Daniel 3

The devil tempts us to destroy our faith, but God tests us to develop our faith, because a faith that can’t be tested can’t be trusted. False faith withers in times of trial, but true faith takes deeper root, grows, and brings glory to God. This explains why God permitted the three Hebrew men to be tested and then thrown into the fiery furnace. The apostle Peter must have been well acquainted with the book of Daniel because he used the metaphor of the “fiery trial” when he warned his readers of the persecutions about to come to the church (1 Peter 1:7; 4:12).

The experience of these three men helps us examine our own faith and determine whether we have the kind of authentic faith that can be tested and bring glory to God.

We don’t know how much time elapsed between the night Nebuchadnezzar dreamed about the metallic image (Dan. 2) and the day he commanded the people to fall down before the golden image that he had made. Some students believe that the event described in Daniel 3 might have occurred twenty years after the promotion of Daniel and his friends, about the time Jerusalem was finally destroyed (586 BC).

The heart of the king (vv. 1–3). When Daniel explained the meaning of the successive metals in the massive image, he identified Nebuchadnezzar as the head of gold (2:38), and perhaps this is what helped motivate the king to make an image of gold. Not content to be merely a head of gold, he and his kingdom would be symbolized by an entire image of gold! There was definitely an element of pride in this whole enterprise. Daniel had made it clear that no empire would last, including that of the great Nebuchadnezzar. The king’s heart was filled with pride because of all his conquests, but along with that pride were fear and concern for himself and his vast kingdom. He wanted to make sure that his people were loyal to him and that there would be no rebellions.

There wasn’t enough gold in his entire kingdom to make a solid image ninety feet high and nine feet wide, so the image was probably made of wood overlaid with gold (Isa. 40:19; 41:7; Jer. 10:3–9). But it must have been an awesome sight to see this golden image standing on the plain at Dura, a location perhaps six miles from the city of Babylon. (“Dura” simply means “a walled-in place,” and there were several sites with that name in ancient Babylon.) Also in the area was a furnace into which people would be thrown if they refused to fall down before the image and acknowledge the sovereignty of King Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar planned to unify his kingdom by means of religion and fear. The alternatives were to fall down before the image and worship or be thrown into the furnace and be burned to death.

The king sent official messengers to all the provinces of his empire, commanding the officials to gather for the dedication of the great golden image. Eight different officers are especially named (Dan. 3:2–3) and they would represent the people left back home. Princes (satraps?) were the chief administrative officers in the provinces, while governors were probably their assistants (or perhaps military commanders). Captains ruled over the smaller districts in the provinces, and judges were their advisers. Treasurers served as do treasurers today, and counselors were experts in the law. Sheriffs were local judges and magistrates, and rulers were the miscellaneous officials in the province. Every level of authority was represented and all were expected to be present.

But this was more than a political assembly; it was a religious service, complete with music, and it called for total commitment on the part of the worshippers. Note that the word worship is used at least eleven times in the chapter. Nebuchadnezzar was wise to use instrumental music because it could stir the people’s emotions and make it easy for him to manipulate them and win their submission and obedience. Throughout history, music and song have played an important role in strengthening nationalism, motivating conquest, and inspiring people to act. Music has the power so to grip human thoughts and emotions that people are transformed from being free agents into becoming mere puppets. The English poet William Congreve wrote that “music has charms to soothe a savage breast,” but music also has power to release the savage in the breast. Music can be used as a wonderful tool and treasure from the Lord or as a destructive weapon from Satan.

The hearts of the people (vv. 4–7). The herald didn’t ask for a vote. He simply told the people that what was about to happen was a matter of life or death. At the sound of the music, they would either fall down before the image or they would die. But the superstitious crowd was accustomed to worshipping many gods and goddesses, so the command was an easy one to obey, especially in light of the consequences. The difference between the true believer and the unbeliever isn’t the presence of faith, because everybody lives by faith in something. The difference is in the object of that faith. The crowd believed the herald and the king, and therefore they obeyed. The three Hebrew men believed the commandment of God, so they disobeyed. The crowd had credulous faith, but the Jews had confident faith.

