DANIEL 1
8 But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore, he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. 9 And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs, 10 and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So, you would endanger my head with the king.” 11 Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 “Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king’s food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see.” 14 So he listened to them in this matter, and tested them for ten days. 15 At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king’s food. 16 So the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables.
– Daniel 1:8-16
DANIEL 1 ON STAYING PURE AND UNDEFILED
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
Despite being captives, Daniel stayed faithful to the Lord
Even though they were groomed to follow the king of Babylon
He proposed to stay on a vegetarian diet and not the king’s food and wine
Daniel proved to the chief of eunuchs that it resulted in better appearance.
This account may seem a preference for vegetarian diet, but I think that this is about the faithfulness of Daniel to his Lord and to his cultural identity as an Israelite. The Babylonian king wanted to convert them to the Babylonian culture including the king’s food and drink. According to the ESV bible study notes, “Daniel and his friends avoided the rich diet as a way of protecting themselves from being tempted by Babylonian culture. Their restricted diet continually reminded them that they were the people of God in a foreign land. They were dependent for their food, indeed for their very lives, upon God, not King Nebuchadnezzar.”
REFLECTION
- How can a Christian stay undefiled in the midst of this corrupt world?
