Canticle 7 (Dan 3:25-56); 2 King 19:15-20:6; Genesis 22:15-18
The seventh and eighth Biblical canticles, comprising the confession of Azariah and the song of his three friends in the fiery furnace, are everywhere present in holy week. Indeed, their exhortation to “praise the Lord and highly exalt Him forever” finds its way into the mouth of the sinful woman who anointed Jesus’ feet, as we hear her story in one of the Bridegroom services. No doubt Azariah and the three youths would approve, since the burden of their song is to call the whole of creation to praise.
Liturgically, the passage in the third extended chapter of Daniel is divided into two halves, the first comprising Azariah’s confession before the LORD, a description of the scenario, and the first two stanzas of the Song of the Three, who view the LORD on His heavenly throne. Then the second half, which forms canticle eight, gives almost the whole of the Song of the Three, with Azariah, in the furnace. For this week, we will consider the first section, Daniel 3:25-56.
Then Azariah stood and prayed in this way. And he opened his mouth, and he acknowledged the Lord together with his companions in the middle of the fire, while the furnace was being heated exceedingly by the Chaldeans, and he said:
Blessed are you, O Lord, God of our fathers,
and praiseworthy and glorified is your name forever!
For you are righteous in all you have done for us,
and all your works are genuine and your ways right,
and all your judgments are genuine.
And you have executed true judgments in all you have brought upon us
and upon Jerusalem, your holy city of our fathers,
Because in truth and judgment you have done all these things
because of our sins.
For we have sinned in everything and broken your law
in turning away from you,
and in all matters we have sinned grievously
And we have not heeded the commandments of your law,
and we have not kept them or done as you have commanded us
so that it might go well for us.
And now all that you have brought upon us
you have done by a true judgment.
And you have handed us over into the power of our enemies,
lawless and hateful rebels,
and to an unjust king,
the most wicked in the world.
And now we cannot open our mouth:
it has become a shame and a reproach for your slaves
and those who worship you.
For your name’s sake do not give us up completely,
and do not annul your covenant.
And do not withdraw your mercy from us,
for the sake of Abraham beloved by you
and your slave Isaac
and Israel your holy one,
as you spoke to them saying that their offspring would be multiplied
like the stars of heaven in multitude
and like the sand on the shore of the sea.
For we, O Master, have become fewer than any other nation
and are brought low this day in all the earth
because of our sins.
And in this time there is no ruler and prophet and leader,
no whole burnt offering or sacrifice or oblation or incense,
no place to make an offering before you
and to find mercy.
But rather with a broken life
and a humbled spirit may we be accepted,
as though it were with whole burnt offering of rams and bulls
and with tens of thousands of fat lambs;
thus let our sacrifice come before you today,
because no shame will come to those who trust in you,
and may it come to maturity behind you.
And now with our whole heart we follow,
and we fear you and seek your face.
Do not put us to shame,
but deal with us in your fairness
and in your abundant mercy
And deliver us in accordance with your marvelous works,
and bring glory to your name, O Lord.
And may all who display evil to your slaves
also be put to shame,
and may they be disgraced by all dominance
and their strength be broken.
Let them know that you alone are the Lord
and glorious over the whole world.
And when they cast the three in all at once into the furnace, the furnace was red hot, sevenfold in its heat. And when they threw them in, those who threw them in were over them, and those below them kept on stoking from underneath with naptha and pitch and tow and brushwood. And the flame poured out above the furnace forty–nine cubits and flared out and burned those of the Chaldeans who were caught near the furnace. But the angel of the Lord came down into the furnace to be with Azariah and his companions and shook the flame of the fire out of the furnace and made the inside of the furnace as if a moist breeze were whistling through. And the fire did not touch them at all and caused them no pain or distress. Now, the three resuming, as though from one mouth, were singing hymns and glorifying and blessing and exalting God in the furnace, saying:
Blessed are you, O Lord, God of our fathers,
and to be praised and highly exalted forever.
And blessed is your glorious holy name,
and to be highly praised and highly exalted forever and ever.
Blessed are you upon the throne of your kingdom,
and to be greatly hymned and highly glorified forever.
Blessed are you who view the depths sitting upon cherubim,
and to be praised and glorified forever.
Blessed are you in the firmament,
and to be hymned and glorified forever. (Dan 3:25-56)
The words of both Azariah and his friends are offered to the LORD when they are in extreme circumstances, and can thus be taken as completely truthful. They are already in the fire, which is being rendered ever hotter, and together, they acknowledge the LORD. Rather than simply calling out for help, Azariah begins by confessing that they are simply reaping what the people of God have sown: “For you are righteous in all you have done for us, and all your works are genuine and your ways right, and all your judgments are genuine. And you have executed true judgments in all you have brought upon us and upon Jerusalem, your holy city of our fathers.”
