the image whenever they heard the sound of the music. Daniel's three companions refused to comply. They were cast into the furnace of fire.

Those who bound them and cast them in were burned, but the three remained in the fire uninjured. The king saw them walking in the midst of the fire, "and the form of a fourth like unto a son of the gods." (Apocalypse Revealed V.) Thereupon Nebuchadnezzar called them to come forth, acknowledged the power of their God, issued a decree threatening death to any who blasphemed Him, and promoted the three to positions of honor in his kingdom.

This story strongly appealed to the imagination of the Jews and appears in various forms in their ancient literature. One of the most remarkable of these is that contained in "The Song of the Three Children." This book is to be found in the collection generally known as "The Apocrypha," which comes to us through the Septuagint and Latin versions of the Old Testament. This "Song" is accepted as canonical by the Roman Catholic Church. It represents Azarias as praying to God from the midst of the fire for deliverance. In answer, the Lord sends His angel who "smote the flame of fire out of the oven and made the midst of the furnace as it had been a moist whistling wind so that the fire touched them not at all, neither hurt nor troubled them." Thereupon "the three, as out of one mouth" sing a song of thanksgiving that is composed largely of passages from the Psalms.

Two other short stories in the Apocrypha that relate incidents in the life of Daniel may not be unworthy of mention as they appear as appendices to the prophecy in some Bibles. These are "The History of Susanna, Or the Judgment of Daniel" and "The History of Bel and the Dragon." As literature, they are incomparably inferior to the Book of Daniel. They form no part of the Divine Word, but are simply interesting from a historical point of view.Commentary - In-Depth

Canon Farrar regards this third chapter of Daniel as a wonderful illustration "of the deliverance of undaunted faithfulness; as setting forth the truth that they who love God and trust in Him must love Him and trust in Him even till the end, in spite not only of the most overwhelming peril, but even when they are brought face to face with apparently hopeless defeat." The situation is one in which the love of rule is in the ascendancy and threatens destruction. Can human beings prove equal to the strain? With the help of the Lord, they can come out of the trial unscathed.

History furnishes illustrations of the meaning of this chapter. The Church of Rome is generally recognized as a type of Babylon. (See Apocalypse Revealed 729.) Many times in the past, this Church has sought to dominate over people and dictate to them what they shall believe. And if people would not bow down to the papal authority, they had to suffer excommunication, which consigned them to hell. Many adherents of that Church have felt the dread of opposing this authority and its terrible consequences, of which they had been brought up to stand in awe. Take as an example the case of Waldo and his followers in A.D. 1177. Following their history and the story of their persecution affords a slight idea of the trial through which they must have passed, in refusing to bow down to the image and daring the flames of the fiery furnace.

Through experience with the Waldensians and many other seceders, the Church of Rome has, however, learned to become more politic in her dealings and seldom anathematizes her members. Nevertheless, the anathema, in a deeper sense, is used everywhere, and by all people when possessed by the love of ruling from the love of self. This love of having one's own way demands that all shall bow down before this lifeless image - lifeless because there is naught of God in it, naught but self. "Whosoever will not agree with me, act as I determine is best for them, or favor me, is condemned. I shall have nothing more to do with them (except in so far as it is impossible to avoid dealing with them)."

All the governors and rulers are summoned to the dedication of the image. Every argument is marshaled together to support self. And when the music plays, every knee must bow. When the delights of self-love are active, then everyone must assent. "Musical instruments correspond to the delights and pleasantness of spiritual and celestial affections" (Arcana Coelestia 8337), and also their opposite affections. (As to the nature of the delights of the love of ruling from the love of self, see Divine Love and Wisdom 271; Divine Providence 215.) Self will not be gainsaid or balked in any way. The slightest opposition rouses resentment.

This spirit is often present in humanity. To recognize and oppose it as sinful in the sight of God is the mature action that fully brings out the spirit of self-love and makes it more plainly visible. In resentment, that spirit determines to consume the God-given truth that condemns it. The fire of hatred is kindled. The Lord's truth is not affected by it. They who worship self are destroyed by the fires of self-love. But they who worship the Lord are protected. The Lord is present with them to save them from the scathing influences of anger. "When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee." (Isaiah 43:2)

Nebuchadnezzar saw the angel walking with the men in the fire, called the three forth, and commanded his people to respect the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. "‘Babylon' was compelled by this to acknowledge and worship the Lord." This apparently implies that the disorderly love of rule is brought into subordination and made to serve the Lord alone. The power of ruling is turned away from that of serving self to that of serving others. "The love of ruling from the love of uses is in the highest degree heavenly, and consequently is with those who are in the highest heaven." (See Conjugial Love 262.)