All food is a gift from God to be enjoyed, and we are instructed in the New Testament to not reject any food that He has created. Unfortunately, there is a host of foods that some modern day “diets” seek to vilify. One such food is the flesh of animals.

In The Evolution of Food in the Bible, we noted that God gave meat to mankind to eat after the great flood that watered the entire earth. This flood changed earth’s environment in ways that we may not fully understand. These changes made it necessary for God to add animal flesh as food. If it wasn’t necessary, God would not have given it as food. And since God did give meat as food, it should NOT be rejected. There are some examples in the Bible of limited vegetarianism which we will discuss in an upcoming post. Today we are going to look at some important examples of meat eating in the Bible. In many of these situations, God directly provides the meat for consumption. At times He commands that meat be eaten. And in more than one occasion, God Himself through Jesus Christ partakes of the meat.

Here are nine examples of meat eating in the Bible:

1. Noah and his family were the first humans allowed to eat animal flesh. In Genesis 9:3 God instructs Noah: “Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, as I gave the green plant.” When God gives something, it is not to be rejected. There were some limitations given, though. According to Genesis 9:4, man was not permitted to eat meat with its blood in it. There are many implications to this prohibition, some of which have been discussed in 3 Overlooked Dietary Laws in the New Testament. In addition, Noah was keenly aware of the differences between clean and unclean meat. Due to the fact that he only brought one pair of unclean animals on the ark, it is probable that he knew it was not meant for food — because extinction could occur rapidly. In addition, he would not want to ingest “unclean” meat.
2. The pre-incarnate Christ and 2 angels enjoy a feast of meat, bread, and dairy that were prepared by Abraham and Sarah. Abraham provided the best of his food for the messengers which came to tell Abraham that he’d have a son in his old age. The story can be found in Genesis 18.
3. The Israelites slaves were commanded by God to eat lamb the night before they were delivered from bondage in Pharaoh’s Egypt. “They shall eat the flesh that same night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.” For more details read Exodus 12:1-13. This was the first Passover celebration.
4. The congregation of Israel were fed miraculous meat provided by God Himself. Moses writes, “You will know that it was the Lord when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning.” Not only did God rain manna down from heaven, He also provided quail meat for the group of sojourners in the wilderness. You can read about it in Exodus 16.
5. The nation of Israel, by decree of God, was to eat meat on a regular basis. The sacrificial system was not a system of waste. Much of the food sacrificed was eaten by either the priests, the Levites, the poor, or those making the sacrifice. The Passover celebration, which was to occur yearly, was one example where the Israelites were commanded to eat meat.
6. Elijah the prophet ate meat and bread that was provided by God in a most unusual fashion during the reign of wicked Ahab. After Elijah prophesied a pending drought, God sent him to be nourished by a water source called Cherith. And the Scripture records that God “commanded the ravens” to provide for Elijah there. What did the ravens provide? “The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening.” Read I Kings 17 to learn more of the story.
7. In a parable told by the greatest story teller of all time, Wedding guests are invited to feast on meat prepared for the marriage of the king’s son. The king sends out a partial menu (which included beef) to those on his guest list: “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.” This parable can be found in Matthew 22.
8. The crowds that followed Jesus during His earthly ministry ate the fish and bread that Jesus Himself multiplied miraculously. Jesus provided fish and bread in this fashion more than once in His earthly ministry. See John 6 and Matthew 15.
9. Jesus Himself participated in the Passover celebration. This was necessary because He needed to uphold the whole law in order to be our Passover sacrifice. This means He would have eaten lamb on a regular basis. In addition, the Bible records that He ate the flesh of fish. Learn more about the foods Jesus ate here: What Special Food Did Jesus Actually Eat?

This is only a sampling of the meat eating that God has ordained in the Bible. Animal flesh is  one of His provisions for mankind in this world that He created as it exists in its current state. There are nutrients in meat that are difficult if not impossible to receive from plant food alone. Please don’t accept the fallacious notion that God desires humans to abstain from eating meat. The evidence in the Scripture is strongly contrary to this idea.

God condemns men “who advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude.” I Timothy 4:4-5

Meat is a gift and we should receive it with thanksgiving.

A future post in this series will discuss 5 occasions for vegetarianism in the Bible. But first, we will debunk 10 myths about vegetarianism.

Next: 10 Vegetarian Myths Debunked by God, Science, and Common Sense. 

Return to: Biblical Health Study

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Reformed Health exists so you can take control of your own health and be all that God has designed you to be. The information shared on Reformed Health is the sole opinion of the author and is not meant to diagnose or treat any illness. None or our claims have been evaluated by the FDA or any other government organization. We are not medical doctors, nor do we have any medical doctors on staff. If you are having a health emergency, please call 911, contact your doctor, or visit a local emergency room. Always consult your doctor before engaging in any new exercise regime.

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Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.

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