Home | Sermon Home | Studies Home | | Feedback Form

Daniel's Parents

Pastor Bill Farrow

Daniel 1:3-5

[3] Then the king instructed Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to bring some of the children of Israel and some of the king's descendants and some of the nobles, [4] young men in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans. [5] And the king appointed for them a daily provision of the king's delicacies and of the wine which he drank, and three years of training for them, so that at the end of that time they might serve before the king.

(Verse 4) - One has to reflect on Daniel's parents. His physical gifts were largely the result of his genes and so little credit, other than the obvious, is to given there. But the wisdom, cleverness, and training that Daniel received does reflect well on the care and on the godliness of his mother and father. They must have raised him up in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord as a child because it is at that early age that the foundations for godliness are laid. We ought not close this verse out without considering Daniel 's parents a bit further.

It is possible to imply some things from these statements about how Daniel's parents raised him. However, we ought to note first of all that God had His hand on Daniel and so did a special work in his life that was the biggest and most influential aspect of his young life. Without that work, nothing else that happened to him would have availed at all. It is the hand of God that raises men to places of prominence and not their own puny devices.

That being said, let's think a bit about Daniel's parents. First and foremost, they must have been pious people. One cannot raise a godly young person without portraying godliness to them in the home. Daniel was no new believer as he went to Babylon. It is evident that he had been raised by godly parents who built into him the perspectives and values of a personal relationship with God.

It is also evident that they taught him to fear God. If anything is clear in Daniel's life, it is that he had a healthy fear of God. That fear is what prompted him to obey God despite what must have been tremendous temptation to the contrary. Consider that he was a young man with all of the drives and urges with which all young men struggle. Daniel's parents taught him to fear God, and that obedience was the best offering. It is more than apparent that his parents taught him to fear God more than men.

They also taught him discipline and godly habits. It was his lifelong habit to pray three times a day we are told later in his life. There is every reason to believe that these habits began in his childhood under the hand of his parents. In fact, we could argue that it would be difficult, at best, to develop those habits later in life if they were not put in place in childhood. An individual who is a believer from childhood who does not develop these habits early will likely never develop them. Daniel's parents did him a great favor by instilling in him the habit of godliness.

Further, we can see that Daniel's parents taught him self-discipline. Daniel was left by himself to sink or swim on his own. He faced tremendous trial and he faced it, humanly speaking. alone. There were no parents or other authorities to spur him to obey. The Temple was not available to him and the synagogue system was not, as yet, available. Was it not for the training he had received as a child he would have been ill-equipped to face such trials.

Further, we see that Daniel's parents gave him a love for God and for His plan for Israel. It was Daniel's fondest desire to see Judah returned to the land. He searched the Scriptures to find God's will for them, and when he found it, he pursued it n prayer, fervently and zealously. There was nothing more important to Daniel than to see God glorified and God's people served. It consumed his heart and mind and drove him to his knees.

We can also see that Daniel's parents built into him an awareness that service to God was an active matter. He did not simply sit by and read his Bible, so to speak. He got out and got busy and served God as a part of the society into which God had placed him. God blessed his efforts and used him tremendously in Babylon.

It is also evident that Daniel's parents taught him the importance of personally relating to God and of calling others to such personal interaction with the Lord. We have already noted how faithfully and fervently he sought God himself. That we will merely mention once again. However, it is also clear that he understood the need to bear witness to others and to call them to obedience as well. When God dealt with Nebuchadnezzar and brought him to redemption it is clear that he had sufficient specific information to embrace God's mercy. That information could only have come from Daniel.

It is further evident that Daniel's parents taught him the value of godly associations. We never see Daniel taking fellowship with the wicked around him. Rather, we see him separate himself from the wicked and keep company with other godly believers. They were able to support and encourage him in the things of the Lord. He could be accountable to them in his walk with God. One cannot underestimate how truly important this is! No one is an island! Our children need fellowship. That fellowship needs to be with godly believers who will encourage godliness and not discourage it.

Good parenting doesn't guarantee a Daniel as a child, but Daniel's rarely happen without good parenting. Our goal, as we parent our children ought to be to produce children that God can use as He sees fit. We ought to seek to produce children who are ready and able to be used of God in whatever form and fashion might suit His plan.

I need to preach and teach the importance and impact of good parenting.