Daniel, Chapter three

As most of you know, I am homeschooled. Well, today, I was watching my bible video and my teacher was teaching from Daniel 3. While he was teaching, he said something that I don’t think I ever heard before. At the school where I get my school dvds, they teach only from the New King James Version so I thought that maybe it was only something only in that version. But I read through every version I have and it was in all of them.... I had just never noticed it before.
I might confuse you if you don’t know this story... so I will start at the beginning of the story so nobody gets confused. Just a quick Kendall version of what happened, (I will just write all of Daniel 3 at the bottom of this post if you want all of the details and don’t mind reading it all. So if you want to read that, just scroll down and then come back.)
The King of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, made a huge statue of gold- ninety feet high and nine feed wide. (We don’t really know what it was of, maybe him?) Any way, when it was finished being built, he commanded all of his officials, governors, judges, and any other men in his government to bow to his statue when a certain music started playing.... anyone who did not would immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.
Well, the music started playing and everyone bowed down. Everyone except for three men, our Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Those three men knew God, and they trusted in him-they would not bow to the image. They were brought to the king, who gave them one last chance-which they refused.
Furious, King Nebuchadnezzar ordered the guards to heat the furnace seven times hotter and to throw the three men in. The three friends were thrown in and a little while later, King Nebuchadnezzer (this is getting hard to type all of these names!) asked his advisors if there were not three men tied and thrown into the fire. The advisors replied that there were three men.
In amazement, he said that he sees four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed-the fourth looks like the son of the gods. (God)
He went to the opening of the furnace and shouted to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to come out of the fire. So the three men came out of the fire, nothing-not a hair on their body was even singed.... they didnt even smell slightly of smoke!
What did I get out of this? In Daniel 3: 23, it says that three men, FIRMLY TIED, were thrown into the blazing furnace.
Then, in Daniel 3:25, it says that four men were walking around in the fire, UNBOUND and unharmed.
Really, I had never really paid attention to that part! In verse 27, it says that nothing on them was burned, they didnt even smell like smoke-but yet they came out of the fire unbound. The ropes that bound them before the fire burned off in the fire while nothing else on them was touched!
Here is what I immediately think of now when I read this chapter, especially these verses.
Sometimes in our lives, we have things that we are bound to... maybe a bad situation, maybe a wrong thought that keeps coming to our minds, or possibly you were hurt by something and it has left a deep scar in your heart. Those things that have been bound to us may seem like it is impossible to escape from... then something else comes up in our life. A hard times, another bad situation, a feeling of discouragement or sadness, pretty much anything that could represent the fire in that story.
Having those things that bind us is bad enough, but seeing a fire up ahead, or being in the fire-it may seem like nothing makes sense and we begin to question God’s abilities. But in that fire, the ropes may start burning and weakening a bit more. Finally, we realize that questioning God is foolish, and we begin to cling to Him instead of push away. We know that all we have is Him and we need Him, we start seeking him and calling for him. The ropes weaken more and God takes them off and they fall into the fire, burning into ashes. God delivers us through the fire, and we are unharmed-closer to Him than ever before.
Another thing that stuck with me is in verse 25, Nebuchadnezzar sees four men in the fire-one more than he put in it. God was in the fire with them, he was with them the whole way! In our fire, we sometimes forget that God is with us-he would never, never, never leave us. He is always with us, watching over us and during the fire, he can comfort us and deliver us through it.
Here is all of Daniel, chapter three. (In the New International Version)
"1 King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, ninety feet high and nine feet wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. 2 He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up. 3 So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials assembled for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it.
4 Then the herald loudly proclaimed, "This is what you are commanded to do, O peoples, nations and men of every language: 5 As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. 6 Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace."
7 Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations and men of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
8 At this time some astrologers came forward and denounced the Jews. 9 They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, "O king, live forever! 10 You have issued a decree, O king, that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of gold, 11 and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace. 12 But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—who pay no attention to you, O king. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up."
13 Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, 14 and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? 15 Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?"
16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual 20 and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. 21 So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. 22 The king's command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, 23 and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, "Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?" They replied, "Certainly, O king."
25 He said, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods."
26 Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!" So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, 27 and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.
28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, "Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king's command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way."
30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon."
From BibleGateway.com