Introduction
The Book of Daniel was written about the main character- Daniel. It is not written about Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego although they take center stage in Chapter 3 and Daniel is absent from that entire chapter.
It was Daniel who had center stage in Chapters 1 and 2. In Chapter 1, it was Daniel who asked the chief eunuch to test his diet against the diet the king wanted to impose upon him.
In Chapter 2, it was Daniel who called his friends together for a prayer meeting to seek out the troubling dreams and interpretation for the king. It was God who appeared to Daniel in a night vision and gave him the answer that Daniel and his friends were praying for.
It was the king in Chapter 2 who promoted Daniel to rule over the province of Babylon and to be the chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon. It was the king that made Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego over the affairs of the province of Babylon.
And Chapter 2 ends with a clear understanding as to who is over who is the leader. The Scripture says: it was Daniel who sat in the gates of the king.
And in Chapter 4 through 12, the narrative revolves around Daniel and not his three friends.
Make no mistake about it. Daniel was the leader over Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego. And on this Mother’s Day, Daniel teaches us some great parenting lessons although he is not actually their parent. Let us look at them and see what we can learn from Daniel.
Point #1
In every household there must be a leader and God set it up that the parents not the children are the leaders.
Ephesians 6:1–3 (NKJV)
6 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: 3 “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.”
In that unit that was taken away from their Jewish homeland, it is clearly understood that Daniel was the leader.
Let me tell you no household will function well without a clearly define leader. And in the home, God tells us that the parents are the leaders.
And our country is in the mess for two reasons.
1. Parents do not take their God given responsibility as parents to heart. Parents are not to be the child’s friend; a parent is called to be a parent. In other words, children will mess up and they need correction. And God tells you as parents, you set the rules of the house and you enforce them.
2. Children are taking authority over the household which God never gave them. When I worked at school, I would overhear some of the telephone conversations that children placed to their parents. They were telling their parent what they were doing after school. There was no asking permission, there was telling. And some other conversations, children were ordering their parents to bring money to school so they could go eat with their friends at Taco Bell.
You correct those two issues and there would be more saneness in this world.
Point #2
You must model your spiritual life at church, at home, and at work so that your child can see a genuineness in your faith. A child, if they think you are phony about your Christian life, they will disregard that way of life.
Proverbs 22:6 (NKJV)
6 Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it.
Daniel modeled his belief in God at work. He purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the king’s delicacies or wine when the chief eunuch reported that you will be eating those things.
Daniel modeled his belief in God at home. After the king granted Daniel some time to produce the dream and its interpretation, Daniel did not go home, closed himself in his room, and prayed. He called his three friends to pray with him.
And if there was a synagogue in Babylon, I am sure Daniel would have modelled the proper behavior of attending synagogue services.
Let me ask you a question, if Daniel were with those friends that day on the plain of Dura in Chapter 3, do you think he would bow or stand up like the three did?
How many thinks Daniel would bow down to the golden image of King Nebuchadnezzar?
How many thinks Daniel would have stood up with his three friends?
You answered that he would have stood up because he modeled his belief in God prior to that moment.
Let me give you some ideas where parents go wrong:
1. They drop their children off at church, then go home. They do not model.
2. If the parent goes to church but acts like a fool at home you are messing up. Because your child does not see a constant Christian witness from you.
3. If you become extremely angry at work, let me tell you your friends will tell you how your daddy acts at work.
Train up means you model for them the Christian behavior you want them to have after they leave the nest.
Point #3
Daniel never forgot that he and his friends were living in Babylon, a very wicked city hostile to believers in God. You must never forget as parents you are training your children to one day leave the nest and go out into a wicked world that tries to destroy believers.
In Daniel Chapter 1 verse 5, the King had three years of intensive training scheduled for Daniel and his friends. In that time, the Babylonians wanted to remove all thoughts about their homeland and their God and replace them with the Babylonian gods and the Babylonian lifestyle.
But Daniel would have none of that “he purpose not to defile himself.”
Parents, you got approximately 18 years to train up your child. In that time, you must teach them about Christ and the wicked world we live in. Children need to know that when they walk outside that door of their home to start a life on their own, they are entering a wicked world that would love to devour them.
Daniel never forgot how wicked Babylon was; parents, you better not forget how wicked this world is.
Point #4
The truth test of my parenting effort is what will the children do after they have left the nest.
Daniel 3:16–18 (NKJV)
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. 18 But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”
As I mentioned previously, Daniel is nowhere to be found in Chapter 3. All we see are the three young men. It is like they left the nest. And these young men are acting the way that Daniel had taught them- not to defile themselves. Daniel, if he were their biological parent, would have an A plus on his parenting skills.
Parents, if you want to know how you fared raising your children look at how your adult child is living. If you have not prepared them how to live when you are not around, you missed the boat.
The Big Question
The big question for you parents, grandparents and great grandparents who happen to be raising children, what will your children do when they leave the nest? Follow God or be swallowed up by this world!