“Faith is one of the forces by which men live,” said philosopher and psychologist William James, and he was right. People act by faith when they step into an elevator, order food in a restaurant, drive on the highway, or say their marriage vows. The Christian believer lives by faith in the living God and what He has revealed in His Word. The great multitude of Babylonians, exiles, and representatives from the provinces simply conformed to the edict of the king and did what everybody else was doing. “After all,” they argued, “we all have to live!” There were thousands of Jewish exiles in Babylon, and they were represented by Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. If they bowed to the idol, all the Jews were involved!

This assembly of “worshippers” helps us better understand the plight of people in today’s world who don’t know our Lord Jesus Christ. They blindly follow the crowd and build their lives on the false and the futile. Concerned only with survival, they’ll do almost anything to escape danger and death, even to the point of selling themselves into slavery to men and the empty myths that they promote. It’s the philosophy of the devil: “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life” (Job 2: nkjv). It’s quite the opposite of the outlook of the Christian believer who believes John 12:24–26.

The hearts of the three Jewish men (vv. 8–12). But there were three men in that great crowd who stood tall when everybody else bowed low. Their faith was in the true and living God and in the word that He had spoken to their people. Knowing the history of the Jewish people, they were confident that the Lord was in control and they had nothing to fear. The prophet Isaiah had written, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you” (Isa. 43:1–2 nkjv). Faith means obeying God regardless of the feelings within us, the circumstances around us, or the consequences before us.

It’s difficult to reconstruct the logistics of the event, but it seems that King Nebuchadnezzar and his advisers (“Chaldeans”) were not together as they watched the event and that the king didn’t require them to join with the crowd in their worship. They may have affirmed their loyalty privately and it would be an insult for them to join with “the rabble” in their worship. Since the three Hebrew men held offices in the province (Dan. 2:49), they had to be there; but we don’t know where they were standing. Apparently Nebuchadnezzar couldn’t see them but the Chaldeans could; in fact, these evil men were no doubt watching and waiting for the opportunity to accuse these foreigners who had been promoted over the heads of the Babylonians. We don’t know that this was the same group of advisers who was embarrassed when Daniel interpreted the king’s dream, but if so, they quickly forgot that these “foreigners” had saved their lives.

True faith isn’t frightened by threats, impressed by crowds, or swayed by superstitious ceremonies. True faith obeys the Lord and trusts Him to work out the consequences. These three Jewish men knew the law of God—“You shall have no other gods before Me.… You shall not bow down to them nor serve them” (Ex. 20:3, 5 nkjv). Once the Lord has spoken on a matter, the matter is settled and there’s no room for discussion or need for compromise. To bow before the image even once, no matter what excuse they might give, would have destroyed their witness and broken their fellowship with God. The tense of the Greek verb in Matthew 4: indicates that Satan asked Jesus to worship him only one time, and the Savior refused. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego would not bow down to the golden image even once because it would lead to serving Nebuchadnezzar’s false gods for the rest of their lives.

Once again we see the king in a fit of anger (v. 13; see v. 19; 2:12). He had conquered many cities and nations, but he could not conquer himself. “Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city” (Prov. 16: niv). Yet the three Hebrew officers were calm and respectful. “Always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear” (1 Peter 3: nkjv).

The king must have had special respect for these men and the work they did in the empire because he gave them another opportunity to comply with his orders. He may have forgotten that he had called their God “the God of gods, the Lord of kings” (Dan. 2: nkjv), because he arrogantly asked, “And who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?” (3:15; and see Ex. 5:2). He was actually claiming to be a god himself! In a short time he would be humbled and have to confess that the God of the Hebrews is “the Most High God” and that nobody should blaspheme His name.

The three men could have compromised with the king and defended their disobedience by arguing, “Everybody else is doing it,” or “Our office demands that we obey,” or “We’ll bow our knees but we won’t bow our hearts.” They might have said, “We can do our people more good by being officers in the king’s service than by being ashes in the king’s furnace.” But true faith doesn’t look for loopholes; it simply obeys God and knows that He will do what is best. Faith rests on commands and promises, not on arguments and explanations.

