Daniel 3:16, commentary and pictures

They answered the king without hesitation, calmly and resolutely, respectfully refusing to argue or defend themselves because their loyalty was already settled. Bowing to the golden image on the plain of Dura was worship, and they would give such worship to the God of heaven alone, so obedience to God outweighed obedience to a human command against His law even under threat of death. Their answer was the language of faith, declaring that God was able to deliver them from the furnace and from the king's hand, yet resolving to remain faithful even if He did not. For that refusal they were cast into the fiery furnace, but Christ Himself walked with them in the flames and brought them forth unharmed, making their stand a public witness to the whole nation that He alone is the true and living God. The same stand will be taken when civil and religious power unite to enforce a false sabbath in place of God's holy Sabbath, and God's people refuse to bow in the patience of keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

Historical Setting on Dura

The answer is given to Nebuchadnezzar's command to fall down and worship the golden image he had set up on the plain of Dura, an exceedingly costly and magnificent idolatrous image that represented the kingdom of Babylon and especially Nebuchadnezzar himself and the glory of himself and his kingdom. The three who refused to bow the knee were Hebrew exiles and captives who cherished the knowledge of the true God, and their principles forbade homage to the idol as a rival to the God of heaven to whom they owed every faculty they possessed. Because of that refusal they were cast into the burning fiery furnace, but Christ Himself, the Lord Jesus, walked with them in the flames and preserved them from all harm, and they came forth without even the smell of fire upon their garments. The wonderful miracle so worked upon Nebuchadnezzar's heart that he believed in God, was convinced that the God of the three Hebrews was the living God, and acknowledged Him as more powerful than any other kingdom and superior in power over earthly kings. Because he did not continue to walk in the light he lost the holy impression made upon his mind, so God gave him another dream recorded in the fourth chapter of Daniel.

The image had been set up after God had revealed Himself to the king in the dream of the great image explained by Daniel, in which his kingdom was the head of gold, and after that light was perverted. He and his counselors were flattered by that honor, and heathen counselors caused him to place himself before the people as an object of worship, commanding all men to bow down before the image. His advisers thus ensnared the Hebrew captives by leading the king to decree that every knee should bow. The command was renewed idolatry, for although he had acknowledged God's power and was for a time influenced and restrained by the fear of God, worldly ambition and pride remained in his heart. He later ceased to honor God and returned to idol-worship with greater zeal.

The speakers are Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, Daniel's three companions set over the province of Babylon, brought before Nebuchadnezzar after refusing to worship his golden image and threatened with the burning fiery furnace heated seven times hotter than it was wont to be heated. Their history belongs to the Lord's wonderful deliverance of the three Hebrew worthies, setting forth important principles regarding the working out of the Lord's purpose for the children of obedience and the children of disobedience. It stands against the background of Nebuchadnezzar's earlier dream and its prophecy of God's everlasting kingdom. Their trial tested the integrity of the young Hebrews and showed an idolatrous nation the power and faithfulness of Israel's God, since the attempted enforcement of idolatry brought knowledge of the true God before Babylon's assembled rulers.

Their refusal continued a broader exile faithfulness under persecution and threat of death, in which the Hebrew exiles refused to disregard the Sabbath and refused to observe heathen festivals. That faithfulness brought them face to face with kings and rulers so that the rulers and their people might receive the light, and time after time the greatest monarchs were led by it to proclaim the supremacy of the God whom the Hebrew captives worshiped. It is of one piece with Daniel standing firm before the king in a position of danger in a duty appointed by God, rather than pursuing high station for personal distinction or seizing a role through ambition.

Manner of Their Answer

They answered the king without hesitation, without fear, calmly, resolutely, and plainly, looking with calmness on the furnace and the idolatrous throng. Their loyalty to God outweighed obedience to a human command against His law, and they trusted that He could deliver them yet would remain faithful even if He did not. Their calm reply expressed firm faithfulness to God in the face of coercion, determined to honor Him at any cost rather than worship the golden image even under threat of death.

To be not careful to answer means a respectful but decided refusal to argue, dispute, or defend themselves. They would not dispute with the king, knowing it would only increase his fury, but took the Word of God for their guide. They stood before a king determined to silence them without anxiety and care for themselves and without seeking their own ease. Their great anxiety was that the truth be not exposed to insult, and they were ready to die rather than allow their enemies to triumph.

Their minds were already made up and their loyalty was settled before the threat. Guided by duty and conscience, and educated that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom to worship and serve God only, they would not bow to the image of gold representing his kingdom. They did not turn aside even when given another opportunity to bow, but openly refused the king's requirement even in the face of death because loyalty to God comes before pleasing men. Such settled refusal grew from an earlier determination to be true at any cost and let no influence come between them and their Maker.

