Daniel 3:19, commentary and pictures

Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego because they refused to worship the golden image he had set up, and he commanded the fiery furnace to be heated seven times hotter than usual. God did not forsake them in the fire, but Christ Himself walked with them in the flames and brought them forth without harm or even the smell of fire upon them. Having purposed beforehand to be true to principle, they stood firm under threat of death and would not yield their loyalty to God for favor, honor, or life itself. Their deliverance vindicated their loyalty, spread the knowledge of the true God throughout Babylon, and led even the proud king to praise Jehovah as the living God above all other gods and kings. The heated furnace stands as the sharp contest that will be repeated to the close of the controversy, when Sabbath keepers will face abuse and a death decree for refusing false worship, yet the same preserving God will keep His faithful.

Historical Setting and Cause

Daniel 3:19 belongs to the trial of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego in the fiery furnace, where they afterward walked unharmed amid the flames with an angelic presence beside them. The account in Daniel 3:19-27 is the history of the Lord's wonderful deliverance of the three Hebrew worthies. It teaches important principles regarding the working out of the Lord's purpose for the children of obedience and the children of disobedience.

The crisis came when the three refused to worship the great golden image Nebuchadnezzar had set up in the plain of Dura. Their principles forbade paying homage to an idol rivaling the God of heaven, and even the threat of the fiery furnace could not make them betray God. They answered that their God was able to deliver them and that they would not serve his gods nor worship his image.

That image had been set up to represent Babylon and its king, and especially Nebuchadnezzar himself and his glory. He had set up the exceedingly costly and magnificent golden image to magnify himself as an object of worship and to turn all nations to its worship. He did so after reading his dream by his own idolatrous mind instead of by the living Oracles, and after heathen counselors flattered him that the head of gold was Babylon. Advisers ensnared the Hebrews by leading the king to decree universal worship of the golden image. The three Hebrew captives who cherished the knowledge of the true God refused to bow the knee to that idolatrous image.

At the height of his power and glory Nebuchadnezzar was defied by representatives of a despised and captive people, an insult his proud spirit and self-exalting pride could not endure. Their refusal was a matter of conscience and loyalty to the God of heaven, because to worship the image would violate their consciences. It included refusal to disregard the Sabbath and to observe heathen festivals, a faithfulness for which not a few exiles lost their lives when idolaters were roused to crush out the truth. Their stand grew from education to worship and serve God only. The determination not to surrender principle or compromise truth, first shown in refusing the king's food, matured into willingness to die rather than prove disloyal to God. Through connection with Daniel they had talked of God and of Christ the representative of God.

King's Fury and Command

Nebuchadnezzar became full of fury against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, the form of his visage was changed against them, and he spoke and commanded that the burning fiery furnace should be heated seven times more than it was wont to be heated. His anger arose because they would not yield to the royal command, would not serve his gods nor worship his golden image, even under threat of death, and he intensified the threat against those who remained loyal to God. His wrath knew no limits and used extreme force as a last resort, for at the height of his power and glory he was defied by representatives of a despised and captive race, an insult his proud and self-exalting spirit could not endure. In that fury he commanded the Hebrew exiles to be cast in, and the flames burst out with such fury that the men who carried and threw them in were burned to death.

The fiery furnace, even heated seven times hotter than usual, could not intimidate those who trusted God into denying the truth or betraying God for favor, honor, or position. He commanded his mighty men to bind the three God-fearing youths for execution because they would not bow to his golden image, and such haste was made to thrust them in that the flame burst out and burned to death those who put them in. Their steadfast loyalty brought this severe test, but God later revealed His power by preserving them in the flames and thereby bringing the knowledge of the true God before Babylon's princes and leading men.

The changed visage when he took a hostile stand illustrates what happens when any soul places himself on Satan's side of the question. A change passes over him just as Nebuchadnezzar's countenance was changed against the three faithful Hebrews, in rejecting the working of the Holy Spirit and opening the door of the mind to Satanic attributes that separate from God. He turns against God's faithful messengers and warnings to misapply, misinterpret, falsify, and nullify them, and past history will be repeated in this experience.

