Purposing Not To Defile Ourselves

Daniel was a very courageous believer. He was taken into exile by the king of Babylon to be trained by his people to serve in his courts. He was provided with the best food and training possible. He had it made, in so many ways. However, all of those things were not as important to Daniel as being right with God. Therefore, he purposed in his heart not to defile himself with the king's food or wine.(Daniel 1:8) God honored his desire to be pure, so he would be right with Him. I believe God will do the same thing for us today, if we will purpose not to defile ourselves.

Sin defiles. If we do anything against God's laws or against His character, it is a sin. That stain of sin on our lives remains until we confess the sin specifically and repent of it. To repent means to change our minds and to stop doing it. That is what we must do to remain undefiled. It will mean that we will be different from everyone else. That is hard for people, but that is good for us. God honors our decision to remain pure and holy before Him.

Some people take Daniel's decision not to eat the king's food and to drink his wine as a dietary cleansing. They say that God was showing us that meat is bad for us and that we ought to eat only vegetables and drink water. I am not so sure about that. Daniel was rejecting the king's food, because some of it was unclean according to God's laws, and because it could have been offered to a pagan idol in a sacrifice. He looked better than the others who ate the king's food after 10 days, because God honored his desire not to defile himself. Now I am all in favor of eating right, so don't get me wrong. However, please don't think this reveals a special diet for us. It reveals a special lifestyle that applies to everything, not just food. I pray that we all will purpose in our hearts not to defile ourselves in any way, so we will be fully set apart to God, and He can bless us in wonderful ways.

Tomorrow, I intend to read Daniel 2-4.