(Kent Heaton)

Their lives had not been the same for some time as they struggled to adjust to a new land. The language was the tongue of a foreign land and the customs were rooted in the idolatrous worship of man-made images. Gone were the days of the Hebrew language and customs of the children of Abraham. They were captives in Babylon as God had delivered the nation of Israel into bondage. Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah were living in a world filled with ungodly morals and actions.

Their companion Daniel had been a great source of encouragement to them as they made the transition to their new life. It had a difficult beginning as they stood against defiling themselves with the king's delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank. God had blessed these young men to find victory in their stand for purity and holiness to the cause of the Lord. This test would establish the course of devotion later on in their lives to a degree they could not have envisioned.

The second great test of their faith came when Nebuchadnezzar had a dream and demanded his wise men tell him the dream and its interpretation. When they failed to tell him his dream, the king set out to kill all the wise men. Having heard of the proclamation, Daniel interceded and with his three friends, prayed to God for the answer to the Kings request. God granted that request and Daniel told King Nebuchadnezzar the dream and its meaning. As a result, Daniel was "promoted and made ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon. Also Daniel petitioned the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel sat in the gate of the king." (Daniel 2:48,49)

What a wonderful turn of events for these four young men. The tragedy of being taken away from their home in Canaan and the difficult adjustment in this heathen world had improved as they had the opportunity of leadership. Evidenced by their character in the book of Daniel, these young men would be able to show the power of God living in their lives to all those around them. With the position of leadership, the principles that guided them all their lives would be used to carry on the affairs of state. And then the king made an image.

The king of Babylon - Nebuchadnezzar - had made an image of gold ninety feet high and nine feet wide. The making of the image was not unusual in this day and time. The worship of idols was common in Babylon. But this image was different and so was the decree that went forth. "And King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to gather together the satraps, the administrators, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up." (Daniel 3:2) Included in these high officials were three young men from Canaan who were over the affairs of the province of Babylon.

The dedication of this new image was a grand affair with every important official in attendance. These were the people that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego worked along side and conducted the affairs of state with each day. Some may have been friends or companions in the work of government. Others were people that were important to know to carry out the business of overseeing the land and its people.

To rub shoulders with these people was to understand the importance of doing a good job and being able to carry out policies of state. They also recognized the King had the ear of many of these people and would know all that happened on this day. Before them stood this giant image of some description made of gold. It was a very beautiful work of art, shaped by mans hand. The artistry was very specific as the king would expect no less for this special image. He had been very insistent about its design and the image itself. The image bore the mark of the king's approval and great pleasure.

Then a herald cried aloud: "To you it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages." These words settled in the ears of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego with anticipation of what was to come. This was not going to be an ordinary day. The king had made a decree that was prefaced by a command. When the king gave a command, there was no discussion about what it meant apart from how soon to obey. What was coming next came from the hand of the king himself.

"At the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, you shall fall down and worship the gold image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up." The words stunned the ears of the three young men. There they stood before this great image with all the hosts of officials surrounding them and a command had come from the king to fall down and worship this gold image. The herald further cried out, "And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace."

The fiery furnace was a common fixture in the land of Babylon. When the king meted out punishment, it was swift and it was sure. The Babylonians used fire as capital punishment as the Medes and Persians used animals (lions - Daniel 6) to carry out their policies of punishment. The smoke of the furnace was a horrific sight coupled with the fear of being cast into such a burning inferno. The cries of those punished in the fiery furnace would stay in a mans mind for a long time.

Three men stood before an image of gold awaiting the music to begin. Their eyes looked at each other for the decision that must be made. The musicians took their instruments to ready to begin playing and the first strands of sound began to echo throughout the place of dedication. It grew in volume and intensity as the horn blew along with the flute. The harp played its haunting sound with the lyre and the psaltery. A symphony of great music began to swell with grandeur as the moment of great dedication washed across the crowd.

One by one, each head bowed and fell prostrate on the ground before this great image. One by one - all around three young men - people began to stretch forth their hands toward the great image of gold and bow in reverence to the kings command. Whatever the crowd thought of the image was no match to the reality of the burning fiery furnace and the consequences of not bowing before the image made by King Nebuchadnezzar. As the music built to a final and exploding crescendo the mass of humanity could be seen spread forth before the image in worshipful obedience - except three young men.

As Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego stood that day before a great image and saw everyone around them bowing their heads and falling prostrate before it, their minds bowed in humble reverence - not to an image of gold - but to an image of the eternal God. The penalty of being burned alive was a horrible thing to consider. Worse yet was the penalty of being burned in an eternal flame that would never die.

The consideration of the two fires was important to them. They knew the first commandments given to the children of Israel at the mountain: "You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself any carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them." (Exodus 20:3-5a) To bow down with everyone else would seal their souls to be lost. They believed in the overpowering protection of God to deliver them. Regardless of the outcome, they would serve God.

It must have been a sight for all these people to be bowing down - in fear of the kings command - and out of the corner of their eye they see three men still standing. "Are they deaf? Have they not heard the kings command? Is the music not playing?" How out of place Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego felt as the wave of people bowed at once and they remained standing. They stood out in the sea of people as foolish but before God they stood as giants.

As Daniel 3 tells the story, they did get in trouble with the king and were cast into the furnace (made seven times hotter than usual). God delivered them unharmed from the fire and a great example of faith and devotion was given to all men. When the music played in Babylon that day, three young men stood before God and proclaimed their allegiance - in the face of death.

The same music plays today many times in our lives. The majority of people will heed the music and bow before the god of this world. Only the faithful of God's people will have the courage to remain standing and defy the devil. Through the agency of man, persecution may be the lot of those who remain standing. But on that day in Babylon, three men taught us that standing for God is all that is worth standing for. The image made by Nebuchadnezzar has long perished in decay. The image worshipped by Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego remains today. What do you do when the music plays?

"Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve ... But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." (Joshua 24:15)