Ancient dietary counsels in the Bible are helping people today find health and happiness—and holiness as well.
"When your son asks you in time to come, saying, 'What is the meaning of the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments which the Lord our God has commanded you?' then you shall say to your son:... 'The Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive, as it is this day'" (Deut 6:20-24 NKJV).
Snow covered the ground during the winter of 1885 in the district of Waldviertel in lower Austria, when two sweethearts, Alois Schicklgruber and Klara Poelzl, applied for a marriage license from the parish priest. There was a problem with their application. They were second cousins, and the Bible forbids marriage between close relatives (Lev 18:6). But in this region intermarriage was frequent; so, disregarding the Bible injunction and following area custom, the priest provided a special ecclesiastical dispensation. On January 7, 1885 the couple was united in matrimony. Four years later, on April 20, 1889, their third child, Adolph was born. Adolph Hitler!!1
You know the rest of the story. But we cannot blame God for World War II. Had His word been followed, probably there would never have been an Adolph Hitler. "When your son asks you in time to come, saying, 'What is the meaning of the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments which the Lord our God has commanded you?' then you shall say to your son:... 'The Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive, as it is this day.'" How often the greatest disasters in history have occurred because instruction from God's word was ignored!
The year 1918 was drawing to a close and with it the long years of World War I, the "Great War." The armistice had just been signed. But the sigh of relief and the celebrations throughout the nations were premature. The influenza epidemic, a greater menace than the recent hostilities, threatened the war-weary world. During the winter that closed 1918 and during the year that followed flu killed an estimated 21 million persons, more than twice as many as the Great War killed. Years later, many of the people it didn't kill developed a Parkinson's-like movement disorder.2
Nutrition Science Confirms the Bible
Careful research has uncovered the cause of virulent influenza and also how its present yearly cycle could be broken. New strains of flu begin in Asia, in those regions where hogs live in the homes of the people. Is it just coincidence that science has rediscovered an important public-health principle contained in the Bible? The warnings from science today echo the warnings of Moses regarding swine in Leviticus 11:8 and Deuteronomy 14:8. Every time flu sweeps through our communities it should remind us of the importance of heeding Scripture in every detail.
For the last several years our local church in Wichita has been involved in an effective health-education ministry. I have observed how surprised many Christians are to discover that the Bible contains a great deal of information about health. Many feel that God doesn't care what Christians eat; but He does. His very first instruction to the parents of our race concerned diet. God told our first parents what was proper food for man—fruits, grains, and nuts—and what was proper food for animals (Gen 1:29, 30). In His very next instruction He told them what not to eat (Gen 2:16, 17).
These were not just casual communications. Had they been heeded, there would never have been sickness or death. But there was a tempter to draw man away from God's instruction, God was not obeyed, and disobedience brought pain and disease.
Yet God still wanted us to be healthy. First to Adam after the fall, when He added vegetables (Gen 3:18, 19), then to Noah at the flood, when He noted the distinction between "clean" and "unclean" animals (see Gen 7:2, 3, 8, 9), He again gave instruction on diet. Sadly, God's instruction on health was virtually ignored, at the time as well as ever since. Noah himself became drunk (Gen 9:21). Rapidly, misery and death shortened man's life. Noah saw his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren sicken and die. By the time of Moses, man's life expectancy had decreased from nearly 1,000 years to a mere 70 years (Ps 90:10).
To preserve the health of the Israelites in the wilderness, God controlled their diet and gave Moses details of a healthful lifestyle. His instruction covered not only diet, but also cleanliness and public sanitation. God's directives were so effective that at the end of 40 years "there was none feeble among His tribes" (Ps 105:37). Parents were to teach their children God's secrets of happiness and health. They were to explain to their children that "the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes for our good always, that He might preserve us alive" (Deut 6:24).
Results of Obedience and Disobedience
God designed that as the health of the Jews became known throughout the world, the heathen would be led to follow the God of Israel. David prayed, "That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations" (Ps 67:2 KJV). God partially answered David's prayer through faithful Israelites. According to the Biblical Archaeology Review, nations bordering Israel changed their diet shortly after the Israelites invaded Canaan, giving up swine herding.
The health of the captive Daniel was an illustration to the Babylonians of the superiority of the diet God gave to Israel (Dan 1:5-17). In just ten days, on a simple diet of fruits, grains, nuts, and vegetables, avoiding all alcohol and flesh food, Daniel and his friends became measurably healthier than people around them. On this simple diet, with the blessing of God, they enjoyed not only physical vigor but also mental strength, and they graduated from the University of Babylon summa cum laude.
But it was Jesus Himself who was the full answer to David's prayer, "That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations." When Jesus lived on earth He delighted to heal the sick. Multitudes of all nations sought His help, and each person received full healing.
Christ's apostles continued His ministry of health. The word "salvation" means health. Just as Christ brought health to the Israelites in the wilderness, so He brought health to the Christian church in New Testament times. Indeed, health ministry was an important outreach of the New Testament church. The record says, "A multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed" (Acts 5:16 NKJV).
