When we left off in our study last week, Shadrach, Meshach and Abedneggo were standing on the cusp of a great test. They had “thrown down the gauntlet” to the king.
Remember? To paraphrase their words, they had adamantly, boldly stated “Our God is able to save.” “Our God will save us.” “Even if he does not, we will still trust Him, and refuse to commit idolatry.”
These three young men’s courage and stalwart faith has inspired heroes over the centuries. It is this kind of courage and boldness that underwrote the heroes of D-Day, for example, impelling them to storm the beaches of Europe, in the face of almost certain death.
This past Friday, we saw a real-life, horrifying example of that kind of courage, in a leader who routinely goes out to speak to huge crowds of Americans, despite numerous death threats issued against him. Death threats issued not by “crackpots”, but in at least one case by a foreign country. We also saw that our God works His will, even in the most unlikely of circumstances. In a recent session together, I spoke to you about miracles. America witnessed one last Friday evening, on “J13”, I’ve heard it called. Over the former president’s body the bullet held no power. And, even he has come out to affirm his being alive today is completely due to a miracle of God. Our God is mighty to save, and His will is going to prevail, despite the evil machinations of men. We can thank him for that, and rest in that, no matter what. I hope you will continue to be in prayer for the family of the honorable patriot who was felled by an assassin’s bullet. He died while shielding his wife and daughter from death. And, be in prayer as well for two other men seriously injured by bullets at that event.
As we finished last week, we were about to learn the king’s reaction to the 3 guys’ stalwart refusal to commit idolatry, which is what they would have been doing had they obeyed the king’s command.
Now, let’s look at the next set of verses, verses 19-20.
19Then Nebukadnetsar King was filled with rage and the brightness of his countenance was changed toward Shadrak, Mishak and Abednego, and he said to heat the furnace seven times whatever it was heated 20And he told mighty men that were in the army to bind Shadrak, Mishak and Abednego and to cast them into the burning furnace of fire
I am sure the king’s reaction did not surprise the three young Hebrews at all, since they had served in Nebuchadnezzar’s court for some time and knew how he operated. They knew the high stakes when they initially defied the king’s command and then when they confessed their allegiance to Father Yahweh, they were not expecting any leniency. Predictably, the king’s heart was filled with rage. And, predictably, he “went ballistic”!
Do you think he felt betrayed? Let’s consider this: if you are betrayed by people you don’t really know, it will feel bad. But, oh well, they were strangers. So, not so much of a sting, right? However, when you are betrayed by those closest to you, that’s a whole ‘nuther level of hurt. He expected so much more from them! They were his closest advisors! Why, his judgment had to be called into question because surely people would be saying he made a huge mistake by taking a chance on these Jews!
Have you ever seen a person’s countenance change when they were filled with rage? It’s written all over the person’s face, isn’t it? Some have commented that the person “does not even look like the same person”. Let me ask you, how many times can you kill a person? One, of course. But, in his great anger, Nebuchadnezzar instructed the fire keepers to heat the furnace, the kiln, 7 times hotter than normal. We don’t know how hot that furnace became, but we do know that it was 7 times hotter than was necessary to extinguish a human life. And, also, he commanded the three Hebrews be bound. In other words, trussed up, like you might truss a Thanksgiving turkey before shoving it into the hot oven for 3-4 hours. Why were all these extra measures taken, on Neb’s part?
The Artscroll Tanakh series comments that in Nebuchadnezzar’s religious belief system, the pagans believed that it was possible for humans to override the will of God. This derived from their belief that the forces of nature were NOT subject to the will of any particular god, even the God of the Hebrews, and that these forces acted independently of any gods. Therefore, even if one God was greater than all the others, His will could be thwarted if earthly forces were compounded in such a way that they could “overcome” the will of God. In our Jewish-Christian view and understanding of Father Yahweh, revealed in our Scriptures, we know this to be utterly ridiculous. However, Nebuchadnezzar was an idol-worshipping pagan.
Verse 21 gives us another interesting detail.
21Then those men bound them in their wide trousers and in their leggings and in their robes and in their hoods, and they cast them inside the burning furnace of fire.
The executioners were so cowed by the rage of the king, that they did not even strip these young men down! Still wearing the regal clothing of high court officials, the royal robes they went to the audience with the king in, they were cast into the fire. I’m sure such clothes were NOT “flame retardant”!
In case anyone was wondering how hot the flames of the kiln were, they were so hot that there was collateral damage from this heinous incident. Verse 22-23:
22Because the word of the King was urgent and the furnace was fired up all the more, the flames of the burning fire also killed those men who had accused Shadrak, Mishak and Abednego
23And those three men, Shadrak, Mishak and Abednego, fell into the middle of the burning furnace of fire, being tied up.