Divine Presence and Deliverance

God did not forsake the three in the fire when the furnace was ordered heated seven times hotter than usual for their refusal to turn from allegiance to God. Christ Himself, the Son of God, the form of the Fourth, was seen walking with His faithful servants in the flames, present with them in the fire and delivering them completely. He preserved them from all harm in the fire, and they came forth without harm to their garments and without even the smell of fire upon their clothing.

The verse shows God's keeping power is greater than the rage of powerful enemies determined to stop the mouth of a fearless advocate of truth and crying for his blood. The Lord keeps the life of His faithful servant under a death sentence from an enraged ruler, and the same God can be trusted for protection when facing death. The witness can therefore stand without seeking his own ease, ready to seal his testimony with his blood rather than yield. Their preservation shows God can preserve His people when they face deadly persecution, and the same preserving power kept John alive when he was cast into a cauldron of boiling oil for believing in Jesus Christ of Nazareth. The account of their deliverance from the furnace serves as a parallel to John's preservation from the boiling oil.

They could not be consumed because the Son of God was with them, so the righteous who are united with the Lord will likewise be unharmed by fire at His coming. God has not promised exemption from such fiery trials for Christ's sake, but has promised what is far better, strength as the day requires and grace sufficient in weakness, with strength made perfect in weakness. In that furnace Jesus will stand beside the sufferer just as He was with the faithful three in Babylon. Suffering for Christ's sake is an honor following Christ who patiently submitted to humiliation and torture and gave His life to save the world, and those who love their Redeemer will rejoice at every opportunity to share His humiliation and reproach, for love for the Lord makes suffering for His sake sweet.

Luther trusted that the God who preserved the three faithful men in the furnace heated seven times hotter could preserve him amid threats from his enemies. Their preservation in the furnace shows that God can protect those who remain faithful when powerful enemies threaten them, and Luther trusted in that same protection while facing danger at Worms.

Witness to Nations

The fury that heated the furnace seven times hotter than usual belonged to the persecution suffered by the Jewish exiles in Babylon when idolaters were roused to crush out the truth. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego were brought into that trial because they refused to disregard the Sabbath and to observe the heathen festivals, a faithfulness for which not a few exiles lost their lives. The Lord brought His servants face to face with kings and rulers in such trials that they and their people might receive the light, and time after time the greatest monarchs were led to proclaim the supremacy of the God whom their Hebrew captives worshiped.

The attempt to force worship of the golden image ended with God preserving the Hebrews in the flames, testing their integrity, displaying His power, and vindicating their loyalty. Their steadfastness spread the knowledge of the true God and the power and faithfulness of the God of Israel before Babylon's princes and leading men and throughout the length and breadth of Babylon. In this way God was honored by their faithfulness and accomplished His purpose in permitting their captivity in a heathen land. Their determination not to surrender principle or compromise truth, first shown in refusing the king's food, had matured into willingness to die rather than prove disloyal, and loyalty that required open disregard of the king's command even in the face of death was what brought the rescue that made the God of heaven known to Babylon.

This wonderful miracle of preservation, when Christ Himself walked in the furnace with His three faithful servants, so wrought upon Nebuchadnezzar's heart that he believed in God and His superior power over every other kingdom and earthly kings. He praised and gave thanksgiving to Jehovah and acknowledged the God of the three Hebrews as the living God. He called them to come forth from the flames and cast their accusers into the furnace. He could recognize the Fourth as like unto the Son of God because Daniel and the three Hebrews in connection with him had talked of God and of Christ the representative of God.

Though convinced by what he saw and acknowledging the wonderful miracle that had been wrought, because he did not continue to walk in the light he lost the holy impression made upon his mind.

Faithful Endurance Under Trial

Making the furnace far hotter than normal did not turn God's faithful servants aside from allegiance to the truth. Having purposed beforehand to be true to principle come what may, they stood firm in the time of trial even when cast in for obedience. They were not forsaken by God in the fire, for the form of the Fourth walked with them in the flames. They came forth without harm and without even the smell of fire upon their garments. The increased heat was a sharp, continual contest in the controversy between good and evil lasting to its soon close, demanding that same settled purpose in the last remnant of time.

