Daniel 3:16-18 - Faith in the Fire

Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah were three Jewish young men, probably royalty, taken as prisoners of war to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, wanted these individuals to be part of his administration, but didn't want them distracted by romance, nor by any illusions of raising a royal lineage that would compete with his own rule. So he put them under the care of the "Chief of the Eunuchs." Chances are likely, then, that they were emasculated (2 Kings 20:18; Isaiah 39:7).

Before they could serve in Nebuchadnezzar's court, they underwent three years of training in the local language and literature. They had names that reflected belief in the Lord of Israel, so they were given new names that honored the pagan deities of Babylon:

Hananiah, "God has favored" was renamed Shadrach "the command of Aku" (the Babylonian moon god)

Mishael, "Who is what God is?" {i.e., who can be like God?} was renamed Meshach, "Who is what Aku is" (same god)

Azariah, "God has helped" was renamed Abednego," a servant of Nebo (yet another god)"

Regardless of whether they were physically emasculated or not, Nebuchadnezzar wanted to obliterate their memory of God and their trust in Him.

Nebuchadnezzar considered himself a god, and commissioned a 90 foot gold statue himself. The penalty for not worshipping this monstrous idol was to be burned alive in a huge furnace.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were called out for not bowing down to the idol, and their response to the king was,

“O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. 18 But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.” (Daniel 3:16–18, New Living Translation, 2015)

Their hearts had not been taken captive. They hadn't forgotten their true names:
Who is what God is? No one else is...|
The God who favored them.
The God who was their judge.

God rescued the three friends from the fire. Their clothes weren't singed or even smelled of smoke. That doesn't always happen. Since ancient times, some have been tortured to death for their faith. (Hebrews 11:35-40)

Father, when we're tempted to give in to intimidation from our culture, when we want to run from threatening circumstances, when it seems easier to doubt... deepen our faith to trust You to rescue us. And even if you don't, we pray that we remain loyal to worshipping You alone. In Jesus' name, Amen.