Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of Daniel
Chapter 3: The Fourth Man in the Fire
Nebuchadnezzar builds a towering image of gold and commands every nation to bow at the sound of the music, or be thrown into a burning fiery furnace. Three young Hebrews will not bow. Their answer is one of the greatest confessions of faith in all Scripture: 'our God whom we serve is able to deliver us... But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods.' They are cast bound into a furnace heated seven times hotter, and the astonished king sees not three men but four, 'walking in the midst of the fire,' unbound and unharmed, 'and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.' The LORD Himself is with His people in the flame. They come out without so much as the smell of smoke, and the king who lit the fire ends up blessing their God, 'there is no other God that can deliver after this sort.'
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of Daniel chapter 3, the golden image and the fiery furnace. For each section you will find the KJV text, key word studies, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Like chapters 2-7, this chapter is written in Aramaic, so the word studies note Aramaic terms. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Setting the Stage
Bow or Burn
A golden image and a command that every nation worship it.
But If Not
Three men trust God whether He delivers them or not.
Like the Son of God
A fourth figure walks with them in the flame, unharmed.
No Other God
The king blesses the God who delivers "after this sort."
Fall Down and Worship (Daniel 3:1-12)
Nebuchadnezzar sets up a colossal golden image and commands all peoples to fall down and worship it at the sound of music, on pain of the fiery furnace; and jealous accusers report that three Jews will not bow.
They Serve Not Thy Gods
"Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up: And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of musick, all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews. They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live for ever. Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, shall fall down and worship the golden image: And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up."
Word Study
"an image of gold." In chapter 2 God told Nebuchadnezzar he was only "this head of gold," and that his kingdom would give way to others. Here the king answers back with an image of solid gold from head to foot, as if to say his empire will never fall. It is the pride of man refusing the word of God. And the forced worship of an image, "fall down and worship," on pain of death, is exactly the picture the book of Revelation gives of the final beast, who makes "that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed" (Revelation 13:15). The pressure to bow to the world's idols is an old and recurring test.
"they serve not thy gods." The accusation, and the confession, is that these three "serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image." Their loyalty to the one God left no room for bowing to another. The first commandment stands behind their stand: "Thou shalt have no other gods before me... Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them" (Exodus 20:3-5). There is only one God, and He alone is to be worshipped; everything else is a golden idol on the plain of Dura.
Explanation
Nebuchadnezzar erects "an image of gold" ninety feet high and gathers all the officials of the empire to its dedication. At the signal of a great orchestra, everyone is to "fall down and worship the golden image," and "whoso falleth not down... shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace." The pageantry and the music sweep the crowd along, and "all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshipped."
But three men do not. Certain Chaldeans, no doubt envious of the Jews who had been "set over the affairs of the province," seize their chance and accuse them: "these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up." When everyone else bows, the refusal of a faithful few stands out, and it makes them a target. Faithful obedience to God will often single a believer out precisely when the crowd is bending.
Gospel Focus
The plain of Dura is a picture of every age's pressure to conform. The music plays, the crowd falls down, and the cost of not bowing is made terrifying. It is easy to worship when "all the people, the nations, and the languages" are doing it too; the test is whether you will stand when standing marks you out. These three had absorbed the first commandment into their hearts: the one true God alone is to be worshipped. That conviction is the believer's anchor in every culture that demands we bow to its idols, whether of wealth, pleasure, power, or popular opinion. The Lord Jesus faced the same temptation and answered it with the same truth: "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve" (Matthew 4:10). When the music swells and everyone around you kneels to the golden image of the age, remember that there is only one God worthy of worship, and He is watching to see who will not bow.
Our God Whom We Serve Is Able (Daniel 3:13-23)
Enraged, the king gives the three one more chance to bow; they answer with unshakable faith, that God is able to deliver them, and will, but even if He does not, they will never worship the image, so they are cast bound into the white-hot furnace.
But If Not, We Will Not Serve Thy Gods
"Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated. And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Therefore because the king's commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace."
Word Study
"who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?" Nebuchadnezzar's challenge is really a challenge to God Himself, echoing the taunt of every tyrant: what god can stand against my power? It is the same defiance the Assyrian Rabshakeh once hurled at Jerusalem (Isaiah 36:20). The king would learn, as they all do, that the God of heaven is not intimidated by furnaces or armies. His question would be answered in the fire.