There are some slight differences in translations of verse 22. The translation used in the ArtScroll Tanakh series commentary on the book of Daniel agrees with most other translations. These state that it was the executioners, the men who took the 3 Hebrew youths to the furnace and cast them into it - - those servants of the king were overcome by the extreme heat and lost their lives. The Peshitta Holy Bible Translated version, the version I’ve been using for this section of the book of Daniel - - remember that this section was written originally in Aramaic - - states that it was the “accusers” who were consumed by the flames. Now, these could be one and the same! In other words, it could have been the accusing courtiers who were tasked with taking the three to the furnace. That would make sense, wouldn’t it? Sort of like when I was a kid and “told” on my brother, my parents would sometimes let me “go get a hickory”?
Well, we have an interesting situation, beginning with verse 24. There are 68 verses, verses 24-92, appearing in some Aramaic manuscripts concerning what went on in that fiery furnace. Most Christians of the Western hemisphere churches, Catholic or Protestant, are not familiar with them, because they don’t appear in their Bibles. However, in the Eastern Hemisphere Christian denominations that are of the Aramaic tradition, they are more familiar. I asked some trusted sources why these verses were not included in the accepted Hebrew Bible canon. And, the short answer is that this passage lacked confirmation and because it came along hundreds of years after earlier manuscripts, most Bible scholars disregard it. Plus, there are other factors: the Masoretic text of Daniel, in Hebrew and Aramaic became the authorized and canonized version for both Jews and Christians, which shut out later versions that some small groups favored. Once the Hebrew Bible Canon was fixed and done, alternative translations/texts such as this one never gained traction. Still, since these verses from the Peshitta Codex Ambrosianus are so unfamiliar, I will read them here, in the spirit of a comprehensive study of Daniel. Again, just FYI - - not holy, inspired Scripture.
24 And they were standing and they were walking in their ropes in the middle of the flames of fire, and they were glorifying God, and they were blessing LORD JEHOVAH 25 The prayer of KhananYah and of his companions: and Azarayah stood and opened his mouth to bless in the midst of the fire, and he opened his mouth and he prayed and said thus: 26 “Blessed are you, LORD JEHOVAH, God of our fathers, and praiseworthy and exalted and glorious is your Name to eternity! 27 Because you are righteous in all things, whatever you have done for us, and all of your works are in truth, and your ways are right, and all your judgments are trustworthy! 28 Because it is in the justice of truth that you have done for us everything that you brought upon us, and upon the holy city of our fathers, on Jerusalem, because in righteousness you brought upon us all these things, because of our debts and our sins! 29 Because we have sinned, and we have done wickedness before you, and we have gone far away from you, and we passed by your Word, and we have sinned against you in all things 30 And we have not listened to nor kept your commandments, and we are not doing according to whatever you have commanded us, so that it would be good for us! 31 And everything that you brought upon us and everything that you have done for us in judgment, it is good you have done for us! 32 And you have handed us over into the hands of our evil enemies who are far off from you, and to the Lords of the wicked Kingdom that is more evil than all the kingdoms of Earth! 33 And now, LORD JEHOVAH, there is no opening of the mouth for us before you, because your servants and those who worship you have had shame and reproach! 34 Do not hand us over to the end, because of your name, and do not destroy your covenant! 35 And do not remove your love far away and your favors, or the mercy of your grace from us, because of Abraham your friend, and because of Isaaq your Servant, and because of Israel your holy one 36 For you promised them that you would increase their seed as the stars that are in the heavens, and like the sand upon the shore of the sea! 37 Because, now, LORD JEHOVAH, we are laid lower than all the nations, and we are scattered today in all the Earth because of our debts and our sins! 38 And there is in this time no Head or Ruler or Prophet or Leader, and no altar and no sacrifice and no offering and no place where incense or a sacrifice goes up and we would find pity and mercy! 39 But in a broken heart and in a lowly spirit, behold, we have been brought near to the burning of fire! 40 When we beg that more than bulls and rams and many fat lambs, so the offering of our souls shall be today, and your Servants shall not be ashamed, because those who trust upon you are not ashamed! 41 Also now we are coming after you in a heart of peace and we are in awe of you and we seek your face! 42 LORD JEHOVAH, do not shame us, but do with us according to the abundance of your grace and of your many mercies! 43 And save us according to the abundance of your wonders and give glory to your Name, LORD JEHOVAH, because your Name is great! 