Daniel – Daniel 3

The Story in a Nutshell

One day Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylonia, made a huge gold statue and set it up for everyone to see.  Then he sent invitations to important dignitaries and officials to attend the dedication of the statue.  When all arrived, a command was made to all peoples and all nations.  “When you hear the sound of the musical instruments bow to the ground and worship King Nebuchadnezzar’s statue.”  Anyone refusing to bow down would be immediately thrown into a blazing furnace.  So at the sound of the instruments everyone bowed down to worship the statue except three Jews – Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (they were Jews put in charge of the province of Babylon). This made Nebuchadnezzar very angry.  He gave them one more chance to bow down, but they refused.  They said, “Even if you throw us into a furnace, our God whom we serve is able to save us.  And even if he doesn’t we will not worship your gold statue.”  So the furnace was heated up seven times hotter and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown in.  Nebuchadnezzar watched and was amazed.  The men weren’t burned by the flames and there was even a fourth man walking around with them in the furnace.  Who was the fourth man?  Nebuchadnezzar called Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego out of the furnace and made a decree. “If anyone speaks a word against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they will be torn from limb to limb and their house will be crushed.  There is no other god that can rescue like this.”  And Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were promoted to even higher positions in the province of Babylon.

Review Questions

Who was Nebuchadnezzar?

What did he do one day?

When ordered to bow to the statue, what did Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego do?

What did the king do when the three men refused to bow to the statue?

What happened when the three were thrown into the furnace?

Who was the fourth person in the furnace?

What two things did the king do after Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the furnace?

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