Their answer is the language of faith, declaring God is able to deliver from the burning fiery furnace and from the king's hand. Yet they resolved even if He does not to refuse to serve false gods or worship the golden image. Their faithfulness did not depend on whether God delivered them or on certainty of rescue. They were willing to die rather than dishonor God, holding fast at any cost whether or not He delivered them from the furnace.

Loyalty to God Alone

Bowing to the image was an act of worship, and refusal to bow rested on loyalty to the God of heaven as King of kings and Lord of lords, to whom alone such worship is due, with no honor to be given to an idol or false god. When threatened with death for refusing to worship the golden image, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego answered the king without hesitation and without fear, plainly refusing because to worship would violate conscience. They would not yield to the king's demand even under threat of death, trusting that God could deliver them yet resolved to remain faithful and obedient even if He did not. Loyalty to God outweighed obedience to a human command against God's law, for conscience in matters of God is stronger than the king's authority and must not be violated even when refusal brings the threat of death. Obedience to the laws of Babylon was therefore only so far as they did not conflict with the claims of God, with no swerving a hair's breadth from duty owed to the Creator. Principle must never be sacrificed even in the slightest particular, so they openly refused the king's requirement even in the face of death, because loyalty to God and service to Jesus Christ with undivided heart come before pleasing men and before human claims.

They would not violate conscience or be untrue to God to escape the fiery furnace, holding fast to the fear of God regardless of consequences. Integrity means defending truth without being moved by opposition, human praise or blame, or reward, preferring death to violating conscience. Though utterly helpless and powerless in themselves against the throne and the power of the whole world, they withstood human power and policy in support of evil through trust in God's word. Their answer to the king belongs to the triumph of righteousness by faith, by which faith in God's word enables resistance to the world's power used against God. They had learned from the history of their fathers that disobedience to God is dishonor, disaster, ruin, and death, and that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the foundation of all true prosperity. Educated to worship and serve God only, their minds were already made up, so threats could not turn them from loyalty, and they would not bow to Nebuchadnezzar's image of gold representing his kingdom even when given another opportunity to bow.

Public Witness and Deliverance

Filled with the Holy Spirit, their answer began a public witness to the whole nation that the God they worshiped is the only true and living God. It was the most eloquent presentation of their principles, manifesting that He alone is the object of honor and worship and that no consideration, not even the preservation of life itself, can induce the least concession to idolatry. To impress idolaters with the power and greatness of the living God, His servants must reveal their own reverence for God. Their principles forbade homage to the idol because it was a rival to the God of heaven, and their faithfulness did not depend on whether God would deliver them from the furnace.

Their great anxiety was that the truth be not exposed to the insults of the ungodly, and they were ready to die rather than allow their enemies to triumph. While full of generous sympathy toward all men, they aspired to prove themselves entirely loyal to God, to whom they owed every faculty they possessed. They stood without anxiety and care for themselves and without seeking their own ease.

For their refusal they were cast into the fiery furnace heated seven times hotter than usual, but they were not forsaken of God. Christ Himself, the form of the Fourth, was with them and walked with them in the flames and preserved them from all harm. They came forth without even the smell of fire upon their garments, the fire did not consume them, as He promises to manifest Himself to him who has His commandments and keeps them and loves Him.

God manifested His power for servants who so trusted Him, and He can preserve His faithful people through deadly persecution. He does not promise exemption from trials but promises strength equal to the day and grace sufficient, made perfect in weakness. Jesus was by the side of the faithful three in the fire, and He stands beside everyone called to go through a fiery furnace for Christ's sake. Those who love their Redeemer rejoice at every opportunity to share His humiliation and reproach, and love for Him makes suffering for His sake sweet, while faithfulness does not depend on being certain of rescue, for they were willing to die rather than dishonor God.

The attempted enforcement of idolatry brought knowledge of the true God before Babylon's assembled rulers. Their refusal brought them face to face with kings and rulers so that rulers and their people might receive the light, and time after time the greatest monarchs were led by such faithfulness to proclaim the supremacy of the God whom the Hebrew captives worshiped. God honored their faithfulness, vindicated His servants who openly refused to compromise truth even in the slightest particular, and used it to spread the knowledge of the true God throughout the length and breadth of Babylon, accomplishing the very purpose for which He had permitted them to be carried captive to that heathen land.

The wonderful miracle so worked upon Nebuchadnezzar's heart that he believed in God, acknowledged Him as more powerful than any other kingdom and superior over earthly kings, and was convinced that the God of the three Hebrews was the living God. Because he did not continue to walk in the light he lost the holy impression made upon his mind, so God gave him another dream recorded in the fourth chapter of Daniel.

The same trust in the same God gives a fearless advocate of truth the same calm firmness and readiness to seal his testimony with his blood before emperors and great men.

