Tell the Story
Nebuchadnezzar’s Golden Image
3 King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits1 and its breadth six cubits. He set it up on the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. 2 Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent to gather the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 3 Then the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 4 And the herald proclaimed aloud, “You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, 5 that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. 6 And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace.” 7 Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, all the peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
The Fiery Furnace
8 Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and maliciously accused the Jews. 9 They declared2 to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! 10 You, O king, have made a decree, that every man who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image. 11 And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into a burning fiery furnace. 12 There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, pay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. So they brought these men before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? 15 Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good.3 But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?”
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.4 18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated. 20 And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21 Then these men were bound in their cloaks, their tunics,5 their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace. 22 Because the king’s order was urgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace.
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” 25 He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.”
26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. 27 And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them. 28 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside6 the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.” 30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.
Footnotes
[1] 3:1
[2] 3:9
[3] 3:15
[4] 3:17
[5] 3:21
[6] 3:28
When the Israelites were exiles in Babylon, they had to figure out how to serve God as strangers in a strange land. Back in Judah, they had their own king, their own religion, and their own rules. Now they had to figure out how to be faithful to God while still being friendly in their new home.
Sometimes living as an exile was hard but not too complicated. The king might give them freedom to worship their own God in their own way. Or he might appreciate the Israelites for their hard work. The Jews could get along with the Babylonians as long as the Babylonians didn’t mind the Jews believing and acting like Jews!
But that wasn’t always the case. Sometimes, serving God and serving the Babylonians just didn’t go together. And when that happened, there was only one thing to do: put God first.
One time King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold almost one hundred feet high and commanded everyone to worship the image. And “everyone” included the Jews. Nebuchadnezzar was asking them to break a whole bunch of the Ten Commandments. Actually, he wasn’t asking anyone. The king issued a decree that whoever refused to worship the image would be thrown into a burning fiery furnace.
Now what would you do? Maybe bow down on one knee, but not really mean it in your heart? Maybe go along with the king’s command and ask God to forgive you later? The Jews were in a tough situation. But the right thing is the right thing.
There were three Jews who worked for the king who refused to bow to the golden image. Their Hebrew names were Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, but you might know them by their Babylonian names: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. “Our God can save us from the fire,” they said, “but even if he doesn’t, we will not worship your gods or bow down to your golden image.”
Nebuchadnezzar was furious. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter, and he had the men thrown into the flames. But when the king looked in the furnace, he didn’t see the three men burning up. In fact, he didn’t see three men at all. He saw four! And the fourth one was real shiny. So the king called them out and blessed the God who sent his angel to save Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then he promoted them to even greater authority in Babylon.
We’d like to think that nothing bad will happen to us if we do the right thing, except we know that’s not the way things always work. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego didn’t know what God would do, but they knew right from wrong.
There is only one God who deserves to be worshiped and only one King whose commands are always true. And when the way of the world opposes the way of God, we ought to know which way to go.