God loves to see His creatures healthy and happy. When He created man in the Garden of Eden, there was no sickness. In heaven, God's abode, there is neither sickness nor pain (Isa 33:24; Rev 21:4). The Apostle John, who knew Jesus well and knew how much He hated to see suffering and sickness, exclaimed, "Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers" (3 John 2).
But health is not a matter of chance or luck. It involves proper habits of life. It involves lifestyle. It encompasses our diet. Both Paul and Peter, important spokesmen of the New Testament church, speak of the importance of temperance and self-control (Acts 24:23; 1 Cor 9:25; Gal 5:25; 2 Pet 1:6).
Sickness by Choice
Sad to say, we often bring sickness on ourselves. Many of the common diseases from which we suffer are preventable. David was constrained to acknowledge, "Before I was afflicted I went astray" (Ps 119:67). Jesus instructed those He healed, "You have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you" (Jn 5:14). The Psalmist said, "Fools, because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, were afflicted. Their soul abhorred all manner of food, and they drew near to the gates of death." Fools were afflicted. The Bible calls those who disregard the laws of health "fools." But even fools are not out of the reach of the heavenly Father's love. David quickly added, "Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses." David revealed how God gives health. "He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions" (Ps 107:17-20).
The Bible—the Word of God written out, like Christ, the Word of God lived out—was sent to heal us. Through obedience to it we receive health. God's promise to the Israelites of old is just as sure to the Christian today.
After a bitter experience at Marah, which Paul says was recorded so as to serve as a lesson to Christians (1 Cor 10:11), Moses was told to tell the Israelites, "If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you" (Ex 15:26).
In His Word, God has given instruction designed to bring health and strength to His people.
The Eden Diet
God gave man His ideal lifestyle in the Garden of Eden. As we have seen, before sin, God provided a diet of fruits, grains, and nuts; after sin, He added vegetables. God made no provision for eating meat. There is now evidence that Daniel's diet (Dan 1), which was similar to the Eden diet, is still the optimal diet for students who want to have every advantage in learning. It is also a relatively inexpensive diet.
Animal Fat Forbidden
Notice how relevant and up-to-date the Bible's dietary instruction is. Scientists are warning us today of the dangers of animal fat. No one should be surprised at this. For thousands of years the Bible has explicitly warned mankind to avoid animal fat. It was to be burned as a sacrifice, never eaten as a food. "It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood" (Lev 3:17).
A few years ago some of my friends thought that investing in ostriches would be a good business opportunity. Ostrich meat was being touted as "low-fat." However, I was not interested in investing in this business because in Leviticus 11 God spells out what flesh meats to avoid eating under all circumstances, items that should not be considered as food by any Christian. This chapter is so important that God repeated most of it in Deuteronomy 14 and urged every man, woman, and child, Gentile as well as Jew, to hear it read aloud in public every seven years (Deut 31:11-13). Ostrich meat is one of the meats which is described as "unclean" or unfit for food. Therefore, I concluded that it is not healthful, that it is not safe to eat, even if it is "low-fat."3
There is a reason for all of God's instructions. When He tells us not to eat rats and mice, centipedes and toads, He is instructing us so that we will enjoy optimum health and strength. The wisdom in forbidding us even to touch the dead carcasses of "unclean" animals has been demonstrated. For example, meat handlers in pork-processing plants have been found to be at increased risk of disability and death from brain infections.4
Emergency Rations
After the flood, because of the markedly changed condition of the world and the difficulty involved in some areas in obtaining a sufficient quantity and variety of fruits, grains, nuts, and vegetables, small amounts of meat were permitted, but the use of meat was limited to certain animals, providing emergency rations. This instruction was comprehensive and global. "This is the law of the animals and the birds and every living creature that moves in the waters, and of every creature that creeps on the earth, to distinguish... between the animal that may be eaten [that is, that is "clean" and hence edible] and the animal that may not be eaten [is "unclean" and hence inedible]" (Lev 11:46-47).
It is helpful to review the list of animals which are absolutely forbidden as well as those animals expressly permitted for emergency rations and ceremonial use. We can divide them into five broad categories: 1) larger mammals, 2) fish and sea food, 3) fowl, 4) insects, and 5) rodents, lizards, small animals, and snakes. Any animal found dead is not to be eaten, even if it is otherwise permitted. Flesh food is to be eaten within two days or it is to be destroyed (Lev 19:5-7). If a mammal has split hooves and chews the cud, and if its fat and blood are removed, it may be eaten (see also Gen 9:4). Camel, rabbit, and hog are listed as examples of forbidden animals. Any animal with paws is forbidden. Some people may say, "Good, beef is allowed." But most beef in the supermarket is not edible. God's requirement that all blood be removed means that butchered animals have to be bled to death by slitting their throats and draining their blood out. Only if the flesh is free of blood and fat is it edible.
