©Laura Haverkamp
Chapter 1:8-14 (ESV) - But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. Now God had caused the official to show favor and compassion to Daniel, but the official told Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you.”
Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.” So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.
Question to consider: Why would Daniel ask only for vegetables to eat?
In Luke’s writings to his friend, Theophilus, on the Acts of the Apostles in the early church, he offered evidence that Christ is actively reigning at the right hand of the Father by sending the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and performing miraculous works through the early church in His name. Throughout this study, we’ll discuss the promises that were given for Israel through the prophet, Daniel, which were fulfilled in the early church. One thing to note was that as the promises given to Daniel were fulfilled among the Jews, and the Gospel started going out to the Gentiles, the apostle Peter was given a vision that animals which were considered unclean for eating had now been declared clean by God.
Beyond separating different species of animals as clean and unclean for eating, the Law contained restrictions on how the animals were to be prepared. Once the Law was fulfilled by Christ, and these dietary laws were lifted, an issue arose in churches like Corinth where the Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians were at odds with one another concerning these restrictions. As Gentile Christians interacted with their non-Christian neighbors, a conflict arose concerning the eating of meat which was sacrificed to idols. Ultimately, the issue was presented before the council in Jerusalem which gave the reply, “For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.” (Acts 15:28-29)
I mention this because Daniel and his friends were faced with a similar dilemma. Not only had Nebuchadnezzar given them Chaldean names and immersed them in Chaldean education and culture, but he gave them royal food to eat. Even if the meat being served was from among the clean animals, Daniel could not be sure it had not been sacrificed to a Chaldean god or prepared in an unlawful manner. Rather than put his trust in the chief’s guard, Daniel asked that they be given only vegetables and water and trusted in the LORD to keep them healthy.
Unfortunately, those who desire to profit off of the church will come up with ridiculous diet plans based on this passage as if Daniel and his friends were kept healthy by their personal eating habits. The intention of this passage was to emphasize that these men were faithful unto the LORD in the midst of a pagan culture, and that the LORD kept His word to prosper them in the land of the Chaldeans while the land of Judah enjoyed its seventy years of rest. Daniel's proposal to the guard was that the LORD would keep them healthy despite their refusal to eat the king’s food.
The dietary plans based off of this passage are actually about losing weight and reducing body fat through a modified vegetarian diet. Daniel proposed the opposite: that they would miraculously maintain their healthy appearance even while eating only vegetables and drinking only water. I say “miraculously” because the guard expected this diet would make them look worse than the others, and the king would have his head for it. However, he was willing to “test” their claim for ten days.
Dear heavenly Father, thank You for being our source of life and salvation. While we may not have the dietary restrictions of the Law, please help us to live in the world as Your faithful children who desire to live in a way that brings glory to Christ and reveals His mercy to the world. Amen.