Daniel 1:10-16 | The Tireless Pursuit of Personal Holiness
Daniel 1:10-16 - 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.
Ashpenaz's Fear of Nebuchadnezzar
Even though Ashpenaz pitied Daniel for a moment (Daniel 1:9), his new affections did not result in new actions. The official, while likely desiring to source Daniel with a rich supply of “pulse” (KJV), had a problem: he feared Nebuchadnezzar. The king had established clear guidelines, provided mechanisms for enculturation, and worked to safeguard his autocratic empire. Despite the "compassion" of Ashpenaz for Daniel, it did not outweigh his fear of Nebuchadnezzar, the totalitarian nightmare of Babylon. He said, "The king would have my head because of you" (1:10). The "furious rage" of the king was a well-established trait (3:13)—a trait that often resulted in the death penalty. "Daniel was actually risking his own head".[1]
The Alternative Strategy Of Daniel
But while the risks were too significant for Ashpenaz, Daniel concocted a secondary strategy to maintain his personal purity before God (1:9). He sought help from the assistant of Ashpenaz, the "guard" (NIV) who functioned as an "overseer" (NASB) in matters of day-to-day care (1:11). Daniel said to the guard, "Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food and treat your servants with accordance with what you see" (1:12-13). This request for a specific diet was not about physical health per se, but about maintaining his religious integrity and personal holiness. The guard agreed to the test. We do not know what caused the guard to endanger himself, but "perhaps he took the four extra servings of the king's [rich food] for himself".[2] Whatever the reason, Daniel and his friends were given the gift of chewing on humble pulse, all for the glory of God.
The Pursuit of Personal Holiness
But let me be clear: it is not the Daniel diet itself that is the main point; it is the display of religious integrity that is the focus of the resolve. Preserving his personal holiness was the single-minded pursuit of Daniel (Leviticus 19:2). Even if he failed to see this goal realised under Ashpenaz, wisdom said to his spirit, "Don't give up. Craft a new tactic. Pursue your God." Daniel, therefore, did just that and God was gracious. He opened the door for him to fast from rich food to feed instead on the plain seeds of holiness. “At the end of the ten days, they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food" (1:15). The result of the resolve was divine blessing.
The Way of Resolve
Here is the lesson for you and your family: God blesses your strategic pursuit of personal holiness. In the face of enculturation, where our identities are under fire, we need to learn the way of tireless, strategic resolve.[3] We need to know where to draw the line in the sand—at times, even from within the historic, protestant church. Even if we face a wall of resistance, do not ever give up. In Christ Jesus, "God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness" (1 Thessalonians 4:7). We cannot affirm sin, nor the blessing of it. Let us then make great efforts to live as a holy kingdom within the broken contours of our world. Under the favour of God, let us practice a calculated technique: the way of resolve.
How do you know when to draw the line?
[1] John E. Goldingay, Daniel (vol. 30; Word Biblical Commentary; Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1989), 19.
[2] Wendy L. Widder, Daniel (ed. Tremper Longman III and Scot McKnight; The Story of God Bible Commentary; Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2016), 30.
[3] Enculturation is a weapon but holiness is an impenetrable fortress.