“What god will be able to rescue you from my hand?” (v.15)
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon commanded the world's most powerful military, had the strongest economy, and could impose his cultural values on the whole world, except Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego – three Jews taken captive from Judah who refused to bow to his statue. They were willing to lose their lives that day rather than bow before a statue saying, “We will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up” (v.18)
Nebuchadnezzar was furious at their defiance of his order, and ordered them bound and thrown into a furnace. The king took their moral stand as a challenge to his authority. He then upped the ante by heating the furnace seven times hotter than normal and said, “What god will be able to rescue you now from my hand” (v.15).
God responded by not only saving the three, but they didn't even smell like smoke. The Lord had saved His servants by His mighty hand, and everyone who was anyone in Babylon was there to see it. Their obedience led to their protection and praise to God out of the mouth of Nebuchadnezzar himself saying, “Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation or tongue that speaks anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego shall be torn limb from limb and their houses reduced to a rubbish heap, inasmuch as there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way.” (v. 29).
What a change!
The Truth: “Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.” (Isaiah 59:1)
