“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego 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
In the book of Daniel, much of the attention revolves around the namesake prophet; in this chapter, however, he is notably absent and we see the righteous character of his three close friends who were with him through it all.
King Nebuchadnezzar, remembering Daniel’s interpretation of his dream in the previous chapter, sets up a golden image about 90 feet tall and 9 feet wide. Debatably, this might have been for two different reasons; he might either have been attempting to proclaim the never-ending reign of Babylon (in defiance of the statue dream), or he might have been attempting to immortalize the glory of His kingdom (taking pride in the fact that his kingdom would be greater than any that would follow).
The king’s challenge in verse 15 seems surprisingly bold, but then let us consider that the cultures of this time considered war and conquest as battles between deities; “Nebuchadnezzar considered himself above all gods…Again [as previously seen in chapter 2], this shows that he claimed absolute authority in both political and religious realms [shown by his condemnation of the Chaldean magicians, his spiritual advisers]. He was challenging any god to circumvent his authority. The matter then became a conflict between Nebuchadnezzar and Yahweh, the God of Daniel’s companions.”
Even though they knew that refusal to bow would result in painful, violent death, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (their true names) stand tall and remain loyal to God above all. As when they were younger, they placed their fate in the hands of God; they had learned from Isaiah 43 of God’s promise to protect His people from the elements, and they took Him at His word. They make it perfectly clear, however, that whether He would save them or not was His own affair, and their moral stand was not contingent upon their survival. What mattered most to them was that God was almighty, and their lives would continue to reflect that fact or they could not call truly call themselves His followers. God stayed true to His promise, and they were brought out of the furnace (7x its normal temperature, killing the super-soldiers who threw them in) with not even the smell of smoke on their bodies or clothes.
Certain themes of this chapter ring true with past triumphs and defeats from Jewish history – the golden image (like the calf at Sinai), the proud ruler determined to have his own way, even if it means defying God (similar to Pharaoh in Exodus), and God’s command over fire (Elijah at Mount Carmel).