#abednego

[artandthebible]

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego

Artist: Simeon Solomon (British, 1840-1905)

Date: 1863

Medium: Watercolour Heightened With White And Gum Arabic

Who Were Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego?

The first time we read about these young men, we meet King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon who besieged Jerusalem. He immediately started to take notice of the people living in his new territory: “Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring into the king’s service some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility—young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace” (Daniel 1:3–4). Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, along with Daniel, were selected as meeting that criteria.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were eventually appointed “administrators over the province of Babylon, while Daniel himself remained at the royal court” (Daniel 2:49). It didn’t take long for these young men to be tested. King Nebuchadnezzar set up a golden idol and commanded everyone to bow down to it (Daniel 3:1–5). The dire consequences of not obeying this command were that the violator would “immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace” (Daniel 3:6). The time had come for these three young men to choose whom they were going to obey: King Nebuchadnezzar or the One True God.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow to the golden image. When questioned as to why they had failed to comply with the king’s order, they replied, “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, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. 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). The die had been cast. A furious Nebuchadnezzar immediately ordered the three young men to be thrown into the fiery furnace and, as an added measure of wrath, for it to be heated “seven times hotter than usual” (Daniel 3:20). The king wanted to make a public example of how disobedience would be dealt with under his reign.

When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into the furnace, the king expected to see a quick and painful death for these young men. But he was stunned to see them walking around in the furnace, unharmed—and someone else was in the furnace with them: “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods” (Daniel 3:25). The king, although antagonistic toward the God of Israel, immediately recognized the supernatural nature of miracle before him. Nebuchadnezzar called the three Hebrew men out of the furnace, praised their God, and honored them, declaring, “No other god can save in this way” (Daniel 3:29).

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

The King's Statue

1 King Nebuchadnezzar caused his workers to make a gold statue. It was 30 metres high and 3 metres wide. He built it on the flat land called Dura, in the Babylon region. 2 Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent a message to all his government officers. He told them to meet together in the place where the statue was. He wanted them to see that he had built a great statue. 3 So all the officers came. Those were the rulers, the judges, the wise people, and all the leaders in the different regions of the Babylon nation. They all came together to give honour to the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had built.

4 Then an officer shouted aloud, ‘Listen to me, you people from every country and nation, who speak different languages! The king makes this command: 5 Listen for the sound of music from trumpets, flutes, lyres, harps or any other kind of music. When you hear the music, you must bend down low towards the ground. You must worship the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has built. 6 The king will punish anyone who does not do that. His soldiers will throw them immediately into a very hot fire.’

7 So, when all the people heard the different kinds of music, they obeyed. The people from every country and nation, who spoke different languages all bent down low. They worshipped the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had built.

8 Then some wise men went to the king. They told him bad things against the Jews. 9 They said to the king, ‘King, live for ever! 10 You made a rule. You said that everyone must listen for the sound of the special music. When they hear it, they must bend down and they must worship the gold statue. 11 You said that you would punish everyone who does not obey you. You said you would throw them into the middle of a very hot fire. 12 But there are some Jewish men who do not obey you. They are Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. You gave them authority to take care of everything in Babylon region. Those men do not respect your authority. They do not give honour to your gods. They do not worship your gold statue.’

13 When King Nebuchadnezzar heard this, he was very angry. He told his servants to bring Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to him. So they brought those men to stand in front of the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar said to them, ‘Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, is it true that you do not give honour to my gods? And you do not worship the gold statue that I have built? 15 Next time you hear the sound of the special music, you must obey my rule. You must bend down and you must worship the statue that I have built. If you do not worship the statue, my servants will throw you immediately into the middle of a very hot fire. There is no god who can save you from my power.’

16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego answered the king, ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to say anything to show you that we are not guilty. 17 We serve a great God. If you throw us into the very hot fire, he is able to keep us safe. Yes, sir, he will keep us safe from your power too. 18 But even if he does not save us, we still would not serve your gods. And we will not worship the gold statue that you have built. We want you to understand that very clearly, sir.’

The King punishes Daniel's three friends

19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was even more angry with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. His face became red. He said to his servants, ‘Make the fire in the oven seven times hotter than usual.’ 20 He told the strongest men in his army, ‘Tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Then throw them into the very hot fire!’

21 So the soldiers tied up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego with ropes. They were still wearing their coats, their hats and their other clothes when the soldiers took hold of them. The soldiers threw them into the middle of the hot fire with all their clothes on. 22 The soldiers needed to obey the king in a hurry. The fire was very hot. As a result, flames from the fire killed the men who threw Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego into it. 23 So the three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, fell into the middle of the hot fire. The ropes still held them very strongly.

24 What King Nebuchadnezzar saw next surprised him very much. He jumped up and he shouted to his officers, ‘We tied up three men and we threw them into the fire. Isn't that right?’ The officers answered the king, ‘Yes, sir, we certainly did that.’ 25 The king said, ‘But I see four men walking about in the fire! No ropes are holding them and the fire has not hurt them. The fourth man seems like a son of the gods.’

