Daniel's Miracle Diet 

Daily, it seems a new diet or health plan comes upon the scene, claiming to be the miracle diet that we have been waiting for. Yet the wisest man that ever lived, Solomon said, (Ecclesiastes 1:9,10) The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.

 Daniel’s Miracle Diet

Long before the time of Christ, when Daniel and his friends were taken as prisoners into Babylon we see this idea of a distinctive diet.  The king picked out “the cream of the crop” and determined to give them special food to nourish them.

 Daniel 1:5  And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king.

But Daniel and his three friends realize that, despite his good intentions, King Nebuchadnezzar’s chosen diet is not the best for them.

 Daniel 1:8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.

 They ask for a scientific study to determine if their chosen diet is equal or superior to the diet of King Nebuchadnezzar.


Dan 1:11-16  Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,   Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink.   Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king's meat: and as thou seest, deal with thy servants.   So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days.   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.   Thus Melzar took away the portion of their meat, and the wine that they should drink; and gave them pulse.

 The results were amazing, ONLY 10 DAYS LATER, they appeared to be healthier than all of the others that the king had chosen.  And at the end of the 3 years, when the king himself tested them they were not only healthier, but 10 times more intelligent the the wisest men in Babylon.

Daniel 1:19,20  And the king communed with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood they before the king. And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king enquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm. 

So we can contrast

The Babylonian diet- Flesh foods, refined dainties, and fermented wine

Daniel’s Diet- Pulse-Plant based foods and water to drink

Was Daniel presumptuous in asking for this diet? How did he know how what the results of the study would be? 


Reading the Owner’s Manual

One day, while my husband was at work, I decided to get out the weed eater and cut some grass.  The tank was empty and so I proceeded to put in gas out of the gas can that we had in the shed for the lawn mower.  When my husband found out, he was not at all happy.  I learned very quickly that the weed eater was supposed to have a mixture of gas and oil.   This is what the manufacturer prescribed as best.  Using the wrong fuel can ruin the machinery.

In the same way God has made us. He is the Creator, and manufacturer.

Psalm 100:3    Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

He is our manufacturer and he knows what is best for our machinery.  So what does our owner’s manual, the Bible, say about what we are to eat?

The Original Diet

Before the entry of sin in Eden, God gave man the original diet.

Genesis 1:29,30  And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

So in the beginning man was given fruits, nuts, grains, and seeds to eat.  This diet was to be a blessing to mankind. Even the beasts ate the herb of the field and not each other in this perfect world, but after the entry of sin things changed and we were given the restoration diet.

 The Restoration Diet

When sin came into this world our systems weren’t perfect anymore.  Toxins needed to be eliminated.  Man began to sweat.  Sweat is salty. Man began to loose not only toxins, but also minerals.  To supply this deficiency God gave the herb of the field or vegetables. 

Genesis 3:18,19  Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

When we are trying to restore a sick body we also use the herbs of the field like echinacea and goldenseal.   These are a blessing God gave as a gift to us to deal with the results of sin. While men followed God’s plan their lifespans were still several hundred years. (See Genesis 5)  After the flood that destroyed the entire world including the plant foods, an emergency diet was permitted.

 The Emergency Diet

Genesis 9:3-5 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.   But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.   And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man.

Although God permitted flesh food in this diet, it came with a warning label and specific directions and specifications.  “the blood of your lives will I require”.  Immediately, we see the length of the lives of the patriarchs begin to diminish as flesh food became part of their diet. 

This diet also came with specific directions. 

1.     The flesh was not to be eaten with the blood in it. (Gen. 9:4) Even today in the medical world we recognize that  many diseases are transmitted through the blood.  To eat the flesh with the blood was to transgress and sin is the transgression of the law  ( 1 John 3:4) 1 Samuel 14:32  And the people flew upon the spoil, and took sheep, and oxen, and calves, and slew them on the ground: and the people did eat them with the blood.  1Sa 14:33  Then they told Saul, saying, Behold, the people sin against the LORD, in that they eat with the blood. And he said, Ye have transgressed: roll a great stone unto me this day.

2.     Animal fat also was not to be eaten  Lev. 3:17  It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood.  Today we know that animal fat is a primary cause of heart disease.   Psalm 119:70    Their heart is as fat as grease; but I delight in thy law.

3.     Only the clean animals were to be eaten.  This was painfully obvious right after the flood, because Noah only had two pigs a male and a female, if he had eaten one right after the flood, pigs would now be extinct. Gen 7:1 ,2 And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female. Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 both expound very specifically on the specifications for the clean and unclean animals. Clean mammals were to have a split hoof AND chew the cud. Clean sea creatures were to have BOTH fins and scales.  Birds of prey and bats were all unclean.

4.     Other stipulations included thorough cooking (1 Samuel 2:12-17) and freshness of the meat, before decay set in (Leviticus 7:17,18; 9:6,7; John 11:39; Acts 2:31)

This  diet was never God’s ultimate plan. Today he is leading his people step by step back to his Restoration diet, preparing them for the Reinstatement of the original diet.

 

The Original Diet Restored

Isaiah 65:17  For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.  Isaiah 65:25  The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.

 

In heaven and the new earth nothing will die.  Therefore, we know that a plant based diet will again be restored.

As the end of this world as we know it draws to a close, and as the animal world groans with disease, it would be well for us to adopt Daniel’s Miracle Diet of fruits, nuts, grains, seeds, vegetables and  pure water to drink.  We should be preparing our taste buds for the time when the original diet will again be restored. The choice is yours.   Will you read the Owner’s Manual? Will you follow the directions of the Creator? Won’t you try Daniel’s Miracle Diet?