Is Proverbs 22:6 Just Pie in the Sky?

I tried, I really did, to break this story into two or three smaller installments. But I just couldn’t without detracting from the telling. So, get a fresh cup of coffee, sit back, and let me tell you the untold story of the most amazing parents we never knew. Ready? Let’s begin . . .

Taken

There was no way to put a good face on this. One minute he was a favored son from a prominent family, a young man with bright prospects. The next moment he was a prisoner captured by an invading army. Forcibly separated from family and transported over 500 miles from his homeland, he was scheduled to be “de-programmed” at an institution where every connection to his former life would be stripped away.

The majority of people from his homeland had defied God for years, and their recent defeat against the invaders (now his captors) was the beginning of God’s judgment of them. A good boy being jerked around for others’ mistakes, no one would have blamed him if he wondered, “Why weren’t they taken captive? Why me, God?”

The young man was marshaled to the formidable capital city, Babylon, through one of nine gates named after local deities: Ishtar, Marduk (also known as Bel), Sin, Enlil, Urash, Shamash, Adad, Zababa, and Lugalgirra. The point could not have been more obvious to all who entered Babylon – This city was the center of idolatry, paganism, and the worship of all things fashioned by the hands of men. The training center in which the young man was forcibly enrolled for “re-education” was steeped in philosophies hostile to his faith.

It didn’t take long for it to get personal. The young man, whose given name of Daniel meant “God is my judge,” was renamed “Belteshazzar,” which is derived from the name of a local god (Daniel 4:8), perhaps Bel or his consort, Belet. “Belte” + “shazzar” means something like, “Belet, protect the king.” So every time Daniel was called by someone using his newly assigned name, Belteshazzar, the one who summoned him was invoking a false god for the king’s protection. How humiliating for Daniel who feared the one true God to have his name turned into a prayer to an idol.

So here was a second reason for young Daniel to struggle. Before being captured, he enjoyed all the spiritual benefits of being raised as a follower of the one true God. Now he was thrust into the center of a world that opposed Yahweh and enrolled at an institution bent on crushing his faith. For one who affirmed God’s control over all things, it would be easy to wonder, “Why has God consigned me to forces compelling me to forget Him? How does this make any sense?”

These are the provocative circumstances in which we are first introduced to this remarkable young man named Daniel. He does not question God’s fairness, sovereignty, or wisdom, even though his circumstances might sponsor such doubts. Instead, we see a young man whose bold trust in God rises above his circumstances, indeed whose faith rouses him to challenge a core tenet of the very institution charged with his “re-education.” Probably in his teens at the time, Daniel proved himself a spiritual force to be reckoned with in Babylon.

Daniel’s Dilemma

The King of Babylon was interested in grooming future diplomats and ordered Ashpenaz, his chief of staff, to screen the group of captives of which Daniel was a part. Daniel (as well as three friends) was among those who excelled and was enrolled in the king’s college. Hardly had he begun his training before drawing a line in the sand, but not in a place we might expect. He did not protest being named after a god who was no god. He did not refuse to master the language and literature of the Chaldeans, literature that was riddled with praise for the pantheon of Babylonian gods. His allegiance to God was not threatened by these impositions.

But in a matter that would seem benign, Daniel dug in his heels. The biblical account reads: “But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s choice food or with the wine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself” (Daniel 1:8). Popular explanations for Daniel’s conviction propose that the “king’s choice food” did not conform to dietary requirements of the Mosaic Law or that this food had been sacrificed and offered to pagan gods. These seem reasonable explanations but cannot be regarded as anything more than plausible speculations since the text makes no mention of them to explain Daniel’s response.

There is another possibility with a stronger biblical basis. In order to understand why eating “the king’s choice food” was a problem for Daniel, we should look at other passages where “choice food” is found. Outside of Daniel 1, this term is only found in one other place in the entire Bible, namely, in Daniel 11:26.

