When we left off last time, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had been tossed into the very, very hot fiery furnace by an extremely upset king Nebuchadnezzar. The 3 boys did not bow down to the statue that Nebuchadnezzar had made so Nebuchadnezzar had the 3 boys brought to him in front of many onlookers who had gathered to dedicate the statue. He gave the boys one more chance to bow down, but they said that they would never bow down to anyone accept for the one true God. And that's why Nebuchadnezzar flew into a rage. He was basically humiliated in front of thousands of people. He ordered that the 3 boys be tied up and tossed into the furnace immediately!
As the 3 boys were tossed into the fire, the ropes were burned off of them, and the guards that were doing the tossing, were killed because the flames were so hot! Nebuchadnezzar stood at a safe distance and peered into the furnace. "Didn't we throw 3 men into the fire?" He asked one of the surviving guards who answered, "Why yes we did your majesty. "Then why do I see 4 men casually walking around in there? And one of them looks like a divine being!" Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed. He was absolutely astonished. All he could think of to do, was to call the 3 men out by name. "Shadrach! Meshach! Abednego! Come out of the furnace!"
God surely could have kept Shadrach Meshach and Adednego from the fiery furnace. He could have welded the door shut so that the guards could not open the furnace. But He didn't. He could have put the fire out with one blow. But He didn't. But He allowed them to be tied up and tossed in. As the boys were tossed in, I'm sure it was very scary for them. But they trusted God.
Sometimes God allows us to go through tough things in our lives, rather than take us around the bad thing. We trust God because we know He is good! Now here is the amazing thing! God allows us to go through bad things, but He promises to be with us in it. So who was that fourth man in the fire with the three boys? That was Jesus! Yes, Jesus showed up several time in the Old Testament before he was even born a man! God kept His promise to Shadrach, Meshach, and AbedNego. He was there with them! I don't know about you, but I would much rather be in the middle of something hard with Jesus, than going around that tough thing and waving to Jesus from a distance!
Nebuchadnezzar recognized from a distance that the extra man in the furnace looked like a man, but maybe he had a glow or something. No matter what, Nebuchadnezzar knew something was different about Him. When the 3 men heard their names called by the king, they stepped out of the furnace. The large crowd was really buzzing now! The remaining guards, the statesmen, governors and officials were astonished. They walked up to the 3 men and noticed that their clothes didn't even smell like smoke. However, they saw that the ropes that bound them had been burnt off. The guards looked them over. Not even one hair on their heads had been singed!
When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, He breaks the chains of sin, just like he freed Shadrach Meshach and Abednego. He frees us from the prison of sin, so that we can live a life that brings Him glory. Jesus not only frees us to live God-honoring lives, He saves us. Just as Shadrach Meshach and Abednego were saved from the fiery furnace, Jesus saves us from hell, which in the book of Revelation is referred to as the Lake of Fire. Jesus is our Savior. His death on the cross for our sins allows all who believe in Him and trust Him to spend eternity with God. Now would be a good time to turn to God and accept what Jesus did for you. It's as easy as A-B-C. Admit, Believe, Commit. You can sincerely pray to God, something like this. Dear God, I admit that I have done wrong things, I believe that you sent Jesus to live a sinless life and die for MY sins. I commit my whole life to you. Thank you Father God for accepting me into your family. If you prayed that prayer, and meant it in your heart, the Bible says that the angels are throwing a party up in heaven right now!
Nebuchadnezzar had a decision to make, try again or embrace the fact that the God of these three boys was in fact God. In an effort to save face. He made this proclamation: “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!” I'm, sure the 3 men didn't really like the fact that people who talked bad about God would be killed. This showed that Nebuchadnezzar still didn't really know God at all, because God gives us free will to choose Him or not. Then Nebuchadnezzar promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego right there on the spot. From that day forward they held high positions in the king's court.
We can stand on the promise of God, that even if He allows us to go through fiery trials, He will always be with us. (Deuteronomy 31:8)
