No Smell of Fire
When God saves, He saves completely! This is no residue of furnace on us.
It is a story you have likely heard many times. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednigo would not bow down to King Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image. All they had to do was bow down. They would not. So the King decreed destruction for the three belligerent fellows - destruction by fiery furnace.
The condemned reply to the King was, “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us … But if not, be it known to you, O King, that we will not serve your gods.” Of course, this made the king furious and, in great Nebuchadnezzar fashion, he ordered the furnace to be heated up 7 times hotter than normal. If you have heard the story before, you know that when they threw the Jews into the furnace, the soldiers carrying Shadrach, Meshach and Abednigo died from the heat, but the three condemned were “walking around” in the furnace. Even more miraculously, there was a 4th man in the fire. This man was not thrown in the fire, but - here come the chills - He chose to be in the fire with the condemned. No one could throw the 4th man in the fire.
The king described the 4th man as looking like “a son of the gods.” Indeed! That is exactly who He was. God, Himself, chose to show up in the fire with the three faithful rebels. The king called Shadrach, Meshach and Abednigo out of the furnace. He did not attempt to command the 4th man. That is understandable under the circumstances, but I still wonder what would have happened had he asked the Son of God to “come here.” The Jews obeyed the king and left the furnace and went out to the king.
Upon inspection, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednigo, had absolutely no harm done to them in the fire of the furnace. The fire had not harmed their bodies. The hairs on their heads were not singed! Their robes were not scorched, and there was not even the “smell of fire” on them. These three faithful servants of God had been thrown into the furnace of judgment and had walked out with absolutely no trace of having been in the furnace.
The lesson for us: God’s salvation is so thorough, so complete, that no sign of judgment remains on those He saves. In this furnace of trials we call life there is plenty of fire. The judgment of sin and death have been decreed over us and condemnation abounds. But we have a Savior. We have a 4th Man, who chose to walk with us in the furnace of this human existence. The Son of God keeps us, just as He did Shadrach, Meshach and Abednigo, through the trial of the furnace and saves us so thoroughly that when we come out of the furnace, at the other side of the trials of life, there will be no effect. Not even the scent of the fire on us. We will stand in God's presence free from any of the furnace’s evidence.
We will stand, having been delivered through the fire by the power of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Just as king Nebuchadnezzar proclaimed the greatness of God because the three Jews passed through the furnace unharmed, so will those who see our salvation be amazed and glorify God. Praise be to our Savior who saves so completely that even the residue of judgment does not exist. Our God is great!