44 And all those who speak evil against your Servants will be ashamed, and they will be ashamed of all their mighty deeds, and their power shall be abandoned by them! 45 And they shall know you are one God, you alone, and you are glorious in all your works! 46 And those who had fired up the furnace of fire had not stopped, and they had cast into it naphtha and pitch and brimstone and reeds and twigs 47 And the flames of fire gave a sound and they came up forty and nine cubits above the furnace of fire! 48 And fire was burning and destroying everyone whoever was present around that furnace of the Chaldeans, and the accusers 49 But The Angel of LORD JEHOVAH went down with KhananYah and Azraya and Mishail within the furnace of fire, and he took away the flames of fire from the furnace 50 And he made as a wind of dew in the middle of the furnace, and the fire did not touch them, not even a little, and it did not displease them and did not afflict them 51 Then the three of them who with one mouth were glorifying and were blessing God from within the furnace of fire, they also were saying this song: 52 “Blessed are you, LORD JEHOVAH, God of our fathers! You are glorious and you are exalted to eternity! Blessed is The Name of your holy glory! You are glorious and you are exalted for eternity! 53 Blessed are you in the temple of your holiness! You are glorious and you are exalted for eternity! 54 Blessed are you, because you see the depths and you sit above the Cherubim! You are glorious and you are exalted for eternity! 55 Blessed are you on the throne of your glorious kingdom. You are glorious and you are exalted for eternity! 56 Blessed are you in the expanse of Heaven. You are glorious and you are exalted for eternity! 57 All Servants of LORD JEHOVAH, bless LORD JEHOVAH! Praise him and exalt him for eternity! 58 Heavens of LORD JEHOVAH, bless LORD JEHOVAH! Praise him and exalt him for eternity! 59 All of the angels of LORD JEHOVAH, bless LORD JEHOVAH! Praise him and exalt him for eternity! 60 All of the mighty works of LORD JEHOVAH, bless LORD JEHOVAH! Praise him and exalt him for eternity! 61 The waters that are above the heavens, bless LORD JEHOVAH! Praise him and exalt him for eternity! All worshipers of LORD JEHOVAH, bless LORD JEHOVAH! Praise him and exalt him for eternity! 62 Sun and moon, bless LORD JEHOVAH! Praise him and exalt him for eternity! 63 All stars that are in the heavens, bless LORD JEHOVAH! Praise him and exalt him for eternity! 64 Rain and dew, bless LORD JEHOVAH! Praise him and exalt him for eternity! 65 Waters and wind, bless LORD JEHOVAH! Praise him and exalt him for eternity! 66 Fire and heat, bless LORD JEHOVAH! Praise him and exalt him for eternity! All the souls of the righteous ones are blessing LORD JEHOVAH! Praise him and exalt him for eternity! 67 Night and day, bless LORD JEHOVAH! Praise him and exalt him for eternity! 68 Light and darkness, bless LORD JEHOVAH! Praise him and exalt him for eternity! 69 Intense cold and heat, bless LORD JEHOVAH! Praise him and exalt him for eternity! 70 Summer and winter, bless LORD JEHOVAH! Praise him and exalt him for eternity! 71 Snow and ice, bless LORD JEHOVAH! Praise him and exalt him for eternity! 72 Lightnings and clouds, bless LORD JEHOVAH! Praise him and exalt him for eternity! 73 Earth of LORD JEHOVAH, bless LORD JEHOVAH! Praise him and exalt him for eternity! 74 Mountains and hills, bless LORD JEHOVAH! Praise him and exalt him for eternity! 75 All green plants of the Earth, bless LORD JEHOVAH! Praise him and exalt him for eternity! 76 Everything that grows on Earth, bless LORD JEHOVAH! Praise him and exalt him for eternity! 77 Seas and rivers, bless LORD JEHOVAH! Praise him and exalt him for eternity! 78 Wells and all fountains, bless LORD JEHOVAH! Praise him and exalt him for eternity! 79 Fish and everything that swims in water, bless LORD JEHOVAH! Praise him and exalt him for eternity! 80 Every bird of heaven, bless LORD JEHOVAH! Praise him and exalt him for eternity! 81 Every animal and domestic beast of cattle, bless LORD JEHOVAH! Praise him and exalt him for eternity! 82 Everything that creeps on the Earth, bless LORD JEHOVAH! Praise him and exalt him for eternity! 83 All children of men, bless LORD JEHOVAH! Praise him and exalt him for eternity! 84 All of the house of Israel, bless LORD JEHOVAH! Praise him and exalt him for eternity! 85 All Priests of LORD JEHOVAH, bless LORD JEHOVAH! Praise him and exalt him for eternity! 86 All Servants of LORD JEHOVAH, bless LORD JEHOVAH! Praise him and exalt him for eternity! 87 All souls and spirits of the righteous ones, bless LORD JEHOVAH! Praise him and exalt him for eternity! 88 Perfect ones and lowly of heart, bless LORD JEHOVAH! Praise him and exalt him for eternity! 89 All witnesses of LORD JEHOVAH, bless LORD JEHOVAH! Praise him and exalt him for eternity! 90 KhananYah and Azraya and Mishail, bless LORD JEHOVAH! Praise him and exalt him for eternity, because he has delivered us from death, and from the hands of Sheol he gave us life, and he saved us from the flames of burning, and from the midst of fire he redeemed us! 91 Give thanks to LORD JEHOVAH, for he is sweet, and his grace is to eternity! Praise him and exalt him for eternity! 92 All worshipers of God, bless The God of Gods! Praise him and exalt him for eternity! Give thanks to LORD JEHOVAH, for he is good, and his grace is to eternity!
