Diving into Daniel: A Test of Faith
Daniel 3:8-18; Matthew 17:20 - The heart of our faith is to serve God willingly without any guarantees other than His promises.
“For this reason at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and brought charges against the Jews. They responded and said to Nebuchadnezzar the king: “O king, live forever! You, O king, have made a decree that every man who hears the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, and bagpipe and all kinds of music, is to fall down and worship the golden image. But whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire. There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon, namely Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. These men, O king, have disregarded you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up.”
Then Nebuchadnezzar in rage and anger gave orders to bring Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego; then these men were brought before the king. Nebuchadnezzar responded and said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? Now if you are ready, at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery and bagpipe and all kinds of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, very well. But if you do not worship, you will immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire; and what god is there who can deliver you out of my hands?”
Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.””
Daniel 3:8-18 NASB1995
After the golden image of Nebuchadnezzar was dedicated and worship of it became mandatory as soon as a citizen heard various types of musical instruments being played, the Chaldeans noted to the king that three of the captured Jews who were appointed to administrate the province of Babylon were not following the king’s command. The three, of course, were Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego (Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah), the friends of Daniel.
The king is enraged by the thought that someone would disobey his orders to worship the golden image of him and not serve the gods of Babylon. He orders that they be brought before him. In his favor, the king is not inclined to instantly believe the second-hand reports from the Chaldeans and wants to hear it from the men himself. He asks them if it is true that they do not serve the king’s gods or worship the golden image. He reminds them that there is a binary choice to be made: Comply or be tossed into the furnace of blazing fire. He also mocks their God. Nebuchadnezzar, who saw the power of the true God in chapter 2 in his dream interpretation by Daniel, seems to have forgotten the lesson of his momentary humility.
Here is superb commentary from Enduring Word about the King’s question:
a. Is it true: To his credit, Nebuchadnezzar did not accept the accusation on hearsay. He made sure of it with a personal interview. This was an even greater test for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. It is one thing to make a stand for God; it is a greater thing to stick to your stand when pointedly asked, “Is it true?” Peter followed Jesus after His arrest, but he wilted and denied Jesus when asked, “Is it true?”
i. “If, standing before the heart-searching God at this time, you cannot say, ‘It is true,’ how should you act? If you cannot say that you take Christ’s cross, and are willing to follow him at all hazards, then hearken to me and learn the truth. Do not make a profession at all. Do not talk about baptism or the Lord’s Supper, nor of joining a church, nor of being a Christian; for if you do, you will lie against your own soul. If it be not true that you renounce the world’s idols, do not profess that it is so. It is unnecessary that a man should profess to be what he is not; it is a sin of supererogation, a superfluity of naughtiness. If you cannot be true to Christ, if your coward heart is recreant to your Lord, do not profess to be his disciple, I beseech you. He that is married to the world, or flinthearted, had better return to his house, for he is of no service in this war.” (Charles Spurgeon)
b. But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace: Nebuchadnezzar would not tolerate losing face on such an important occasion. His pride made him declare, “You shall have no other gods than me.”
i. We can imagine the enormous pressure on Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego to compromise. Everything in front of them – the king, the furnace, the music, their compatriots, their competitors – all of it conspired to convince them to compromise. Yet God was more real to them than any of those things. “Do not judge the situation by the king’s threat and by the heat of the burning fiery furnace, but by the everlasting God and the eternal life which awaits you. Let not flute, harp, and sackbut fascinate you, but hearken to the music of the glorified. Men frown at you, but you can see God smiling on you, and so you are not moved.” (Charles Spurgeon)
c. Who is the god who will deliver you from my hands? Nebuchadnezzar thought nothing of insulting all gods with this statement. He is more of a secularist or a humanist than a theist. The god he really believes in is himself, not the gods of Babylon.
