SHADRACH, MESHACH, AND ABEDNEGO

In the third chapter of the book of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon made a massive image of gold, set it up, and on the day of its dedication gave a command, through a herald, that at the sounding of various instruments of music, everyone should bow down in reverence for the image. Whoever chose to disobey this instruction would be cast into a burning fiery furnace.

Three men refused to bow down to the golden idol for they were Jews. These men were Hananiah (Shadrach), Mishael (Meshach), and Azariah (Abednego). Unlike other nations, Jews were monotheists—they believed in and worshipped ONLY ONE GOD; hence, these three friends would not obey the King's command despite the threat to their lives.

Exodus 20:3-6(KJV)

[3]Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

[4]Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

[5]Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

[6]And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

The king was enraged when report came to him that some men had defied his instruction.

Daniel 3:13-15(KJV)

[13]Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king.

[14]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?

[15]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?

They would not be petrified, not even by the king's voice.

Daniel 3:16(KJV)

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.

Such profound boldness!

But look at this

Daniel 3:17(KJV)

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.

This is a statement of absolute trust in God, not just that he was able to deliver them but that he would. Not just about his ability but his willingness.

Now it appears they trusted in God's deliverance 100% but here comes what they said next.

Daniel 3:18(KJV)

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.

Isn't it interesting that from the beginning, their statement was oiled with so much confidence that God would definitely deliver them from the fire but just before one could say Jack Robinson, they watered down the confidence with a hint of doubt?

At least, either way, they would still refuse to bow to the idol. Still remarkable of them, isn't it?

However, is it even rational at all that they would make a statement with 100% confidence and then follow it up with uncertainty? If they had uncertainty in mind, they would have said God may deliver them. But no. They didn't say may; they said will.

Daniel 3:17(KJV)

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.

Come to think of it, examining verse 18, if God would not save them, wouldn't they die, ending the story there? Would dead people be able to make a decision of still refusing to bow down?

They said, “But if not,...we will not serve thy gods.”

This definitely shows that whatever “but if not” here actually means, they would still be alive afterwards and would still stand on their decision not to bow down to the king's idol.

So what were they actually saying, in essence?

Daniel 3:13-17(KJV)

[13]Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king.

[14]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?

[15]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?

[16]Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.

[17]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.

Verse 17—“If it be so”—means “IF YOU GO AHEAD TO CAST US INTO THE FIRE, our God CAN and WILL deliver us.”

Daniel 3:18(KJV)

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.

Verse 18—“But if not”—means “BUT EVEN IF YOU CHANGE YOUR MIND AND DO NOT CAST US INTO THE FIRE, we will still refuse to bow down to your gods.”

So they weren't contradicting themselves. They were simply saying that if the king decided to cast them into the furnace, the God of Israel could and would save them (in response to the king's question, “And who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?”) “OUR GOD can and will deliver us.” And even if the king decided not to cast them into the furnace anymore, they would still not worship his golden image.

So they actually weren't mixing certainty with uncertainty. They were 100% sure God would without fail deliver them. No iota of doubt!

And yes, God showed up.

Victor Ibosiola © 2022

From Bible Discussion Session (June 2021)