Times of adversity are usually times of opportunity, especially when God’s people are being persecuted for their faith. “You will be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them” (Mark 13: nkjv). The three courageous Jews weren’t concerned about themselves, nor were they afraid of the fury of the king. Their only concern was obeying the Lord and giving a faithful witness to all who were watching and listening. Their attitude was respectful and their words were few and carefully chosen.

“We are not careful to answer” (Dan. 3:16) means, “We don’t need to defend ourselves or our God, for our God will defend both Himself and us.” They weren’t the least bit worried! It’s a bit arrogant for God’s people to think they have to defend God, for God is perfectly capable of defending Himself and taking care of His people. Our task is to obey God and trust Him, and He will do the rest. “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation” (Isa. 12:2).

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were men of faith but not men of presumption. Had they affirmed that God would deliver them, that would have been presumption, because they didn’t know what God had willed for their situation. Instead, they stated that their God was able to deliver them, but even if He didn’t, they still wouldn’t fall down before the king’s golden image. There is such a thing as “commercial faith” that says, “We will obey God if He rewards us for doing it.” Again, it’s the devil’s philosophy of worship: “All these things will I give You if You will fall down and worship me” (Matt. 4: nkjv; Job 1:9–12). In my pastoral ministry, I’ve heard people make promises to God so they can “persuade” Him to heal them or change their circumstances. But this isn’t believing in God—it’s bargaining with God. True faith confesses the Lord and obeys Him regardless of the consequences. From the very beginning of their time in Babylon, Daniel and his three friends determined that they would be different, and the Lord enabled them to maintain that determination.

Hebrews 11 lists the names and deeds of great men and women of faith, including these three Jewish men (Heb. 11:34), but at verse 36, the writer says “And others” and then lists people who seem to be failures in spite of their faith (vv. 36–40). The Greek word means “others of a different kind,” that is, others who had faith but didn’t see God do the miracles He did for those listed in the first thirty-five verses. God always rewards faith, but He doesn’t always step in and perform special miracles. Not everybody who prays is healed, but God always gives strength to bear with pain and grace to face death without fear. The three Hebrew men believed that God could deliver them, but they would trust Him even if He didn’t. That is how faith is supposed to operate in our lives. (See Hab. 3:17–19.)

The king’s temper once more got the best of him— proud men don’t like to be disobeyed—and he ordered the three Jewish believers to be thrown into the fiery furnace. They had turned down his generous offer, so they had to suffer the consequences. Whereas before, the king had been friendly with them and concerned to save them, now he was determined to destroy them. At last the court advisers would get their revenge on these Jewish exiles who had encroached on their territory and been promoted to the offices that belonged to the Chaldeans.

The furnace was used for smelting ore. It had a large opening at the top through which fuel and vessels full of ore could be placed into the fire, and there was a door at the bottom through which the metal was taken out. An opening in a wall enabled the smelters to check on the progress of their work, and through holes in the wall they could use bellows to make the fire blaze even more. The unit was large enough for at least four persons to walk around in it. It was into this furnace that Nebuchadnezzar cast the three faithful Jews, fully clothed and bound. It seemed like certain death for the men who refused to obey the king.

The king’s anger must have affected his mind, for the best way to punish the men wasn’t to increase the temperature but to decrease it. A hotter fire would kill them instantly and then burn them up, but a lower temperature would cause them to suffer intense pain before they died. However, it made no difference because the men weren’t affected by the fire at all! When the king looked into the furnace, he saw that they were alive and not dead, loose and not bound, and that there was a fourth person with them! The king thought it was an angel who looked like “a son of the gods” (vv. 25, 28 niv), but the fourth person in the furnace was Jesus Christ in one of His preincarnate appearances in the Old Testament (Isa. 43:2; Ps. 91:9–12). They were walking about as though they were in a palace and not in a furnace! The ropes with which the three men had been bound were the only things that had been affected by the fire. The God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego was indeed able to deliver them!

