The title is in reference to the song “Burn Us Up” by Shane & Shane. I would recommend listening to this song to anyone. It’s an amazing story directly from the Bible and one of my personal favorites which sparked on the following post.
Listen to Burn Us Up by Shane & Shane by clicking here.
It’s a familiar story that most of us are aware of and those of you who have not heard it, then you’re in for a treat. For those who have heard it, you might learn something new. This is the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and the fiery furnace.
Daniel 3:1-2 – King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, ninety feet high and nine feet wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up.
Daniel 3:4-6 – Then the herald loudly proclaimed, “This is what you are commanded to do, O peoples, nations and men of every language: As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.”
So here we have this King who has made this huge image of gold, 99 feet high and 9 feet wide! He then has summoned everyone to come to the dedication of this image and takes it a step further commanding them to fall down and worship this image of gold as soon as they hear the music. So what happens is that the music plays, and everyone the King summoned fell down and worshipped the image of gold he set up, except for a few…
Daniel 3:12-15 – But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon – Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego – who pay no attention to you, O king. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up. Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”
So these three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were brought up to the king for not worshipping this image of gold and we see from the Bible that this made the king furious! So he gives them one last chance to fall down and worship or they will be thrown into a blazing furnace. Imagine someone threatening you to worship another god or idol and if you didn’t, they would literally throw yourself into a blazing furnace. Have you ever seen a furnace before? Can you imagine being burned alive inside of a blazing furnace? So what do these three men say to the king?
Daniel 3:17-18 – Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
Praise God! I absolutely love this! These three guys stand up to the king telling him no, we will not do any such thing and we don’t even have to defend ourselves, we will be saved and not to mention “O king”, that we will never serve your gods or your image of Gold, ever. Do we have love like this for Jesus Christ? Would we be willing to be thrown into a fiery furnace? Are we willing to stand up for God no matter the consequences? What about in your life, do you stand up for God at work, at school, at home? Or are you afraid of getting burned? We ought to believe with confidence that we are children of God, that He is our Lord and Savior and will save us from anything. In fact, He has already saved us for those who repent & believe.
Have we really surrendered our lives? Would you go into the furnace? Reading this story gets me so fired up (no pun intended) because I want to stand up for Christ. I want to testify to the Gospel of God’s grace with such boldness and confidence that if it came down to me actually giving up my life for God, that I would do it in a heartbeat and wouldn’t even have to think about this. I believe deep down, we all have this desire, to be in close relationship with God. The amazing thing is we have the opportunity to know Him, to be His children.
Have any of us actually been in a situation with a fiery furnace? Chances are we haven’t and that is probably because we think “who even has a furnace these days?” When in reality, we face choices like this every day. How many times this week have you had a chance to stand up for God and didn’t because of fear, persecution, laziness, didn’t recognize the opportunity, or just didn’t want to? Let’s stand up for God! Let’s show the world how much we love Him out of an overflow of gratitude for what He has already done for us.
There are people all around in our lives every day that we encounter that we can share the love of Christ with. Our family, friends, co-workers, students, neighbors, strangers, and even enemies. Opportunities are all around us. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego didn’t have a problem standing up for Christ, and they were facing a blazing furnace! Let’s see what happens to them…
Daniel 3:19-25 – Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.
Daniel 3:24-25 – Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?” They replied, “Certainly, O king.” He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”
Jesus is our Redeemer. Jesus is our Comforter. Jesus is our Savior. Even in the midst of a fiery furnace, He is there with us. How will you stand up for Christ today?
