Schooled- The Fiery Furnace
October 22, 2022

Time Period
Facts
The Book of Daniel
Year Is 587 B.C.
Chapter 1 All The Young Are Taken Captive
Chapters 2-3 Has A 16-Year Gap
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego Are Between 13-30 Years Old
Nebuchadnezzar Loves Himself
Daniel 4:30 “my power…my glory”

Then Nebuchadnezzar, in rage and fury, gave the command to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. So they brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up? Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?”
Daniel 3:13-15

Their True Identity
Hananiah – The Lord is Gracious
Shadrach – ‘Illumined by Ra’ – sun god.
Mishael – Who Is What God Is
Meshach – Belongs to Shak – The Wine Goddess
Azariah – The Lord Is My Helper
Abed-nego – ‘servant of Nego (or Nebo) a god of vegetation

Their True Faith

True Bible Faith Does Not Rest On Outcomes
But On Obedience

Identity and Faith
The Two Greatest Forces In Your Heart
Who You Are
Who’s You Are

Their Stand

Shadrach (The Lord is Gracious), Meshach (Who Is What God Is), and Abed-Nego (The Lord Is My Helper) answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”
Daniel 3:16-18

You Know There Were Voices!
“Just bow and get it over with.”
“It’s really not idolatry if we do it quickly.”
“We’re far from home, no one will see us.”
“God knows your heart!”
“Just compromise this time!”
“We are fulfilling Scripture if we bow,
maybe it’s God’s will for us to bow.”

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Romans 12:1-2 NKJV

J.B. Phillips translation: “Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold.”

W.C. Fields said, “Any dead fish can float downstream.”

Every Generation Must Tear Down False Images

“Love”

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things
1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world…
1 John 4:7-9a

“Hate”

He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him promptly.
Proverbs 13:24

“Judging”

Whoever believes and has decided to trust in Him [as personal Savior and Lord] is not judged [for this one, there is no judgment, no rejection, no condemnation]; but the one who does not believe [and has decided to reject Him as personal Savior and Lord] is judged already [that one has been convicted and sentenced], because he has not believed and trusted in the name of the [One and] only begotten Son of God [the One who is truly unique, the only One of His kind, the One who alone can save him].
John 3:18 AMP

Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. And he commanded certain mighty men of valor who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, and cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their coats, their trousers, their turbans, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Therefore, because the king’s command was urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
Daniel 3:19-23

Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”
Daniel 3:24-25

The Only Thing That Burned
Was That Which Bound Them

It’s Better To Be In The Fire With Jesus
Than Bowing With The Crowd

Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke, saying, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here.” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego came from the midst of the fire. And the satraps, administrators, governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together, and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them.
Daniel 3:26-27

Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
Psalms 34:19

Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God! Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made an ash heap; because there is no other God who can deliver like this.” Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego in the province of Babylon.
Daniel 3:28-30

The World Wants You To Shut Up
Your God Wants You To Stand Up
So That Your Opposition Will Then Look Up

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
Matthew 5:13-15