Daniel 3:19

Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury.

Such. point blank refusal to obey his arbitrary edict was something that he had not before encountered since he had been. king. The greatest monarch of his age, the greatest conqueror then known to history, was held to be worthy of almost divine honors, and was accustomed to the most slavish obedience. His will was the law of his empire. Now, when these three men, captives whom he had spared, and whom his favor had exalted to places of trust, stubbornly defied him, his fury knew no bounds. Always imperious and passionate, he was completely carried away now by his transport of rage.

The form of his visage changed.

As the face usually does when men become excited by anger. Before, his face was calm, and it might be that it expressed some tenderness, but it now became flushed and dark with passion, and his eyes sparkled with rage.

He commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more.

Seven was the perfect number. Beyond it nothing could be done. Hence, its use implies that it was to be heated just as hot as possible. The material existed right at hand of securing. terrible degree of heat. Bitumen was one of the most common articles and naptha abounded. The command to heat the furnace so hot shows the heat of his rage. He did not stop to reflect that such. degree of heat would end sufferings much sooner than. slow fire.