Theophany 85: The Son of God in the Fire
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Daniel 3:16–25
We have spent the last several Theophanies in the world of Ezekiel, where the presence and glory of God were revealed in visions of judgment, departure, and promise.
Ezekiel showed us a God whose holiness cannot be ignored and whose glory cannot be contained.
Now we turn to Daniel.
The setting changes dramatically. We leave Jerusalem and its ruined temple and come to Babylon, where God's people are living in exile. But the change of setting does not mean that God has abandoned His people. Quite the opposite.
In Ezekiel, we watched the glory of God depart from Jerusalem. In Daniel, we discover that God has not departed from His people. He is with them—even in the fire.
That is where the next great Theophany appears.
“Our God Whom We Serve”
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, has commanded everyone to fall down and worship the golden image he has erected.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse.
Their answer is remarkable not because they know they will be delivered, but because they do not know.
“Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”Daniel 3:17–18
There is no bargaining here.
God can deliver them.
God may deliver them.
But even if He does not, they will not bow.
That is faith stripped of every guarantee except God Himself.
Nebuchadnezzar responds with fury. The furnace is heated seven times hotter than usual, and the three men are thrown into the flames.
Then something happens that even the king cannot explain.
A Fourth Man
Nebuchadnezzar looks into the furnace.
He sees not three men, but four.
“But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.”Daniel 3:25
The king had ordered three men into the fire.
But there are four.
The fire has not consumed them.
Their bonds have burned away, but they themselves are unharmed.
And there, walking with them in the midst of the furnace, is the mysterious fourth figure.
Who is He?
The text does not give us a personal name.
Yet Christians have long recognized here one of the most striking Old Testament anticipations of Christ: the Son of God present with His people in the fire.
Nebuchadnezzar himself cannot fully understand what he is seeing. His language is pagan and limited. But he recognizes something extraordinary: this fourth figure is not like the others.
The God of Israel has entered the story.
Not from a comfortable distance.
Into the fire.
The God Who Is With Us
There is something especially beautiful about this Theophany after Ezekiel.
Ezekiel has shown us the terrifying holiness of God.
Daniel now shows us the nearness of God.
The same God whose glory cannot be treated casually is also the God who walks with His faithful servants through the furnace.
He does not always keep His people out of the fire.
Sometimes He meets them in it.
That distinction matters.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were not promised that they would never suffer. They were not given an escape clause.
They simply knew whom they served.
And when the moment came, they discovered that they were not alone.
“Not Even the Smell of Fire”
Nebuchadnezzar calls them out of the furnace.
They emerge without injury.
Daniel tells us:
“The fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them.”Daniel 3:27
Not even the smell of fire.
The furnace that should have destroyed them became the place where God's presence was most clearly revealed.
That is the great surprise of this Theophany.
God's presence does not always appear where we expect it.
Sometimes we look for Him in the palace, the temple, the sanctuary, or the place of safety.
Daniel shows us something different.
The Son of God is in the fire.
And for Christians, that points forward to the One whose name is Immanuel—“God with us.”
The One who walked with three men through the flames would one day come among us in flesh and blood.
Jesus would not merely stand at a distance from human suffering.
He would enter it.
He would bear rejection, suffering, crucifixion, and death.
And He would rise again.
The God who is with His people in the fire is revealed fully in Jesus Christ.
From Ezekiel to Daniel
The journey from Ezekiel to Daniel is therefore more than a change of books.
In Ezekiel, we saw the glory of God depart from a people who had repeatedly turned away from Him.
In Daniel, we see God with faithful people who refuse to bow.
The exile has not silenced God.
Babylon has not displaced Him.
The furnace cannot separate His people from His presence.
And that is where we begin the final movement of our journey through Theophany.
The Son of God in the fire.
Not merely a God who rules from heaven.
Not merely a God who speaks from afar.
But the God who comes near.
The God who walks with His people.
The God who is with us.
Jesus Christ.
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John 20:29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.*
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NEVER ALONE
I’ve seen the lightning flashing, I’ve heard the thunder roll.
I’ve felt sin’s breakers dashing, which almost conquered my soul.
I’ve heard the voice of my Savior, bidding me still to fight on.
He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone!
Refrain
No, never alone, no never alone,
He promised never to leave me,
He’ll claim me for His own;
No, never alone, no never alone.
He promised never to leave me,
Never to leave me alone.
The world’s fierce winds are blowing, temptation sharp and keen.
I have a peace in knowing my Savior stands between—
He stands to shield me from danger when my friends are all gone.
He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone!
Refrain
When in affliction’s valley I tread the road of care,
My Savior helps me carry the cross so heavy to bear;
Though all around me is darkness, earthly joys all flown;
My Savior whispers His promise, never to leave me alone!
Refrain
He died on Calvary’s mountain, for me they piercèd His side.
For me He opened that fountain, the crimson, cleansing tide.
For me He waiteth in glory, seated upon His throne.
He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone!
Refrain
Ludie D. Pickett, 1897.
I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.
The Lord Jesus Christ, in Matthew 28:20
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