26 King Nebuchadnezzar went near to the door of the oven where the very hot fire was. He shouted aloud to the men inside, ‘Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, I see that you are servants of the powerful God who rules over everything. Now come out here!’

So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire. 27 Then the king's officers, his wise men and the government rulers and leaders came near to the three men. They saw that the fire had not hurt Shadrach, Meshach or Abednego. The fire had not even burnt their hair or their clothes. They did not even have any smell from the fire.

Nebuchadnezzar's new command

28 Then King Nebuchadnezzar said, ‘Praise the God that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego serve! He sent his angel to keep his servants safe. They continued to trust in their God. So they did not obey the command that I had made as king. They would not agree to serve any other god except their own God. They would rather have died than worship any other god. 29 No other god can save people like their God has done for them. So I make a command for the people of every nation who speak any language. They must never say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. If anyone does that, my soldiers will cut them into pieces. They will knock down those people's houses so that they become heaps of stones.’

30 Then the king gave more authority to Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to rule in the region of Babylon. — Daniel 3 | EasyEnglish Bible (EASY) EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 - Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. All rights reserved. Cross References: Exodus 5:2; Exodus 12:33; Deuteronomy 4:20; 1 Kings 1:31; 1 Kings 12:28; 2 Kings 10:27; 2 Chronicles 22:4; Ezra 4:12; Esther 3:12; Esther 7:7; Psalm 91:3; Isaiah 46:1; Jeremiah 29:22; Daniel 1:7; Daniel 2:12; Daniel 2:46; Daniel 6:1; Matthew 13:42; Acts 5:19; 2 Corinthians 1:10; Hebrews 11:25; Hebrews 11:34; Revelation 5:9; Revelation 13:15

[ondreus]

Daniel 3:19 (NIV) Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual. #nebuchadnezzar #shadrach #meshach #abednego #bible (na mieste Slovakia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CoYcDatqOdJ/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[anokha-swad]

[kdmiller55]

God Doesn’t Need Man’s Help

19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated. 20 And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21 Then these men were bound in their cloaks, their…

[peaceandnature]

I wanna be like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego

And walk right into the fire

If only I could know the truth in love

Then I would be so bold

Melt my idol of gold

I wanna be like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego

And see the fourth man in the fire

And if he is everything that I hope

Then I would be so bold

Melt my idol of gold

I wanna be like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego

And walk right out of the fire

No burn upon my skin

Or on my clothes

Then I would be so bold

Melt my idol of gold

I would be so bold

Melt my idol of gold

[bojackson54]

Victory Is Not the Only Thing That Makes You Victorious

This amazing story in Daniel illustrates vividly that temporal outcomes are not everything. It’s one of those made-for-VBS stories that resonates with the courage and faith of Israelites who had been taken prisoner and carried off when Babylon conquered Israel in 586 BC. While they were captive in Babylon, three of Daniel’s friends were condemned to death. The King pronounced their sentence, and…

[ironmanstrength]

Another One in the Fire

How has your week been? If you’re like me, you are in the middle of the storm and working hard just to keep the ship going straight. Does that sound familiar? I was reminded of something earlier that I think may be of some strength to you if you are in that storm I mentioned. I also feel compelled to write this directly to those of you who need to hear this today. You know who you are. Do you…

[globalgospel17]

CLICK & LISTEN!

[livechristcentered]

A Radical Persecuted Church

Learning from the Persecuted Church Christian persecution is one of the biggest human rights conflicts of our time. Not only our time, but the first century church as well. Millions of Christians living all over the world are experiencing high levels of persecution. There is a lot to learn from those who boldly witness and testify for Christ no matter the cost to themselves. Radical Faith Many…

[soundlessdragon]

What is Ned short for?

[dangerradio]

the party!

[parksrway]

being in a church feels like a horror game because you'll literally see children's drawings of people burning alive

[aroacemenace]

It's missing pertisia hours💔 no joke, ikenfell is one of the best (in my opinion) and queerest games I've ever played

Pertisia abednego, I love you forever

Plus bonus Pertisia/Maritte doodle (I haven't seen any ship name for them)

[kdmiller55]

Who Is the God Who Will Deliver You?

8 Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and maliciously accused the Jews. 9 They declared to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! 10 You, O king, have made a decree, that every man who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image. 11 And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be…

[former-ly-darth]

I don’t know if you guys knew this but Maul loves the Beastie boys

And Shadrach is one of his favorite songs

Him, Feral, and Savage all know most of the Beastie Boys songs lyric for lyric and jam out together whenever they are flying around, causing mayhem. They installed a custom speaker system into Maul’s ship so they could turn up the base and rock out whenever the mandos aren’t around