Daniel: Undefiled by the King's Food

The king's food was choice food. It was the best in the land--the best meats and excellent wine. Imagine the greatest king in the world then--Nebuchadnezzar--offering you his best Kingdom Dining Hall menus. But Daniel and his friends would have none of it. He kept himself undefiled by the king's food.

What was wrong with the king's food? The key is in the word undefiled. The Word says, "But Daniel strongly determined not to be defiled by royal food and wine," {Dan.1.8]. "Defile" in the bible denotes spiritual contamination, so I imagine that the royal food was first offered to Babylonian gods before being served on the royal table. Daniel didn't want that, no matter how delicious or healthy it may had been. 

Food the World Offers

This story is so timely and relevant. The world, in these last days, is offering us the best food, in fact, royal food, the best the world and the devil can offer. And so many churches partake of it, enjoying the menus and the company of the king of this world without realizing it. When we subscribe to the world's standards, like degrees and titles and big church income and huge, posh buildings, we eat at the king's table and defile ourselves. The church has seriously lost its ability to connect with the Holy Spirit, His supernatural and miraculous realms, the way Jesus Christ connected with Him in the Gospel. 

One time, a church was so amazed by how their invited speaker was able to expertly use an iPad while preaching, wanting to imitate him and have its own iPad. The speaker, however, had a rotten relationship with his dad and his siblings, but the church didn't mind that. All they wanted was good showmanship on stage, how the speaker spoke well and used his modern tools superbly. You see, the bible warns that church leaders who cannot manage their own families well are better off staying at home and settling family issues first. But most churches today want nothing of that and detest disciplinary actions like that as being judgmental.

I even see pastors with rotten marriages and broken families still in the ministry "serving the Lord." Worse, some are even living with women not their wives.

When you have a rotten life, marriage, and family, the church wouldn't mind that and would let you speak or do ministry in church because anyway, the Lord understands you and accepts you as you are, they reason. Salvation is all by grace and mercy. Salvation does not make you perfect, and there's no such thing as real holiness as long as you're in the flesh. Then they add: "We are saved sinners." Where did they get all that garbage? From the world. From demonic doctrines passed off as denominational doctrines--mere human theology they get from human religious institutions they call bible school and seminary. They eat from the king's table but reject the food of the KING of kings.

Thus, Daniel opted for mere vegetables and water. It wasn't vegetables and water per se that made them better than the others. It was the spiritual Kingdom principle of not letting yourself defiled by anything of the world--anything the king of this world offers, especially its rewards, recognition, appreciation, and fame. Even amazing favors. But they are all the world's royal food, food of the king of this world.

You want to perform better than others? You have to make sure you don't eat anything from the king's kitchen recipes but only from the KING's simple but "healthy" food. Then God's flesh becomes super healthy!