If the fish has both fins and scales it may be eaten; thus, clams, oysters, eels, and lobsters are forbidden.
There is no general rule for fowl, but the list of forbidden flying creatures includes birds of prey, such as the eagle, hawk, kite, falcon, and owl, and also birds in other categories, such as the vulture, buzzard, stork, sea gull, heron, raven, and ostrich. While not a bird, the bat is specifically listed as an inedible flying creature.5
Nearly all insects are forbidden, except the locust and the grasshopper. To be edible, an insect must be able to fly and crawl, and to leap with legs jointed above its feet.
Rodents, lizards, other small animals, and snakes are forbidden.
Timeless and Still Timely
These instructions were given by God more than 2500 years ago. Does the passage of time diminish or abolish God's instructions? When the city of Jericho was miraculously overthrown by the Israelite army, the people were forbidden ever to rebuild the city. God declared that anyone who did rebuild the city walls would lose his first-born son, and if he persisted in the project, he would lose his youngest son also (Jos 6:26). Eight hundred years went by. The instruction was neglected. But when Hiel the Bethelite rebuilt the walls, contrary to God's instruction, he first lost his eldest son, then his youngest son (1 Kings 16:34), just as God's long-ago warning had foretold.
Like Hiel's sons, many people today are dying through ignorance or defiance of God's commands given long years in the past. What a pity that a priest allowed the future parents of Adolf Hitler to marry, contrary to God's ancient instruction!
Some feel that God's instruction about diet does not apply to Christians, and they refer to a certain vision that God gave to Peter (see Acts 10). In this vision Peter was told to kill and eat a variety of "unclean" animals. The vision perplexed Peter for a short time. But within a few hours he understood its meaning. When some Gentiles came to the door requesting evangelism, Peter perceived that the vision meant that Jews should no longer think of Gentiles as unclean and inferior (see Acts 10:34-35). The symbolic vision was not teaching him to eat unclean animals.
No one in North America today needs the emergency rations of flesh food, and increasing dangers are being discovered from the ingestion of animals that God has called "unclean" and hence unfit to be eaten. That trichinosis can be caught from eating the meat of bears and pigs is well known, but other diseases can be derived from eating various other animals. For example, in 1988 nearly 300,000 Chinese in Shanghai developed hepatitis A from clams. Serious typhoid epidemics,6 outbreaks of paralysis from "red tides,"7 gastroenteritis,8 blood and skin infections,9 10 and cholera,11 are documented to have come from shellfish and clams. The deadly ebola virus is now believed to have come originally from consumption of chimpanzee flesh. And we have seen how flu can come from swine.
The wonderful variety of delicious fruits, grains, and nuts in heaven, supplemented by the tree of life, will provide a basis for complete health. God is not being arbitrary when He gives us diet prohibitions. He has something much better for His children!
Health—and Holiness Too
Paul explains plainly that a healthful lifestyle is essential not only for our physical wellbeing but also for an additional reason that is even more important: "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are. Let no one deceive himself" (1 Cor 3:16-18).
New Testament Christians, guided by the Holy Spirit, instructed new converts in proper dietary principles, not as mere preference or opinion, but as matters directed by the Holy Spirit and of eternal consequence (Acts 15:28, 29). Indeed, such principles should never be considered optional if we want to enjoy the fullest benefits of health and holiness. God wants us to be holy even more than He wants us to be healthy (1 Pet 1:15-16). It is for holiness that He makes His appeal at the close of His dietary instructions about edible and inedible meats. "You shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy" (Lev 11:44).
Our diet affects not only our bodies but also our souls. Although on one occasion, in response to their insistent demand, God supernaturally supplied the Israelites with flesh food in the wilderness, the record says that "He gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul" (Ps 106:15).
Conclusion
Will we learn the lesson from our first parents, Adam and Eve, and say, "By the grace of Christ, I will not eat what God says, 'Don't eat.' I will not touch what God says, 'Don't touch'?"
The tempter comes to us as he did to Eve with attractive temptations, telling us it doesn't matter what we eat or drink. He tells young people that to be popular they must eat and drink like the young people around them. He tells businessmen that they must drink wine and eat certain foods to be sociable and successful. In response, all too many people sacrifice health and holiness on the altar of intemperance.
God has a want-ad for holy parents who will consecrate themselves to Him like the parents of John the Baptist and guard what goes on the table of their children. He has a want-ad for young people who will consecrate themselves to Him like Daniel did. He wants our children to be willing to stand up and stand out for Him among their associates.
When a salesman calls, he tries to get from us a commitment to part with some of our money. If you give him money, you never see it again; it's gone. But when we make a commitment to holiness, we make a commitment to part not with money but with every hurtful indulgence. We make a commitment to dispense with everything in our lives that can injure us. And this is a commitment God is calling for today. "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service" (Rom 12:1). Let us remember happily that obeying God's ancient instruction is "for our good always."