Let’s get a little background on Daniel 11 before looking at “choice food” in verse 26. Daniel 11 is a remarkable, extended prophecy which precisely predicts events that will occur in the Middle East in the centuries to follow the time of Daniel. This prophecy traces events in Medo-Persia, the rise of Alexander the Great, and the division of his empire into four kingdoms. Then it predicts the conflicts between two of these kingdoms, named the North (the Seleucids) and the South (the Ptolemies), in the years after Alexander the Great. They are called the North and South, respectively, because of their relation to Israel.

Daniel 11:26 foretells exactly what will happen to a particular king from the South who will be betrayed by members of his inner circle. This prophesy was fulfilled when Ptolemy VI was fooled by two of his counselors, Eulaeus and Lenaeus, who purposely gave him bad advice. Despite having a superior military force, the false counsel of Eulaeus and Lenaeus led to Ptolemy’s sound defeat by a king from the north in 170 BC.

Here is Daniel’s prophecy concerning these events: “Those who eat his choice food will destroy him, and his army will overflow, but many will fall down slain” (Daniel 11:26). Eulaeus and Lenaeus are described as “those who eat his choice food,” which is an idiom used by Daniel to denote the inner circle of the king, individuals who should be devoted to the King. Ptolemy met disaster because Eulaeus and Lenaeus subverted him even though they should have been loyal to him as befits those who eat his choice food.

Based on how the phrase is used in Daniel 11:26, refusing “to eat the choice food” of the king (in Daniel 1:7) constitutes a refusal to pledge unstinting loyalty to Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel, along with his three friends, discerned that their allegiance to God would be compromised by eating food from Nebuchadnezzar’s table. They were willing to attend the king’s college, serve in the king’s court, and cooperate with the king’s staff. But Daniel and his three friends would not eat the king's choice food and therein broadcast a denial of their loyalty to God alone.

If this smacks of treason, you will find the response of Daniel’s headmaster perfectly understandable: “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has appointed your food and your drink; for why should he see your faces looking more haggard than the youths who are your own age? Then you would make me forfeit my head to the king” (Daniel 1:10). The man was not closed to hearing Daniel’s objections, but was more than aware of the implications. If Daniel’s refusal was discovered, his own life was at risk. Make no mistake, Daniel’s objections to “eating the king’s choice food” could make heads roll!

When Daniel “resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food,” he was most definitely NOT messing around. You know how the story proceeds. Daniel suggested a creative alternative that was granted a trial run. The plan was a stunning success and the crisis averted.

More Loyalty Tests

Events to follow kept the question –  “Whom do you serve?” – on the front burner. In chapter two, Daniel and his three friends are sentenced to die, along with all the members of Nebuchadnezzar’s brain trust. But Daniel and company get before God in prayer Who gives them what they need and what eventually leads Nebuchadnezzar to declare: “Surely your God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, since you have been able to reveal this mystery” (Daniel 2:47).

In chapter three, Nebuchadnezzar grills Daniel’s three friends over the question, “Whom do you serve?” Their reply takes my breath away for its audacious boldness: “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up” (Daniel 3:17–18). Once again, you know how the story ends. Don’t let that knowledge diminish your appreciation for this profound moment and their poignant declaration. They did not know how things would turn out even as they made their bold declaration. Daniel’s three friends, kindred spirits in the “God alone” club, stare at the mega pizza oven that will claim them and unflinchingly declare, “We trust God alone. We will trust Him to the death. Any questions?”

Living Examples of Proverbs 22:6

Who are these guys! And how is it possible for men so young and so deprived of the spiritual support structure of home and country to display such incredible strength of commitment to God? From their first days as foreign students enrolled at the king’s college to the earliest days of service in the king’s court, they show themselves not as king’s men, but God’s men who serve God in the court of the king. (Remember the hat trick post!)

