Do you remember the Ten Commandments? How about the first two—“You shall have no other gods before me” (Ex. 20:3) and “You shall not make for yourself a carved image . . . [and] bow down” before that image (Ex. 20:4–5)? Nebuchadnezzar didn’t know these commandments. Or if he did, he didn’t obey them. One day, he made a tall golden statue, and he commanded everyone to “fall down and worship the golden image” (Dan. 3:5) whenever the loud music played. Even worse, he decreed that “whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace” (3:6). When the horns blew, “all the peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the golden image” (3:7). Well, not all. There were three Hebrew men who chose to obey God instead of the king. Their names were Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They told Nebuchadnezzar, “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up” (3:17–18). What faith! What courage!

Nebuchadnezzar was not pleased. He was furious! He was so mad he heated the already hot furnace seven times hotter. Then he tied those three men up and tossed them in. Within a second, they burned up like a piece of paper in a roaring campfire. Actually, that’s what everyone expected would happen. But it’s not what happened at all. Surprisingly, the three men who chose to obey didn’t burn up at all! The king couldn’t believe it. He also couldn’t believe that he saw another man, whom he thought was an angel. The king shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!” (3:26). They walked out. Not a hair on their heads was burnt by the fire, and their clothes didn’t even smell like smoke. The king had a huge change of heart. He went from being furious to praising God. He said, “There is no other god who is able to rescue in this way” (3:29). How true!