Daniel Chapter 3 gives a little clue on the timeline when the incident happened. Nebuchadnezzar after listening to the interpretation of Daniel in Chapter 2 decided to set up a golden statue, which is 90 feet tall and 9 feet wide. Though Nebuchadnezzar gave all the glory to the Great God, he had considered the God Daniel as one of the many Gods he already believed.
We have little clue where the plain of Dura is right now, where Nebuchadnezzar assembled his officials to dedicate the image. We do not know what kind of image it is. Chapter 3 verse 18 says the image could be a form of another God.
Whenever the music was played in the plains of Dura all the people from different nation and language were ordered to fall and worship the statue of king Nebuchadnezzar. Everybody did as they were told except Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. The act of disobedience of not bowing down to the golden statue, in this case, is equivalent to disloyalty to the king. The kings like Nebuchadnezzar do not forgive disloyal people.
The young Jewish men were called to the court of the king. In the case of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, the king was willing to give them one more chance to correct their mistake. But the Jewish boys were firm on their stand and willing to go to furnace independent of whether their life will be saved or not. How come they had such a strong belief in God even after their nation was torn brutally apart by the same king they are interacting with? Is it purely based on the confidence how Daniel could interpret the king’s dream? The answer lies in the strong understanding, knowledge, and realization of their history, prophesy, promises and convent God has established.
The firm stand of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego made the king so angry. He ordered the furnace to be heated seven times. Is it technically possible to heat the furnace seven times in the 6th century and measure the heat of the furnace? The answer could be no. But the intention of the king was to heat the furnace quickly to high temperature as much possible. The words of the king showed the intensity of his anger. The number seven also depicts the completeness in the bible. So it could also mean the furnace was heated to the brim of its capacity.
The strongest soldiers who were called to tie and throw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the furnace could not withstand the heat since the heat of the furnace was raised uncontrollably to fulfill the king’s order. Normally the brick furnace will not have any window to view what happens inside. Since Nebuchadnezzar was able to see inside the furnace, it could be a specifically created for punishment or for any other purpose which involves adjusting or checking the shape of the output while the artifact being made is still inside the furnace.
Nebuchadnezzar could not believe what he saw next. He saw four people inside furnace walking around. He turned back and confirms with his counselors how many were thrown inside the furnace. But there were four in the furnace against three and all of them were alive and walking around. The appearance of the fourth one according to Nebuchadnezzar was like “Sons of Gods”. The plural statement of “Gods” explains his pantheistic belief though he kept confessing about God of Daniel in Chapter 2. In truth, God’s presence was with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. God never let go those who believe and trust in him.
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