ESOCS Devotional 4 July 2025 – Jehovah Alone is Elohim
MEMORY VERSE: “He answered and said, lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” Daniel 3:25 KJV
TEXT: DANIEL 3:12-30
There are certain Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego; these men, O king, have not paid due regard to you. They do not serve your gods or worship the gold image which you have set up.”
13 Then Nebuchadnezzar, in rage and fury, gave the command to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. So they brought these men before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up? 15 Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?”
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. 18 But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. 20 And he commanded certain mighty men of valor who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, and cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21 Then these men were bound in their coats, their trousers, their turbans, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 22 Therefore, because the king’s command was urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?”
They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.”
25 “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the[c] Son of God.”
26 Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke, saying, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here.” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego came from the midst of the fire. 27 And the satraps, administrators, governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together, and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them.
28 Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God! 29 Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made an ash heap; because there is no other God who can deliver like this.”
30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego in the province of Babylon.
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Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego knew the character of the true God whom they served and worshipped. As with the contest between Daniel and the Chaldeans in Daniel Chapter 2, here again is a contest between the true God of Israel and the false gods in which Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians believed.
In this challenge, the three Hebrew young men had already determined their behaviour and response to any threats that would be made toward them to compromise their faith and religious principles. They firmly trusted in Elohim for their deliverance. They were also determined that even if God did not deliver them from the fiery furnace, they would still not submit to a command to pay homage to false gods.
As is always with the character of Jehovah, the only true God, He turned the accusing actions of the Chaldeans against themselves. Incidentally, Nebuchadnezzar was humbled to the point that he joined the three young men to shower praises on the only true God who sent His angels to rescue the servants who wholly trusted in Him (v 28). In verse 29, the king was forced to make a decree to the intent that: “If any people, whatever their race or nation or language, speak a word against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they will be torn limb from limb, and their houses will be turned into heaps of rubbles. There is no other god who can rescue like this.” (NLT).
Gladly enough, we can conclude that, at least Nebuchadnezzar realized at the moment that only a true God could do what he had just witnessed. Moreover, with reference to the “Son of God,” whether this was one of God’s angels or the pre-incarnate Son of God (Jesus Christ), we leave to the guess and speculation of the Bible student.
CHALLENGES
- Even at near breaking point, would you stand on your faith as the three Hebrew young men did?
PRAYER POINT
- Lord, the Only True God, I pray for grace to stand strong – even unto death.
FURTHER READING: Daniel 4:1-12; Acts 13:13-33; 14:18-28
ESOCS Devotional 4 July 2025
