Sermon Clean and Unclean Meats
Tom Hamilton
As I grew up, my father had a heart attack at about 50 yrs
of age. He was ordered onto a strict
diet which banned all pork products.
When I first heard about the fact that the Bible teaches that only some
animals were to be eaten, it was no big thing for me because I was already
eating that way. But for many people,
the dietary laws taught by the Bible are a big change.
What does the Bible teach about clean and unclean
meats? Is it still applicable to
Christians today?
Old Testament
Deu. 14:1-21 Goes through and lists the animals, birds, and
fish that may or may not be eaten. Lev.
11 also goes thru these in more detail.
Note v2 of Deu. 14, “For you are a holy people to the Lord
your God…a special treasure above all the people on the face of the earth. (V3) You shall not eat any detestable
(abominable) thing.” Ancient Israel was
to be special to God. This required them
to go above and beyond what might be required of others. Note v21 They were not to eat of anything that
dies of itself but you could sell it to the foreigner, “for you are a holy
people to the Lord your God.” How much
more special are we today to God as Christians?
Going back to the beginning in Genesis, what did God say
about eating?
Gen. 1: 28-30, v29 “See I have given you every herb that yields
seeds which is on the face of the earth
and every tree whose fruit yields seeds to you it shall be for food.” Clean and unclean
meats are not addressed
here. This is an indication that prior
to flood of Noah, people may have been
vegetarians. Note that even though the
phrase “every herb that yields seeds” is used,
some plants, such as poison ivy, poison sumac, holly, etc. were still not fit
for people to eat. Acorns still had to be treated before becoming
edible. (removing tannin). Adam and Eve were still in the Garden
of Eden at this time.
Gen. 4:2 Able was a keeper of sheep. This is after man no longer lives in the
Garden of Eden and indicates that the
sheep were being raised for food. Note that
the Book of Genesis covers large spans
of history, often with only a few sentences.
We often end up with a just a glimpse of
what is going on. While we can make some logical conclusions,
it is not possible to know everything
for certain. Perhaps they were being raised just for wool.
Gen. 7 This is the time God tells Noah to go into the ark.
v2 Take 7 of every clean animal…2 of every
unclean animal. God talks to Noah in
such a waythat assumes Noah already knows
the difference between clean animals and unclean animals. This is long before the Levitical
laws given to Moses, and while it is incorporated into them, likethe 7th Day Sabbath,
it predates the “Law of Moses”. This
indicates men were meat-eating atthis time.
Gen. 9 v2 “fear of you and dread shall be on every
beast….they are given into your hand.”
V3 “every moving thing that lives shall be food
for you. I have given you all things,
even as the green herbs” (yet poison
ivy berries are still poisonous). God
now allows us to eat certain of birds,
beasts, and bugs as well as fish.
Perhaps animals were still not naturally scared of Mankind up to this
point. We have a snapshot into what is
going on, but not the full picture.
It does not make sense that God
would first teach man about clean and unclean meats in the time of Noah, and then tell man he can eat any
creature that moves after the Flood, and then once
again restrict what animals one can eat in Lev. 11 in Moses day. Heb. 13:8 tells us that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday,
today, and forever.” What is more
logical here is that God is
reiterating to them that animals (clean ones), can be eaten as food.
V4 “do not eat the blood”.
Isa. 11:6-9 “The wolf
shall dwell with the lamb…”
V7 “…the lion shall eat straw like the ox.”
V9 “They shall not hurt or destroy in all My
holy mountain for the earth shall be full of the
Knowledge of the Lord as the
waters cover the sea.”
This is a glimpse into the future
and we see the whole world is at peace, even the animals.
It may be that Mankind shall also
become vegetarian once again.
Regardless, it will be a
wonderful time to be alive.
New Testament
Jesus :
Mat. 15: 1-20
“It is not what goes into a man, but what comes out that
makes him unclean.”
The apostles and Jesus were not doing ceremonial washings
before eating. Jesus remained 100%
compliant to God’s laws. He did not
always follow the customs of men that added to God’s laws, but he always kept
God’s laws perfectly.
