Read Through the Bible in a Year 2018 Day 257: Four Men in a Furnace

Good morning, everyone!

I meant to post this yesterday, but the day kind of got away from me.

So, I read Daniel 1-3.

The setting: Babylon.

The time: Third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah

Israel is taken captive by the Babylonians. The choice young men are chosen to serve the king: Nebuchadnezzer.

Daniel and his friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, are also chosen. These young men are selected to be given the food sacrificed to the Babylonian gods, so they will grow strong. This, however, is a direct violation of God's laws, so Daniel, who is in favor with their overseer, speaks with him about giving himself and his friends only vegetables for a time as a test to see which group is stronger.

Daniel and his friends do not break God's law.

Guess which group is strongest, most knowledgeable, and most fit for service.

If you guessed Daniel and his friends, you're right! They were the most fit of all the Babylonian captives because they did not break God's law.

So, Daniel and his friends find favor with the king, and are appointed into the king's service.

Later, the king has a dream, which only Daniel can interpret, because he does not rely on magic or anything else. He knows that only God interprets dreams, and says so. Thus, God gives him the interpretation.

Nebuchadnezzer's dream is about the future of the kingdoms, from his own, to the Greeks, to the Romans, and so forth, until the final kingdom - God's kingdom - which will destroy all the others and will not be shaken.

Still later, King Nebuchadnezzer makes a decree that everyone should worship only the golden statue which he made of himself.

Daniel and his friends refuse. Of course. Well, Daniel's friends, now named Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, are caught not worshiping the statue.

So they're sentenced to die by fiery furnace. The fire is so hot (heated seven times hotter than normal) that it devours the men sent to open the doors.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are thrown in. As the king and his advisers are looking in, one of them says: "Hey, didn't we throw in three guys? Why are there four?"

The king looks and sure enough, four men are standing in the furnace, completely unharmed. The fourth, the advisers said, had the appearance of one of the gods.

So, the king calls out to the three and bids them come out of the furnace, declaring that they are servants of the Most High God, and they are pardoned.

Now, based on the declaration of the fourth man's appearance, we can only agree that his countenance was holy, or not exactly like ours. Later in the chapter, Nebuchadnezzer declares that it was an angel sent from God.

Some people think it was Jesus Himself.

But is that really the most important part of the story? Three men went into a fiery furnace. Four walked around in the fire. Three came out and were pardoned. They did not burn because of their obedience to God.

That's the story.

I hope you'll join me also when I read Daniel 4-6.