At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king’s food.
Daniel's face shone as though he had feasted at the king's own table, yet he ate only pulse and water. This was no accident; God testified by the result that He had counseled Daniel in his resolve not to defile himself. Our nourishment comes not from bread itself, bread has no life in it, but from God's secret blessing alone, who endues food with its virtue. We must learn not to become slaves of the palate, drawn away from duty.
AI summary
Daniel kept his conscience clean, refusing the king's meat and wine, though his name was changed by his captors. God gave him favour with the official, and his steadfast principle, not sullenness, but genuine scruple, showed that a tractable spirit and firm religion are not opposed but joined together.
AI summary
Commenting on Daniel 1:8-16
Ten days of pulse and water left Daniel and his friends fairer and plumper in flesh than all the young men fed on the king's meat. No such food naturally produces that result; this was the blessing of divine Providence. God's care made plain what mere victuals could never accomplish.
AI summary