# King Nebuchadnezzar's Fiery Furnace - The Book of Daniel

An episode of [Kids Bible in a Year with Julia Jeffress Sadler](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1696638708), 19 Jan 2024, 12 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/f8ddd7fd-69c6-48d0-804f-b4d6010c327c/fc1f9832-49d8-4600-a05e-b4d60188914e/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=14e8ed60-20b2-4d5c-a832-b4d6010c3283

Join Julia Jeffress Sadler as she takes us on an incredible adventure in Episode 135. n the Bible, King Nebuchadnezzar makes a huge gold statue and orders everyone to worship it or face a fiery furnace. But three brave men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, refuse to bow because they only worship God. Miraculously, when they're thrown into the furnace, they're unharmed and even walk around with a fourth figure, possibly an angel, showing God's protection. Amazed, the king praises their God and makes a new rule to respect Him. Sign up to receive Kids Bible in a Year devotionals in your inbox every weekday: https://www.kidsbibleinayear.com/ Get ready to experience the Bible designed specifically for children with the official KidsBibleinaYear.com podcast, led by Julia Jeffress Sadler. This captivating audio series presents the age-old wisdom of the Bible in an engaging format that will captivate your kids. Each episode Julia translates biblical teachings into real-life applications, making Bible comprehension a breeze for young minds. And if you want more Christian resources and content, you can download the Pray.com app. Pray.com is the digital destination for faith, offering over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime Bible stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible. For more resources on how to live a successful Christian life, visit Julia Jeffress Sadler's website at https://ptv.org/julia/. This episode is sponsored by Little Passports. Visit LittlePassports.com/blessed and use promo code BLESSED to receive 20% off. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:00] Speaker 1: Our God, whom we serve, is able to deliver us
[0:03] Speaker 1: from the burning, fiery furnace, and he will deliver us
[0:08] Speaker 1: out of your hand, O King. But if not, let
[0:11] Speaker 1: it be known to you that we will not serve
[0:14] Speaker 1: your gods. Daniel 3, 17-18 Dear God, you are greater
[0:21] Speaker 1: than anyone or anything anywhere, and we are safest when
[0:25] Speaker 1: we are in your hands. Thank you that you don't
[0:28] Speaker 1: leave us alone in our problems. As we learn how
[0:32] Speaker 1: you walked through a big problem with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
[0:36] Speaker 1: teach us to trust you even more. We love you
[0:39] Speaker 1: so much. In Jesus' name, amen.
[0:44] Speaker 2: Thank you for praying with us today. The Kids Bible
[0:47] Speaker 2: in a Year podcast is sponsored by Little Passports, delivering
[0:50] Speaker 2: monthly activity kit subscriptions that help kids explore the world.
[0:54] Speaker 2: Cultivate curiosity and discover new interests with hands-on crafts and
[0:59] Speaker 2: activities in cooking, science, crafts, and more. All with a
[1:03] Speaker 2: unique cultural twist. Visit littlepassports.com slash blessed to learn more
[1:08] Speaker 2: and save 20% with code blessed.
[1:17] Speaker 3: King Nebuchadnezzar's Fiery Furnace. In our last story. Nebuchadnezzar had
[1:23] Speaker 3: a troubling dream, and no one could interpret it. But
[1:27] Speaker 3: God gave Daniel wisdom, and while giving God all credit,
[1:32] Speaker 3: explained the dream of the statue and the future kingdoms
[1:36] Speaker 3: to Nebuchadnezzar. In this story, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse
[1:42] Speaker 3: to worship a statue set up and will be thrown
[1:45] Speaker 3: into a fiery furnace, as inspired by Daniel.
[1:53] Speaker 1: Well, hi, it's Joya Sadler here with the Kids Bible
[1:56] Speaker 1: in a Year podcast. I'm so glad you're here today.
[2:00] Speaker 1: In this story, we get to hear what happened to
[2:03] Speaker 1: Daniel's friends when they had to choose between making God
[2:06] Speaker 1: happy or making the king happy and the fiery consequences
[2:11] Speaker 1: of their choice. Let's find out what happened.
[2:18] Speaker 3: Nebuchadnezzar set up a gold statue 90 feet tall and
[2:22] Speaker 3: 9 feet wide. He gathered his kingdom's officials for a
[2:26] Speaker 3: dedication ceremony. At the dedication, one official made a proclamation
[2:31] Speaker 3: and said, Attention, everyone. When you hear the music play,
[2:35] Speaker 3: you must bow and worship the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar
[2:39] Speaker 3: has set up. If you do not do this, you
[2:43] Speaker 3: will be thrown into a fiery furnace. So when the
[2:47] Speaker 3: music played, the people bowed and worshipped the statue. Because
[2:52] Speaker 3: the Jews only worshipped God, officials found this law as
[2:56] Speaker 3: an opportunity to punish God's people. Some of them went
[3:00] Speaker 3: to King Nebuchadnezzar and said, You commanded everyone to bow
[3:04] Speaker 3: down to your statue when the music played. Whoever does
[3:07] Speaker 3: not listen to you will be thrown into the furnace
[3:10] Speaker 3: to die. The Jews that you have placed in leadership
[3:14] Speaker 3: are not listening to you. and have not worshipped the statue.
