In the story of the fiery furnace, Daniel’s three friends do not doubt the power of God to deliver them from the king’s furnace, but they don’t presume that He will do so. If He does not, they are ready to take the consequences rather than compromise on such a contrived issue. When these three refuse to worship the idol, the angry king orders the furnace to be heated higher and the men to be thrown in.
What must have been going through the minds of the three as the soldiers carried them to the furnace? I think they probably assumed they would meet their Maker. And they would have been right, except they would meet Him in a surprising way. The king watched his soldiers die as they threw the three men in the furnace and then noticed something surprising. Daniel 3: 24 But suddenly, Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in amazement and exclaimed to his advisers, “Didn’t we tie up three men and throw them into the furnace?”
“Yes, Your Majesty, we certainly did,” they replied.
25 “Look!” Nebuchadnezzar shouted. “I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire unharmed! And the fourth looks like a god[!”[1]
Jews identify the fourth man in the fire as an angel; Christians usually regard him as a Christophony, or a manifestation of Christ. [2] These three men did meet their maker in the form of the preincarnate Jesus. They surely never anticipated that it would work out this way! God was working and working on several levels. The event put the King in awe of the true God. The statue is never mentioned again, and king writes a decree that no one can speak against the true God. Daniel 3:29bThere is no other god who can rescue like this!” 30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to even higher positions in the province of Babylon.
Be assured during this pandemic, God is working. He may not be working in the way you anticipate, more than likely He is working in a way that is even better than you can imagine. To hear more about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, listen here: https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/series/daniel-a-man-of-character/trial-by-fire
[1] Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.
[2] Smith, J. E. (1992). The Major Prophets (p. 552). Joplin, MO: College Press.