The reason that Daniel was concerned about defiling himself with the food is that it is very possible that it had been offered to idols. It is for similar reasons that whether or not one should eat food that was offered to idols was an issue in the New Testament.
Now the way Daniel handles this, and the way future disputes were handled, is a lesson for us today. First of all what did Daniel not do? He did not act in a rebellious way. We may sometimes feel very self-righteous about something and convince ourselves that we are rebelling for the Lord. This will usually not be the case. When we rebel we are acting out of the flesh, and out of the flesh will inevitably come the product of our sinful nature. Yet he did not compromise either. So what are the key points:
- Daniel did not act out of a spirit of rebellion
- He sought to maintain godly standards and did not compromise.
- The Lord had caused the official to show Daniel favour
- Daniel acted in a reasonable manner.
The third point is very important. God does all sorts of things "behind the scenes" without telling us. He takes care of more things than we imagine. So we act rebelliously when we don't need to, we worry when we don't need to.
So Daniel said they would eat vegetables for ten days and the official could see what they looked like. At the end of the period they looked better and healthier than all the others. So Daniel and his friends maintained a clear conscience, and were able to serve the Lord in Babylon.
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