8 JULY 2025 – CELEBRATE

READ: Dan. 3:19–30: … that they should not serve nor worship any god than their own God!

Nebuchadnezzar responds with furious rage. Now he wants to demonstrate his power against God and His followers. The furnace is heated seven times hotter than usual. The heat is so intense that even coming near it is deadly. The strongest men are ordered to throw the three into the furnace. Bound and fully clothed, they are cast in.

But then a miracle occurs. First, the fire does not burn them—not even paralyze them with its heat. They are no longer bound and walk freely in the furnace, as if nothing happened. The very soldiers who carried them up died just from the radiating heat.

And then—besides the three—there is a fourth figure visible in the fire. That explains everything. Nebuchadnezzar checks again with his advisors: weren’t there just three? Now there are four. And the fourth is not a man, but “a son of the gods”!

Yes, an angel of the Lord is with them in the fire. In that moment, even Nebuchadnezzar must acknowledge who truly holds the power: the God of heaven.

No, the three friends did not count on a visible angel beforehand. Nor can we when we are tested in our faith, even to the point of risking our lives. God does not give that guarantee on this earth. But what He does show is that He is in control. He protects His own and sends His angels to support them (Ps. 34:8; 91:11–12).

God will not allow His worship and glory to be diminished. Even though man may exalt himself, he remains merely dust and can do nothing unless God permits it.

So here, not Nebuchadnezzar, but God is the great Victor. This is made clear through the visible miracle of their rescue—even their clothes are untouched, with no smell of fire on them.

Now the king acknowledges this, and in his pagan way, commands that the God of the three friends be honored by all.

Where do we see God’s victory today?

Sing: Ps. 33:6