13Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, 14and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? 15Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”
The most powerful king on earth was furious with rage when he heard the message brought by his informers. Of course he remembered the three young men who had passed his training course with highest honors. Their record had been outstanding (1:20); how could he forget? Could it be true that they were now withholding obedience from him and respect from his gods? He ordered them brought into his presence immediately and questioned them further. The king’s question showed that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had been right in refusing to bow down before the image. From the king’s own mouth they now heard what that act involved: “Is it true, . . . that you do not serve my gods?”
Apparently unwilling to lose three promising young officials, the king offered them one final opportunity to back down from the stand they had taken and to save their lives. “If you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good.” The king’s anger led him to say something he would not have said if he had remembered what he had learned from Daniel earlier. After Daniel had interpreted his dream, Nebuchadnezzar had told Daniel, “Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings” (2:47)! To Daniel’s friends Nebuchadnezzar now said something considerably different: If I give the order to have you thrown into that furnace, “what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?” Here was a challenge flung into the face of the Almighty.
16Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. 18But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego could have answered with a simple “No! We cannot and we will not bow down to your image!” and in two seconds they would have been hustled off to the furnace. And so they did not immediately respond with a flat refusal.
They began, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter.” The words may at first sound defiant, almost an insult thrown in the face of the king, who had just threatened them. But really the words were very carefully chosen. For one thing, the three men admitted their disobedience; they had not bowed before the king’s image. But, more important, their answer was framed in a way that would permit them to give the king a magnificent testimony to their God.
Nebuchadnezzar had asked, “What god will be able to rescue you [if I order you thrown into the furnace]?”
They answered, “The God we serve is able to save us from it.”
We see two truths emphasized in their answer—one truth relating to Nebuchadnezzar, the other relating to God. The highest governmental authority on earth at that time had presumed to play God. The king had tried to burden their consciences by forcing them into false worship. This they refused to do. They were convinced that by ordering them to do something God had forbidden, the king had forfeited his right to their obedience. Since the king left them no alternative, they determined to obey God rather than men, even if that meant a martyr’s death by fire.
King Nebuchadnezzar was entitled to know what their attitude toward him was, and now he knew. The king also needed to know what the proper attitude toward God is, and now he found out.
“The God we serve is able to save us. . . . But even if he does not, . . . we will not serve your gods.” The three young men did not dare to suggest to God how this matter was finally to end. They had no promise of a special miracle, and neither did they ask for one or expect one. They knew God would help them, continue to hold them by the hand, and lead them to their ultimate destination at his side. But more than that, they did not know. With the apostle Paul, each of them could say, “I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day” (2 Timothy 1:12)