Secrets of the Fiery Furnace

Secrets of the Fiery Furnace

I. Nebuchadnezzar’s Bad Behavior:

1. (Daniel 3:1-3)

• The statue was about 90 feet tall. The great sphinx in Egypt is 66 feet tall, the statue of Zeus is 44feet. It may have been gold plated, not solid gold.
• In Daniel 2, the king had a dream of a statue. In the next chapter he builds a statue. In the dream the gold head represented Babylon. So the king now proceeds to build a statue that is all gold. As if to say, I will rule the world!

2. (Daniel 3:4-19)

• The three Hebrews have an “even if” faith. Even if they burn, they will not bow.
• The kings response is absolute rage. Notice, this is a personal faith they maintain. They are not stopping others from bowing down, but they will not do it.

3. (Daniel 3:20-38)

• It’s only attempted murder because he failed. God stepped in; literally.
• The order to heat the furnace seven times is outrageous. The furnace was probably on site and had been built to melt metal to create the golden image. A metal furnace could reach 1,600 to 2,000 degrees.
• Daniel 3:22, by overheating the furnace, the troops were unable to get to the convicts to their sentence without burning themselves up.

There are three miracles here:

1. The miracle that the three Hebrews were not burned by the fire.

2. The miracle that the three Hebrews were unbound. That is, the fire did work to burn off their ropes, but did not burn them. It was real fire.

3. The appearance of the third man.

II. Some secrets of the fiery furnace:

Secret #1: God

Notice who was with them:

• One like “the son of the gods.” He Hebrew for that would be, “Bar-Elohim” the same word used in Genesis 1:1.
• The Centurion at the cross saw the earthquake and declared about Jesus, “Surely he was the Son of God.” (Matthew 27:54)
• This occurrence in the furnace is a “Theophany.” A physical manifestation of God in bodily form on the earth.
• John 1:18 identifies Jesus as the one who has “made God known” partly by taking on physical form.

Secret #2: God sometimes uses fire

• The three Hebrews were not in the fire trying to get out. They were “walking” around in the fire. Inf act, they were walking with someone. It’s like it kept getting better for them! First the fire didn’t touch them, then they walked with God. I wonder what they talked about in the fire.
• It’s what the ancients did, “Walked with God.” (Noah, Enouch, Abraham)
• Sometimes it is in our greatest trials that we grow the closest to God.
• God is “omnipresent.” Latin prefix omni- means “all.” God is not confined to geographic boundaries or political borders.
• The Bible emphasizes not only God’s omnipresence, but God’s “manifest” omnipresence. That is the difference in saying God is everywhere, and God is here. It is his presence with intensity in certain places, times or with us when we hurt.

Secret #3: God protects those who

• Daniel 3:22, the three Hebrews are not servants of the King, but of the King of Kings.
• Notice the servants of the king died in the fire, while the servants of God lived.
• The most important thing about this account in your Bible is who you belong to.

An extra note: In the fire you find the truest friends.