Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego and Daniel
After King Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem, he ordered that certain Israelite children live in his palace to study the language and learning of Babylon. They were to be given the king’s food and wine. Four of these young people, Daniel and his friends, would not eat such foods because they knew they shouldn’t. Daniel asked the king’s servant to let him and his friends eat only grains and vegetables and drink water. They grew more healthy than the children who ate the king’s food. When Daniel and his friends stood before the king, he found them 10 times wiser than all the wise men in the land.
King Nebuchadnezzar had an important dream that he could not remember. He commanded some of his wise men to describe the dream and explain it. When they said this could not be done, Nebuchadnezzar ordered that all the wise men of Babylon be killed. Daniel was one of those who would be killed. He and his friends asked the Lord for mercy, and the Lord showed Daniel the dream and its meaning. Daniel then described the dream to King Nebuchadnezzar and explained what it meant. The king was pleased, and as a reward he made Daniel and his friends rulers in Babylon.
King Nebuchadnezzar built a golden statue and commanded everyone to worship it. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego knew they should worship only Heavenly Father and refused to bow down to the idol. The king was angry and commanded that they be thrown into a fiery furnace. He was amazed then to see Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego calmly walking in the hot fire with a fourth man whose form was “like the Son of God.” The king called the three men out of the furnace. They were not harmed. He praised their God for saving them, and sent out a decree that no one should speak against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.
• Daniel 1:1–7—Daniel and his friends are trained in the king’s court.
• Daniel 1:8–16—They eat plain food and refuse the king’s wine (Note: Pulse means foods made from seeds and grains).
• Daniel 1:17–21—God gives them knowledge and wisdom.
• Daniel 3:1–7—King Nebuchadnezzar commands the people to worship a golden image.
• Daniel 3:8–18—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse to worship the idol.
• Daniel 3:19–27—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are cast into a fiery furnace and come forth unharmed.
• Daniel 3:28–30—Nebuchadnezzar recognizes the power of God and gives Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego more responsibility in his kingdom.
