#shadrack

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego

Artist: Simeon Solomon (British, 1840-1905)

Date: 1863

Medium: Watercolour heightened with white and gum arabic

Collection: Private Collection

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.

Joshua 1:9; Daniel 3:16,17; Philippians 1:28

I am reminded of that old saying, “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.” There is an element of truth in this saying. What I have observed is, courage is not a reckless abandonment without due consideration. When we see anyone rush into a burning building, it is not reckless abandonment but with quick deliberation and an understanding that…