Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery Furnace
Daniel 1-3
re-told by Debbie Dunn

Story highlights:

* What were Shadrach & Meshach & Abednego ordered to do?

* Bow to King Nebuchadnezzar’s tall gold statue or be thrown into fiery furnace.

* God saved Shadrach & Meshach & Abednego from the fiery furnace.

Bible tale begins:

The fiery furnace story happened about 600 years before Jesus, the Son of God, walked the earth as a man.

RINGLEADER: Tell us the fiery furnace story!

Group repeats

First, you have to understand that the King of Babylon came to Jerusalem and kidnapped a whole bunch of people.

RINGLEADER: What was that mean king's name?

Group repeats

His name was King Nebuchadnezzar [neh-buh-kuhd-neh-zr].

RINGLEADER: Nebuchadnezzar is a long name!

Group repeats

It sure was. The king even gave new names to some of his hostages including the 3 heroes of this story.

RINGLEADER: What were those 3 names?

Group repeats

One of them was called Shadrach [SHAD-rak].

RINGLEADER: Shadrach.

Group repeats

The second one was named Meschach [MEE-shak].

RINGLEADER: Meschach.

Group repeats

The last one was named Abednego [uh-BED-nih-goh].

RINGLEADER: Abednego.

Group repeats

God gave those 3 young men lots of talents and abilities.

King Nebuchadnezzar rewarded them with important jobs. But as time passed, something awful happened.

RINGLEADER: Uh-oh! What happened?

Group repeats

King Nebuchadnezzar got it into his head to build a gold statue that was 90 feet tall and 9 feet wide.

RINGLEADER? What is something 90-feet tall?

Group repeats

A 9-story building and baseball players have to run 90 feet between home plate and first base.

RINGLEADER: Wow! That is a tallllllll statue!

Group repeats

But … there was a big problem with that tall gold statue.

RINGLEADER: I bet people had to worship it.

Group repeats

You guessed it! Just listen to the announcement they made.

HERALD: The king commands you to bow to his statue when you hear musical instruments play.

RINGLEADER: What happens if we don’t do that?

Group repeats

HERALD: You will be thrown into a blazing furnace.

RINGLEADER: Woe! That's scary!

Group repeats

It sure was! King Nebuchadnezzar's people were used to bowing down to statues. But remember that hostages like our 3 heroes only worshipped God Almighty.

Have you ever tattled or had somebody tattle on you?

RINGLEADER: Uh-oh! Did someone tattle on them?

Group repeats

Yep! Some jealous people went to the king and tattled.

TATTLERS: Uh, Your Majesty, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse to bow down to your tall gold statue.

RINGLEADER: Uh-oh! I bet that king was mad!

Group repeats

That king called them in and angrily demanded

KING: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, I will give you one last chance. If you refuse to bow down to my 90-foot-tall gold statue, you will be thrown into my blazing furnace. I bet no god can rescue you from my power!

Speaking for all of them, Shadrach politely replied:

SHADRACH: Your Majesty, if we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve can save us. He will rescue us from your power, But even if He doesn't, we still refuse to worship any idols including your tall statue.

RINGLEADER: I bet that king wanted revenge!

Group repeats

He sure did! The enraged king ordered:

KING: Soldiers! Make that fiery furnace 7 times hotter. Then, bind those 3 and throw them into the flames.

Believe it or not, that fire was so hot that it immediately killed the soldiers who threw God’s faithful 3 into the roaring flames.

RINGLEADER: Woe! What about our 3 heroes?

Group repeats

King Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in amazement and asked:

KING: Woe! Didn't we only throw 3 men into the fire?

The advisors said, "Yes, Your Majesty. There were only 3.” Shocked, the king pointed toward the fire and shouted:

KING: Look! I see 4 men, not just 3. They are unbound and walking around unharmed. Is the 4th the Son of God?

RINGLEADER: Maybe it was an angel or Jesus.

Group repeats

The king approached the furnace and called:

KING: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego calmly stepped out of the fire. Everyone crowded around. They realized that all 3 of them looked fine and didn’t even smell like fire. The king called out:

God text

KING: Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent His angel to rescue his servants who trusted in Him. Those 3 were willing to die rather than worship any god except their own God. From this day forward, treat their God with great respect. After all, there is no other god who can rescue as their God did.

RINGLEADER: Wow! Our God is all powerful!