And at the end of ten days, their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king’s meat. Daniel 1:15
Over the years, I have noticed something interesting about the obituaries that are posted in magazines such as Truth & Tidings. The average age of death of the Christians appears to be significantly longer than the population average. And Christians in general enjoy better health than many of those around us. Oh, I know, there are Christians who die young, and Christians who suffer from many different diseases. But, on average, Christians live longer and are healthier. In large part, we can credit this to lifestyle. We don’t suffer from the effects of drug, alcohol, and tobacco abuse, and we try (some more than others) to observe Scripture’s admonitions against gluttony. We don’t engage in dangerous activities that destroy others. God blesses us for our obedience, although not as miraculously as He blessed the Hebrew children in our text.
Daniel and his companions became vegetarians because it was impossible to obtain meat that met the standards of the Levitical law. They also shunned the rich foods and wines of the king’s provision, in favour of simple fare. The pulse of which the four young men ate refers to vegetables and fruit. Some people use this test diet of Daniel’s to justify adopting a vegetarian diet. But this was a miracle, as God honoured Daniel and his companions for their obedience to Him by overruling the lack of necessary protein in their diet. Only a miracle would have produced such a dramatic difference between these lads and the other Jewish boys in the king’s program within ten days. And it was a miracle that continued throughout the years and decades to come. God still honours obedience to His Word today by preserving us from many of the destructive elements of the world around us.
You could not have explained to an Old Testament person about germs and disease causes that we know about today. But God knew all about them, and gave His earthly people rules that would preserve them from the diseases of the nations around them. Their health depended on their obedience, and, to a great extent, ours does today. As Daniel and his companions learned, God is pleased to honour those who trust Him in the face of public and peer pressure.
Like Daniel and his friends, we can benefit today by avoiding those things that will stand in the way of obedience to what God expects of His people. -Jim MacIntosh