Daniel 3:28-30 – True faith always triumphs.

Daniel 3:28-30 affirms what the Apostle Paul so fervently asserted in Romans 8:28. He said, "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." God used what Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego went through, worked out something extraordinary for them, and brought glory to Himself. True faith in God always triumphs.  

 

No matter how hot the furnace of the trials of life may be, when God shows up, the deliverance is sure. These three verses emphasize not that God can deliver but how marvelous He truly is. He never leaves His committed people to fend for themselves in a trial. "He is faithful," says Paul, "with every trial, He will provide a way out."          

 

Nebuchadnezzar's response to the three friends' fantastic deliverance attests to God's unfailing faithfulness. From fury and anger, the king graduated to praise the God of the three faithful Jews. 

 

In verse 25, he referred to the fourth man in the furnace as "a son of the gods." In verse 28, he advanced to call him "His angel," meaning this is God's angel. Does it really matter? Whether he is a son of the gods or an angel of God, we know that God has engineered the deliverance. This is the pre-appearance of Christ before He came to earth as a man. We call it Theophany or Christophany.

 

From wanting their death, Nebuchadnezzar turns to defend the three from being further maligned and attacked. He decrees that "any people, nation or the tongue that speaks anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego shall be torn limb from limb and their houses reduced to a rubbish heap." He even promoted the three faithful Jews to higher positions in his government.   

 

Here we end where we begin, "In all adversities, we know, we don't just guess, suppose or think. We know with certainty that God works together for good to those who love Him and are called to His purpose. When we remain faithful to God in adversities, two things will result. God is praised and glorified, and we are delivered and satisfied.