But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.
Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat. Daniel is specified as being the leader in the 'PURPOSE' (the word implies a decided resolution) to abstain from defilement, thus manifesting a character already formed for prophetic functions. The other three youths, no doubt, shared in his purpose. It was the custom to throw a small part of the viands and wine upon the hearth, as an initiatory offering to the gods, so as to consecrate to them the whole entertainment (cf. Deuteronomy 32:38). To have partaken of such a feast would have been to sanction idolatry, and was forbidden even after the legal distinction of clean and unclean meats was done away (1 Corinthians 8:7; 1 Corinthians 8:10; 1 Corinthians 10:27-28).
Thus, the faith of these youths was made instrumental in overruling the evil foretold against the Jews (Ezekiel 4:13; Hosea 9:3), to the glory of God. ("Thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles." "Ephraim ... shall eat unclean things in Assyria"). Daniel and his three friends, says Auberlen, stand, out like an oasis in the desert. Like Moses, Daniel "chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season" (see Daniel 9:1-27; Hebrews 11:24-26). He who is to interpret divine revelations must not feed on the dainties, nor drink from the intoxicating cup, of this world. This made him as dear a name to his countrymen as Noah and Job, who also stood alone in their piety among a perverse generation (Ezekiel 14:14; Ezekiel 28:3).
Therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. While decided in principle, we ought to seek our object by gentleness, rather than by an ostentatious testimony, which, under the plea of faithfulness courts opposition.