Having already perused the latter half of my namesake’s book, I will now endeavor to explore the historical account found in the first six chapters!

“But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the royal delicacies or the royal wine. He therefore asked the overseer of the court officials for permission not to defile himself. Then God made the overseer of the court officials sympathetic to Daniel. But he responded to Daniel, ‘I fear my master the king. He is the one who has decided your food and drink. What would happen if he saw that you looked malnourished in comparison to the other young men your age? If that happened, you would endanger my life with the king!’ Daniel then spoke to the warden whom the overseer of the court officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: ‘Please test your servants for ten days by providing us with some vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who are eating the royal delicacies; deal with us in light of what you see.”
Daniel 1:8-13

Some details about this chapter: Daniel and his fellows are sons of Judean noble families. They have been taken captive by the dominant political power of their time, and the rulers are attempting to erase their original cultural identity. They are given Babylonian names, jobs in the Babylonian government, and are expected to eat Babylonian food. Not only does it not confirm to Jewish cleanliness law/health code, but part of the king’s portion was sacrificed to idols; like in the Tabernacle tradition, to eat of the sacrifice is to worship/fellowship with the deity to whom it was offered. That was the other, true “defilement” that Daniel and his friends were determined to avoid.

While he may have sympathized with their plight (possibly being a non-Babylonian himself), the overseer had good cause to be afraid; by refusing the king’s generosity, the young men risked the king’s displeasure, but the overseer would literally be risking his own neck by allowing them to do so.

Thankfully, Daniel’s righteousness came with a healthy dose of compassion; he too appreciated another man’s plight. He offers a feasible way out: a test to see which is the better food. He and his friends place their trust and fates in God’s hands, and because they choose to honor God instead of indulging themselves, He honors them. They are given better health (from vegetables and water instead of rich meats) and a blessing they did not ask for: greater wisdom than the seasoned advisers of the king. Even though they are still “in training” from the Babylonian perspective, Daniel, Hananiah, Misheal, and Azariah are already distinguished as exceptional among their peers. Right from the beginning, these men will see kings and empires fall and rise, living for God through it all.