Is God and His promises true? If you can’t instantly answer that question, then follow Spurgeon’s advice and walk away because you are lying to your soul if you continue to go through the motions of pretending to believe. Your idol is the world and things herein. I also liked this commentary from Ray Pritchard, quoted on Precept Austin:
So many Christians want to make deals with God. “Lord, I’ll stand up for you as long as (pick one) A) I don’t lose my job, B) my friends don’t make fun of me, C) I still get that promotion, D) I don’t get in trouble with my boss, E) I can still have a successful career.” But God doesn’t make deals with anyone. He calls us to be faithful and we are called to leave the results with him. He doesn’t promise us an easy road if we decide to be faithful to him. And that’s why these three young men said, “But if not.” They knew God could save them but they knew he might have higher purposes in mind that would require their death. Therefore, they didn’t try to back God into a corner by demanding that the Almighty work a miracle on their behalf. They accepted God’s will in advance without knowing how things would work out. (A Time to Disobey- Nov, 1999)
It is also true how easily people submit to peer pressure in this world today! A glib politician or a charming celebrity mouths a few words and suddenly you start questioning your own values and virtues. A cherished friend argues in favor of the latest fad immorality and you are afraid of losing that friendship so you say nothing or even start thinking he or she might be right. Is God more real to you and the promise of eternal life or is the music and the golden idol more important?
Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego answer the king’s question and demonstrate their rock-solid faith in God. They don’t intend to give the king an answer that will give them an “out”. They admit that they the king owe no answer because they are guilty and have no intention of complying. They leave it in God’s hands; perhaps they will be delivered from the furnace or perhaps not, but their obedience, love and worship of God takes precedence over their earthly comfort and lives. Once again, Enduring Word has superb commentary on this passage:
a. We have no need to answer you: They had no need to defend themselves. Their guilt in the matter was clear – they clearly would not bow down to this image.
b. Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us: In this, the Jewish men showed a good understanding and appreciation of God’s great power. In fact, they knew that God was able to save them from both the burning fiery furnace and from the hand of Nebuchadnezzar himself.
c. But if not: In this, the Jewish men show they had a good understanding and appreciation of submission to God. They knew God’s power, but they also knew that they must do what was right even if God did not do what they expect or hope Him to do.
i. We often complain about our rights and what is fair. Often it is better to make a stand and endure our difficulty, leaving our fate in God’s hands.
ii. They did not doubt God’s ability, but neither did they presume to know God’s will. In this they agreed with Job: Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him (Job 13:15). They recognized that God’s plan might be different than their desires. I have my own desires and dreams and I pray that God fulfills them. But if He doesn’t, I can’t turn my back on Him.
iii. These were men who did not love too much. There are popular self-help books that hope to help people who seem to love too much, yet many Christians are hindered because they love too much. Remember that early Christians were not thrown to the lions because they worshipped Jesus, but because they would not worship the emperor.
iv. In our day, many do love Jesus and think highly of Him – yet they are far from God because they also love and worship the world, sin, and self. Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him (1 John 2:15).
d. Let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up: It took great faith to say this. God brought them to this place of great faith by preparing them with tests in less dramatic areas.
i. These men stood firm when challenged to eat impure foods and they saw God bless their obedience. That gave them the courage to obey now, when the stakes were much higher.
ii. Many fail in their obedience because they wait for something “big” to test their faith before they really start to obey God. Some fill their life with many small compromises; yet tell themselves that they will stand firm when it really matters. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego show us that obedience to God in small things really matters.
e. Let it be known to you, O king: The statement of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego is also remarkable for what it does not have – any hint of an excuse. In a time of testing like this it is easy to think of a thousand excuses that seem to justify compromise.
i. They might have said, “There is nothing to gain by resisting; wouldn’t we do more good by living?” It is easy to say, “We must live,” but in reality, we all must die – so why not die making a stand for God?
ii. They might have said, “We are in a different place; in Rome, do as the Romans do.” Yet they knew that God has unlimited jurisdiction. We must do more than “perform” acts of religious obedience when we have an audience.
iii. They might have said, “We will lose our jobs and our standard of living.” Often when God blesses us, we make the blessing an idol and compromise God to keep what we have.
iv. They might have said, “After all, we are not being called to renounce our God.” They did not have a super-elastic conscience that said, “We are not bowing down to the idol, but only bowing down in respect for the king, or in honor of the music.” Excuses like this are common but prove the principle that anything will serve as an excuse, when the heart is bent on compromise.
v. They might have said, “Everybody else is doing it.” Instead they cultivated brave personalities, willing to stand alone with God.
