“Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated. And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.” Daniel 3:19-20
Ever since Satan said he would be “like the Most High” the issue has been authority. Satan desires to remove God from His position of authority. He attempts to do this in multiple ways – he does not really care who you obey or worship as long as it is not God. Here God allows Satan to use an evil king to test His servant’s loyalty. Hananiah, Azariah and Mishael have been faithful servants to the king and obeyed his authority until he crossed the line demanding that they worship his image. When they refuse to recant, he, like Satan, goes into a rage that his authority is rejected.
Then When Nebuchadnezzar heard the men say that under no circumstances would they obey his order, he is incensed.
Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury The word filled is the same word in Daniel 2 of the stone that destroys the image in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and then fills the earth. The king is consumed with rage – his entire being is flooded with fury (rage to the point of madness).
And the expression of his face was changed The king’s rage visibly changes the way he looks. His face is altered by his ire. This would have been a terrible sight, the king’s body literally shaking with anger, his face turning red and his fists clenched. At this point it does not look like God is in control but fear not!
Against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego This has become personal. The king’s anger is directed toward the three men standing
in front of him. They told the king their God could deliver them from his wrath; now he intends to make them realize that is a lie. They will feel the full fury of his anger.
He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated The king loses all rational thought. He commands (this one is obeyed) that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than the manufacture’s suggested level of heat. He wants to make the furnace so hot these three rebellious leaders will feel pain like no other person has ever felt it. He wants the furnace to be as hot as hell. It is interesting that Satan can only copy God. He does not create anything, he can only distort it. Here he puts in the king’s mind
to make the followers of Jehovah suffer the full fury of the hell fire that God created for him and his angels,
And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army In his fury Nebuchadnezzar he barks multiple orders in a frantic fashion – this rebellion must be addressed immediately. He obviously is trying to send a message to every bystander who watched him being defied
by these Hebrew captives. Now he orders his most valiant and mighty soldiers (the fiercest, like Navy Seals) to take the three Jewish men into their control and to make them suffer (probably a little on the way to their death too).
To bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (The word bind is used four times in this chapter. God wants us to see this is what the world system wants to do to believers.) They likely threw the men to the ground very roughly, stepped on them and pushed their faces into the dirt as they tied ropes to their bodies as tightly as they can. Nebuchadnezzar is making sure there will be no further rebellion to his orders from these men. (In a small degree this reminds us of the way the Lord was treated by the Roman soldiers before His crucifixion – uncontrolled hatred).
And to cast them into the burning fiery furnace Nebuchadnezzar’s demands the strongest fiercest soldiers he has to escort (carry, drag) these rebellious leaders to their death in front of all their peers. They are to take them to the furnace that is heated beyond its capacity and cast (it can be translated throw or impose) them to their death. Nebuchadnezzar will impose his will on those who dare believe they worship a God mightier than he is. Shame and death, they deserve both.
What can we learn? In these few moments it looks like the battle has been lost and the king has won. No response or regret is recorded and the three faithful are headed to their death. But wait!