Perhaps inspired by the vision he had seen, Nebuchadnezzar decides to build an image of gold. Verse 1 tells us that it was sixty cubits high and six cubits in width. In our terms of measurement, this would be an image that was 90 feet high and 9 feet wide. Thus, this is a very large image of gold that was erected by the king. Nebuchadnezzar gathers all of his governors and rulers to the dedication of this golden image. In verses 4-6 the command is given that at the sound of the music, all the people are to fall down and worship the gold image that has been set up. Further, anyone who does not worship will be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. Some of the Chaldeans go before the king and tell him that there are certain Jews who are over the provinces of Babylon that are not worshipping the gold image. In particular, it is the three friends of Daniel: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. The Chaldeans make the charge personal to the king by saying that they “have not paid due regard to you.” At hearing these words, the king is filled with fury and rage and calls for the three men to stand before him. Once the men are before the king, Nebuchadnezzar offers them a second chance. He is going to have the music played, and if they will worship, then everything will be fine. However, if they do not worship, they will be cast into the burning fiery furnace. The response of the three men is very impressive in verses 16-18. In verse 17 we see that the three men had faith that God would deliver them from this incident. But verse 18 is even more impressive. The men state that even if God does not deliver them, they still will not worship the image that has been set up.

This response of the men angers the king even more, so much that he orders the furnace to be heated seven times hotter than usual. Archaeology tells us that these furnaces which were used to make building stones, would easily have been able to been heated up in the range of 1000 degrees. Thus, the king had the ability to make these furnaces very hot. The king then commands the three friends of Daniel to be bound and cast into the fiery furnace. To see how hot the furnace was, we notice verse 22 that those who had bound the three friends and cast them into the furnace were killed by the fire because the furnaces were so hot. Once the three men are thrown in, Nebuchadnezzar looks and sees four people loosed and walking around in the furnace. Nebuchadnezzar is confused because he had thrown only three men into the furnace. Further, how is it that they are able to walk around in the furnace? That furnace is killing those who approach it because of its great heat, yet these men are surviving. Further, verse 25 tells us that Nebuchadnezzar saw someone like the Son of God with the three men. Nebuchadnezzar wants to find out what is going on so he orders the three men to come out of the furnace.

When the men come out, verse 27 tells us,

“they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had not power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them.”

We certainly see the true miracle of deliverance from God taking place. If you have ever been to a smoky restaurant or where there was a fire, you know that the smell of smoke clings to your clothing. Yet it did not to these men. The fire was so strong that it killed the servants who threw them into the furnace, but their hair was not even singed. Because of these men�s faith in God and their strength to not worship the golden image, God delivered them from the fiery furnace. Because of this miracle, Nebuchadnezzar decrees that no one should speak against these men and that no one should make them serve any god other than their own. Further, the men are promoted in the province of Babylon . Chapter 3 is a great lesson about what faith in the Lord can do and a call for all to be willing to give their lives for the Lord.