[3:18] Speaker 3: Their names are Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They pay no
[3:22] Speaker 3: attention and refuse to worship your gods. Furious, Nebuchadnezzar summoned
[3:29] Speaker 3: the three Jews before him and asked, Is it true
[3:33] Speaker 3: that you do not worship my gods and bow down
[3:36] Speaker 3: to my statue? If so, you are disobeying my orders
[3:40] Speaker 3: and will burn, thrown into the fiery furnace today. Then
[3:44] Speaker 3: what god will be able to save you from my hand? Shadrach, Meshach,
[3:50] Speaker 3: and Abednego replied, Your Majesty, we do not have to
[3:54] Speaker 3: defend ourselves. If you throw us in the furnace, we
[3:57] Speaker 3: know that our god is the one true god who
[4:00] Speaker 3: can deliver us from the fire and from your hand.
[4:03] Speaker 3: But if he does not, we still won't worship your
[4:07] Speaker 3: gods or bow down to any man-made idol. They were
[4:11] Speaker 3: bold and said this without hesitation. Nebuchadnezzar was furious at
[4:16] Speaker 3: their remark and ordered the soldiers to make the furnace
[4:19] Speaker 3: seven times hotter to quicken the execution. He had the
[4:24] Speaker 3: strongest soldiers tie up the three Jews and throw them
[4:28] Speaker 3: into the furnace. The furnace was so hot that the
[4:32] Speaker 3: soldiers who threw them in burned up immediately. Shadrach, Meshach,
[4:36] Speaker 3: and Abednego were thrown in, bound up, and wearing their clothes.
[4:40] Speaker 3: What the king saw made him leap to his feet.
[4:44] Speaker 3: He asked his advisors, Were there only three men? The
[4:48] Speaker 3: advisor answered, Yes, only three were thrown into the fire.
[4:52] Speaker 3: Nebuchadnezzar said, Look, there are four men. The fire is
[4:57] Speaker 3: not touching them at all. In fact, they are not
[5:00] Speaker 3: even tied up. They are walking around. I see the
[5:04] Speaker 3: three Jews unharmed. The fourth man looks like he could
[5:08] Speaker 3: be a god. He approached the opening of the furnace
[5:12] Speaker 3: and said,' Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most
[5:17] Speaker 3: High God, come out and come here!' They came out,
[5:21] Speaker 3: and all the officials, soldiers, and advisors crowded around them.
[5:25] Speaker 3: There was no evidence of smoke or fire touching their
[5:29] Speaker 3: bodies or clothes. It was as if they were never
[5:32] Speaker 3: in the furnace. Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed,' Praise the God of Shadrach, Meshach,
[5:38] Speaker 3: and Abednego, who has sent an angel to rescue his servants!'
[5:42] Speaker 3: They trusted in God and refused to bow down to
[5:45] Speaker 3: any idols. Because of this, I will make a new law.
[5:50] Speaker 3: No one shall ever speak against the god of Shadrach, Meshach,
[5:55] Speaker 3: and Abednego. If they do, their life will end and
[5:59] Speaker 3: their property.
[6:00] Speaker 1: Will be destroyed.
[6:03] Speaker 3: No other god can save in this way.
[6:11] Speaker 1: Whoa, today's story was just like an action adventure movie.
[6:16] Speaker 1: Brave heroes, a fiery trial, and a daring rescue. The
[6:21] Speaker 1: Bible really is exciting. Now maybe you remember that before
[6:25] Speaker 1: this story, the Jews had been taken to Babylon, far
[6:29] Speaker 1: away from the promised land where they belonged. They had
[6:33] Speaker 1: disobeyed God for a long time, so he was giving
[6:36] Speaker 1: them a chance to think about their behavior. But there
[6:40] Speaker 1: were three Jewish boys living in Babylon who didn't disobey God.
[6:45] Speaker 1: They loved God and together with their friend Daniel had
[6:48] Speaker 1: been given important positions in King Nebuchadnezzar's government. The boys'
[6:54] Speaker 1: names were Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael. But the king gave
[6:59] Speaker 1: them new Babylonian names, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Now a
[7:05] Speaker 1: new name might not seem like a big deal to you,
[7:08] Speaker 1: but these names weren't just your names in a different language.
