They Did Not Bow Down

Sometime after King Nebuchadnezzar had the dream about the statue, he made a huge image out of gold. He set it up on the plain of Dura and called the most important people in the land, including Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, to gather in front of it. The king commanded: ‘As soon as you hear the sound of trumpets, harps, and bagpipes, bow down to the statue! Anyone who will not bow down will be thrown into a burning furnace.’ Would the three Hebrews bow down to the statue, or would they worship only Jehovah?

Then the king commanded that the music be played. Everyone fell down and worshipped the statue except for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Some of the men noticed this and told the king: ‘Those three Hebrews refused to worship your statue.’ Nebuchadnezzar sent for them and said: ‘I’m going to give you another chance to worship the statue. If you do not, I will throw you into the furnace. There is no god who will be able to save you from me.’ They answered: ‘We do not need another chance. Our God can save us. But even if he does not, O king, we will not worship the statue.’

Nebuchadnezzar got very angry. He told his men: ‘Make the fire in the furnace seven times hotter than usual!’ Then he commanded his soldiers: ‘Tie up these men, and throw them in!’ The furnace was so hot that when the soldiers got close to it, they died instantly. The three Hebrews fell into the fire. But when Nebuchadnezzar looked inside, he saw that there were four men walking around in the furnace instead of three. He became frightened and asked his officials: ‘Didn’t we throw three men into the fire? I see four, and one of them looks like an angel!’

Nebuchadnezzar went closer to the furnace and called out: ‘Come out, you servants of the Most High God!’ Everyone was amazed to see Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego walk out of the fire unharmed. Their skin, their hair, and their clothing had not been burned, and they did not even smell of fire.

Nebuchadnezzar said: ‘The God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is great. He sent his angel and saved them. There is no god like theirs.’

Like the three Hebrews, are you determined to be loyal to Jehovah no matter what happens?