Now, we are not going to deeply dissect this non-canonical insertion, but are you not amazed at the attitude of these three young men portrayed in it? In the midst of this “fiery trial of the highest order” they are praising God in the extreme! Furthermore, they are confessing the sins of their nation and asking for the mercy of God on their people, the Jews.
Another interesting detail in this version of Scripture is that, like the canonical Hebrew Scriptures, a “fourth man” is seen, present in the midst of the furnace. This version calls him “the Angel of Lord Jehovah”, which would indicate that this is a pre-incarnate appearance of Yeshua. And, again, in this less-well-known depiction, what does this Angel of Jehovah do? Verse 50 here says: “And he made as a wind of dew in the middle of the furnace, and the fire did not touch them, not even a little, and it did not displease them and did not afflict them.”
I’m finding it hard to envision how this would have worked, but we know the three men were supernaturally delivered, nonetheless. Jews do not recognize the supernatural being in the furnace as a manifestation of the Divine, Majestic Mystery, the one true Elohim. The more Jewish translations refer to the personage as an angel, or messenger, and the prevailing opinion in Judaism is that it was the angel Gabriel.
Allright now, let’s go back and look at where we left off in the more well-known and actually canonical versions of this story. In your bibles, look at verses 24-27. I’m back in the Peshitta Holy Bible Translated version.
24Then Nebukadnetsar the King was sorry and stood in great fear, and answered and said to his Nobles: “Was it not three men we cast tied up in the burning furnace of fire?” They answered and they were saying to the King: “Yes, in truth, oh King!” 25The King answered and said: “Behold, I see four men loose and walking within the fire, and they have no pain, and the appearance of the fourth is like to a son of the gods!” Concerning verse 24, it was very interesting to look at the adjectives ascribed to Nebuchadnezzar. Across several versions, here are the various adjectives used in English translations, in verse 24: amazed, astonished, astounded, bewildered, sorry, fearful, alarmed, wondering, startled. After which he arose hastily to speak to his noblemen.
Nebuchadnezzar realized he was witnessing a miracle that defied the forces of nature. Much discussion appears in the commentaries addressing how he saw into the furnace. Many prevailing opinions are that this furnace was built down into the ground. Notice that the earlier verse says the three men “fell into” the kiln, supposedly because those men accompanying them were struck dead by the heat and released their hold on them. So, how did Nebuchadnezzar manage to see into it without harm?
Some commentators theorize he WAS burned in some respect by the heat. Others say this was part of the miracle, that as the supernatural process began to be initiated by the power of God, he was able to approach and see what was happening. The Jewish sages also offer various legends as to how God brought about this miracle. I won’t go into it here, but it involves “the angel of hail” offering to go cool down the fire with hail, followed by Gabriel, believed to be the heavenly prince of fire offering to cool the kiln down from the inside, etc. It’s commentary, not Scripture. Regardless, the miracle was accomplished in a way that it could not be merely attributed to an act of nature.
The three became four. Being able to count correctly, yet not believing his eyes, Nebuchadnezzar questioned his men about what they had done. Had they found a fourth man somewhere and just decided to add him to the mix? Well, no, that was not a reasonable explanation.
Nebuchadnezzar referred to the fourth personage as “a son of the gods” - - The sages say that Nebuchadnezzar was one of the few survivors when Sennacherib’s army was miraculously wiped out, as recorded in Isaiah 37. This was one of the “appearances” of the Malakh Yahweh we studied in our Yeshua in the Tanakh series, earlier this year. The sages surmise, then, that it is because Neb had seen this divine personage before that he was able to recognize him in this scene.
