“But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.”

 ⁸ But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank;

King Nebuchadnezzar gave the young captives from Judah food and wine from his own table.  They had the very best that the king could offer.  However, these provisions did not meet the precepts of the Mosaic Law, so Daniel “purposed in his heart” that he would not eat this food. 

The word “purposed” carries the idea of decided resolution.  Daniel’s character was already formed for following God before the test came to him.  The phrase “purposed in his heart” could be translated as “laid upon his heart.”  Daniel put himself under the full commitment to follow his heart.  Ashpenaz must have been impressed with the devotion of Daniel. 

PRINCIPLE: 

An all-consuming purpose of living for the glory of God will enable us to meet the spiritual tests of life. 

APPLICATION: 

The will of God was the all-consuming purpose of Daniel’s life.  Whether Daniel would eat the king’s food was the supreme test of his fidelity to the Lord and His Word.  All of the inducements or promises could not deter Daniel from his purpose.  A life of luxury landed in his lap, yet he refused it forthwith.  He would be faithful to God, no matter the cost.  He set aside the luxury of Nebuchadnezzar for vegetables. 

All of us face forks in the road of our lives, whereby we decide either to follow the Lord or go our own way.  Where we are in our Christian walk today is the result of choices of the past.  The friends that we have selected, the choice of a life partner, moral decisions, and the vocation that we chose have all taken us to where we are today. 

We live in a day of latitudinarianism and syncretism.  Few ask the questions, “What is God’s will? What does God’s Word have to say about this?”  Everything is valid.  Everyone has his viewpoint.  No wonder such false living and false doctrine pervade the Christian church in our day.  Precious few have deep spiritual moorings today.  Evangelical Christians are swept away like a flood after the world system. 

An ongoing spiritual axiom is that we cannot advance in maturity without a clear conscience.  If we live contrary to the will of God, God cannot bless us and work in our hearts.  Rather, we will steadily deteriorate in our spirituality if we do not deal with our sin.