"But if not," Aramaic hen la (הֵן לָא). These three little words are one of the summits of faith in the Bible. The three men declare that their God "is able to deliver us," and that "he will deliver us." Yet they add, "But if not... we will not serve thy gods." Their obedience does not depend on being rescued. They trust God's power and God's goodness, but they leave the outcome in His hands and obey Him regardless. This is faith at its purest, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him" (Job 13:15), and, "Although the fig tree shall not blossom... yet I will rejoice in the LORD" (Habakkuk 3:17-18).
Explanation
Nebuchadnezzar, enraged, hauls the three before him and offers one last chance to bow when the music plays, sealing it with a sneer: "who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?" Their reply is calm and absolute. "We are not careful to answer thee in this matter", we do not even need to defend ourselves. Then the great confession: "our God whom we serve is able to deliver us... and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods." God can save us; we believe He will; and even if He chooses not to, we still will not bow.
The king's face contorts with fury. He orders the furnace heated "one seven times more than it was wont to be heated" and has the strongest soldiers bind the three and throw them in, fully clothed. The fire is so fierce it kills the men who carry them to the mouth of the furnace. And "these three men... fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace." They have kept their word. They would rather burn than bow.
Gospel Focus
"But if not" is faith grown to full stature. Notice the three layers of it. First, "our God... is able", they know His power is equal to any furnace. Second, "he will deliver us", they trust His goodness toward them. Third, "but if not... we will not serve thy gods", their obedience is not a bargain. They do not say, "Deliver us, and then we will serve you." They serve God whether He delivers them or not. Much of what passes for faith is really a transaction: obey God so He will keep me comfortable. True faith obeys God because He is God, and leaves the results to Him. This is the faith of the martyrs, "they loved not their lives unto the death" (Revelation 12:11), and above all it is the faith of the Lord Jesus in Gethsemane, "not my will, but thine, be done" (Luke 22:42). If your obedience depends on God always giving you the outcome you want, it will not survive the furnace. But the heart that says "but if not" cannot be defeated, for whether it lives or dies, it belongs to God.
The Form of the Fourth Is Like the Son of God (Daniel 3:24-30)
The astonished king sees four men walking free and unhurt in the fire; he calls the three out untouched, without even the smell of smoke, and blesses the God who sent His angel to deliver His servants, confessing that no other God can save like this.
There Is No Other God That Can Deliver After This Sort
"Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, 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. Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire. And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, 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. Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God. Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort. Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the province of Babylon."
Word Study
"the form of the fourth is like the Son of God." The pagan king describes what he sees in his own words, "like a son of the gods," but the KJV rightly renders the sense as the awesome presence of God Himself. Verse 28 names Him plainly: God "hath sent his angel", the Angel of the LORD, the same divine visitor who appeared to the patriarchs and who is the LORD Himself in manifest form. In the furnace the one true God stood with His servants. He is the same LORD who would come in flesh as Jesus Christ, so that we may truly say it was the Lord in the fire, "When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned... For I am the LORD thy God" (Isaiah 43:2-3). God does not always keep His people out of the fire, but He goes into it with them.
"there is no other God that can deliver after this sort." The pagan king who built the idol ends by confessing the uniqueness of the true God. There is "no other God" who can save like this, exactly what Scripture everywhere declares: "I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me" (Isaiah 45:5). One God, and only one, can walk men through fire unharmed. The furnace that was meant to destroy His servants became a pulpit proclaiming that He alone is God.
Explanation
Nebuchadnezzar leaps up "astonied." He had cast in three bound men; now he sees "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." The fire that killed the soldiers at the door cannot touch the three inside, because Someone is with them. The king calls them out, "ye servants of the most high God," and the assembled officials see the miracle in full: "the fire had no power" on their bodies, "nor was an hair of their head singed," their clothes unscorched, not even "the smell of fire" upon them.
The king who lit the furnace now blesses their God: "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him." He honors their "but if not" faith, that they "yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God." And he issues a decree against blaspheming this God, "because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort", then promotes the three. The furnace has become the throne room where the God of heaven is glorified before the whole empire.
