Shadrach

Shadrach, originally named Hananiah ("the Lord is gracious"), was carried captive from Jerusalem to Babylon with Daniel, Mishael (Meshach), and Azariah (Abednego). Of the king's seed and of the princes, they were chosen for their wisdom and appearance to be trained for the king's service. Like Daniel, Shadrach refused to defile himself with the king's meat and wine, and God gave him knowledge and skill in all learning.

When Nebuchadnezzar set up a golden image in the plain of Dura and commanded all officials to fall down and worship at the sound of the music, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused. Certain Chaldeans accused them before the king. Nebuchadnezzar in fury offered them one more chance, but they answered with extraordinary faith: "Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace... But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up."

The king commanded the furnace to be heated seven times hotter than it was wont to be heated, and they were bound in their coats, hosen, and hats, and cast in. The flame slew the mighty men who threw them in, yet the three walked loose in the midst of the fire, and a fourth was with them, like unto the Son of God.

Nebuchadnezzar called them out, and not so much as the smell of fire had passed on them. The king blessed the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and promoted them in the province of Babylon. Their courage stands as one of Scripture's clearest pictures of faith that obeys God even when deliverance is uncertain.