Standing In The Fire | Daniel 3:14-30 | 9-16-26 | Wednesday

Pastor Andrew Montoro (0:00)

All right, Daniel Chapter 3 tonight. Daniel Chapter 3, one of the more famous stories from the Book of Daniel. I love, we actually preached through the Book of Daniel, even the prophecy parts back in 2021 and 2022 on Wednesday nights.

But some of these passages, we need to go back and hit them again, and review them from the Word of God. There's great truth and encouragement for the people of God, right where we are to serve the Lord. And so Daniel chapter 3 is the story of the three Hebrew children and the fiery furnace. Daniel actually doesn't show up in this story, but his three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, are the center point of the story. And we're going to kind of pick it up a little bit in the middle of the story. So we'll get the background. But Nebuchadnezzar has built his statue. He wants people to bow down to it. The three Hebrew, and they weren't just little boys, okay? The three Hebrew young men that were there, they chose not to stand, or excuse me, not to bow. They chose not to, and it wasn't just bowing, but it was worship for these statues. It was giving, this statue, it was giving that allegiance to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. And so let's pick it up, verse number 13 The Bible says, when then Nebuchadnezzar, when he hears that these men aren't bowing, that anyone dared to not do exactly what he commanded. The Bible says that Nebuchadnezzar, in his rage and fury, I mean, you would think, okay, you didn't do what I said, let's talk about it here. No, rage and fury, it was, is what was coming out of Nebuchadnezzar, commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, then they brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do ye not serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? Now, if ye be ready, that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, heart, sackbutt, sultry, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made, well, we can forget all about this. That's basically what he said, all right? But if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace, and who is that God which shall deliver you out of my hands? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we're not careful to answer thee in this matter. We don't even have to think about this. This is not a hard question for us. 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 thine hand, O King. But if not, be it known unto thee, O King, that we will not serve thy gods nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Therefore, he spake and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was ought to be heated. And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Therefore, because the king's commandment was urgent and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. And that's ordinarily where the story would end.

But that's not where the biblical account ends, because God is involved in this story. And the Bible says, Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied. He was astonished and rose up in great haste and spake, and said unto his counselors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king, whatever you want, king, we don't want to end up in there, right? He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt, and the form of the fourth is like unto the Son of God. Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fire, and he said to him, I am going to go to the furnace and spake and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came forth out of the midst of the fire. And the princes and governors and captains and the king counselors 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, and the smell of fire had passed on them. Then Nebuchadnezzar spake and said, Blessed be the god of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who sent his angel and delivered his servants that trusted in him and have changed the king's word and yielded their bodies that they might not serve nor worship any god except their own. Therefore I make a decree that every people, nation, and language which speak anything amiss against the god of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be cut in pieces and their houses shall be made of dunghill because there is no other god that can deliver after this sort than the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.