Today's wonderfully dramatic story includes a mammoth idol, a worshiping mob, a furious king, a fiery furnace, and three brave young men of faith whom God rescues from certain death.

The scene is the plain of Dura in Babylon, where the Israelites are in exile. King Nebuchadnezzar has constructed an idol of gold that is ninety feet high and nine feet wide. Whether this image is meant to represent the king himself, or whether it represents some Babylonian god, we are not told. Clearly, it is an idol.

Building the idol may have been a political move as well as a religious one. As a conquering monarch, Nebuchadnezzar is trying to unify his diverse people by forcing them to worship one god. So all of the officials who rule in Nebuchadnezzar's empire are required, on pain of death in a fiery furnace, to bow down and worship this idol.

The repetition of the list of officials and of the instruments calling the people to bow down gives us a feeling for the great formality of this occasion. But it also seems to be a way in which the Jewish author is making fun of these idol worshipers. What a contrast to the holy and restrained way of worshiping the God of Israel! The dramatic cranking up of the heat of the furnace and the deaths of the soldiers near it may also be meant to make fun of Nebuchadnezzar, who supposes that an even hotter furnace could be more destructive.

Daniel's three friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse to bow before the idol, and some jealous Babylonians (who are probably unhappy these young Israelites have been placed in such important positions) denounce them to the king. When they are brought before him, the angry king emphasizes their helplessness, believing that no god can possibly rescue them. The answer of the three young men is worth careful attention. They say, in effect, "Our God is able to save us, O King. Whether God is willing to do so or not, we don't know. But even if the answer is no, we will not bow down before your image of gold." Incredible courage combined with keen insight!

Their refusal makes the king even angrier. So, tied hand and foot, the three are thrown into the middle of the raging furnace. And then, to the king's amazement, they seem to be walking freely around inside the furnace, completely unharmed. And, astoundingly, a fourth "person," an angel of God, seems to be with them, protecting them from harm.

On seeing this awesome sight, Nebuchadnezzar leaps to his feet and begins to shout into the furnace, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!" When the young men stand before him, completely unharmed, Nebuchadnezzar offers his praise to their God and his admiration to the three young men. "They trusted in [God] and defied the king's command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any God except their own God" (3:28).

Nebuchadnezzar then commands that no one say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. This command probably protected them and their fellow Jews in Babylon. And the three young men were promoted to positions of even higher authority and responsibility.