Nebuchadnezzar was so furious with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face became distorted with rage. He commanded that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual. Then he ordered some of the strongest men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. So they tied them up and threw them into the furnace, fully dressed in their pants, turbans, robes, and other garments. And because the king, in his anger, had demanded such a hot fire in the furnace, the flames killed the soldiers as they threw the three men in. So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, securely tied, fell into the roaring flames. But suddenly, Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in amazement and exclaimed to his advisers, “Didn’t we tie up three men and throw them into the furnace?” “Yes, Your Majesty, we certainly did,” they replied. “Look!” Nebuchadnezzar shouted. “I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire unharmed! And the fourth looks like a god!” Then Nebuchadnezzar came as close as he could to the door of the flaming furnace and shouted: “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stepped out of the fire. Then the high officers, officials, governors, and advisers crowded around them and saw that the fire had not touched them. Not a hair on their heads was singed, and their clothing was not scorched. They didn’t even smell of smoke! Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his angel to rescue his servants who trusted in him. They defied the king’s command and were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore, I make this decree: If any people, whatever their race or nation or language, speak a word against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they will be torn limb from limb, and their houses will be turned into heaps of rubble. There is no other god who can rescue like this!” Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to even higher positions in the province of Babylon. Daniel 3:19-30
When preached, this story most always
has as the central thought fire, and how the three Hebrew men weren’t burned,
and didn’t even smell of smoke when they emerged from the furnace. We give our attention to the wonder of how
God protected them, and that they survived such an ordeal. And truly, it is a fascinating miracle, but
it’s the fourth man in the fire Daniel wants us to see.
The testimony of many Biblical scholars
is that the fourth man in the fire was Jesus.
Accompanying Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the blistering fire was
an epiphany, a pre-incarnate appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ. Did he really do that…did Jesus go into the
fire with them to protect Daniel’s friends?
The prophet doesn’t tell us that specifically but, in stating the core of
his ministry to the religious leaders, Jesus plainly-stated that the pages of
the Old Testament are all about the Christ.
“You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! John 5:39
It’s a simple correlation, if the
Scriptures point to Jesus, He had to have been there. And since, as Paul the Apostle pointed out in
Colossians, Jesus was there at the creation.
Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. Colossians 1:15-17
There is also the correlation that Jesus
was not only there at the creation, He was also the
creative force of the creation, and is also therefore in
charge of that creation.
For You Today
The same God who entered the time and
space of His creation is also He who died for that creation…namely us…and
wishes to enter the time and space of who we are. In other words, He loves us, and wants to
walk with us.
The sermon in this….invite Him into
your day.
Title image: via Pixabay.com W Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©
For another post on Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego see: Clear Choices Also
read Oral Roberts’ sermon The Fourth Man
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