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[Daniel
Ch.3: The Fiery Furnace]
III.
Faith is Vindicated (3:19-30)
A.
The King's Wrath (3:19,22)
DAN
3:19 Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury...and commanded that
they should heat the furnace one seven times more
In his fury, the king was not thinking right. Instead of increasing the
heat, it should have been decreased...for a slower, more painful death.
DAN
3:22 ...the flame of the fire slew those men that took up [the
Jews]
The boomerang: the extreme heat of the furnace killed the men who handled
the three Hebrew children.
B.
Arithmetic of Suffering (3:25)
DAN
3:25 Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire,
and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.
Here an additional
person is seen in the furnace. Every time a Christian suffers for Christ,
Christ Himself will join him. One may feel lonely, but he is never alone.
The fire simply burned the cords which had bound them and set them more
free to walk closer with Christ.
The Old Testament contains many instances of the preincarnate Christ
walking with His people--
He walked with Enoch
He talked with Noah
He feasted with Abraham
He wrestled with Jacob
He revealed Himself to Moses
He filled the tabernacle and the temple
He instructed Gideon and Manoah
He guided the Israelites through the desert
He defended His people as the Lord of Hosts
He delivered Daniel from the lions
He was in the fiery furnace
HE WAS BORN IN A MANGER
C.
No Hurt on God's Servants (3:27)
DAN
3:27 ...upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair
of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of
fire had passed on them.
The fires of affliction need not hurt God's children.
ISA
43:2 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and
through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest
through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle
upon thee.
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