Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego been independent. It forms a pair with the story of Daniel in the lions' den, both making the point that the God of the Jews will deliver those who are faithful to him. King Nebuchadnezzar set up a golden image in the plain of Dura (a word meaning simply "plain") and commanded that all his officials bow down before it. All who failed to do so would be thrown into a blazing furnace. Certain officials informed the king that the three Jewish youths Hanania, Mishael, and Azaria, who bore the Babylonian names Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and whom the king
Old Testament theology means ignored as a hermeneutic" (Ramm, 1970, pp. 223). John Goldingay's "evangelical approach" to OTT exhibits an interesting concept and has opened up new ways in which to examine the Old Testament and its relationship to Israel and the New Testament. This approach does not attempt to read Jesus into the OT through typology or any other artificial techniques. It does observe that the God of the OT exhibits grace persistently, undeterred by the lack of human obedience or response. This evangelical approach insists that Jesus operated in the same way as the God who sent Abraham to a new