Thrown into the Fiery Furnace - Daniel 3:21

In the book of Daniel, Daniel shared how Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego would not bow to or worship the golden image King Nebuchadnezzar set up, and afterward “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”, and in chapter three and verse twenty-one of his book Daniel shared Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, “were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace” where we read,

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

The verse reads, “Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, ...”Daniel began with the words, “then these men” or “at this time these male human beings, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego” “were bound in their coats” which means “were fettered and tied up within their mantles or cloaks”, “their hosen” or “their, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego's, tunics or gowns”, “and their hats” which means “and their, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego's, caps, turbans or helmets”, “and their other garments” which means “and their, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego's, other clothing” . Daniel shared how Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were tied up within their cloaks, tunics, turbans and other clothing.

The verse continues, “... and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace” Daniel added the words, “and were cast” which means “and were thrown” “into the midst” or “into the middle” “of the burning fiery furnace” which means “pertaining to the hot, ardent, fervent and painful fire-place”. Daniel said Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were thrown into the middle of the hot and fervent fire-place.

When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn through Daniel how King Nebuchadnezzar had Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego tied up in their clothing and thrown into the extremely hot fire-place. What a scene this must have been. We can only imagine what it felt life to be Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and we shall see how God preserves them in our next few verses. For now let us consider that God could have stopped this from happening at any time, and He didn't. God doesn't always deliver us from the “fire”, but He will be with us in the “fire”. He loves us, and He proved His love toward us when He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind. He raised Jesus from the dead after three days, and when we put our faith and trust in Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and teach us by His Holy Spirit to trust Him no matter what fiery trial we encounter. (See 1 Peter 4:12-19) 

Next time Daniel shares how, “the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".