Trusting the word of God and holding fast faith in the triumph of righteousness, though utterly helpless in themselves, they withstood Nebuchadnezzar in the fire. The power of the whole world and human power and policy on the throne were set in support of evil against them. Their stand witnesses to the power of God's word against human power and authority. It marks them as part of the world's true nobility and royal line in which youth today are called to take their places.

Their self-denial and self-sacrifice under threat teach that God's people must let inward principle learned from Christ override hereditary and cultivated habits, circumstances, passions, and self-interest. They must resist every circumstance that conflicts with duty and rule passion by that inward principle. When human authority compels open disregard of God's commandments and demands disobedience to God, even in the face of death and the fiery furnace, loyalty must remain firm and truth must not be compromised or betrayed. The determination not to surrender principle first shown in refusing the king's food matured into willingness to die rather than prove disloyal. God vindicated His servants in that trial, was honored by their faithfulness, and through their steadfastness spread the knowledge of the true God throughout the length and breadth of Babylon, thereby accomplishing His purpose in permitting their captivity in a heathen land.

Applied to a believer facing severe opposition as a heated furnace, holding fast to the truth may bring trials. The Lord will not leave those who serve Him, and His strength is sufficient to endure.

End-Time Parallel and Application

The furnace heated seven times hotter than usual is the sharp, continual contest in the controversy between good and evil that lasts to its soon close, demanding in the last remnant of time a settled purpose to be true to principle let come what may. Making the fire far hotter than normal to force unfaithfulness did not turn God's faithful servants aside from allegiance to the truth, for having purposed beforehand they stood firm in the time of trial even when cast in for obedience. They were not forsaken, for God was present with them in the fire, the form of the Fourth walked with them in the flames, and they came forth delivered so completely that no trace of fire remained on their clothing, without even the smell of fire upon their garments. Their experience teaches that God's faithful servants may face abuse and death for refusing to forsake their worship, and in the last days Sabbathkeepers will face a death decree for honoring the fourth commandment.

Nebuchadnezzar's fury broke out in a cruel command to destroy Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, prompted by advisers who ensnared them by leading the king to decree universal worship of the golden image. Those who make cruel enactments seeking to destroy God's faithful are themselves destroyed by the recoil of their actions, which will repeat when men today strive to turn God's people from allegiance by setting up a Sunday idol in place of God's Sabbath and demanding it be worshiped as sacred. The king's use of royal power to enforce worship shows how civil authority allied with wickedness can seek to destroy those who remain faithful to God. The episode warns against laws that compel worship and against turning people from their allegiance to God.

That same refusal to bow must be made in the Southern States when the period comes to do as the three worthies did, a time presenting decisions for or against the commandments of God. Until that period comes believers must not be presumptuous and must not needlessly close their own way into untouched fields. They must never encourage defiance and resistance even if threatened with the chain gang, but must be willing to go to other cities or countries. They must meet bigotry, prejudice, and suffering for truth with prayer for those who treat them evilly and with nonresistance to evil.

The test over the golden image set up in the plain of Dura represented the kingdom of Babylon and especially Nebuchadnezzar himself after he read his dream by his own idolatrous mind instead of by the living Oracles. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego would not bow and were cast into the fiery furnace, where Christ Himself walked with them, and the miracle so wrought upon Nebuchadnezzar's heart that he believed in God and His superior power over every other kingdom. Their faithful stand and the judgment on Babylon foreshadow the end of the world, when students of God's Word must stand apart from the customs of the world's counselors and be prepared like wise virgins with oil to meet the Bridegroom. Faithful obedience can provoke violent threats from rulers, yet the same preserving God who preserved the three young men in the burning fiery furnace still lives and reigns and remains able to save His servants now. It calls for trusting life and death to the Lord's hands when violence is very probable, counting personal life of little consequence if He wills not to save, refusing flight and recantation, and being willing to shed blood so the gospel is not exposed to the scorn and triumph of the wicked. Their danger in a furnace heated far beyond its usual heat shows that God does not forget His faithful people when they face persecution and death, for even in prison or other lonely confinement they remain connected to Christ and may receive heavenly light and peace.