God’s Deliverance From a Fiery Furnace
Shared on September 15, 2024
Nebuchadnezzar has laid down a challenge to God. Join Pastor McCrary for this week’s lesson to learn how God is with you in the midst of all your troubles. When the fires are incredibly hot in your life, God will deliver you from the fiery furnace!
Introduction
We have seen Nebuchadnezzar lay down a challenge to God when Daniel’s friends refused to worship his image of gold. He asked, “who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?” He was right to think that no man-made god could deliver them from his hands. However, the one true God would make an appearance and with Him, all things are possible.
Nebuchadnezzar’s Fiery Rage
Our lesson picks up right where we left off in our lesson last week. Last week’s lesson came to a close with Daniel’s friends telling Nebuchadnezzar the God they serve is able to deliver them. Then they adamantly told the king they wouldn’t serve his gods nor the gold image.
So we see Nebuchadnezzar in a rage because these three young men are defying him. I’m not sure how many people ever crossed Nebuchadnezzar in such a manner. As I have said a couple of times recently, I find it very interesting he had no problem with defying God. However, someone defying him was a major crime as it hurt his pride and ego.
So, since he had to show that he was “all powerful”, he commanded the young men to be thrown in a furnace that was heated seven times more than normal. I repeat to you that he may think he is appearing powerful but to me, he has been made to look very small by these young men. He is throwing a temper tantrum because these young men were saying no. Frankly, he looks pitiful to me.
Do you know who Nebuchadnezzar reminds me of? There was another man in scripture who shared a similar mindset to Nebuchadnezzar. Like Nebuchadnezzar, this man ruled over many and thought very highly of himself. He once asked, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice (Ex. 5:2)?” If you don’t know who I’m talking about, it’s the Pharaoh of Moses’ day.
Now, how did things work out for that Pharaoh? He refused to let the children of Israel go because of his heart of pride and stubbornness. His pride caused the land and the people to go through plague after plague. In the end, the Lord proved that He was the only God and His people were let go. So, how do you think this challenge is going to go for Nebuchadnezzar?
The Fiery Furnace
Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were thrown bound in the furnace still wearing their coats, trousers, turbans, and their other garments (Dan. 3:21). Again, this was Nebuchadnezzar showing his power and authority to keep them bound. This fiery furnace, you could say, certainly represented his rage. Nebuchadnezzar had a desire to make this as painful of a death as he could for the young men.
Something goes wrong for Nebuchadnezzar
I keep thinking about him, believing himself to be like a god, and comparing him to God. There was no mercy in this man. His first instinct was to move to have them, or anybody that didn’t do as he commanded, killed (Dan. 3:4-6). The Lord repeatedly gives us chance after chance because He is a merciful God and a God of love. We should truly be thankful that God is love and nothing like us, sinful man.
As the young men lay there in the furnace, bound in their clothes, this was supposed to be their end. We can only imagine what they must have been thinking. I don’t know if Nebuchadnezzar had picked up on this right away, but something had already gone wrong with his plan.
You see, some of the men that threw the young men into the furnace were killed by its flames while the young men were not killed (Dan. 3:22). With the furnace having the level of heat that it had and the flames pouring out, the young men probably should have been killed right away.
So, something was already working in their favor but was working against Nebuchadnezzar. The something that was working against Nebuchadnezzar was actually someone. That someone was the same one that worked against Pharaoh in Egypt. The one that worked against Pharaoh in Egypt is the one that said to tell the people “I AM” (Ex. 3:14).
God stuns Nebuchadnezzar
It is said that the ancient Babylonian furnace was made of very thick bricks. According to scripture, it had a mouth, or an opening for materials to be thrown into to heat the fire. Nebuchadnezzar, we are told, was able to see what was happening in the furnace, though he was likely standing at a distance. What he could see astonished him (Dan. 3:24).
Daniel 3:25 tells us that Nebuchadnezzar no longer saw three men in the fire but saw a fourth man. Nebuchadnezzar also noticed that the men weren’t bound (tied up) but were freely walking in the fire! He saw that the men were not hurt! He had asked what god could deliver them from his hands and it looks like Nebuchadnezzar found out that the one true God could.
Nebuchadnezzar said that the form of the fourth was like the “Son of God.” Now, if you’re like me, this statement could cause you to wonder, how would he know what the form of the Son of God is? What did Nebuchadnezzar mean by this statement?
Nebuchadnezzar knew of the Lord through Daniel. Before he interpreted his dream, Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar, “there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets (Dan. 3:28).” After interpreting his dream, Daniel told him, “the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass (Dan. 2:45).” Nebuchadnezzar would go on to say to Daniel, “Truly your God is the God of gods (Dan. 2:47).”
So, as I said last week, all that Nebuchadnezzar had done to the young men was an openly defiant display of blasphemy. He saw, not necessarily a man, but one that had a form that likely looked majestic or divine – like a heavenly being. Did he truly see the Son of God in the flame?
Delivered from the furnace
I certainly believe that the preincarnate Christ was in the midst of the fire with the young men. Why do I believe Nebuchadnezzar saw the preincarnate Christ?
In Isaiah 43:2, the Lord proclaimed that when we pass through waters, He will be with us. The Lord said that when we pass through rivers, they won’t overflow us. God said that when we walk through fire, we won’t be burned and scorched. All of this speaks to the trials, tribulations, and afflictions of the righteous. As David said in song, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all (Ps. 34:19).
These are words – promises – from the Lord that we should always keep in our heart. All of those fiery trials that we face, we do not do so alone. God will not permit you to be hurt, scorched, or burned by the flames of the fire. So, as Daniel’s friends had put their trust in the Lord, we must continually put our trust in Him
Nebuchadnezzar went to the mouth of the furnace and called for the young men to come outside (Dan. 3:26). All of the king’s people gathered around the young men and took a look at what they saw. Neither of the young men were physically hurt! Not even a sinch of their hair had been singed! Their clothes had not been burned! Even more, they didn’t even smell like they had been in the fire.
What does this tell you? The Lord had shielded and protected his faithful children. I truly do believe that the Lord shields and protects us; He lets no hurt, harm, or damage come upon our soul.
Nebuchadnezzar then spoke saying “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego”. Was Nebuchadnezzar now of faith in the Lord? No. Nebuchadnezzar certainly acknowledged the power of the Lord. However, notice that he doesn’t claim God but says that God was the God of the young men.
Nebuchadnezzar was also impressed, and dare I say he respected the conviction of the faith Daniel’s friends had in the Lord. However, their conviction was not enough to get him to repent of his idol worship. Honestly, it is very impressive (not in a good way) that Nebuchadnezzar could be around the conviction of Daniel and his friends and not have a change of heart.
That being said, we once again see that faith in the Lord prevails. Faith in the Lord will always prevail no matter the situation or circumstance. We must learn to trust that this is true. We must learn to trust that God will always deliver us from trials, tribulations, afflictions, and infirmities.