The three men had refused to obey the king’s order to fall down before the image, but when the king ordered them to come out of the furnace, they immediately obeyed. They were living miracles, and they wanted everybody to know what their great God could do. Not only was each man’s body whole and the hair unsinged, but their clothing didn’t even smell like fire. The other officials at the dedication service witnessed this marvel (Dan. 3:27) and no doubt reported it when they arrived back home. What a story! The officers wouldn’t dare speak up at that time, lest they offend their king. But King Nebuchadnezzar spoke out (v. 28)! He affirmed (1) the power of the God of Israel, (2) the effectiveness of faith in Him, and (3) the remarkable dedication of the three Jewish men who gave their bodies to the true God and not to the king’s false god (Rom. 12:1–2). By one act of faith, the three Jewish men became witnesses of the true and living God to the entire Babylonian Empire!

Why did the Lord include this story in the Old Testament Scriptures? For the same reason He included stories about the “faith experiences” of Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David, and the prophets: to encourage God’s people in their battle against the world, the flesh, and the devil. “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope” (Rom. 15: nkjv).

Encouragement in Daniel’s day. Things couldn’t have been worse for the Jewish people than they were during the period of the seventy years’ captivity in Babylon. Their land was devastated, the temple and the city of Jerusalem were in ruins, and the people were either scattered among the Gentiles or in bondage in Babylon. The situation looked hopeless. The prophets foresaw the day when the Jews would return to their land and rebuild the city and the temple, but first they had to endure the shame and suffering of captivity.

The experience of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego must have greatly encouraged the faithful Jews and brought conviction to the Jews who were compromising with the enemy. These three men sent a strong message to their people: Jehovah God is still on the throne, He hasn’t forsaken us, and He will one day fulfill His promises to His people. He promised to be with them in their furnace of affliction if they would trust Him and obey His will. Later, when the remnant returned to the land, the account of the fiery furnace must have helped to sustain them in those years of difficulty and delay.

Encouragement in our day. Life may be fairly safe and comfortable where you and I live, but in many parts of the world, God’s people are paying a high price to maintain their testimony and their separation from the world. Day after day, they hear the herald shouting, “Fall down before the golden image! Everybody is doing it!” In his first epistle, Peter warned the church that the “fiery trial” was about to begin, and surely they remembered what happened to the three Hebrew men in the days of Nebuchadnezzar. We are told that there were more martyrs for Christ during the twentieth century than during all the preceding centuries. Not every believer has been spared death in the furnace, but they have been spared compromising their witness for Christ and taking the easy way out. “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Rev. 2: nkjv).

As we move toward the end of the age, the furnace of opposition will be heated seven times hotter, and the pressure to conform will become stronger and stronger. It will take a great deal of grace, prayer, courage, and faith for God’s people to stand tall for Christ while others are bowing the knee to the gods of this world. The book of Daniel is a great source of encouragement, because it reminds us that God cares for His people and honors them when they are true to Him. “Them that honor me I will honor” (1 Sam. 2:30).

Encouragement for the future. The events in Daniel 3 remind us of prophecies found in the book of the Revelation, especially chapters 13 and 14. There will one day arise a world leader like Nebuchadnezzar (“the Beast”) who will have an image of himself constructed and will force all the people of the world to worship him. The people who obey will be given a special mark on their forehead or their hand, and this mark will be the passport for staying alive and doing business. Those who refuse to obey will be persecuted and many of them slain (Rev. 13:4, 7, 12, 15). But the Lord will seal to Himself 144,000 Jews whom the Beast will not be able to touch, and they will come through the tribulation time to reign in Messiah’s kingdom.

As our studies progress, we shall see that Daniel’s book has a special bearing on “the time of the end” (Dan. 12:4) and that his prophecies will enlighten and encourage believers living in those difficult last days (Matt. 24:15). No matter how despotic the world’s rulers become or how hot they stoke the furnace, God will be with His people in the furnace and will ultimately defeat their enemies and establish His kingdom. When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie, My grace all sufficient shall be thy supply; The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine. A