“Daniel spoke with the attendant who had been appointed by the chief of staff to look after Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. “Please test us for ten days on a diet of vegetables and water,” Daniel said. “At the end of the ten days, see how we look compared to the other young men who are eating the king’s food. Then make your decision in light of what you see.” The attendant agreed to Daniel’s suggestion and tested them for ten days. At the end of the ten days, Daniel and his three friends looked healthier and better nourished than the young men who had been eating the food assigned by the king. So after that, the attendant fed them only vegetables instead of the food and wine provided for the others.” Daniel 1:11-16
It is amazing that God knows how we need to treat our bodies. You would think that He created our bodies. Why yes, He did, He formed our bodies out of the dust of the ground so He should know what is best for us. Daniel knew what was best for him and his friends. We see what happened; Daniel and his friends were in better health than the other boys. Today we see more cancer, heart disease than ever before. We need to eat more healthy food and we would live longer and better. I know that I am not the one who should be encouraging others to eat heathy. I love my junk food. Why would the Holy Spirit lead Daniel to put these verses in a book of the Bible that deals with biblical prophecy? It is to lead us in how to take care of our bodies.
There was something so reasonable about Daniel’s approach. He could have gone on a hunger strike or made some other kind of protest. Instead he made a polite request; he made it to the right person and said, “Put us to the test.” In this sense we might say that Daniel made a godly and wise compromise with the chief of the eunuchs. He certainly did not compromise in an ungodly way, but he showed the wisdom. Vegetables refers to all kinds of grains and plants, not strictly vegetables. Basically, this was a vegetarian diet, chosen because the meat at the king’s table was not prepared in a kosher manner or it was sacrificed to idols. This was the hand of God at work. The chief of the eunuchs had all the power in this situation. Daniel and his friends seemed to be completely at his mercy. Yet God moved upon this man, and he consented with them in this matter.