vi. They might have said, “It is only for once, and not for very long. Ten minutes, just for the king. It is stupid to throw our lives away for ten minutes.” These men knew that ten minutes could change an entire life. Ten minutes can chart the course for your eternity.
vii. They might have said, “This is more than can be expected of us; God will understand just this once.” It is true that God understands our struggle with sin – that is why He loves the sinner and made provision at the cross for freedom from the penalty, power, and presence of sin. Knowing that “God understands” should be a spur to obedience, not a license to sin.
viii. “I am glad that the three holy children were not ‘careful to answer,’ [the KJV has, “we are not careful to answer thee” here] or they might have fallen upon some crooked policy or lame excuse for compromise. What have we to do with consequences? It is ours to do the right, and leave results with the Lord.” (Charles Spurgeon)
There is so much to unpack here - Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego cannot be bought at any price:
It is better to make a stand before the Lord and submit to Him in difficulty than to worry about our rights.
God’s ability is clear (and infinite), but we must also bend to His will. His will may not save us in this life.
Christians can be hindered by loving too much (I found that intriguing). These three men probably thought of Nebuchadnezzar with kindness due to their rewards, but that love (and the love of the rewards) cannot override God’s commands.
These three men, along with Daniel, were faithful in small things and this gives them obedience in the big things.
Do you fill your life with compromises to the “small things” but claim that when faced with the “big” test your response will be perfect?
The strong desire to continue living may push us to make compromises and assume that because God loves us He will forgive us. “God understands” should spur us to obedience, not to sin.
Speaking of Daniel, where is our prophet, obedient servant of God and friend of these three other men of faith during this crisis? I like this answer from Gotquestions.org:
Scripture does not say where Daniel was when King Nebuchadnezzar tried to kill Daniel’s friends. There are a few possibilities, all of them speculative:
1) Daniel, who was “ruler over the entire province of Babylon and . . . in charge of all its wise men” (Daniel 2:48), had been sent away on an assignment by Nebuchadnezzar and was therefore not present at the event described in Daniel 3.
2) Because of Daniel’s promotion and his place in the royal court (Daniel 2:49), Nebuchadnezzar had exempted Daniel from the command to bow down to the golden statue.
3) Daniel, in fear of being executed or to appease the king, bowed down to the golden statue.
Option (3) can definitely be dismissed. One thing we say for sure is that Daniel was not bowing down to the idol that Nebuchadnezzar had made. He who had “purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself” (Daniel 1:8, KJV) was not going to commit a blatant act of wickedness such as worshiping a false god. In Daniel 6, Daniel risks his life by simply praying. If Daniel was willing to die for his commitment to prayer, there is no way he would have directly violated one of the Ten Commandments (see Exodus 20:4). Daniel’s character and commitment were such that he would not dare dishonor the Lord.
Options (1) and (2) are both plausible, with (1) perhaps being the more likely possibility. Nebuchadnezzar’s command to bow down and worship the image was addressed to “nations and peoples of every language” (Daniel 3:4), and present at the dedication were “the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials” (verse 3). In other words, the king’s command seems universal, with no exceptions; everyone within hearing range of the music was to bow down and worship the king’s image (verse 5). The most likely scenario, then, is that Daniel was away on the king’s business and was not present for the dedication of the idol.
Daniel, of course, is tested in his own way in Daniel 6. People’s attention spans are not very good, so when Daniel returned later as postulated, the King’s attention was probably focused elsewhere (and as we will see, he is impressed with God).
My next devotional examines Daniel 3:19-30 - The three men are thrown into the fiery furnace, but are saved (and a fourth figure is seen).
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - I pray that I can have just a tiny portion of the incredible faith that these three men had in You. As Jesus said when His disciples asked Him why they were unsuccessful with driving out a demon:
“And He *said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.”
Matthew 17:20 NASB1995
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Commentary from Enduring Word by David Guzik is used with written permission.
Precept Austin was accessed on 3/31/2025 to review commentary for Daniel 3:8-18.
Gotquestions.org was accessed on 3/31/2025 to answer the question, Where was Daniel during the fiery furnace incident in Daniel 3?