Daniel 1:8-21: God Blesses the Integrous

"But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself..." Daniel 1:8a

Do you know what really bugs me about the english language? There is no adjective for the word "integrity." Here, you fill in the blank: The ___ man obeyed the Lord even when no one was watching. Could you fill in the blank with "dependable" or "honorable"? Sure, but it doesn't carry as much weight as an adjective for the word "integrity" would. Well, today we're making the word up, as we look at how God blesses the integrous.*

In the latter half of Daniel 1, the author is going to give to us the theme of the entire book in a simple narrative as he continues to speak of Daniel and his buddies. As we discussed yesterday, Daniel and his three friends were put into Babylon Sunday School for three years where they would learn Babylonian culture and language in order that they might be presented to the king for his service. In this three year time, they were originally given food from the king's pantry, but Daniel was not all about that jazz. The food, for whatever reason,* was impure according to Jewish standards, and to eat it would have defiled/made unclean Daniel and his friends. Thus, Daniel asks that he and his friends go on a more vegetarian diet, but this caused opposition with the chief eunuch. In order to solve the problem, Daniel asks that they do a ten-day experiment to see who would be healthier: those who eat the king's unclean food, or those who are chomping down on pure carrots and Brussel sprouts.

Now, before we get to the resolution of the story, let us notice something: Daniel could have made a whole host of excuses. Was the food set before him unclean? Certainly. But they aren't even in their homeland any more! Why does it matter? Furthermore, Daniel and his buddies were stuck in a Babylonian boarding school for three years. If that were me, the last thing I would be thinking about would be how to honor the Lord in my dietary decisions; I'd be a bit more focused on trying to get out of the miserable place! Daniel and his friends could have made many excuses here, but instead, they resolved to be faithful (integrous) to the Lord.

But the story did not end there. After ten days of chomping down on pure lettuce, Daniel and his friends were found healthier (lit. "fatter") than all of those around them (go figure!). Now, let's pause for a moment and try to discern the principle behind the meaning of this story. The principle is not that vegetables are healthier than unclean pork [However, if you're trying to get your kid to eat his broccoli at dinner, this may not be a bad story to tell for family devotions.], but rather how God blesses the integrous. The reason why David and his friends were healthier at the end of the ten days was not merely because they were eating their greens and beans, but rather because they followed the Lord even in the small things, and the Lord blessed them because of this. Thus, our application today is the same: we ought to stay integrous to the Lord even in the small things because it is the only pattern of blessing that we have in this life.

However, let us note that it is impossible for us to stay completely integrous to the Lord. Though we may try to obey all of his commands down to a tee, we will fail. Thus, that is why God sent another Daniel who would be faithful to the Lord's commands to an even greater extent--to a perfect extent. Whereas Daniel and his friends remained their integrity to the Lord in this one circumstance, the Lord has given us one who remained his integrity to the Lord in all circumstances, and his name is Jesus Christ. Furthermore, this Jesus who lived a perfect life also died a perfect death so that his perfection could be credited to our account. Thus, we find our true application for today, that because Jesus has been integrous where I have not, I have full motivation to be integrous all the more, because I know that when I fail, my sins are covered by his blood. Amen!

*According to some sketchy websites, "integrous" is the closest we have to an adjective for "integrity" (even though Grammarly is currently telling me to change "integrous" to "integral"). However, the word is scarcely used and probably incorrect. Besides, who determines if a word is a word anyway? "For I am no longer under the law." - Paul

*The commentator I read this morning said that the foods were impure because they were previously sacrificed to idols. However, scripture doesn't outrightly say this, and it honestly doesn't matter exactly why the food was defiled, the point of the matter is that it was impure, and it was impure enough for it to bug Daniel's conscious.