Daniel 3:19-23 – Don't be found without God.

The defiance but daring words of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego aggravated the king's fury. His heightened rage could be seen by the grimace on his face. His anger must be as hot as the heat from the fiery furnace nearby. In an uncontrollable rage, he must have yelled out for more wood to be put into the furnace to raise the already intensified heat from the fire. Stunned and offended by the three's audacious faith, he ordered the furnace to be heated seven times more than usual.

 

Then he commanded the nobler of his men to have the three bound up to be cast into the blazing inferno. His command was strictly carried out without hesitation. Daniel's three friends were "tied up in their trousers, coats, caps and other clothes" to ensure nothing was unconsumed by the fire. 

 

The furnace had to be huge to accommodate the three friends. Heated seven times more than its usual degree, the heat could be felt from a distance. Those men tasked with casting the three friends into the fiery incinerator were much closer. Hence, they were slain by the searing heat. 

 

Here are two scenarios: those executioners on the fringe were slew by the fire, while the three friends, amid a raging intensified fire, survived unscathed. What a marvelous testament to faith life. Here is a clear answer to the king's last question in verse 15, "…what God is there who can deliver you out of my hands?" The God of Heaven, the Sovereign God, of course. 

 

When we live for Him, we can expect to face opposition because not everyone shares our convictions. But these verses encourage us to stand firm in God amid every opposition. Though challenging, we will be safer when we stand committed to Him in hard times and adversities. With a commitment to God, our life is safer amid a fiery trial than standing on the fringe without trial and uncommitted to Him.