Daniel 3:14

Daniel 3:14 says, Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?  Nebuchadnezzar allowed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego an opportunity to deny the charges against them.  He didn't just take the word of their accusers.  While appearing to be fair, he still expected them to obey his decree.  There are decrees, or laws, today that go against what God teaches, and we as followers of Christ are expected to follow them with no consideration of our beliefs.  Verse fifteen adds, Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?  Nebuchadnezzar gave them a chance to change their minds and obey his decree, which meant worshipping the image that he had made.  If not, they were to be immediately thrown into the fiery furnace.  If given the chance to avoid punishment, whatever it might be, if we will follow the law of man instead of the law of God, we must remain faithful to God.  Verse sixteen continues, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.  They did not have to consider what to say.  They knew that there was only one answer possible.  We need that same type faith today.  Verse seventeen declares, If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.  They did not say that they knew that God would deliver them from this particular situation, but their faith was still in God and not Nebuchadnezzar.  We cannot serve God only when we know for certain that He will deliver us from a bad situation but must serve Him no matter what.  Verse eighteen adds, But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.  I believe that the "but if not" often causes us to fail or waver in our faith.  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego said whether God delivered them from the fiery furnace or not that they would remain faithful to Him.  We cannot look at a situation where we feel that God has failed us, though He never will, and use that to justify questioning Him.  We must be willing to go into the furnace if necessary, knowing that even if this body is destroyed that our soul is eternally secure with God. Verse nineteen continues, Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated.  Though earlier, when Daniel had interpreted his dream, Nebuchadnezzar had proclaimed the greatness of God, he was now angry that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were proclaiming their faith to Him.  He ordered the furnace to be heated excessively hot.  When we stand for God in defiance of some ruler, or maybe just a rich and powerful person, we should not be surprised if we anger them and they attempt to destroy us.  Verse twenty says, And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.  Nebuchadnezzar was taking no chances.  He had the strongest men of his army bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abebnego and throw them into the furnace.  Verse twenty-one adds, Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.  They were bound with all their garments and thrown in.  Verse twenty-two continues, Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  This says that the fire was so hot that it killed those who threw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in.  Nebuchadnezzar lost some of his mightiest soldiers.  We might think, if we did not know the outcome, that God had failed Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego.  Well, they did not know the outcome when they went into the fiery furnace, but their faith was still in God delivering them, whether in this life or the one to come.  We cannot always know the outcome of every test of our faith in this world, but we can know that God will deliver us onto everlasting life if we are followers of Christ, no matter what happens in this world.  Verse twenty-three concludes, And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.  I don't believe they regretted their decision to stand for God even as they lay bound in the furnace.  Neither should we ever doubt our faith in and standing for God, no matter what happens.