The King's Food Rejected by Jewish Refugees

Daniel and his friends' special request to honor God with their stomachs

The King's Dainties

In Roman cultures, kings and emperors would throw elaborate banquets, often trying to outdo each other with their exotic dishes.

It is reported that

They ate ostrich brains, peacocks, dolphin meatballs, herons, goat feet, peacock brains, boiled parrot, flamingo tongues and orioles. They liked watching birds fly out of featured dishes and ate an electric fish because “it was fascinating." Sometimes a calf was cooked up with a pig inside it and inside the pig were a lamb, a chicken, a rabbit and a mouse. The Roman Emperor Elagabalus once ordered 600 ostriches killed so his cooks could make him ostrich-brain pies. [1]

This is just a sample of what the Proverbs speaks of when it talks about the king's "dainties." The Bible says it is deceptive food. The remedy? Put a knife to your throat if you are a man given to appetite (Proverbs 23:1-3).

Sanctifying Foods

In a recent post, The Food that Sanctifed an Entire Nation, we noted that the Israelites had dietary restrictions ordained by God that made it impossible for them to have fellowship with outsiders -- who would have been deemed "unclean" because they ate an "unclean" diet, which included many of the items listed above.

Jewish Refugees at the King's Table

The book of Daniel records the story of four young refugees who were ripped from their homes and taken captive by the Babylonian empire. The youngsters were forced to study and learn the ways, customs, and ideals of their new home, Babylon.

These four Jewish refugees were plunged into the midst of an "unclean" pagan culture which delighted in eating the forbidden food we discussed previously. They were to be raised among the elite in the palace, with all the privileges of the natural born Babylonian.

And now they were expected to eat the best of the king's table for their sustenance.

The youths could have easily partaken of the defiling food, believing they had no other options. Instead these young boys chose to refuse the king's "dainties" and request a ration of vegetables.

The boys were not vegetarians; they just wanted to avoid defiling themselves with unclean meat. And they wanted to honor the God in whom they trusted.

A Special Request

They were so confident in God that they approached the royal commander with their special dietary request.

The commander refused their request for fear of the king, thinking that the youths' health would decline by not eating the king's food.

A 10 Day Trial

But the boys asked for a 10 day test to see how they fared after eating their requested food.

The commander could have easily executed them on the spot for insubordinate behavior, but God had other plans.  The commander agreed to their trial period of 10 days of vegetables.

When the time was commenced, the commander observed the young men, and to his surprise, they appeared healthier than all those who were eating the king's choice food.

So the four youths, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, were allowed to continue eating their vegetarian diet — and God blessed them abundantly in all areas of wisdom and learning.

And this was not the last time that God honored the four for their obedience to His commandments. Read the book of Daniel for all kinds of faith and intrigue.

While this story of the four refugees did not change the course of history, it was recorded for us, thereby demonstrating again how important food is in the Bible.

Food was never an afterthought in the scheme of the world; it has always been on the mind of God as the provision for the physical life of His creatures. This is what gives the phrase "the bread of life" its truest meaning. Jesus is the Bread of Life, which nourishes by faith, providing spiritual life.

The spiritual implication would have no importance if there was no physical truth behind it.

Read more about the Bread of Heaven here: One of the Great Metaphors: The Bread of Life.

This is number six in our series: 10 Ways Food Impacts History, Life, and the World.

Next: Food: A Sign and Seal of the Covenant

Return to: Biblical Health Study

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[1] http://factsanddetails.com/world/cat56/sub369/item2071.html