The Fiery Furnace is a story from the Old Testament book of Daniel. The book of Daniel takes place in Babylon where the Jewish people have been taken captive by the King Nebuchadnezzar. He puts the best and brightest of the Israelites to work in his court. He also makes regular demands that the Jewish people follow his customs and worship his gods. In this story, the king has a dream of building a great statue for his own glory (the image of gold). He builds the statue and declares that all the people in the lands must worship the statue when they hear the sound of music (how appropriate for an oratorio). The music sounds and three Jewish priests refuse to worship the statue. The king has declared that anyone refusing to worship the statue will be thrown into the burning fiery furnace. After talking with the three priests, he follows through and throws them into the statue. It is described that the fire is so hot that the guards who throw the priests into the furnace are burned to death. Yet, the three priests are preserved and are seen walking around inside the furnace. There is a fourth seen walking in the fire that is described as a son of the gods. Some say this is an angel. At any rate, King Nebuchadnezzar is a bit thwarted and calls the priests out of the fire. He is stunned that the God of the Jews has preserved their lives and commands all to worship this God.
No comments:
Post a Comment