The Fiery Furnace #67

The fiery furnace is the account of three young Jewish officials in Babylon who refused to bow to a golden statue set up by King Nebuchadnezzar and were thrown into a blazing furnace as punishment. It is told in Daniel 3 and is one of the best known stories of faithful resistance in the Bible.

Biblical Account

Nebuchadnezzar set up a golden image, sixty cubits high and six wide, on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon, and summoned officials from across the empire to its dedication. At the sound of the horn, flute, harp, and other instruments, everyone was to fall down and worship, and anyone who refused would be thrown into a burning fiery furnace (Daniel 3:1-12). Certain Chaldeans reported that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, Jews whom the king had appointed over the province, were not serving his gods or worshiping the image.

The king was furious and gave them a chance to comply. They replied that their God was able to deliver them from the furnace and from the king’s hand, but even if He did not, they would not serve his gods or worship the image (Daniel 3:13-18). Nebuchadnezzar ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter, and the men who threw the three in were killed by the flames. Then the king was astonished to see four men walking unbound and unharmed in the fire, and the fourth had the appearance of a son of the gods. When he called them out, their clothes were not burned and they did not smell of smoke (Daniel 3:19-27). Nebuchadnezzar blessed their God, decreed protection for the worship of the God of Israel, and promoted the three (Daniel 3:28-30).

Theological Significance

The three men do not treat deliverance as the condition of their obedience. Their words, that God is able but that they will obey even if He does not, express a faith that does not depend on the outcome. Their refusal rests on the commandment against worshiping images (Exodus 20:4-5), and it shows that loyalty to God can require civil disobedience toward an empire that demands ultimate allegiance.

The fourth figure in the fire has been interpreted in different ways. Many Jewish and Christian readers understand him as an angel, and some Christian readers see a preincarnate appearance of Christ. The text itself says only that he looked like a son of the gods and later calls him God’s angel in the king’s words. The story also carries the promise that God is present with His people in the midst of suffering, not only when He removes it. Catholic and Orthodox Bibles include additional Greek material in this chapter, the Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Young Men, which Protestant Bibles do not.