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 “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. 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. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spoke, and said unto his counselors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. 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”, and in chapter three and verse twenty-six of his book Daniel shared how “Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the fire” where we read,
Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spoke, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, you servants of the most high God, come forth, and come here. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire.
The verse reads, “Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spoke, and said, ...”Daniel began with the words, “then Nebuchadnezzar” or “at that time Nebuchadnezzar whose name means 'may Nebo protect the crown' and was the great king of Babylon who captured Jerusalem and carried Judah captive” “came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace” which means “approached nigh and close to the gate, door or opening belonging to the hot, ardent, fervent and painful fire-place”, “and spoke” or “and responded”, “and said” which means “and uttered, declared and proclaimed” the following words. Daniel shared how King Nebuchadnezzar closely approached the opening of the ardent fire-place, responded and made the following statement.
The verse goes on to say, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, you servants of the most high God, come forth, and come here.” Daniel continued with the word, “Shadrach” whose name means “royal or the great scribe”, “Meshach” or “guest of the king”, “and Abednego” whose name means “servant of Nebo”, “you servants” or “you bond-slaves and ministers” “of the most high God” which means “belonging to the highest Supreme Deity”, “come forth” or “depart and exit”, “and come here” which means “and be brought to this location”. Daniel shared how King Nebuchadnezzar told “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego” whom he knew were bond-slaves of the Supreme Deity to depart from the fire-place and “come” to where he was located.
Finally the verse says, “Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire.” Daniel concluded this verse with the words, “then Shadrach” which means “at that time Shadrach whose name means royal or the great scribe”, “Meshach” or “guest of the king”, “and Abednego” whose name means “and servant of Nebo”, “came forth of the midst of the fire” or “departed from the middle of the ardent flames”. Daniel ended this verse by sharing how “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego” followed King Nebuchadnezzar's directive and departed from the extremely heated fire-place.
When we think through the words in this verse, we learn through Daniel how King Nebuchadnezzar could not restrain himself from reaching out to “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego” after the “Most High God” delivered them within the fiery flames. He was furious when he had them thrown into the “furnace”, but now he was of a different disposition and attitude when he observed this miracle. Nebuchadnezzar called upon “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego” to depart from the middle of the fire-place and join him. God was at work behind the scenes, and we shall see how He continues to work in this situation. For now let us be mindful that God is at work in our lives as well, and when He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and raised Him from the dead after three days, He made the way for us to be forgiven of our sins, granted everlasting life and provided with His Holy Spirit to assure us that He is working in our lives even when our circumstances make us wonder.
Next time Daniel shares how the leaders in Babylon, “saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power”, 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".
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