Israelites Survive Blazing Furnace
Nebuchadnezzar was the king of Babylon. His kingdom was great and powerful. God delivered the king of Judah over to Nebuchadnezzar, and some Israelites were exiled there.
Image of Gold:
King Nebuchadnezzar built a huge image of gold and demanded that everyone worship it (Scriptures 1. Nebuchadnezzar’s Image of Gold Daniel 3:1-7). If anyone would not worship the gold image, they would be thrown in a blazing furnace.
Three Israelites Refused to Worship Gold Image:
But three Israelites (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) would not worship it. They were brought before the king (Scriptures 2. Israelites Refused to Worship Image of Gold Daniel 3:8-18). The king gave them one more chance to worship it, but they still refused. They told the king that the God they serve will deliver them from the blazing furnace. But even if God does not, they still will not serve his gods or images of gold.
Israelites Thrown in Blazing Furnace:
The king was so angry, he turned the furnace up seven times hotter than usual. They were bound and thrown in the furnace (Scriptures 3. Israelites Thrown in Blazing Furnace Daniel 3:19-21). The furnace was so hot that it killed the soldiers that threw the Israelites in it.
Israelites Unharmed:
Much to everyone’s amazement, the three Israelites did not burn (Scriptures 4. Israelites Unharmed Daniel 3:22-27). They could be seen standing and walking in the furnace with another man – four men were seen in the furnace, completely unharmed.
King Acknowledges God and Promotes Israelites:
So Nebuchadnezzar ordered them to come out of the furnace. Their clothes were not burned, and their hair was not singed. As you can imagine, Nebuchadnezzar was amazed and probably terrified. He actually praised the Israelites’ God and ordered a decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way. Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon (Scriptures 5. Nebuchadnezzar Acknowledges God and Promotes Israelites Daniel 3:28-30).
Conclusion:
What an amazing story. God exiled the Israelites to Babylon because they were worshipping other gods and images. Yet among these Israelites were three men that were so devoted to God, they were willing to be thrown into a blazing furnace rather than worshipping the golden image.
Even though miracles were not uncommon to the Israelites, that kind of faith and devotion is absolutely admirable. They had completely given their lives up to the Lord. That is what we should strive for. That we can completely give all aspects of our lives to Jesus and put Jesus at the steering wheel of our every move.
Worksheet: Israelites Survive Blazing Furnace Bible Study Worksheet
PDF: Israelites Survive Blazing Furnace
See: Part 3 #1 A Prayer for Faith
See: Part 1 #3 Do Miracles Really Happen Today?
Also See: Free Bible Study Worksheets
Also See: Part 3 – List of Prayers
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