Daniel 3:16 Commentary and Bible Study

Perhaps Nebuchadnezzar hoped that by summoning Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to stand before him, they would be awed into obedience. Their courage would fail and they would crumble before him, but if so he had underestimated their resilience. They show proper respect and courtesy but they are firm in their response. ‘We are not careful to answer thee in this matter’. Other versions have something like, ‘We have no need to answer you in this matter’, but that might suggest a certain abruptness with the king which, from what follows, was not intended. The point is that they do not need to spend long preparing their answer. They know what they are going to say and they will not change their minds, which the KJV rendering gets across. Under no circumstances will they bow down to the image. They are ready to pay with their lives, if necessary, in order to remain faithful to the Lord. They know that they are being threatened with death, but it makes no difference; they will not bow to the image, for it is written, ‘Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: ⁵ Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them’ (Exodus 20:4-5). Obviously they had discussed all this in advance. They had prayed that they would remain true to God in the time of crisis. They knew why they were there, and they knew that their refusal to worship would visible to all. They were aware of the jealousy of their enemies, and that this would be a perfect opportunity for their enemies to move against them. They anticipated being summoned by the king and threatened, but it made no difference. This was not something that was hard to think through. It was as clear as daylight to them that they could not do what Nebuchadnezzar was demanding. ‘We are not going to worship your gods. There is only one God, the God of Israel, and he has forbidden us to worship any other God.’ Sometimes we spend much time seeking the right course of action, but other times the way is clear, even if it is costly to us.‘If it be so’ – they have absolute confidence in God – ‘our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace.’ He is able to do it but it may not be his will, they imply. Maybe we must die as martyrs, and we are willing to do that. But if he is pleased to deliver us, I can assure you, O king Nebuchadnezzar, he can, and he can do so easily. If he is not willing because in his perfect wisdom he has another course in mind, then still we will not acknowledge your gods. They are a fiction O king; there is only one God. In so many situations we do not know what the Lord is going to do. We cannot say how he will work and we do not need to know either. But here is the confidence of the people of God: that he will deliver them one way or another, for he can never forsake his own dear children. Did this answer lack faith? No, it was full of faith, but it did not go beyond what the Lord had revealed, and on that alone faith must depend. They had been put to the test, and quite clearly they were ready to lay down their lives for their God. But their faithfulness was to win them a victory which no one predicted at this time.