Lesson 5 - July First Week
THE LIVES OF THE THREE HEBREW BOYS –
SHADRACK, MESHACH, AND ABEDNEGO
Background Reading:
Exodus 20:4; Daniel 1:6-7, 2:49, 3:24-25; Matthew 4:10, 5:11-12; 2 Timothy 3:12
Devotional Reading:
Daniel 3:1-11
Central Verse:
“If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of thine hand, O King.”
Daniel 3:17 KJV
“If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty.”
Daniel 3:17 NLT
Key Terms:
Fiery– Being on fire; burning very brightly and intensely.
Bow– To bend the head, body, or knee in reverence, submission, or shame; to incline the head or body in salutation or assent or to acknowledge applause.
Image– A visual representation of something; an exact likeness.
Disciplined– Marked by or possessing control gained by enforcing obedience or order.
Introduction:
The Jewish nation has always been taught to give praise and honor to God all the time. They were taught to never allow any gods to come before the true and living God. They were taught that, if they could not make it to the temple in Jerusalem to just look toward Jerusalem and continue to lift their voices in prayer to the Father.
At this time in history Jerusalem was invaded and many of the Jews were taken into captivity to Babylon. The Prophet had prophesied that they would be in bondage for at least 70 years. Among the captives were several young men including Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Because of their faithfulness to God and godly principles, they had been promoted by King Nebuchadnezzar within the Kingdom of Babylon over Babylonian affairs. Believers throughout the ages have been taught that they must never worship nor to give praise to any other gods except the God of Heaven, nor to give honor to idols made by men.
Discussion:
Because of jealousy, some of the men of Babylon were not happy about the promotion that the three Hebrew boys had received, so they sought to bring in confusion. They convinced the King to have a statue built in his honor. King Nebuchadnezzar had a huge golden image made that was 90 feet high and 9 feet wide. It was as tall as some buildings. He ordered all leaders to his dedication and commanded them to bow in worship to the image or be thrown into a fiery furnace.
When the music started, everyone bowed except Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. It was noticeable. Can you imagine every leader in the province bowing except these three Jewish young men, the ones the King had promoted? Though they were captives in Babylon, they knew the one true God who made Heaven and Earth. The one who made every man, woman, boy, and girl. They were God’s children and they worshipped Him alone and could never bow to this statue.
Today’s world will try to pressure people to change their beliefs. Society will try to influence young people to do things that they know are against the will of God and the teaching of the Bible. That’s why it is so important to be taught the truths of Scripture. Train a child in the way that they should go and when they are old, they shall not depart from their training (Proverbs 22:6).
It is the responsibility of the parents to create a God-centered home. To build an unshakable legacy of faith and raise their children so that they can stand firm in their beliefs. The youth must be taught that God has a purpose and a plan for each of their lives and wherever their paths lead, God will be with them.
So, the three Hebrew boys refused to bow, and this angered the King. In his anger, he offered the young men one more opportunity to worship the idol or be destroyed in the fiery furnace. The angry king asked them, “Who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?” (Daniel 3:15). He was so convinced that he was the greatest power that he boasted, challenging their belief in the power of God. It took a lot of courage to stand for God in that situation. Standing for God is sometimes hard and may bring persecution or suffering. But when a believer knows the Lord Jesus as his Lord and Savior, he can receive courage from God to stand for Him, no matter what the consequences may be.
There may be times when believers might have to speak up for what God’s Word says, when others are speaking against the Word. They may have to make decisions on their jobs or in their schools that may be received the wrong way. God promises to stand with every believer against wrongdoing. The three young men in Babylon did not know whether God would save them from death or through death, but they were depending on God to give them courage to stand for Him, as it says in Ephesians 6:13.
When a believer is going through suffering, they must take heart and know that God walks with them through the darkest valley and gives them His comfort. He knows what they are experiencing and promises great gain and future glory when they suffer. When God allows the believer to go through an assignment, they can trust God to give them the faith and the strength to complete that which He has promised them. God is a promise-keeper, and He will stay true to His promise.
When the three young men calmly refused to bow, the enraged king ordered them to be bound and thrown into the furnace that had been heated seven times hotter than it normally would be. It was so hot that some of his own men were injured when they threw the boys into the furnace, bound with their clothes on.
Conclusion:
King Nebuchadnezzar looked into the furnace and was amazed to see not three, but four men, walking in the fire. He asked his counselors if they threw in three men, why he saw four, and he remarked that the fourth one looked like the Son of God. He looked like a supernatural being. It may have been Jesus, Himself, or it may have been an angel; we really don’t know. “The angel of the Lord encamped round about them that fear Him, and delivered them” (Psalm 34:8). But we do know that Nebuchadnezzar saw the form of another man with the three that he had thrown in the furnace.
When the King called the three men to come out of the furnace and saw that their bodies and their clothes were completely untouched by the fire, he acknowledged their God as the highest. So, because of the courageous stand of the three Hebrew boys, the King declared that everyone should honor the one, true God–the God of the heavens, the God who delivered them out of the fiery furnace.
Questions:
1. How did these three young men happen to be there with Nebuchadnezzar?
2. Why was the huge golden statue built?
3. Why did Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse to bow to the image?
4. What was the punishment for not bowing?
5. How did the three Hebrew boys escape the fire?
6. Why did Nebuchadnezzar declare that everyone should honor God?
Essential Thought:
When Jesus is with the believer,
fire can’t burn them and water can’t drown them.