living with resolve
“But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself.” (Daniel 1:8)
It is true that Daniel and his companions lived as humble servants, chose to clothe themselves with meekness, and excelled academically in the culture and curriculum of their enemies, their captors. But, it is also true that they determined to be in the world, to be helpful servants to the world, but to not be of the world. This, however, was not an easy task; the very reason these youths without blemish were spared and brought into the king’s court was to indoctrinate them with all the ways of Babylon. The efforts to redefine their identity, restructure their beliefs, and fundamentally transform their lives went even to the extend of changing their names.
“Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah. And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.” (Daniel 1:6-7)
One of the great lessons from the book of Daniel is the example of how to live in Babylon; while there has never been such a thing as a righteous society, there are many reasons to consider some eras of a nation’s history to be one in which corruption and perversion thrive while righteousness is punished and persecuted. We, the children of God, must prepare ourselves to live in such times and under such conditions. First, Daniel and his companions demonstrated an aptitude and propensity to humble servanthood unafraid to shine within all academia. But, second, and equally important, we are also shown the importance of their determination to not allow this propensity to take precedence over the truth, righteousness, and commands of God. We read in the text that Daniel resolved.
“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.” (Daniel 1:8a)
It has been said that Daniel’s approach was a display of respect for authority particularly because it states that “he asked” for permission to fulfill his resolution. He did ask, and his pursuit of this resolution may likely have included an intentional consideration to remain respectful, but this is not the main point of the passage. Without permission, in defiance of the king’s wishes, Daniel made a resolution within himself; and, this resolve focused on maintaining the call to live set apart. It is important to note that the famous Daniel Fast Diet was not maintained for the entirety of his life; we read in Daniel 10:2-3 that he once again fasted (for different reasons) delicacies, wine, and meat. Rather, the Daniel Fast Diet existed for a season and for the explicit purpose of not defiling himself. Within the context of the first chapter, it is reasonable to assume that, while excelling in proficiency of Babylonian culture, Daniel resolved to maintain a characteristic of his life that distinguished himself from the world around him; he resolved to remain set apart. And, to be holy (Hebrew: qodesh) by definition means to be separate. Assumedly, later in his life, this apartness was well known resulting in no further need to be distinguished by diet; early into the narrative, nevertheless, engulfed by attempts at indoctrination, Daniel made a resolution within himself. Having made such a determination, he approached his assigned authority figure and presented his petition. However, Daniel did not asked for permission to pursue holiness; rather, it should be understood that Daniel requested to maintain his resolution without consequence and loss of favor. We see this to be true in the verses to follow. After receiving some apprehension, Daniel suggested a bargain, but this bargain did not include a diminishment of his resolution.
“Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. 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.” (Daniel 1:12-13)
If, after a period of ten days, it was to be determined that his resolution was unacceptable, Daniel suggested that the authorities issue whatever consequence they deem fitting. We should notice that Daniel’s bargain did not hint at the potential dissolution of his resolve; rather, if he failed the test, Daniel made it apparent that he was ready to accept the fallout. This should be our definition of resolve.
This passage also gives us another insight as to the character and example of Daniel. We read at the beginning of the narrative that Daniel resolved within himself (“But Daniel resolved that he…”) only to find a change of pronouns a few verses later. Daniel understood his personal commitments to the pursuit of holiness as an act of leadership for his brethren; he, then, began speaking in the plural (“servants, let us, youths”). Prior to this request, we are not given any inclination that Daniel was a renown leader or even yet distinguishable from his peers. But, based on pure speculation, perhaps the folly of Cain was of importance to him (Genesis 4:9); Daniel saw himself as responsible for his companions, as his brothers’ keepers. What is also praiseworthy is that, without any evidence of grumbling or hesitancy, his companions followed. And, they followed without confirmation that the end result would be favorable.
“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.” (Daniel 1:15)
The story concludes (and is, in fact, interwoven) with Daniel and his companions being bestowed with God’s favor continuing the larger theme of God through it all. And, yet, we should read this passage within the context of passages to come; these men of God, not knowing the end to come, resolved to not defile themselves with the same determination found during the events of the fiery furnace (Daniel 3:16-18). Likewise, in the situation from the first chapter, God gave them favor, but even if he didn’t…