Preparing
with Joy for the Paschal Feast
Part XIII of XV
Wednesday 28 March
2018
Holy Wednesday
The Three Youths in
the Fiery Furnace
Daniel 3:1-29
King
Nebuchadnezzar made a golden statue whose height was sixty cubits and whose
width was six cubits; he set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of
Babylon. Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent for the satraps, the
prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the
magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces to assemble and come to the
dedication of the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. So
the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers,
the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces,
assembled for the dedication of the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
When they were standing before the
statue that Nebuchadnezzar had set up, the herald proclaimed aloud, “You are commanded, O
peoples, nations, and languages, that
when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, drum, and entire
musical ensemble, you are to fall down and worship the golden statue that King
Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Whoever does not fall down and
worship shall immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire.” Therefore,
as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon,
harp, drum, and entire musical ensemble, all the peoples, nations, and
languages fell down and worshiped the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar
had set up. Accordingly, at this time certain Chaldeans
came forward and denounced the Jews. They said to King
Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! You, O king, have made a
decree, that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon,
harp, drum, and entire musical ensemble, shall fall down and worship the golden
statue, and whoever
does not fall down and worship shall be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire. There
are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of
Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These pay no heed to you, O King. They do not serve your gods and they do not
worship the golden statue that you have set up.” Then
Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
be brought in; so they brought those men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar
said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not
serve my gods and you do not worship the golden statue that I have set up? Now
if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp,
drum, and entire musical ensemble to fall down and worship the statue that I
have made, well and good. But if you do
not worship, you shall immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire,
and who is the god that will deliver you out of my hands?” Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to
present a defense to you in this matter. If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us
from the furnace of blazing fire and out of your hand, O king, let him deliver
us. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we
will not serve your gods and we will not worship the golden statue that you
have set up.” Then Nebuchadnezzar was so
filled with rage against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face was
distorted. He ordered the furnace heated
up seven times more than was customary, and ordered some of the strongest guards in his
army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and to throw them into the furnace
of blazing fire. So the men were bound, still
wearing their tunics, their trousers, their hats, and their other garments, and
they were thrown into the furnace of blazing fire. Because
the king’s command was urgent and the furnace was so overheated, the raging
flames killed the men who lifted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. But
the three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down, bound, into the
furnace of blazing fire. Then King Nebuchadnezzar was
astonished and rose up quickly. He said
to his counselors, “Was it not three men that we threw bound into the fire?” They answered the king, “True, O king.” He
replied, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the middle of the fire, and
they are not hurt; and the fourth has the appearance of a god.” Nebuchadnezzar
then approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire and said, “Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out
from the fire. And the satraps, the prefects,
the governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together and saw that the
fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men; the hair of their heads
was not singed, their tunics were not harmed, and not even the smell of fire
came from them. Nebuchadnezzar said, “Blessed
be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and
delivered his servants who trusted in him. They disobeyed the king’s command and yielded
up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. Therefore
I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that utters blasphemy against
the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and
their houses laid in ruins; for there is no other god who is able to deliver in
this way.”
The Rev’d Timothy
Alleman
Rector
The Church of the
Holy Cross
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