Daniel 3:28 - Meaning and Application

The careful examination made by the princes, governors, and other leading men, after the men came out of the furnace, helped prove the miracle beyond doubt. These officials were present at this public event, so they could not be accused of favoring the men who had stood for God. In that way, they helped make God’s power and grace even more visible. It was plain that “a notable miracle has been done,” and no one could deny it (Acts 4:16).

Now the text shows how Nebuchadnezzar responded. He praised the God of Israel as one who can protect those who worship him (Daniel 3:28). “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,” he said, giving honor to the God who had shown both faithful care and strong protection to his servants. No other nation and no other god could match either the loyalty God receives from his people or the protection he gives them. The king spoke of God with respect, and he thought all people should do the same.

This shows that God can even draw praise from those who had been eager to speak against him. Nebuchadnezzar gave God credit for his power, because God was able to protect his worshipers from the strongest and most bitter enemies. “There is no other god who can rescue in this way” (Daniel 3:29). Not even the golden image he had set up could do that. Since God can bring about rescue no other god can, he may also call for obedience no other god may require.

The king also gave God credit for his goodness, because he was willing to rescue his servants. “He sent his angel and delivered his servants” (Daniel 3:28). Bel, a Babylonian idol, could not save its worshipers from the furnace’s heat, but the God of Israel saved his servants when they were thrown into the fire for refusing to worship any other god. This also taught Nebuchadnezzar that his past victories over Israel came only because of Israel’s sin. If the nation had stayed faithful to their own God, as these three men did, they would have been delivered just as they were. That was an important lesson for the king right then.

Nebuchadnezzar also praised the faithfulness of these three men, and he described it in a way that honored them (Daniel 3:28). He did not become a true worshiper himself, because he still would not give up all other gods. He called him “the God of Shadrach,” not “my God.” Still, he admitted that they were right to hold fast to their own God and refuse to serve or worship any other. Many people are not religious themselves, yet they still admit that serious believers are right to stay faithful to their convictions. If people have given themselves to the service of the one true God, they should keep to that path, no matter the cost.

Their faithfulness was noble because they valued God’s favor and a clear conscience above their own lives. They were willing to have their bodies thrown into the fiery furnace rather than deny God or even dishonor him by giving to another what belongs to him alone. Those who choose their souls over their bodies, and would rather lose their lives than leave God, will be praised by God, even if people do not praise them. Anyone who does not think religion is worth suffering for does not yet understand its value.

They also stood in direct opposition to the king. They “changed the king’s word,” meaning they refused to obey it and so showed that his command and his threat had no rightful power over them. That forced the king to back down and change his own order. Even kings must admit that when their commands go against God’s commands, God must be obeyed, not them.

They also acted with confident trust in God. They believed he would stand by them. He might bring them out of the furnace alive, or he might carry them through it into heaven. That trust made them fearless before the king’s anger and unconcerned about losing their lives. A steady faith in God will produce steady faithfulness to God.

This public praise from the king likely helped the other Jews in Babylon. Their neighbors could no longer push them to do what their own countrymen had been honored for refusing to do. They would also be ashamed to imitate what the king himself had praised them for not doing. What God did for these men would also help keep the Jews loyal to their faith during captivity, and even cure them of their tendency toward idolatry, which was one reason they had been sent into captivity. When that work was done, they could be sure God would bring them out of that furnace too, just as he brought out their brethren from this one.

Nebuchadnezzar also issued a royal order that no one should speak evil of the God of Israel (Daniel 3:29). Israel’s sins and troubles had given the Chaldeans, the Babylonians, plenty of excuse to mock Israel’s God, though no real justification. Nebuchadnezzar himself may have encouraged that before. But now, though he was not truly converted and did not worship God, he resolved never to speak against him again and not to allow others to do so either. Anyone who spoke contemptuously, or with blasphemy, against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego would be treated as a serious criminal. They would be cut to pieces, like Agag was by Samuel’s sword, and their houses would be torn down and made into a heap of refuse.

The miracle had been done by the power of this God in full public view, before the people of Babylon. That was enough to justify the edict. It would also ease the suffering of the Jews in captivity, because this law would protect them from the constant attacks of insult and blasphemy that would otherwise have come their way.

It is a great mercy to the church, and a real gain, when its enemies do not change in heart, yet are forced to stop speaking against God and his people. If a pagan king put such a restraint on proud blasphemers, then Christian rulers should do the same. In fact, one would think people should hold themselves to this rule. Those who love God so little that they do not care to speak well of him still have no reason to speak against him, for they can never find any real cause to do so.

The king did more than clear the three men of blame. He also restored them to their positions in government, or, as the word means, made them prosper. He even gave them higher and more useful offices than before. He promoted them in the province of Babylon, which honored them greatly and encouraged their fellow captives there. It is wise for rulers to choose and use men who are firm in religion, because those who are faithful to God are most likely to be faithful to them too. Things will likely go well for rulers when God’s chosen people become their own trusted servants.