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This is a favorite story for me--one that is intertwined with my personal salvation testimony as a young woman. However, as God's Word always does, something spoke to me afresh this morning, as it relates to the Incarnation of Christ.
You see, after these three faithful men--Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego--were thrown into the fiery furnace for refusing to bow down and worship his golden image, King Nebuchadnezzar looked into the furnace to (presumably) verify their demise.
But he is in for a surprise, as we will see in Daniel chapter 3, starting with verse 24:
"Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” 25 He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.”
You see, instead of three men, the King sees FOUR men, and one of them has a heavenly appearance; in fact, some scholars consider this fourth man to be what's called a theophany--a visible manifestation of the pre-incarnate Christ. Whether it is an angel or Christ himself, one thing is clear--God rescues these three men. In fact, as we read on, not even a hair on their bodies has been singed, despite the fact that the guards who threw the men into the fiery furnace had died! (see Dan 3: 22) Oh no, as this post highlights, the ONLY thing that had been consumed in the flames were the ropes that bound them up!
"26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. 27 And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king's counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them."
Astonishingly, God had seen fit not to just rescue these three men by some external means, but instead joined them (either as the pre-incarnate Christ or by the personal presence of an angel) in the furnace. He came to them, walked with them, and saved them from the flames. Just.like.Christ.
And what is the only proper response to such a salvation? Well, check out Nebuchadnezzar's response below in verse 28:
"Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside[f] the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.” 30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon."
There is only one proper response--believing through faith!
So this Christmas season, let the wonder of the Incarnation wash over us in a fresh way, dear friend, as we consider that not only did Christ save us from the fiery furnace of Hell, but that he became a man, walked among us, and personally led us to the way Everlasting!
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