Gospel Focus
The heart of this chapter is the fourth man in the fire. God did not spare His servants the furnace, but He met them in it, "the form of the fourth is like the Son of God." This is the deep comfort of the gospel: the Lord does not always take us out of the fire, but He never leaves us alone in it. He promised, "When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned... For I am the LORD thy God" (Isaiah 43:2-3), and, "lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world" (Matthew 28:20). The same one God who stood in that furnace came in flesh as Jesus Christ to stand with us in every trial, and the "fiery trial which is to try you" (1 Peter 4:12) only proves the genuineness of a faith "more precious than of gold that perisheth" (1 Peter 1:7). Notice also that the fire burned only their bonds: they went in "bound" and were seen "loose, walking in the midst of the fire." What was meant to destroy them only set them free. And the God who was in the fire got all the glory, from the very king who lit it. When you face your furnace, do not ask only to be kept out of it; ask for the presence of the One who walks through it with you, and trust that He will be glorified in it.
Chapter 3 in Review
Daniel 3 is the account of the golden image and the fiery furnace. Nebuchadnezzar, refusing God's word that his kingdom would pass, builds an image of solid gold and commands every nation to "fall down and worship" it or burn. Three Hebrews will not bow, and when threatened they answer with one of the Bible's greatest confessions: "our God whom we serve is able to deliver us... But if not... we will not serve thy gods." Cast bound into a furnace heated seven times hotter, they are joined by a fourth figure, "the form of the fourth is like the Son of God," and walk unharmed in the flame. They come out without a hair singed or the smell of smoke, and the king who lit the fire blesses their God, "there is no other God that can deliver after this sort."
For the Apostolic reader the chapter blazes with truth. There is only one God, and He alone is to be worshipped, whatever golden image the age sets up. Faith reaches its full height not in a bargain but in "but if not", obeying God whether He delivers or not, trusting His power and His goodness and leaving the outcome to Him. And the fourth man is the glory of the story: the LORD Himself, the one God who would come in flesh as Jesus, present with His people in the fire. He does not always keep us out of the furnace, but He goes into it with us, and often the only thing the fire burns is what bound us. The furnace meant for their destruction became a pulpit from which the God of heaven was proclaimed to an empire. So do not fear the fire. If you will not bow, the Fourth Man will be with you in it.
- There is one God, and He alone is to be worshipped; refuse the golden image whatever the cost (3:12, 18; Exodus 20:3-5; Matthew 4:10).
- Faithfulness singles you out when the crowd bows; be ready to stand alone (3:7-12).
- "But if not" is faith at its purest: obey God whether He delivers or not (3:17-18; Job 13:15; Habakkuk 3:17-18).
- The fourth man is the LORD Himself, present with His people in the fire (3:25, 28; Isaiah 43:2-3; Matthew 28:20).
- God does not always take us out of the fire, but He meets us in it and burns only our bonds (3:25-27; 1 Peter 4:12).
- Even the pagan king confesses the one God: "there is no other God that can deliver after this sort" (3:29; Isaiah 45:5).
Questions for Reflection
- What "golden image" does your culture pressure you to bow to? Are you willing to be singled out for not bowing?
- Is your faith a "but if not" faith, or a bargain that depends on God giving you the outcome you want?
- The Lord met them in the fire, not out of it. How does His presence change the way you face your trials?
- The fire burned only their bonds. Has God ever used a trial to set you free from something that held you?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). Daniel 3 is in Aramaic; key phrase: hen la ("but if not," verse 18). The golden image and forced worship anticipate the image of the beast: Revelation 13:11-15. The first commandment behind the refusal to bow: Exodus 20:3-5; Deuteronomy 6:13; Matthew 4:10. The tyrant's taunt "who is that God that shall deliver you": compare Isaiah 36:18-20 (the Rabshakeh). "But if not" faith: Job 13:15; Habakkuk 3:17-18; Luke 22:42; Revelation 12:11. The fourth man "like the Son of God" and God's angel (verses 25, 28): a manifestation of the LORD Himself, the Angel of the LORD (compare Genesis 16:7-13; Exodus 3:2-6; Judges 13), the same one God who came in flesh in Jesus Christ; God present in the fire: Isaiah 43:1-3; Matthew 28:20. The uniqueness of the one God: Isaiah 45:5-6; 46:9; Deuteronomy 4:35. The trial of faith: 1 Peter 1:7; 4:12. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- The golden image and the command to worship it: Daniel 3:1-12; Exodus 20:3-5; Revelation 13:15.
- The "but if not" confession and the fiery furnace: Daniel 3:13-23; Job 13:15; Habakkuk 3:17-18; Luke 22:42.
- The fourth man in the fire and the king's confession of the one God: Daniel 3:24-30; Isaiah 43:2-3; 45:5; Matthew 28:20.