St. Michael & All Angels – 2026

¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. ¹⁷ If this be so, 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. ¹⁸ 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.”

¹⁹ Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated. ²⁰ And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. ²¹ Then these men were bound in their cloaks, their tunics, their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace. ²² Because the king’s order was urgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. ²³ And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace.

²⁴ Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” ²⁵ He answered and said, “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.”

²⁶ Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. ²⁷ And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together and saw that 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. ²⁸ Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God.

Dear Friends in Christ,

 Nebuchadnezzar ruled the most powerful nation in the world at the turn of the sixth century BC. He conquered lands and peoples from Babylon to Turkey to Egypt. He led the most dominant military in the world at his time. He built cities. He is known for building the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, which is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. This power and might, like it did for so many other leaders in world history, went to his head. Some suggest that the gold image, which was 60 cubits high (90 feet), was molded after him. But whether or not it was made in his likeness, it was a monument to his glory. When the statue was dedicated, he commanded all his people to bow down and worship the gold image that he had made. He said, “whoever does not fall down, and worship shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.”

Israel was one of the countries Nebuchadnezzar conquered. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (along with Daniel), were among those who had been taken to Babylon during the Babylonian Captivity (Daniel 1). The king brought them to serve in his court because they were intelligent and capable and God blessed their work. Yet, their success also made others jealous of them. So, when certain Babylonians noticed that these three Jews did not bow down to the golden image, they told the King. They said they must be thrown in the fiery pit, because they “have not paid due regard to you. They do not serve your gods or worship the gold image which you have set up.”

Nebuchadnezzar was furious! He immediately called the three men to come before him. He promised them life if they would bow down to the image. However, if they didn’t, he threatened to throw them into the fiery furnace. He said, “andwho is the god who will deliver you from my hands?”

And this is where our lesson picks up, from Daniel 3:16.  

There are three points we should learn from this lesson today. First, God will never abandon those who trust in him. This is an easy thing for us to know, but it is a hard thing for us to remember and live out. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had a difficult test. They were threatened by a powerful and ruthless king. Death was right in front of them. They had two choices—two commands. One from God to have no other gods and another from a power-hungry king to bow down to a golden statute. They couldn’t see God, but they could see this king and his guards and roaring flames and smoke of the fiery furnace. They didn’t choose the easy way. They obeyed God rather than men.

These three men trusted that the God who had saved them during their captivity, who brought them into favor in the king’s court, would not forget them now. They said, “If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” They knew their God could deliver them. They believed that God would deliver them whether that be by delivering them from the furnace by sparing their lives or delivering them from the fire by turning their deaths into eternal life. They knew, along with the Apostle Paul, that whether we live or we die, we are the Lord’s.

When I think about what these three men faced and the consequences they would face for being faithful to God and contradicting the king, it is sobering. God calls us to be faithful. He calls us to love and serve him. But we have failed to do this, when the stakes were much less. Have you caved in to peer pressure to curse, swear, or gossip about others? Have you been afraid to confess the truth about biblical morality, six-day creation, or other teachings of Scripture, because you knew others would look down on you or it might cost you popularity or a job? Have you obeyed your sinful flesh rather than God, because you wanted to satisfy your lust, anger, pride, or greed? 

You haven’t obeyed God rather than men. Because of our sin, we deserve to be thrown into the fires of hell. That’s why the second lesson we learn is that we need to be delivered by God. There is no other way. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego could not save themselves. They didn’t have a chance, but God saved them through his angel.  And just as a God sent his holy angel to deliver them from the fiery furnace, so too has God sent another to save you from hell. Not an angel who appeared like a son of a gods, but the Son of God, who became man to enter the pit, suffering the agony of hell in your place on the cross, so that you could pass through death, unharmed, with hair unsinged and clothes intact.

This amazing account of God saving Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is a story within the grand story of Scripture that points us to Jesus who delivered us! Jesus has paid for your sins on the cross and risen from the grave giving you the assurance of salvation. Because of Jesus, you and I do not need to cower at the threats of the devil and the world, you are protected by him who holds the power over death and hell. You are protected by him who sends his angels to guard and keep you.

This brings us to the third lesson: God’s holy angels are another important reason for why you can trust in God. When they refused to bow down to the golden image, Nebuchadnezzar had the furnace heated seven times more than usual. The flames were so hot that his mighty men of valor were killed as threw the three men in. But not Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Because in that fiery furnace, was another, whose form was like the son of God! The Lord delivered them by sending one of his mighty angels. Those fierce flames could not harm those who were protected by the angel. When the king finally brings them out from the furnace, the men did not only survive, they were untouched! The text says, “they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them.”

On this Sunday of St. Michael and All Angels’ we are reminded of one of the great blessings God has given to us—angels. Angels are not humans. They do not have a body and a soul, they are spirit beings. Angel means messenger. As we know from Scripture, God often used angels to send messages, whether that be the angels who came to Abraham or the heavenly host that appeared to the shepherds abiding in the field on the night of Jesus’ birth. The Bible calls angels the Lord’s ministering servants who are sent to serve those who will inherit salvation (Hebrews 1:14). Since you are one of God’s believers who will inherit salvation, God sends his angels to serve and help you.

This is a tremendous comfort! We don’t see God’s angels. They are invisible to us, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t real. Just think about how many times they have protected us from falling into physical and spiritual dangers! The angels are one of the many examples of how God cares for and provides for us during our short stay on this earth. He thinks of all our needs. He sends angels to defend us and protect us during our life’s journey. Yet, many of the times that they have cared for us go unnoticed. But we find comfort in the words from Psalm 91: “Because you have made the LORD your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you… For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.”

As you go through this life, you can walk forward with confident trust in your Savior. While it is true we walk in danger all the way, God sends his angels to walk right along with you. The devil, one of God’s fallen angels, would love for us to be afraid. He’d love for us to think that we can’t be forgiven by God, that Jesus’ isn’t enough, because then he’d have us beat. The angels in heaven, on the other hand, rejoice over one sinner who repents, because they know that through faith in Jesus, we are protected by the King of kings. Like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, we know that God will deliver us. While God does not promise to save us from every danger, we do know that he will deliver us in the end. When our final hour comes, he will send his angels to bear you home to heaven just as they carried poor Lazarus to heaven. In heaven, we will no longer need the angels’ protection. Instead, we will simply join them in praising our good and gracious Lord, the alpha and the omega, the first and the last, whose kingdom will have no end.

May the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego give us courage to confess our Lord Jesus, may our Savior’s perfect life, death, and resurrection give you peace when you fall, and may the holy angels remind you of God’s continued care for you, even when the challenges are great. Amen.