(Mark 7:14-23).
Acts 10 & 11
Peter’s dream “… now I see than no man is unclean in the eyes of
God.” This is what the dream was about,
not you can eat anything that moves.
Note that Peter was still eating only clean meats at this point several
years after Christ’s death. Nothing in
this scripture changes God’s dietary laws.
Acts 10:17, 28, 34
Acts 11:8 & 9, 18
Rom. 14 : 17 “… for the kingdom of God is not eating and
drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (v2 vegetarianism seems to be addressed here)
Here we have an important pronouncement about what is
important in God’s kingdom. The emphasis
is on spiritual not physical matters.
I Cor. 8:8 “But food
does not commend us to God, for neither if we eat are we the better, nor if we
do not eat are we the worse.”
(food offered to idols talked about here; Paul was having to
deal with situations that weren’t as much a problem in Judea). This is very important to remember, eating or
not eating foods does not commend us to God.
God is concerned with character and righteousness.
Col. 2. 8-16 v16 “
…let no man judge you in food or in drink…”
(God judges you in respect to both.)
I Tim. 4: 3-5. v4
nothing is to be refused - will you eat roaches, rats, poison ivy berries, etc.
if set before you?
Mountain man diet : these men ate meat for breakfast, meat
for lunch, and meat for supper with little else to supplement it about 10
months of the year. For snacking :
dried meat - jerky and pemmican. There
were times when game was scarce and the men were reduced to eating whatever
they could find. Twice the results of
living on unclean animals was noted. The
men began wasting away/losing weight/loss of vitality. The animals they usually ate were clean :
buffalo, elk, deer, antelope, mountain goat, mountain sheep, geese, duck,
turkey. The unclean ones mentioned that
they wasted away on were : squirrel, rat, rabbit, etc. The results of eating a diet of strictly bear
or beavertail (these were unclean meats they seemed to like) was not addressed.
There are some known dangers of Unclean Meats
Pork - tricinossis/tape worms, very fatty meat.
Rabbit -
You are to be a holy people to Me. Not to eat blood. Not to eat things strangled, dead, torn by
beasts, etc. We are to be set apart for
God.
To obey is better than sacrifice I Sam. 8:7.
God doesn’t declare something an abomination and then
changes His mind.
So you think you’re eating “kosher” do you? Some items from the List (below) that contain
unclean meats.
Conclusion
Mat. 5:17-18 “Think
not that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
For assuredly I say to you, til heaven and earth pass away,
one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is
fulfilled.”
Heaven and earth have not yet passed away. The law of God therefore remains effective
for us. This includes the knowledge of clean and unclean meats which even
predates the law of Moses (Levitical law/priesthood). It is still in effect and we should follow
it. Nevertheless remember that food does
not commend us to God. It is a physical
thing. We are to look to the spiritual,
“… for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and
peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Do
the best you can to follow these teachings but concentrate on the “weightier
matters” of God (Mat. 23:23).
The List - obtained from “Clean and Unclean List Products”
at “theisraelofgodrc.com” website. We do
not know the accuracy or date of this information. It is given as an example only. Companies are
always changing products, so checking the ingredients yourself is always a good
idea.
Item
Guiness Beer - contains an ingredient from catfish
Marshmallows - most brands - pork gelatin
Pillsbury - all can refrigerated biscuits - beef or pork
Sarah Lee - classic french cheese cake - pork gelatin
Kraft - Planters Dry Roasted Peanuts - pork gelatin
Welch’s - fruit snacks - pork gelatin
General Mills - Lucky Charms - pork gelatin
Eckrich - Smoked Beef Sausage - pork casings
“ - Turkey
Sausage - pork casings
Sarah Lee - Ballpark - all products - made on same equipment
as pork products - possible cross-contamination.
Note : one church member stated that Ballpark now cleans
their equipment with pressurized steam.
The equipment is then meticulously inspected by a Rabbi before changing
to turkey or beef products. The
likelihood of any cross-contamination would seem therefore to be limited to a
molecular level at worst.
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