Daniel 3:27
And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.
The verse shows three men coming out of a blazing furnace completely untouched, with no injury to their bodies, no singeing of hair, no change to clothing and not even the scent of smoke upon them, while only their bonds were burned away, all under the eyes of gathered rulers and a vast multitude. They were preserved because the Son of God Himself walked with them in the flames, taking away the fire's power to consume and fulfilling the promise that those who walk through the fire shall not be burned. They had been cast in for refusing to worship the golden image, choosing obedience to God over life itself rather than making any concession to idolatry. Their deliverance publicly vindicated their loyalty, turned the king's wrath to praise, and spread the knowledge of the living God through the nations gathered at Babylon. The same steadfast purpose will be required to the close of the controversy between good and evil, when the forcing of false worship will again test those who keep God's commandments.
Complete Preservation Witnessed
Daniel 3:27 records a complete preservation in the furnace, for the fire had no power upon the bodies of the three men. Not a hair of their heads was singed, their coats were unchanged, and not even the smell of fire had passed upon them. Their bodies and their clothing alike were left untouched by the flames, with no harm, no scorching, no alteration, and no smoke upon them.
What the fire did consume was their bonds alone, for their fetters were burned off while they themselves remained unharmed.
This unharmed condition was not hidden but was seen by the princes, governors, captains, and the king's counsellors being gathered together to examine them. They stood thus before a vast multitude, and their coming forth unhurt was a public evidence and testimony to a wonderful deliverance and to divine power.
Setting and Immediate Outcome
The three were cast into the furnace because they refused to worship the golden image, openly disobeying the king's command rather than surrender principle and become apostate from God. That image was a rival to the God of heaven, and their refusal to pay it homage or to disregard God for heathen worship brought persecution stirred up by idolaters to crush out the truth, when church and state united to force its worship. At the king's remorseful summons, Ye servants of the most high God, come forth, they came out in obedience and stood unhurt before rulers and people. They stood thus before a vast multitude, with the princes, governors, captains and counsellors gathered to see them, a public proof of complete deliverance.
This took place in the same year the youthful Hebrews entered the king's service, and what befell the three severely tested their integrity. Before an idolatrous nation it proved the power and faithfulness of the God of Israel. The public miracle produced a striking change in the minds of the people, the great golden image was forgotten, and the king published a decree that anyone speaking against their God should be put to death, because there is no other god that can deliver after this sort.
Their loyalty was thereby vindicated, the king's wrath was turned to praise and thanksgiving to Jehovah, and divine power was made known in Babylon above earthly kings. Nebuchadnezzar was convinced that their God was the living God, superior in power above every other kingdom. Yet because he did not continue to walk in the light, he afterward lost the holy impression made upon his mind. The golden image set up on the plain of Dura represented Babylon and especially its king. The crisis grew out of Nebuchadnezzar reading the Scriptural interpretation of his dream concerning Babylon and other kingdoms in the light of his own idolatrous mind, teaching that all, whether king or subjects, must read dreams and providence in the light of the living oracles and not dreams in the light of human understanding, lest exalting Babylon end in its fall as at the hour of feasting and revelling.
God thus brought His servants face to face with kings and rulers so that rulers and their people might receive the light, with even the greatest monarchs led by what they saw to proclaim the supremacy of the God whom His captives worshiped. Through the representatives of the different nations invited to the dedication, the tidings of the wonderful deliverance were carried to many countries. By their steadfast loyalty the knowledge of the true God was spread throughout the length and breadth of the Babylonian empire. In this the purpose for which He had permitted them to be carried captive to a heathen land was accomplished, and through the faithfulness of His children God was glorified in all the earth.
Divine Presence in Flames
They were not forsaken in the fire, for One like the Son of God was with them, the Saviour in person as the Fourth walking with them in the flames. In His presence the flames lost their power to consume, so the fire had no power over their bodies, not a hair of the head was singed, their coats were unchanged, and not even the smell of fire passed on them. Only their fetters were burned while bodies and clothing were left unharmed, and their Saviour's presence guarded them through the trial. Those who purpose to be true to principle come what may and refuse to turn aside from allegiance to truth, even when the furnace is heated seven times hotter than usual, are not abandoned when cast in for standing firm, but come forth completely untouched with no trace of fire upon them.
God takes His stand with the oppressed and does not abandon those who belong to Him even in extreme danger. He rebukes all earthly powers that rebel against the authority of Heaven, upholding and delivering those who stand firm for truth in trial. Their preservation without harm, seen when the princes, governors, captains and counsellors gathered to behold them, was a declaration to the whole nation of Babylon of faith in the God they worshiped. It was the honoring in the sight of all of their faith in the living Word, showing that the faithful under severe trial are not forsaken by God.
The deliverance was the honoring of the promise that in walking through the fire they would not be burned nor would the flame kindle upon them. God limits the power of the fire, so that the fire kindled by Satan cannot destroy or injure the trusting Christian. Jesus and angels watch over the believer, so that only the dross is consumed while the faithful are not consumed or hurt.