There are two things to notice here: the first is that God is praised because of something. Azariah does not simply blindly say, “let us praise the LORD,” but gives reasons for this. The purpose clause, of course, is a feature found in many of the Psalms, and is remarked upon by the OT scholar Walter Brueggemann as a characteristic of Hebrew worship that separates it from some other religious expressions. God is praised on the basis of evidence, not just because of ideology or tradition: Praise the LORD for or because of this or that demonstrates that we are meant to be reasonable sheep, not simply mindless cultists. In his book on the Psalms, Brueggemann talks about the danger of “praises without understanding,” and reminds us that God intends for us to worship with our whole heart, and soul, and mind.
Even in the furnace, Azariah remembers this. It would be easy to use confession simply in terms of getting God’s attention by flattery—instead, the Hebrew martyr speaks truthfully of God’s goodness. And this is the second thing to note: in this case, God’s goodness is comprised of his truthfulness and his justice! God is righteous in all that He has done for His people, and just in His judgments. All this has happened to the holy city and the nation, he says because of their sinfulness, and their turning to human aid rather than remaining faithful to the LORD. (Let us remember that Azariah and his friends are in exile because of the victory of the Babylonians over Jerusalem, which has been sacked, along with its glorious Temple.)
They are, then, in a state of shame, the laughing stock of the Gentile people, because they have been defeated, despite their claims to worship an all-powerful god. Azariah acknowledges this shame but then moves quickly to speak to God in a way that His people had often done in times of trial: He emphasizes God’s glory, and His “reputation” among the pagans. “For your name’s sake, he urges the LORD, “do not give us up completely, and do not annul your covenant.” In speaking this way, Azariah follows in the line of King Hezekiah, who received a letter that belittled God from the hand of the Assyrian king, during the time that that empire was expanding. In 2 Kings (4 Kingdoms) 19, we read this:
And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD and said: “O LORD, the God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth. Incline your ear, O LORD, and hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God. Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed. So now, O LORD our God, save us, please, from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O LORD, are God alone.”(2 Kings/4 Kingdoms 19:15-20)
Hezekiah, like Azariah, prays concerning the honor and majesty of God, rather than simply for the sake of God’s people. But, of course, for God to show His love and power for the Jewish people is also to show that He is not like the other gods, and not to be scorned. Azariah’s prayer is even more poignant, for he admits that God’s people do not deserve clemency—yet, for God’s own sake, he asks that he and the three be delivered. After all, they are the descendants of Abraham, to whom God had given the promise that his offspring would be as numerous and brilliant as the stars, and that through them all the peoples of the world would be blessed.
Here, in Babylon, Azariah hopes against hope that he and the three will be a blessing, bringing knowledge of the only true God to a darkened people. He reminds God of his promises to Abraham, of Abraham’s willingness to offer Isaac, and of how at this time there is no one left to offer sacrifice—indeed, there is no Temple left at which to offer sacrifices! But he and his friends, he says, humbly offer themselves “as though it were with whole burnt offering… with tens of thousands of fat lambs,” and trust in the LORD’s great mercy! They turn to the LORD , with a whole heart, and revere God, and seek His face. I wonder if they really thought that God would visit them in the scorching heat, walking with them and cooling the furnace? At any rate, they look for some deliverance from the “only true God” of glory, and even while the flames jump, they begin their song, as if with one heart and one mouth. They know that their God, who sits upon the throne with the cherubim, can see the depths of their need and will act.
Even before they begin to sing God visits them—His Angel comes, or the Word of God Himself prior to His Incarnation, who can tell? This shining One makes the furnace like a moist, nurturing womb, and walks with them as they sing of His glory, and the glory of His Name. He is on high, but also with them in the depths, and so is to be “praised and highly exalted forever.”
And, of course, it is not for God’s own sake that He clears His name among the pagans. God does not need human approval. But we need Him. All peoples need knowledge of the one true God to be truly human. Despite Azariah’s humility, God acts out of mercy and compassion, not to save His reputation because He cares about it, but because He cares about us—about the pagan king, as well as the four in the furnace. He is highly exalted, but delights to visit and dwell with us. Indeed “For He is righteous in all that He has done for us; all his works are genuine and His ways right, and all His judgments (and mercies!) are genuine.” Because of this, our praises have a strong foundation. Because of this, we care about the glory of God. And as we praise and glorify Him, we know that He Himself has no need for this human-offered glory. Rather, to exalt Him changes and enlarges the worshippers—us!
Edith M. Humphrey 