[7:13] Speaker 1: And they weren't nicknames. Hebrew names had special meanings that
[7:18] Speaker 1: pointed people to the Lord. Hananiah means the Lord shows grace.
[7:24] Speaker 1: Azariah means the Lord helps. And Michelle means who is
[7:29] Speaker 1: like God. Can you imagine if your name was God
[7:34] Speaker 1: loves you? or God is faithful, you'd think about the
[7:39] Speaker 1: Lord every single time someone called your name. While King
[7:43] Speaker 1: Nebuchadnezzar didn't know the Lord, he worshipped false gods with
[7:48] Speaker 1: names like Marduk, Aku, and Ego. He gave the names Shadrach, Meshach,
[7:54] Speaker 1: and Abednego to honor his Babylonian gods instead of honoring
[7:59] Speaker 1: the Lord. But in today's story, King Nebuchadnezzar learned that Hananiah, Azariah,
[8:05] Speaker 1: and Michelle's original names were actually perfect. Do you remember
[8:10] Speaker 1: what happened? A decree went out that whenever the royal
[8:14] Speaker 1: band started to play, everyone had to bow down and
[8:18] Speaker 1: worship Nebuchadnezzar's great golden idol. If you didn't, he would
[8:23] Speaker 1: throw you in the fire. But Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
[8:27] Speaker 1: refused to do it. even though it meant death. Now
[8:31] Speaker 1: you might think, wow, those boys were brave. And you'd
[8:35] Speaker 1: be right. But they also had a very good reason
[8:38] Speaker 1: to be brave. They knew from the tops of their
[8:41] Speaker 1: heads to the tip of their toes and all the
[8:43] Speaker 1: way down to their gut that God is more powerful
[8:46] Speaker 1: than anything. He's real. And just like he opened the
[8:51] Speaker 1: Red Sea for Moses and he struck down Goliath for
[8:54] Speaker 1: David and he sent fire from heaven for Elijah, He
[8:59] Speaker 1: could make a way to save them too. But even
[9:03] Speaker 1: if he didn't, Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael stood firm. They
[9:08] Speaker 1: would not bow down to false gods. They would only
[9:12] Speaker 1: worship the Lord no matter what. So King Nebuchadnezzar put
[9:17] Speaker 1: them in the fire. Now sometimes we're all faced with
[9:21] Speaker 1: tough choices, just like those three boys. Many times it
[9:26] Speaker 1: feels easier and safer to disobey God. But easier isn't better.
[9:32] Speaker 1: God's way is always better. It's the best. It wasn't
[9:37] Speaker 1: easy for those boys to go into the fire. I'm
[9:40] Speaker 1: sure Hananiah, Azariah, and Michelle wished God had kept them
[9:45] Speaker 1: out of it altogether. But God did something amazing. He
[9:50] Speaker 1: went into the fire with them. Then he rescued them.
[9:54] Speaker 1: And because he did, King Nebuchadnezzar learned a new name
[9:57] Speaker 1: for the Lord, the Most High. God, higher than any
[10:02] Speaker 1: of his false gods and greater than anyone or anything
[10:07] Speaker 1: in the whole entire universe. You see, when you obey God,
[10:12] Speaker 1: especially when you have to be brave to do it,
[10:16] Speaker 1: people watching will see that the Lord is the most
[10:19] Speaker 1: high God. He's real. And you'll know from the top
[10:24] Speaker 1: of your head to the tips of your toes that
[10:26] Speaker 1: God can make a way through any problem you have.
[10:30] Speaker 1: And if your problem isn't going away, that's just because
[10:34] Speaker 1: he's walking through it with you. I'm so glad you
[10:38] Speaker 1: joined me for today's story. Come back next time to
[10:41] Speaker 1: hear what happens when the king has another crazy dream
[10:44] Speaker 1: and turns into a wild beast. Remember, the Bible is
[10:50] Speaker 1: the best story ever told. It's God's story to you,
[10:54] Speaker 1: and it's all true. Love our podcast? Stay tuned for
[10:58] Speaker 1: new adventures by subscribing to Kids Bible in a Year,
[11:02] Speaker 1: your companion in exploring God's Word. Thank you for listening
[11:06] Speaker 1: to Pray.com's Kids Bible in a Year podcast. For more
[11:10] Speaker 1: Bible stories and wisdom to last a lifetime, download the
[11:14] Speaker 1: Pray.com app for free today. See you next time. Thanks
[11:27] Speaker 1: for listening to Kids Bible in a Year. I want
[11:29] Speaker 1: to invite our adult listeners to check out my other show, Unapologetic,
[11:34] Speaker 1: God's Truth on Today's Topics. It's unfiltered, important, inspiring, and
[11:40] Speaker 1: we have awesome conversations and amazing guests such as Candice
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[12:04] Speaker 1: your faith as you check out Unapologetic. Remember that you
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