Faith Sustained in Trial
Those who trust God's word, though utterly helpless in themselves, can stand against the power of the whole world, as Shadrach and his companions stood in the fire against Nebuchadnezzar on the throne. Their deliverance witnesses to the power of God's word against human power and policy in support of evil. They mark the world's true nobility and royal line in which the youth of today are called to take their places.
Living faith in the merits of the crucified Redeemer carries believers through affliction and trial, sustaining them in severe trial with the Fourth beside them in the furnace so that its fire leaves no mark upon them. They came out unharmed, with the fire having no power over their bodies, no hair singed, their coats unchanged, and not even the smell of fire or smoke upon them. God has not promised His people exemption from trials, but what is far better, strength as the days require and grace sufficient made perfect in weakness. Anyone called to go through the fiery furnace for Christ's sake will have Jesus personally by their side just as He was with the faithful three in Babylon. 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.
God does not forget His people in danger but can protect and comfort them even when imprisoned or threatened with death. Unjust punishment for faithful obedience does not mean He has stopped reigning, for Jesus was with the three and the flames could not harm them. The three are with Daniel a lived example of self-denial and self-sacrifice, showing that God's people can overcome inherited and cultivated habits and remain faithful under pressure. They were not enslaved by any hereditary or cultivated habits or tendencies, nor servants of circumstances, but ruled the animal passions and made all appetites and passions and circumstances and surroundings servants to the God-fearing man. Their stand reveals an inwrought principle learned of the greatest Teacher that controls circumstances and passes like a plowshare through hereditary and cultivated habits and through all circumstances and surroundings.
Those with divine principles inwrought in the heart will not be intimidated to deny and betray the truth for favor or worldly honors or exalted position. They count human reputation as nothingness, holding that to live is to obey the word of Christ and to die for the truth is gain, even when the Lord proves and tries His people by threat of the fiery furnace. To impress idolaters with the power and greatness of the living God, His servants must reveal their own reverence for God and make it manifest that He is the only object of honor and worship. These youth, imbued with the Holy Spirit, refused to pay homage to the golden image because it was a rival to the God of heaven, and declared to the whole nation by this preservation that He whom they worshiped was the only true and living God, a demonstration of faith that was the most eloquent presentation of their principles. No consideration, not even the preservation of life itself, can induce the least concession to idolatry.
The verse gives ground to trust God when called to answer for faith before an imposing assembly of great men, for God is able to keep His faithful witnesses through death threatened by powerful enemies. It calls for anxiety not for self or ease but that truth be not exposed to insult, with readiness to die rather than let enemies triumph, leaning upon God as an eternal rock and taking hold of His strength without fear. The verse sets forth important principles regarding the working out of the Lord's purpose for the children of obedience and the children of disobedience. The threat and opposition when command was given to worship the golden image manifested the loyalty and revealed the actuating principle of those who would not bow.
Prophetic Pattern for Last Days
Until the controversy between good and evil is ended there will be continual sharp contests requiring purpose to be true to principle come what may. The faithful refuse to turn aside from allegiance to truth even when the furnace is heated seven times hotter than usual. Those who stand firm in trial and are cast in are not forsaken, for the Fourth walks with them in the flames and they come forth completely untouched with no trace of fire upon them, without even its smell upon their clothing. The same purpose to be true to principle is needed now as the great contest continues to its close.
The experience on the plain of Dura holds lessons for this day, when innocent servants will be given over to suffer humiliation and abuse at the hands of those inspired by Satan and filled with envy and religious bigotry. Especially the wrath of man will be aroused against those who hallow the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, and at last a universal decree will denounce them as deserving of death. When church and state united to force worship of the golden image, the three were preserved so the fire had no power over them, while the men who schemed to ensnare and sought to destroy them were themselves destroyed. The same pattern will repeat with the Sunday idol set up by human law in place of God's holy Sabbath, when men strive to turn God's people from their allegiance; those who make cruel enactments seeking to destroy Sabbath-keepers will be destroyed by the recoil of their own actions.
A time may come when God's people must decide whether to obey God's commandments or comply with a human religious demand. That conflict is not to be provoked by presumptuous defiance before such a decision is required. God sustains those who face temptation without deliberately entering it, while those who choose to walk into temptation cannot count on divine aid to keep them from being overcome. The three were unharmed by the furnace because Jesus was with them in the flames.
Their deliverance illustrates that when the Lord comes and the earth is cleansed by fire, the righteous who are united with Him will be untouched by the flames and will escape unscathed, just as the Son of God was with the Hebrews in the furnace. Their preservation gave Luther confidence that God could protect him from violence amid his enemies' threats. Though his life remained in God's hands, he stayed ready to die rather than surrender the truth. The fire did not harm their bodies or hair, alter their clothes, or even leave its smell on them, giving assurance that God can preserve those who trust Him when they face violence for faith.
The same divine preservation that kept the three alive in extreme heat kept John alive when cast into a cauldron of boiling oil. The Lord preserves the life of His faithful servant when men try to kill him by extreme heat. This shows God's ability to keep faithful witnesses through death threatened by powerful enemies and to protect a faithful servant through an attempt to destroy him.