Remember that Neb is not yet converted. He DOES recognize that there is sort of a divine majesty about the personage, although he does not express it accurately. And, even when he IS converted, he wavers back and forth, as we will see in chapter 4.
The Aramaic word here is “elohan”, plural, mighty ones. So, since he is yet unconverted, he can only ascribe this miracle to the gods that he knows. And , since he is unwilling to risk their judgment, he set the 3 men free, much as he would have done had he realized the identity of the fourth man as being the pre-incarnate Yeshua, the son of the living Elah (God.)
However, he did recognize S, M and A’s god as “the most high Elah”, even though he has not yet dismissed the other false, Babylonian gods. “Blessed be the most high Elah”....who has sent his “Messenger”.
.....cut into pieces. So, here, Neb has allowed worship of this Elah, and prohibited religious persecution of Yahweh’s followers.
....no other god who could deliver....he’s getting closer, but not yet “there”.
26Then King Nebukadnetsar came to the door of the burning furnace of fire and answered and said” “Shadrak, Mishak and Abednego, Servants of The Most High God, get out! Come!” Then Shadrak, Mishak and Abednego went out from within the furnace of fire 27And all the people and the Generals of the armies and the Rulers and the Lords and the Princes of the King were assembled, and they were beholding those men over whose bodies fire had no power, and the hair of their heads was not singed, and their wide trousers were not burned, and the odor of fire had not come upon them.
Notice that Nebuchadnezzar did not summon forth the 4th Man....He was probably terrified and wanted no contact with this divine being. This is just me being my carnal self, but wouldn’t you have been tempted to tell Nebuchadnezzar to “come in and get us”, when he commanded them to come out? Fortunately, they were more spiritually mature than I, and out they came, at the king’s command.
The only thing the fire touched was the bindings that bound them, which explains how they were walking around in the furnace with that fourth “Man”. If you have ever worked in an environment where fire was present, you have come home after work “smelling like fire”. Firemen, restaurant cooks, utility workers, etc. The “smell of smoke” lingers. The Scriptures are careful to point out that over these men the fire had no power, not because of THEM, but because of HIM! Not even a smell of smoke.
Why do you think God did not prevent these three heroes of faith from ever being thrust into the fiery furnace? I can think of several reasons.
The first one is that God wanted to show Himself mighty, to make His name glorious through these events. He especially wanted to show Himself as the absolute ruler, to the self-important King Nebuchadnezzar.
The second is that God wanted to even further strengthen the great faith of Shadrach, Meshach and Abedneggo. It is when we are put through the fiery trials of life that our faith is proven, strengthened, purified - - as a precious metal is made pure in the hot fires of the forge. The dross, the impurities are burned off, leaving only the beautiful, precious, pure metal in the ashes. While these three heroes had great faith before this incident, afterwards we can be sure they had “furnace-level” faith! They were delivered as they walked THROUGH the fire.
28Nebukadnetsar the King answered and said: “Blessed is the God of Shadrak, Mishak and Abednego, who sent his Angel and delivered his Servants who trusted upon him, and they rejected the word of the King and they gave their bodies that they would not fall down and they would not worship any god, but only their God! 29And thus I command that all the nations and peoples and languages that will blaspheme against the God of Shadrak, Mishak and Abednego shall be cut apart, limb from limb, and their households shall be plundered, because there is not another god who can deliver in this way!” 30Then the King exalted Shadrak, Mishak and Abednego over the province of Babel
The word translated “trusted” from the Aramaic is an Aramaic word that occurs nowhere else in Scripture. It means to lave, as in a laver, or to bathe. The trust in God the three Hebrew Heroes possessed was born out of having bathed themselves in fellowship with God, in fostering that intimate relationship with Him, on a regular basis. They avoided getting burned because of how often they had “bathed” in God’s presence. These final verses of chapter 3 are the last mention we have in Scripture of these three amazing men. My, didn’t they finish strong? May we do the same, with our mighty Yahweh getting all the fame and glory for all He does through us!
As for Nebuchadnezzar, he still was not willing to acknowledge the exclusivity of the Hebrew God, to subject himself to Him. His words in verse 29 were simply a declaration recognizing the great faith of Shadrach, Meshach and Abedneggo, AND an acknowledgement of their God’s power. There was no bending of the knee from Neb. Amusingly, he instead stated that HE would protect the God of the three Hebrew Heroes! As if ...
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