Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were taken from their homeland as the Lord delivered the king of Judah into the hands of King Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 1:1, 1:3-4). These young men were specifically chosen to prepare to enter the king’s service by learning the language and literature of the Babylonians (Daniel 1:4-5). I can imagine their shock as they entered a new Babylonian culture and how they may have worried about the dire situation in Jerusalem. It seems likely that King Nebuchadnezzar saw these young men as investments in his kingdom and wanted them to have the very best of everything, because during their training, the king included provisions of food and wine from the his own table.  “But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with royal food and wine…” (Daniel 1:8) and in the following verses we see how Daniel and his friends “looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food” (Daniel 1:15). I have no doubt Daniel had already considered the negative implications of appearing ungrateful to the king, being a captive and declining the gift of his delicacies. Yet Daniel stood his ground, and the Lord blessed him and his friends with knowledge and understanding (Daniel 1:17). In fact, the king found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom (Daniel 1:20). Daniel had an opportunity to explain the king’s puzzling dream in Daniel 2, and Daniel praised the Lord for giving him the interpretation, humbly giving God all of the credit as he faced the king.

In Daniel 3, King Nebuchadnezzar made a golden image and placed the 90 ft. tall image of gold in the plain of Dura, for all to see (Daniel 3:1). “Then the herald loudly proclaimed, “Nations and peoples of every language, this is what you are commanded to do: as soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, 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” (Daniel 3:5-6).  When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were observed not obeying his command (Daniel 3:12), Nebuchadnezzar became furious (Daniel 3:13). The king offered them another chance to bow down before the image (3:15), and their shocking response was: “King 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 deliver us from it… but even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up” (Daniel 3:16-18).  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not apologize for refusing to bow down to the golden image, despite the threat of being thrown into a fiery furnace. God kept them safe, even though the king “ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual” (Daniel 3:19).  When the king saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, or even singed their hair or clothing (Daniel 3:27), King Nebuchadnezzar praised God for rescuing the faithful men (Daniel 3:28).

I wish I had been able to meet Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in person. I try to visualize Daniel with his friends in a foreign land, and my heart pounds as I imagine raising my hand to deny the king’s delicacies as Daniel did, to purpose in my own heart that I would not defile myself, even if there were dire consequences. I imagine pushing past fear and openly refusing to obey the king’s command to worship his golden image as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did, even if God did not spare me from the king’s wrath and the burning fiery furnace. In both situations, I believe that these souls loved and trusted the Lord enough that they felt peace with any earthly outcome, positive or negative, hoping instead for eternal life with our God.

The precious faith of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego prompts me to examine my own relationship with God. May we purpose in our hearts to live with the courage and fearlessness Daniel and his friends have shown us, standing up and standing tall for the Lord in every situation, no matter the consequence.