©John Yerkes
Chapter 3:19-30 (ESV) - Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated. And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their cloaks, their tunics, their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace. Because the king's order was urgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace.
Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.”
Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king's counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them. Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.” Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.
Question to consider: Does Nebuchadnezzar’s final decree indicate that he has begun to worship God? Why or why not?
As we judge the reaction of Nebuchadnezzar to the attitudes of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and his subsequent reaction to their deliverance from his judgment, it is important to remember that by this point in his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had conquered much of the known world and their gods. Even the gods of Egypt were no match for him so there was no reason for him to think that the God who allowed them to be exiled into Babylon would be able to deliver them from his wrath.
Thus he told them in yesterday’s passage, “But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?” Their calm resignation and trust in God above his threats sent him into such a rage that he cranked up the heat in an attempt to prove his power to them before they died in agony.
As I wrote a couple of days ago, the wrath of Nebuchadnezzar was a type of the devil and not the LORD, for the devil is the one who demands worship despite the fact that he is unworthy of it and a mere creature. Nebuchadnezzar’s pride was such that he cared nothing about his faithful mighty men (elite soldiers) who died getting them into the furnace.
Consider the devil’s final temptation of Christ, “The devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.’” (Matthew 4:8-9) The description of a very high mountain above all the kingdoms of the earth reminds me of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. The devil actually seemed to believe the rock from heaven that became a mountain was under his control, and that he could grant it to Jesus if only Jesus worshiped him.
When Jesus told him otherwise, the devil spent the next three years trying to murder Him like Nebuchadnezzar tried to murder these three men. The beautiful difference between these two events is that when the fiery wrath of Nebuchadnezzar was poured out on Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, the LORD was with them and protected them from all harm and danger whereas Christ willfully received the full measure of wrath poured out on the cross in order to pay for the judgment we deserved.
Nebuchadnezzar was truly shocked that the God of Israel delivered them from his mighty hand. He was also shocked that the young men were willing to disobey the king and face the horrors of the fiery furnace to keep from dishonoring their God. In his years as king, I am sure he witnessed a vast number of people who were willing to turn against their god in fear of the king as well as gods who could not deliver them from the king’s hand.
While it is a good thing that Nebuchadnezzar recognized the reality and power of the God of Israel, all he really did was declare Him to be a legal part of their pantheon of gods. He did not make a decree that the people should worship Him alone. The decree was merely to allow the people of Israel to worship their God in peace and no longer be forced to bow down to idols. Of course, God was not yet done with Nebuchadnezzar.
Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior, we thank You and praise You for coming to us in Word and Sacrament just as You came to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah in the fiery furnace. Help us to stand firm in faith against the wrath of this world so that many may praise Your name on the day of Your return. Amen.