I believe that Daniel (as well as any one of his three friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah) is a poster child for Proverbs 22:6. The spiritual conviction and boldness of the four friends most naturally displays the fruit of efforts informed by this verse: “Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). The most reasonable explanation for the faith of Daniel is that he was trained in the way of wisdom prior to being taken to Babylon. I realize that the ultimate explanation was that God had His hand on this young man. But I also think there is clear evidence in the book of Daniel of a "Proverbs 22:6-driven process" through which God worked to raise up a Daniel.

Evidence That Daniel was Trained

We know virtually nothing about Daniel’s parents. But we do know two things: (1) They gave their son a name that probably means, “My judge is God.” Every time someone called Daniel, they declared great theology, that God is the only one to whom Daniel was ultimately accountable and that God’s is the only opinion that matters.

(2) The second piece of background on Daniel’s years in Jerusalem is embedded in the description of Daniel’s entrance exam for the king’s college. Ashpenaz was on the lookout for men who met specific criteria, including “skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning” (Daniel 1:4, ESV). Note the three core qualities, wisdom, knowledge and learning. Don’t miss this: When Ashpenaz declared that Daniel already possessed the requisite wisdom, knowledge, and learning to be enrolled in the king’s college, he was telling us that Daniel received wisdom training before coming to Babylon. Daniel was fully trained during his formative years among family.

The Curriculum for Daniel’s Training

In the preface to the Book of Proverbs, the author explains the book’s purpose: “The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: To know wisdom and instruction, To discern the sayings of understanding, To receive instruction in wise behavior, Righteousness, justice and equity; To give prudence to the naive, To the youth knowledge and discretion” (Proverbs 1:1–4). Proverbs is the young man’s course (It works equally well for young women, by the way!) for walking in the way of wisdom. Did you notice the highlighted terms? Wisdom and knowledge are the same words in both the preface to Proverbs and Ashpenaz’s list of search criteria.

It seems more than coincidence that the Book of Proverbs represents curriculum for the development of the precise characteristics that Daniel effectively demonstrated in his interview. Ashpenaz was looking for the very thing that training in the way of wisdom produces. He was looking for young men who have been on the receiving end of a Proverbs 22:6 ministry!

Identity of Daniel’s Trainers

The most reasonable explanation for what Ashpenaz saw is that someone made a Proverbs 22:6 investment in young Daniel. And the most reasonable identification of who made that investment would be the same parents who named him “My judge is God.” I suspect that some of the most amazing parents we have never known are the fathers and mothers of Daniel and his three friends. I must allow for the possibility that others trained Daniel besides his parents. But whether directly, or indirectly, Daniel was “trained up in the way he should go” and his parents cannot have been anything other than supportive of the process.

Living Proof of Proverbs 22:6

Although we cannot say with certainty who did the actual work, it is obvious from the evaluation of Ashpenaz that someone trained up Daniel in the way he should go before he was taken to Babylon. Remember the second half of Proverbs 22:6? “And when he is old he will not depart from it.” Daniel was forcibly taken from the support structure of home and country. Despite the absence of these spiritual benefits, he never departed from the way of wisdom all his days. Proverbs 22:6 tells us that if parents will impart to their children a personal devotion to God’s way before they become adults, they give their children maximum opportunity to stay faithful to God for all of their days.

The story of Daniel and his friends shows us that Proverbs 22:6 is not just some pie-in-the-sky idealism disconnected from the real world of parental challenges. Proverbs 22:6 is about something that actually works. It is doable, it bears fruit, it can set our children up for spiritual success even when the odds are against them. It can lay a foundation for wisdom living for a lifetime. Daniel is the proof!

So, what does this story have to do with “An Amazing and Colorful Chart That Affects Everything Parents Do!” I believe this chart can help us unpack what is involved in “training up a child” the way Daniel was trained.  I believe it shows us what parents can do to raise up Daniels (and Danielles) who have a bold, audacious faith, a faith that they make their own. Daniel shows us it can be done. Now, we need to better understand how it can be done.