We are going to continue our study on the Aleph Tav. If you are new here, I recommend reading through the very first post on this subject called, Jesus is the Aleph Tav. It will give you a great foundation for all the other posts in this series. 

We are going to wrap up our look at Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Last week we saw how these men stood for righteousness, and the results of this. What will they do? 

Standing on the Promises

Let’s take a look at what Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego said to King Nebuchadnezzar, and we’ll also see where the first aleph-tav appears in this story.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so [aleph-yod-tav-yod], 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 [aleph-yod-tav-yod-nun-aleph] serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” Daniel 3:16-18 (ESV, brackets mine)

Wow, to have the faith of these three young men! 

Notice that they believed God was able to deliver them. And also notice that they had no idea if God was actually *going to* deliver them when they stood boldly before the great king Nebuchadnezzar. But, they stood firm on their convictions, because to them, this was a life and death issue. 

And they had already made up their minds on what they would do!

They already knew this would be an issue, and they had already pre-decided their choice, no matter the outcome. I imagine they had been warned about this. They were part of the company of wise men. They were no fools. They saw this coming. They knew there would be a day where they would have to stand up for their beliefs.

But what strength were they standing upon? Their own strength? Nope! They stood upon The Aleph-Tav, The Strength of the Covenant!

Now, what’s really cool is the addition of the Hebrew letter yod appearing twice around the aleph-tav. Yod can mean hand/grasp, work/make, deed/create. And it’s also the first Hebrew letter of God’s name Yahweh or Jehovah: yod-heh-vav-heh.

So this Hebrew word [aleph-yod-tav-yod] is only used in Daniel and Ezra. And I wonder if Ezra only used the word because he had read Daniel’s book!  

The way I’ve defined the word with the Hebrew letter meanings is this: Strength of the Creator with the Covenant Hand.

So I ask again, whose strength were Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego relying upon? The Strength of the Creator with the Covenant Hand. This is Jesus the Messiah. These men were relying on the strength of their future Messiah! They had trusted in Jesus for their eternal salvation, and they didn’t know whether or not they would be physically saved. But they trusted anyway.

This Hebrew word [aleph-yod-tav-yod-nun-aleph] is the same as the previous, but it has an extra two letters at the end, nun and aleph. Here’s a possible meaning of this word: Strength of the Creator with the Covenant Hand that Imparts Life and Strength/Kingship.

Because Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were standing on the rock of their future Messiah, they could choose the thing that actually imparts life, Jesus Himself!

Jesus Shows Up as the Fourth Man

Ok, let’s finish this story. And I’ll insert a little bit of commentary as I read.

“Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed [aleph & tav added in: strength of destroyer against the covenant] against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated. 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. 

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. 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. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace. 

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.” He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are [aleph-yod-tav-yod] not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods [or the Son of God].” 

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 [vav-aleph-tav-vav, joined to the strength of the covenant man]!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. 

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. 

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. 

Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is [aleph-yod-tav-yod] no other god who is able to rescue in this way.” Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.” Daniel 3:19-30 (ESV, brackets mine)

Now that is a testimony! Jesus, the fourth man in the fire, shows up for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

Let me tell you what the other 2 Hebrew names of Meshach and Abednego mean.

Meshach’s Hebrew name is Mishael, which means “Who is what God is.” We are created in the image of God, and Mishael got to experience, in the fire, being like God, where the physical environment of heat and flames had no effect on his being.

Abednego’s Hebrew name is Azariah, which means “Jehovah has helped.” We see that Jehovah has come to their aid; He sent Jesus Himself to help them in response to their convictions and their stance upon the rock of their future Messiah.

What about you?

Are you standing upon the [aleph-yod-tav-yod], the “Strength of the Creator with the Covenant Hand”? Are you standing upon the rock of Jesus Christ?

Or are you following the world’s ways, bowing down to the world’s system for fear of dying? Make no mistake, the world will always provide you with opportunities to bow down to its system. The world will always take you along with its philosophies, which are anti-God, anti-Christ, and anti-Spirit.

Let’s pray, and let’s ask for the Lord’s help to follow the incredible examples of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, or in Hebrew: 

Hananiah = God has favored

Mishael = Who is what God is

Azariah = Jehovah has helped

Part 1