Prophetic Parallels to Come

The same stand taken on the plain of Dura will be taken again in the test over the Sabbath question, when those who obey God's commandments refuse the idol sabbath exalted by Christendom, which has no sanctity, and hold fast to the day God sanctified and blessed. Especially the wrath of man will be aroused against those who hallow the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, until at last a universal decree denounces them as deserving of death. Their refusal to bow pictures God's people refusing to bow when church and state unite to enforce worship of an idol Sunday sabbath in place of God's holy Sabbath, for as Nebuchadnezzar's advisers ensnared the Hebrew captives by leading the king to decree that every knee should bow to the image, so men today strive to turn God's people from allegiance by human Sunday laws that put human power where God should be. Their answer without hesitation, refusing to surrender allegiance to God under human command, exemplifies faithfulness to conscience when civil power demands worship and applies directly to laws enforcing a false sabbath in place of God's Sabbath. Human rulers cannot rightly force the conscience, which God alone controls, and when authorities make laws against His commandment-keeping people, God will intervene for those who remain loyal to Him, while those who make cruel enactments to destroy the faithful will be destroyed by the recoil of their own actions, as those who sought to destroy the three were themselves destroyed.

Their example applies to a future time in the Southern States when people must decide whether to obey God's commandments, and until that time believers should not act presumptuously or encourage defiance and resistance. Their firm stand under threat parallels the Reformers' refusal to give up liberty of conscience and individual judgment, even when they knew that faithfulness could bring condemnation and death. Their trust and preservation in the fiery furnace gave Luther confidence that God could preserve him as he faced danger for the truth.

They stood with fixed purpose to be true to principle and loyal to the truth, let come what may, not turning aside from allegiance to God when threatened with the flaming fiery furnace heated seven times hotter than it was wont to be heated. They stood firm in the time of trial and were cast into the furnace, but they were not forsaken, for the form of the Fourth was seen walking with them in the flames, and they came forth without even the smell of fire upon their garments, a pattern for steadfastness in the continual sharp contests until the controversy between good and evil ends. The same self-denial and self-sacrifice, ruling animal passions, appetites, and hereditary and cultivated habits rather than living in bondage to them, controlling circumstances by inwrought principle without waiting for will and circumstances to be adjusted, and pressing together in unity with Jesus Christ always ready and composed with the kingdom of God within, must mark God's people in the final collision between those on the Lord's side and those united under Antichrist until the Lord appears to set up a kingdom that shall stand forever.

Faithful Living Today

Their example teaches that God's favor matters more than the praise of rulers, for they openly stood by their faith before the king and would not turn from integrity to obey a human command that dishonored God. Faith is to be confessed through words, habits, and actions even in a royal court, and God honored them before the people for their determination to honor Him above every human power.

Their stand grew from an earlier determination to be true at any cost and to let no influence come between them and their Maker. Because loyalty to God comes before pleasing men, they openly refused the king's requirement even in the face of death, and principle must never be sacrificed even in the slightest particular. Such faithfulness becomes visible when truth is opposed, when human authority requires violation of God's law. God vindicated His servants for their steadfast refusal to compromise truth, was honored by their faithfulness, and used it to spread the knowledge of the true God throughout the length and breadth of Babylon, accomplishing the very purpose for which He had permitted them to be carried captive to that heathen land.

To live this answer means being true to principle, with service to Jesus Christ first and obedience to human claims only where it does not conflict with that service. It means letting no one come between the soul and God, serving the Lord with undivided heart, praying for grace to live Christ's religion, and remaining faithful to God even when meeting opposition and temptation. It means holding firm convictions of duty to observe the Sabbath and keeping it the best possible under all circumstances, and loving the Lord with all heart and soul without swerving from allegiance whatever the situation. This refusal is the patience of the saints, keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus when decrees of earthly rulers oppose the authority of the King of heaven.

The three stand as examples of self-denial and self-sacrifice with the attributes of Christ, refusing to be enslaved or ruled by circumstances, appetites, passions, or hereditary and cultivated habits. They ruled the animal passions instead of living in bondage to habit, made all circumstances, appetites and passions servants rather than masters, and passed like a plowshare through hereditary and cultivated habits and all surroundings. They controlled circumstances by an inwrought principle learned from the greatest Teacher, without waiting for will and circumstances to be adjusted. God's people in the final collision between those on the Lord's side and those united under Antichrist must have the same self-denial and self-sacrifice, pressing together in unity one with Jesus Christ, always ready and composed, with the kingdom of God within them, until the Lord appears to set up a kingdom that shall stand forever.

Their settled refusal is the lesson for facing trials when Satan comes in great power as a roaring lion, keeping reason under God's control instead of disconnecting from God to serve Satan. Though utterly helpless in themselves, they withstood the throne and the power of the whole world through trust in the word of God, and their answer belongs to the triumph of righteousness by faith against human power and policy in support of evil. Educated that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom to worship and serve God only, they would not bow even when given another opportunity to bow. By such trust the youth of today are called to join the world's true nobility and royal line.