Page 111 - Daniel

times of the Gentiles, so the deliverance of the three Jewish officials is
emblematic of Israel’s deliverance during the period of Gentile
domination. Particularly at the end of this period, Israel will be in fiery
affliction; but as Isaiah prophesied, “But now thus says the LORD, he who

created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have
redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass
through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall
not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be
burned, and the flame shall not consume you’” (Isa. 43:1–2).

THE DECREE OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR (3:28–30)

3:28–30 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and
delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside 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 speaks anything 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 rescue in this
way.” Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in
the province of Babylon.

Just as Nebuchadnezzar had acknowledged Daniel’s God at the

conclusion of chapter 2, so here he admitted the power of the God of
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. The king issued a decree in oriental
style commemorating the event. First, he recognized God’s delivering
power through His “angel.” It was generally believed that the pagan
gods used messengers to accomplish their purpose, and Nebuchadnezzar

analyzed the event in this way.
Although there is no clear indication whether the fourth person in the
furnace was actually deity or an angel—as all we have is
Nebuchadnezzar’s conclusion on the basis of what he saw—it is at least

possible that the protector of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego was
Christ Himself, appearing in the form of an angel. The expression “a son
of the gods” (3:25) is a translation of an Aramaic phrase meaning “a