God’s Word for You
Daniel 3:13-15 The king’s rage; the Lord’s barrel
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Wednesday, September 24, 2025
13 In a furious rage, Nebuchadnezzar commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought to him, so they were brought before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods, or worship the golden statue that I have set up? 15 Now if you are ready, when you hear the sound of the horn, the flute, the lyre, the harp, the little harp, the drum, and all kinds of other musical instruments, you must fall down and worship the statue I have made. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into the heart of the burning fiery furnace. And then who is the God that will deliver you from out of my hands?
The Aramaic text piles up a couple of words to show that the king was both angry and in a rage, and he ordered the three men to be brought to him. Perhaps it didn’t take very long to do this, since the accusers were perfectly aware of the actions of these men. Yet by the time they arrived, the king’s demeanor seems to have changed, if only a little bit. He gives them a chance to do what he had commanded, and he also emphasizes the penalty as if he wants to be sure that they realized the danger that they were in.
When sin has taken over a man’s mind, his human reason fails him completely. Nebuchadnezzar did not even understand that what he was demanding was sinful and wicked in God’s eyes, so he could not grasp their actions, nor the motive for their actions.
His question at the end of verse 15 is a declaration of theology that outlines law and gospel in a specific way. The king says, “Who is the God that will deliver you from my hands?” We could argue the spelling of “god” (with or without a capital letter), but that is the point of the comparison.
If he means, “Who is the god…?” then he is asking as a pagan about pagan gods. He believes that he himself, Nebuchadnezzar, has done a thing that the unseen gods and demons have no control over. His ego has become so puffed up that not even his own Bel-Marduk can save someone who is under the sway of the great and nearly divine Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Issues of pride and grandeur would continue to plague this king for his whole life (Daniel 4:30). So if this is how the king means to speak, he is sinning in a serious way, and the Lord’s response in preserving his people is the response to display his true presence and nature to this heathen king.
However, if he means, “Who is the God…?” then he is asking as a pagan about the true God. In this case, he violates the First Commandment in a more serious way because he is at the same time challenging and mocking the Lord God himself, thinking that he, Nebuchadnezzar, is more than a match for anybody. A pagan still sins even if he doesn’t understand his sin, although his punishment will be a lesser punishment in hell. For Jesus says, “You, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to heaven? No, you will go down to hell. For if the miracles that were performed in you had been done in Sodom, it would still be here today. But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you” (Matthew 11:23-24). For the people of Sodom sinned but had no faith or any idea of Christ or the Gospel. Yet the people of Capernaum heard Christ himself preach in their synagogues and he did miracles on their street corners.
But look there at the word “deliver!” It rolls there in this sea of choppy pagan waves like an empty barrel after a ship’s sinking. Deliver! Save! Rescue! This is the LORD God’s whole plan for mankind in a single word. The Aramaic term, shezib, occurs only in Daniel 3 and Daniel 6, but it is just the same in meaning as yasha in Hebrew, as in “Joshua” and “Jesus,” which means “the Lord saves.” He saves by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He saves through baptism. He saves through faith in Jesus. He saves through the blood of Jesus that atoned for our sins. He saves through the perfect and innocent life of Jesus, who lived under God’s law without sinning even once, to cover us with his righteousness and protection. He saves us through the reception of the Lord’s Supper, for in it we all share the same loaf and drink the same blood that was shed for us, as a ransom for all our sins.
Luther says, “Faith is, as it were, the center of a circle. If anybody strays from the center, it is impossible for him to have the circle around him, and he must blunder. The center is Christ.” And in the same way, the only floating barrel is Christ. So cling to this floating barrel in the choppy and unsafe sea. He is rescue. He is life. He is truly the only salvation.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.