Well, let us turn to this portion
of scripture that we've read. I'm sure it's a chapter not unfamiliar
to us, probably something that we've known for many years and
can even recall from the days of our childhood. These three
faithful Hebrew children as they stand before that mighty emperor
Nebuchadnezzar and I want to take for our text the words that
we find here in verse 17 and the way in which they address
the king Daniel 3 verse 17, If it be so, our God whom we serve
is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he
will deliver us out of thine hand, O King. In Daniel 3 and verse 17. Remember how in the New Testament,
in Hebrews chapter 11, we have that great catalogue of those
who were of faith in the Old Testament, those men, those women,
who by the faith of God's operation in their souls were able to do
remarkable things. And amongst others, we read there
at verse 33 and 34, of those who through faith quenched the
violence of fire. They quenched the violence of
fire and how did they do such a thing? It was only by faith. In other words, by their trust
and their confidence in Him who is the only true God. And this
is the confession of the faith of these young men. If it be
so, O King, If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to
deliver us from the burning fiery furnace and he will deliver us
out of thine hand, O King, they say. And so the subject matter
that I want to address for a little while this evening is that of
faith in the furnace, faith in the furnace and dividing the
subject matter really into some four sections first of all to
consider how these men were persecuted in the world they were strangers
and pilgrims in this world to say something with regards to
their faith the faith of these godly young men and then the
furnace of trials that they are placed in and then finally the
fellowship that they have with the Lord Jesus Christ. That's
the fourfold division that I want to follow as we proceed to look
at this particular verse. But first of all to say something
with regards to their situation. In other words, the context in
which this verse is set. we see that these young men refused
to conform to what was being practiced by those whom they
found themselves in the midst of. They, of course, experienced
or they were experiencing that terrible catastrophe that came
upon the children of Israel, the 70 years exile, the 70 years
of captivity in Babylon. and they will not conform to
what is being practiced around them. We see that quite clearly.
Here in verse 12, there were those who came to Nebuchadnezzar
and charged them, there are certain Jews whom thou hast set over
the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego. These men, O king, have not regarded
thee, they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image
which thou hast set up. And as this matter is reported
to the king so we see him filled with rage and with fury in the
following verse. They are in this world, they
are not of this world and therefore they are exposed to all the opposition
of the world. Remember what the Apostle says
in the New Testament, yea, all that will live godly in Christ
Jesus shall suffer persecution. They would live godly. They will
not indulge in any form of idolatry and so they must pay for it. Or they're given the opportunity
if they would but conform as the King says here at verses
14 and 15, if they would but do what he had decreed
and bow down before his image he says well there in verse 15
well I know it's in italics but it's a right interpolation by
the translators that's what he was saying if they would but
do as he commanded all would be well but if you worship not
you shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery
furnace And who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? And then, in the words of our
text, we see that they cannot do that that He is commanding
them. And so, in verse 19, He's full
of fury. The form of His visage is changed
against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. What we see here is
that God's people are those who must stand, even if they stand
alone, and not to conform to the ways of this world. Be ye not conformed to this world,
be ye transformed by the renewing of your minds, that ye might
know what is that good and perfect will of God, says the Apostle. And John tells us, Love not the
world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man
love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. All that
is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the
eyes and the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of
the world. And the world shall pass away,
and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God shall
abide forever. And how these men are so faithful,
they are full of faith. And it's not some faith that
they've given to themselves. It is that that is from God,
the gift of God, faith of the operation of God, how brave and
how bold they are. It's interesting that this part
of the book of Daniel is not actually written in the in the
Hebrew language. There's a whole section in the
middle of Daniel that is actually written in Aramaic and it begins back in chapter 2 at verse 4. It says there, Then spake the
Chaldeans to the king in Syriac, O king, live forever and so forth. and Syriac that's the Aramaic
language and right through from the beginning then of chapter
2 to the end of chapter 7 we have a section which is written
in Aramaic and that's not without some significance. Aramaic at
that time we're told was the language of diplomacy and in
these chapters we very much see worldly kingdoms set up against
God's and God's kingdom, God's sovereignty. Remember the words
of the Lord Jesus before Pontius Pilate when he says, my kingdom
is not of this world. Well, in these chapters, as I
say, we see the kingdoms of this world in chapters 2 and 4 we have those
dreams by Nebuchadnezzar which Daniel is able to interpret but
in those dreams we we have the kingdoms of the world and the
overthrow of the kingdoms of the world in chapter 5 we have
the account of the the feast of Belshazzar and the writing
on the wall in chapter 6 we have Daniel in the lion's den. Daniel, like these three faithful
Hebrew youths, standing out against the might, the power of Nebuchadnezzar. And then in chapter 7, we have
Daniel's vision of the four beasts. If you just read through those
chapters 2 to 7, you will see that it is very much the ideas
and the kingdoms of the world set against God. And of course,
we see that the godly are a very little remnant in this world.
