TOPIC:“The Must of a Faith That's Fireproof”
TEXT:Daniel 3:8-30
“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” (3:18).
We live in a day of inventions, safety, and precaution. These inventions are constantly being tested and tried in order to determine whether they meet the requirements for being sold to the public. We have such things as shatterproof glass, waterproof watches, soundproof rooms, rustproof automobiles, and puncture-proof tires. Now these things are all helpful and useful. But I believe the greatest need of the hour is a fireproof faith which holds us steadfast and faithful amidst the storms of life. And you can be certain the storms are going to come. As a matter of fact, they are already upon us.
The setting of our text finds Daniel's three friends - Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego - living in Babylon during the captivity under King Nebuchadnezzar. The theme which many believers live by when away from home is “When in Babylon do as the Babylonians do.” But not so of these young men! They did not permit their faith to be compromised or their courage to be defiled when called upon to do the unchristian thing. In chapter two they won the favor of King Nebuchadnezzar in helping Daniel interpret the forgotten dream. Because of their help he promoted them to very important positions as assistants to Daniel in charge of all the affairs of the province of Babylon. Matthew Henry, in his commentary, rightly calls them not children, but “Champions.” And so they were!
There in Babylon's religious culture, they were one day put to the supreme test of their lives. They were commanded to bow down before the great golden image which the King had erected. It was ninety feet high and nine feet wide. Because the three young Hebrew men refused to bow down, King Nebuchadnezzar in uncontrollable rage according to verse 19 commanded that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual. And then we read in verse 20: "And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace."
So because of their refusal to pay homage to the golden image, they were cast into an oven of seething flames. But the flames could not burn them. We read in verse 27 these words: “Then the princes, governors, captains, and counselors crowded around them and saw that the fire had not touched them - not a hair of their heads was singed; their coats were unscorched, and they didn't even smell of smoke” (TLB). What a marvelous miracle. Note the words of King Nebuchadnezzar as he looked into the furnace 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 the Son of God” (v. 25). Perhaps it was! The NIV has it: "a . . .