I’m reading through the book of Daniel and have reached the point just after Daniel first interprets a dream for the king. As a result of this Daniel and his 3 friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, are promoted in the kingdom.

After this we are told that the King erects a huge gold statue of himself. He sent out a command that all people must worship the statue wherever they hear the sounds of the call to worship. At the time there were astrologers in Babylon who didn’t love the Jews. They decided to report to the king that 3 of the Jewish governors, Daniels friends, were refusing to bow down to the statue. I’ll let the next verses describe what happened next.

Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”

The options are clear for the guys. Either bow down and live, or refuse and die. I wonder what we would have chosen? The guys response, which is so well known if you’ve read the scriptures, is staggering!

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “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 3:13-18

That level of obedience, trust, faith and steadfastness is remarkable. It inspires me to even deeper trust in Jesus. I just love how Gods word points us back to Him over and over again