In chapter 6, it's Daniel in the lion's den. And here in chapter
3, it is these three young men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And we see something here of
all the pomp and circumstance and ceremony of the world. What a display we have. We have the repetition of it
in verses 5, 7, 10 and 15. At what time you hear the sound
of the corn, it flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer,
and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image
that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up. Oh, it's the grandeur
of the world. And yet, what a ridiculous thing
it is that men should bow down before a graven image that cannot
move. All God's people in this world
then, they are but a remnant. They confess the only living
and true God, the Creator, the Sustainer of all things. This is the context here. These
young men are in the gravest of danger. They will be persecuted
in this world. The mark of the God. But then,
here we also see their faith and the reality of that faith. What do they say? Look at the
verses either side of our text in verse 16 as they begin to
address the king. O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not
careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God,
whom we serve, is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace,
and He will deliver us out of thine hand, O King. But if not,
be it known unto thee, O King, that we will not serve thy gods,
nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. This is the language of faith. Hey, they did not know What would
happen to them when they were cast into that furnace? But their
trust is in God. God is able. God is able, they
say, to deliver us. But if not, oh, they will be
faithful to God. This is the language of faith.
And we're told quite plainly those words in Habakkuk 2, at
verse 4, that just shall live by faith. And remember how those
words are taken up some three times in the New Testament by
the Apostle writing in Romans and Galatians and in Hebrews. And so what we have in the Old
Testament is then repeated those three times, the just shall live
by his faith. Paul again says to the Corinthians,
we walk by faith and not by sight. And this is true of these young
men. Oh, they're looking to their
God, they're trusting in their God, but they leave the issue,
the consequence of their experience in God's hands. This is faith,
that faith that is the substance of things hopeful and the evidence
of things not seen. As I said, there in Hebrews 11
we read of the faith of those who quench the violence of fire. Look at what the Apostle says
there at the end of that 11th chapter. Look at the detail in
those verses in Hebrews 11. 33 and 34. We read of those who
through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained
promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence
of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were
made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies
of the aliens, and so on. and so forth. This is the faith,
this is the faith of God's elect, and it is this faith that we
see in these young men, true faith, true faith, the life of
God, deep in the heart it lies, it lives, it labors under load
though dumped, it never dies. But then here of course we more
particularly see something of the trial of faith, And so to
turn to that furnace of trials, the furnace of trials, this is
what Dr. Gill says with regards to the
content of the chapter that the fiery furnace may be an emblem
of fiery trials. And this is an historic account. But when we come to read the
Word of God, to consider the Word of God, we don't just consider
it in terms of something historic, we want to see that it bears
some relationship to ourselves. All these things happened unto
them for examples, Paul says. And they're written for admonition
upon whom the ends of the world are come. All we want to know
that there's something for us, some application to us. whatsoever
things were written for time, were written for our learning,
Paul says, that we through patience or endurance and comfort of the
Scriptures might have hope. And what do we see with regards
to these young men? Oh, what a fiery furnace it was
that they were to be cast into. When The form of Nebuchadnezzar's
visage is so changed and is so furious. We are told how he spake
and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times
more than it was wont to be heated. And he commanded the most mighty
men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego
and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men
were bound in their coats their hosen, their trousers and socks,
we would say, and their hats or 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
exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took
up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Well, this is indeed a fiery
furnace that these faithful men find themselves in the midst
of. And I say again that surely we're
to desire that we might see something to instruct us and to help us.
Peter says, Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery
trial that is to try you. as though some strange thing
happened unto you. Thank God we're not called to
endure such as these young men. It was a time, of course, the
time of the Protestant Reformation when the Lord's faithful servants,
even in our own beloved land, had to endure the flames. They were burnt at the stake
because they denied the blasphemies of the Romish mass. They were
faithful. Well, thank God, we do not have
to endure these things and yet, we surely must know something
of what it is to be in the midst of spiritual trials. Fiery trial
that tries us. The Lord says to Israel in the
Old Testament, I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.
If we are those who are of the election of Christ, we will know
something then of what it is to be chosen. in a fiery furnace. These things cannot be avoided. We read again there in Isaiah
31 9 of the Lord whose fire is in Zion and his furnace in Jerusalem. What is Zion? What is Jerusalem?
