Daniel 3:24

Daniel 3:24 says, Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellers, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.  Evidently Nebuchadnezzar was watching to make sure that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were destroyed, but he was astonished instead.  Those who attempt to destroy God's work, or His messengers will often be astonished at God's deliverance of them.  He asked if they threw three men in the fire, though he had to have known the answer, and those around him told him that was true.  Verse twenty-five adds, He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.  Nebuchadnezzar said he saw four men walking loose and unhurt in the midst of the fire, and the fourth was like unto the Son of God.  Their bindings were burned off, but not they clothes.  They were free, but they didn't run out.  More importantly, they were not alone.  There was a fourth man in the fire, like unto the Son of God.  When we are in the midst of the fire, God will protect us.  Our first thought should not be to escape, but to walk freely in God's grace until He calls us out.  Verse twenty-six continues, Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire.  Nebuchadnezzar came near the mouth of the furnace and called them out. He also called them the servants of the most high God.  Nebuchadnezzar had placed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the furnace, and they stayed until he called them out.  We need to be willing to stay in the furnace if necessary until God's purpose is fulfilled.  Nebuchadnezzar recognized that these three served a God greater than any image that he could create.  He called Him the most high God, and that is Who we serve.  Not only is He the most high God, but He is the only God.  Verse twenty-seven states, And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellers, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.  One of these people would have been the one who told Nebuchadnezzar that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had defined his order.  Now, instead of burning up, they had seen them walking unharmed and unbound with a fourth man in the fire and come out without even being singed.  When people attempt to destroy God's people, they are ultimately going to be disappointed, because God will deliver His people from death.  Verse twenty-eight adds, Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.  Nebuchadnezzar had already acknowledged the superiority of the one true God when Daniel interpreted his dream, but he still had not accepted God as his God, so he once again acknowledged and blessed God.  Just because someone sees God do miraculous things in the world does not mean that they are going to accept Him as their God.  Verse twenty-nine continues, Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort.  Now, Nebuchadnezzar was ready to destroy anyone who spoke against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  We, as followers of Christ, cannot want the destruction of those who speak against God, but must pray for their salvation instead.  Nebuchadnezzar still did not say that he believed in and would follow God.  Verse thirty concludes, Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the province of Babylon.  The king had ordered them thrown into the fiery furnace, and now he promoted them.  When we come through the fire, we may not be materially blessed, but our faith should grow even stronger.  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego went into the fire to remain faithful to God, not so that they might be rewarded if God delivered them from the fire.  We must remain faithful to God simply because He has delivered us to everlasting life, no matter what happens to us here on earth.