Daniel 3:24 "Then
Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, [and] spake, and
said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of
the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king."
Something of great
magnitude has caught the eye of Nebuchadnezzar. Some early versions of this
Scripture say that they were singing praises in the middle of the fire.
"Astonied" means
he was astonished. He ran to see, if he was remembering correctly, that there
were three men in the fire. His attendants agreed with him.
Daniel 3:25 "He
answered 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."
God is ever present with
those who trust Him. This fourth person in the fire is the Son of God. Look,
with me, at the beautiful promise that was fulfilled, here, for these 3 men who
pleased God.
Isaiah 43:2 "When thou
passest through the waters, I [will be] with thee; and through the rivers, they
shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be
burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee."
God is a consuming fire, so
fire is nothing to Him. They put their faith in the Lord, and He did not fail
them. He was in the fire with them, protecting them from its flames. This divine
presence will be with us in all of our troubles, if we will continue to trust
in the Lord. God promises us supernatural protection in time of trouble, if we
trust in Him.
Psalms 91:7 "A
thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; [but] it
shall not come nigh thee."
There were several things
to be gained from this: More faith for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. There
was, also, a world looking on, seeing how they would handle this problem. This
was a witness to them. The king's heart will be changed.
Daniel 3:26 "Then
Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, [and]
spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, ye servants of the most high
God, come forth, and come [hither]. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, came
forth of the midst of the fire."
The king recognises their
God. He, also, recognises they are in good standing with that God.
Nebuchadnezzar will have great respect for them standing up to him in this.
They are men of great faith.
It is Nebuchadnezzar,
himself, who calls them from the fire.
Daniel 3:27 "And the
princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counsellors, being gathered
together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an
hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of
fire had passed on them."
When God enacts a miracle,
He supernaturally controls all details so that His power is unmistakable and
there is no other explanation.
This was an eye opener for
all of these people. They see the might of the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abed-nego. This was a great witness to all of them. They might have been in the
fire, but God had been with them and protected them. No false god could do
this.
There must have been
conversions that day to the One True God. They had been protected so well,
there was no smell of smoke upon them. It was as if God had them in a
fire-proof capsule. He did, in a sense. They were covered with His robe. The
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ covers us, and protects us from the devil.
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