Daniel 3:23:1-9. The opening lines of the prayer Azariah, also known as Abignego, chants after being thrown in the fiery furnace with Shadrach and Meshach by King Nebuchadnezzar. He blesses God and proclaims that all God has done is just and right, His judgments are true. He acknowledges that God has executed judgment against His people and His holy city of Jerusalem because of their sins. For they have sinfully and lawlessly defied departed from God and have not observed His commandments that were given so that things "might go well with us." So everything that has happened, including being in the hands of the most wicked king in the world, has been done in God's true judgment.

Azariah is right, of course, all God's judgments are true. Jerusalem's sins were so great, and the people so obstinate, that exile in Babylon was the only thing that would get them to repent and turn back. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abignego, though, do not appear to be sinful men. They are friends of Daniel and are trying to stay true to God, even in Nebuchadnezzar's service, which is how they end up in the fiery furnace in the first place. Azariah's prayer, then, is acknowledging the sins of their people, if not necessarily the sins of these three men personally. These three are accepting their punishment as part of the just punishment deserved by all of the Jews. And because they are so faithful and trusting of God, they survive being thrown in the furnace. Just as we will survive the purifying fire of God's judgment if we accept it with trust and faith.

In a way, these men are purifying their people, too. They are accepting a fiery death in defense of their God, when most of their countrymen have turned their backs on God. Because of these men's willingness to sacrifice themselves, Nebuchadnezzar will come to see God's glory, and all the Jewish people will be treated better while in exile.