John Calvin Commentary Daniel 3:19-20

"Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego: [therefore] he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was wont to be heated. And he commanded certain mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, [and] to cast them into the burning fiery furnace." — Daniel 3:19-20 (ASV)

Here, at first sight, God seems to desert his servants, since he does not openly help them. The king orders them to be thrown into a furnace of fire: no help from heaven appears for them. This was a living and remarkably effective proof of their faithfulness. But they were prepared, as we have seen, to endure everything.

These bold answers were not prompted simply by their trust in God’s immediate help, but by a determination to die; since a better life occupied their thoughts, they willingly sacrificed the present life. Therefore, they were not frightened by this terrible order of the king’s, but continued on their course, fearlessly submitting to death for the worship of God.

No third way was opened for them when a choice was granted either to submit to death or apostatize from the true God. By this example we are taught to meditate on our immortal life in times of ease, so that if God pleases, we may not hesitate to expose our souls by the confession of the true faith. For we are so fearful when we are attacked by hardship; we are seized with fear and lethargy, and then when we are not pressed by any urgency, we create for ourselves a false security.

When we are allowed to be at ease, we ought to apply our minds to meditation upon a future life, so that this world may become of little value to us, and we may be prepared when necessary to shed our blood in testimony to the truth. And this narrative is not presented to us simply to lead us to admire and celebrate the courage of these three holy men, but their constancy is proposed to us as an example for imitation.

With reference to King Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel here shows, as in a mirror, the pride and haughtiness of kings when they find their decrees disobeyed. Surely a mind of iron ought to have softened at the answer which we have just recounted, on hearing Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego committing their lives to God; but when it heard how they could not be turned aside from their faithfulness by the fear of death, its anger was only increased.

In considering this fury, we ought to take into account the power of Satan in seizing and occupying the minds of men. For there is no moderation in them, even if they show some great and remarkable hope of virtues, — for, as we have seen, Nebuchadnezzar was endowed with many virtues; but as Satan harassed him, we discern nothing but cruelty and barbarity.

Meanwhile, let us remember how pleasing our constancy is to God, though it may not produce any immediate fruit in the eyes of the world. For many indulge in pleasure through thinking they would be rash in devoting themselves to death without any apparent benefit. And on this pretext, they excuse themselves from not contending more boldly for the glory of God, by supposing their labor would be lost, and their death would be fruitless.

But we hear what Christ pronounces, namely, this sacrifice is pleasing to God when we die for the testimony of the heavenly doctrine, although the generation before which we bear witness to God’s name is adulterous and perverse, indeed, even hardened by our constancy (Matthew 5:11, Matthew 10:32, and Mark 8:38).

And such an example is here presented to us in these three holy men; because, although Nebuchadnezzar was more inflamed by the freedom of their confession, yet that liberty pleased God, and they did not repent of it, though they did not discern the fruit of their constancy which they wished. The Prophet also expresses this circumstance to demonstrate the king’s fury, since he ordered the furnace to be heated seven times hotter than before; and then, he chose from his own servants the strongest of all to bind these holy men, and cast them into the furnace of fire.

But from the result it is very evident that this did not occur without God’s secret prompting; for the devil will sometimes discredit a miracle unless all doubt is removed. Since, therefore, the king ordered the furnace to be heated seven times more than before, and next, when he chose the strongest attendants and commanded them to follow him, God thus removed all doubts by freeing his servants, because light emerges more clearly from the darkness when Satan endeavors to shut it out.

Thus God is accustomed to frustrate the impious; and the more impious they are in opposing his glory, the more he makes his honor and doctrine conspicuous. Similarly, Daniel here depicts how King Nebuchadnezzar spared no effort when he wished to strike terror into the minds of all the Jews by this cruel punishment. And yet he obtained nothing else by his plans than a clearer illustration of God’s power and grace towards his servants. It now follows: —