Then Nebuchadnezzar said, "Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants!" (Dan. 3:28)
Stories from Daniel have become famous, and in fact any of the first six chapters would make a script for a thriller. In this story Daniel's three friends saw king Nebuchadnezzar's decree as a bottom-line issue of spiritual integrity that brought their dual loyalties into irreconcilable conflict. In this instance, they could not serve both the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Babylon. There could be no compromise.
Idolatry was, in fact, the stubborn sin of Judah that had brought on the Babylonian punishment in the first place. The Jews could never expect God's blessing if they chose to bow down to Nebuchadnezzar and his gold image. The uncompromising response of Daniel's friends shows that the Babylonian captivity was having a "refiner's fire" effect on a whole generation of Jewish exiles.
The book of Daniel makes for exciting reading because, at this most precarious time in Israelite history, God let loose with a burst of miraculous activity: supernatural dreams, handwriting on the wall, rescues from a fiery furnace and a lions' den. Not since Elisha's day had the Israelites seen such signs and wonders.
The story of the fiery furnace has a happy ending, far beyond anything the three courageous Jews might have hoped for. Not only did they survive; the event ensured that Nebuchadnezzar would treat the Jewish religion with tolerance throughout his reign.
The Israelites were still thinking of God in terms of their own small community, but God had never intended for his blessings to stop with the Jews. When he had first revealed the covenant to Abraham, he had promised that Abraham's offspring would bless the whole earth (Genesis 12:3). Ironically, at a time of deep humiliation, while living as unwilling captives in Babylon, the Jews began to convince others that their God deserved honor. The proclamations by Nebuchadnezzar and later Darius (6:26­27) honored God more than anything a king of Judah had done in years.
Life Question: What do you learn about faith from the reply of Daniel's friends (vv. 15­18)?
