The story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel 3 is a well-known and well-loved chapter in the Bible. But what lessons can we learn from their experience?
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego obeyed God and kept their close friendship with him. Read Daniel 3:1-18. What vital lesson can children learn from their example?
Review: We are studying Daniel and his friends Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They were brought to Babylon and had 3 years of training to serve the king. Last week King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream and was very angry that his wise men couldn't tell him what the dream meant. God explained the dream to Daniel and Daniel was able to tell the king about his dream. Daniel told King Nebuchadnezzar that even though his kingdom was the most powerful now, there would be other kingdoms after his. But the last and most important kingdom would be the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Daniel and his friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were promoted! The king made Daniel ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon. (vs. 48) And Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were in charge of the affairs in Babylon. Lesson: Scripture is Daniel 3. King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, ninety feet high and nine feet wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. King Nebuchadnezzar gathered up all his people and told them to come to the dedication (opening ceremony) of this image he had made. King Nebuchadnezzar proclaimed that when everyone heard the music start playing, all the people had to bow down and worship it or he would throw them into a fiery furnace. (Daniel 3:6) But, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego refused to bow down to the statue! There were some Chaldeans that went to King Nebuchadnezzar and told him that he had made the decree that everyone had to bow down to the gold image. But, there are some Jews that you have put in charge over Babylon and they did not worship your golden image that you set up! When King Nebuchadnezzar found out that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to bow down, he was furious and King Nebuchadnezzar asked them why they didn’t do what he commanded. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied that they did what God commanded and He would deliver them from the fiery furnace. That made King Nebuchadnezzar even angrier, so he commanded the furnace be made seven times hotter! King Nebuchadnezzar had Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego tied up and thrown into the fire! The fiery furnace was so hot; it killed the men that threw them into it!! Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego fell down when they were thrown into the fire. King Nebuchadnezzar was amazed when he looked in and said “Didn’t we throw in three men? I see four men! They are not tied up and they are walking around!” They said the fourth man looks like the Son of God! (Daniel 3:25) So, King Nebuchadnezzar went to the opening and told Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to come out of the fiery furnace. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were not burned, they didn’t smell like fire, their clothes were not burned and their hair wasn’t even burned! King Nebuchadnezzar said “Blessed is their God, for He delivered His servants from the fire!” Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego received a promotion and King Nebuchadnezzar told the people "If anyone says anything against their God, they would be cut into pieces!" Next week, we finish our study on Daniel! We made this project for this lesson. It needs to be printed (I printed on cardstock), cut out and glued together in layers. I cut the white strip off the bottom of the page, and the opening for the door, but let the kids do the rest of the project. But, depending on your class, they could do that part also. The directions are on the download, but not the pictures you see above. Click here to download. Click here to download the worksheet. Click here to download the updated visuals. The file includes Daniel 1-3. All are not shown. Click here to download the pictures to color. (These are the same as the visuals but are black & white.) Click here to see the wall for Babylon VBS. Bible Verse: Daniel 3:17 Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
