The fourth man in the furnace

“He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”Daniel 3:25

Reflection

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego faced a choice many people know: bend the knee before what everyone was worshiping, or stay standing and pay the price. King Nebuchadnezzar had a golden statue built and ordered everyone to bow — on pain of dying burned in a furnace. Three young Hebrews said no. And the answer they gave the king is one of the most impressive declarations of faith in the Bible: "our God is able to deliver us. BUT IF NOT, be it known unto thee that we will not serve thy gods" (Daniel 3:17-18).

Notice the "but if not". A rare faith lives there. It is easy to trust God on the condition that He does what we want — "I believe, AS LONG AS He heals me, delivers me, gives me". The faith of the three young men was higher: they believed God COULD deliver them, expected Him to, but would obey even if He chose not to. That is worshiping God for who He IS, not for what He gives. It is the difference between loving the Father and loving the Father’s gifts. And that unconditional faith is what kept them standing when everyone else knelt.

The king, enraged, ordered the furnace heated SEVEN TIMES more — so hot that the soldiers who threw them in died just from getting close. And then happens the miracle nobody expected: the king looks into the fire and sees not three, but FOUR men, walking loose, unharmed — "and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God". Note the detail that changes everything: God did not keep them from entering the furnace. He entered WITH them. The promise was never "you shall not pass through the fire"; it was "when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, for I will be with thee" (Isaiah 43:2).

Perhaps you are today in a furnace heated seven times — a trial that seems custom-made to consume you. And perhaps you prayed not to enter it, and entered anyway. Keep this: there are deliverances God works by taking us out of the fire, and there are deliverances He works INSIDE the fire, walking at our side. The three came out without the smell of smoke (v. 27), but they came out with something only the fire gives: the testimony of having seen the Son of God up close. It was in the furnace that they had the closest experience with God of their whole lives. If you are in the fire, do not look only at the flames — look for the Fourth Man. He came down to walk with you right there.

Bible text: King James Version (public domain).