Isn't that the people of God? That's where God's people are
to be found in, in the midst of difficulties, trials, temptations,
testings, And these things cannot be avoided. All we see are these
young men, they couldn't avoid this at all. What happened to
them? Well, we're told in verse 23,
these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down, bound,
into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. What hope could
there be? They're not only in the furnace,
but they're all together bound and bound in all their clothes,
and bound by those mighty men, the strongest of all the men
in the army of Nebuchadnezzar. What hope can they have? There's
no avoiding the trial. We must, through much tribulation,
enter into the Kingdom of God, says the Apostle. Oh, and he
is only re-echoing the words of the Lord Jesus in the world,
you shall have tribulation. no avoiding these things and
yet whilst there is no avoiding of the fiery trial we also see
this precious truth there is no hurt for God's people no real
hurt when they're in the midst of that trial that's evident
from what we read in verse 27 concerning these men as they brought out
of the trial, it says, upon whose bodies the fire had no power,
nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats
changed, nor the smell of fire that passed on them." They couldn't avoid this experience
and yet there was no hurt and so it is with God's people when
the Lord in his strange dealings, the mystery of his providences
the paradox of the life of faith and the Lord brings his people
into circumstances that seem to be so contrary and yet there
is no hurt and the wonderful thing of course for these young
men is that there is a force with them in the midst of the
fiery furnace. What does the King Nebuchadnezzar
say, verse 25? Lo! Lo, he says. And you know the force of that
little word, just two letters, Elo. And yet, it has that idea
of here is a sight to be seen, here is a wonder to behold. Here
is something that we should fix our sight upon. Lo, I see four
men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no
hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God." Oh,
the Lord Jesus is that One who is with His people in the midst
of all the flames, in the midst of all their trials and troubles,
and all their tribulations. He constantly watches over His
people. Remember, out there in the prophecy
of Malachi. We read of him as that one who
is the refiner of silver. In Malachi chapter 3, verse 3, He shall sit as a refiner
and purifier of silver, And he shall purify the sons of Levi,
and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the
Lord an offering in righteousness. And he says at verse 6, I am
the Lord, I change not, therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. Or the flame shall not hurt them. The flame cannot hurt them. is
his tension here is simply to purge away all the dross and
so in that process he is purifying their faith. The hymn says, gold
in the furnished trite, ne'er loses aught but dross, so is
the Christian purified and bettered by the cross. These strange ways
of the Lord he He tries his people. He chastens his people. And we
know that no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous,
but grievous nevertheless afterward. It yieldeth the peaceable fruits
of righteousness to them who are exercised therewith. There
is all that exercise of soul then in the midst of it. That
calling upon God, that crying to God. or that recognition of
our complete and utter dependence upon God. And so that brings
me to the last thing I want to mention, and that is the fellowship
of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the great thing that
these men come to experience as they're cast into the midst
of the fiery furnace. Four men, loose walking in the
midst of the fire, and they have no hurt, and the form of the
fourth is like the Son of God." All the Lord has given His promise,
and that promise of course is confirmed by an oath. That promise
is sealed in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, when they
walk us through the fire they shall not be hurt, neither shall
the flame kindle upon the That's the promise of God. And how God
is that one who is faithful. All his promises, yes, his promises
are made. How with those friends who desire
to have such a knowledge of this God, this true God, this God
of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Remember how Paul expresses his
desire when he writes to the Philippians, that I may know
him, he says. He's speaking of the Lord Jesus,
that great passage in Philippians chapter 3, that I may know him
and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his suffering
be made conformable to his death. And the first thing we have to
know is the power of his resurrection. Why? By nature we're dead in
trespasses and in sins. But He says, Thy dead men shall
live, together with my dead body shall they arise. All the power
of His resurrection, but then the fellowship of His sufferings,
the conformity to the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. You see,
these cannot be separated. To those Philippians, Paul says,
unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ not only to believe
on Him, but also to suffer for his sake. These two things, to
believe on him and to suffer for his sake. And Paul knew it. Paul writes
of these things in the various New Testament epistles. He speaks
of doctrine, he speaks of practice, he speaks of experience, he speaks
of himself. always bearing about in the body
the dying of the Lord Jesus that the life also of Jesus might
be made manifest in our mortal flesh, he says. That's the lot
of the Christian. Paul is that one who is a pattern
to them that should hereafter believe. All these men then,
they're bound and they're cast into the fiery
furnace but then we have those four men loose and they're walking
in the midst of the fire and they're not hurt in the form
of the fourth like the Son of Man. If the Son makes us free
we are free indeed. There is then that sanctifying
effect in all the afflictions that come to the people of God.
Isn't that the way in which the Lord makes his people a holy
people? What is the point, the purpose
of the trials? To make us sick of self, to make
us fond of him, says good John Kent. Afflictions make us see
what else would escape our sight, how very foul and dim are we
in God, how pure and bright. That's what God is doing, is
teaching us all the time, more and more, our complete and utter
dependence. upon himself ultimately deliverance is sure
and deliverance is certain the Lord Jesus Christ is that one
who saves and that's their confession here in verse 17 if it be so
our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning
fiery furnace and he will deliver us out of thine hand O King What
does the Apostle say in the New Testament, who delivered us from
so great a death, and doth deliver, in whom we trust that He will
yet deliver us? The Lord Jesus Christ is that
One who is the deliverer of His people. He is that One who is
the Saviour of sinners, able to save to the uttermost. all
that come unto God by Him. Oh God teach us in the midst
of all the experiences of our poor lives and all that befalls
us, God teach us to constantly call upon Him and to seek His
face and to learn from the experience of these gracious young men Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego and to confess even as they confess our God
whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace
and he will deliver us out of thy hand O King. Will the Lord be pleased to bless
his word to us Now as we come to prayer letters,
first in God's praise, the hymn is 872, Dear Dementor, number
77 is the tune. Gold in the furnished trite,
ne'er loses aught but dross. So is the Christian purified
and bettered by the cross? 872.