What does Daniel 3:18 mean?
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Daniel 3:14–17) demonstrate intense trust in God. They know the Lord is powerful enough to rescue them from the consequences of defying Nebuchadnezzar's command to worship an idol (Daniel 3:1–7), but they don't demand that He do so. They did not know whether God would deliver them or allow them to die in the flames. They knew, however, that He was able to deliver them. In either case, they clearly told the king that they would not serve his heathen gods or worship his golden image. They were determined to be faithful to God, no matter what. Even if that meant death, they trusted the Lord with the outcome.Exodus 20:3–5 was indelibly stamped on the hearts of these Hebrew slaves: "You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them." New Testament believers, too, must disdain idolatry. In Colossians 3:5 Paul equates covetousness with idolatry, and the apostle John writes in 1 John 5:21: "Little children, keep yourselves from idols."