God, the Provider.

We have begun Principle #6 of Living Under God’s Design: Healthy Blood Through Real Food. Our last post, Eat Food That Has Been Created to Be Enjoyed, introduced the idea that God has decreed what food is to be eaten by His creatures. God’s very first command was a “food law.” He forbade Adam and Eve to eat fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

God has the right to tell His creatures what they can and cannot eat. He is the creator and owner of everything. Even more, God loves His creatures very much — especially the humans that He created in His own image. Food was never an afterthought of God: it was a loving provision from a loving God and Father who desires His creatures to flourish in the world He created for them so they could subdue the earth and multiply upon it.

And as part of God’s provision for man to flourish in His world, over time, He has ordained changes in the food chain, a sort of evolution of food.

We have already seen that God gave fruits and vegetables as man’s first sustenance. The first couple were allowed to eat of any of the plants God created, even the Tree of Life. The only food they were forbidden to eat was that produced by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Let’s take a closer look.

Vegetables, The Basic Diet of Man.

The first two chapters of Genesis set the stage for human sustenance, with all its delights: color, fragrance, texture, and taste. Consider these verses from Genesis:

• (1:11) Then God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them”; and it was so.
• (1:12) The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good.
• (1:13) There was evening and there was morning, a third day.
• (1:29) Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you;
• (1:31) God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.
• (2:8) The LORD God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed.
• (2:9) Out of the ground the LORD God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food.

On the third day God created the “first fruits” of food. These were the foods God provided for man from the very beginning — the foundation for our basic diet: fruits, vegetables, and herbs. God created these to meet the essential needs for man’s existence. Later, God planted a special garden for Adam and Eve and placed them in it to live, work, and harvest. That garden provided them all they needed for life. But changes were coming.

No More Access to the Tree of Life.

Though Adam was forbidden from eating from the Knowledge tree, he sinned against God and was kicked out of the Garden. God placed cherubim with flaming swords to guard the entrance of the garden, forever shielding the Tree of Life — which had previously been available for sustenance. Now it was cut of eternally. Read more about the Tree of Life here. But this was only one change in the food supply at this time.

Foods Produced by the Sweat of the Brow.

After the sin of Adam, death entered the world, and God sacrificed the first animal to clothe the nakedness of Adam and Eve. Yet, even then, God did not give humans the freedom to eat the flesh of the animals He created. But He did add to man’s diet the foods harvested by the sweat of his brow, which may have included grains, legumes, and tubers. Not that these foods had been forbidden previously, they just were more difficult to produce. Adam and Even most likely did not need them to thrive.  Now they would have to work hard for these needed foods.

Animal Flesh Added.

Adam’s sin led to an epidemic. By the time of Noah, the Bible records “that every intent of the thoughts of [man’s] heart was only evil continually.” Genesis 6:5

God called Noah to build an ark to save his family from a pending judgment on the world by way of a super flood. This worldwide catastrophe would cause another alteration in the food supply.

After the flood, God repeated His command for man to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. But the earth was now different as a result of the flood. No longer was it a uniform subtropical environment over the whole earth. There were now regions of the earth that could not easily sustain plant food. In addition, the land soil and natural resources needed to produce food were considerably reduced. As the population grew, what would people eat in the arctic regions where plants were scare? How would people cope with the varying temperatures throughout the earth and the changing seasons?

God had an answer. Our great provider knew that man would need access to animal flesh if he were to fulfill the mandate to multiply upon the earth. So God enlarged the “food” pool.

After the flood God granted man permission to eat the flesh of animals. Context assumes the permission was confined to the flesh of  “clean” animals, for Noah took seven pairs onto the ark, but he took only one pair of unclean animals (Genesis 7:2). According to Leviticus 11, unclean animals were detestable and unfit for human consumption, inedible (future posts will discuss this topic more thoroughly — examining corresponding New Testament passages such as Peter’s vision).

How Should We Respond to this Evolution of Food?

Vegetables: Revisited

Originally, God had provided an abundance of  fruits, vegetables, and herbs as the first foods for man. This meant, these were the basic needs for man. No one knows better than God what is basic sustenance for His creation. That is why it is fundamentally necessary that fruits and vegetables be emphasized in our diets. We should be consuming fresh fruits and vegetables (raw and cooked) on a regular basis.

Raw vegetables are loaded with vitamins, minerals, and enzymes that are the building blocks of good health. Vegetables are part of the real food God has designed to keep the human body full of health. And in our home, we honor this in our personal diet. We seek to incorporate raw vegetables with every meal and consume raw fruits daily.

The importance of incorporating raw (and cooked) vegetables into the diet regularly — as well as fruits — is common knowledge.

Grains, Legumes, and Tubers: Revisited

After the curse came upon the world, man was required to eat bread by the sweat of his brow. The living grains, legumes, and tubers that require “sweat” to produce are additionally necessary as building blocks of good health. They should be incorporated into a healthy diet. There are nutrients found in these life giving foods that are needed to meet the demands of the world we live. Let us receive them with thanksgiving and use them generously in our diets.

Meat: Revisited

Vegetarianism and veganism are popular movements — even among Christians. But 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

This does not necessarily mean vegetarianism and veganism are sinful in themselves (unless the motive is to achieve some kind of spiritual merit before God). Yet, we should  use careful consideration before we reject any food that God has given to us. He knows what we need to survive in the world He created. There are certain nutrients in animal flesh that are difficult if not impossible to get from the plant realm.

We will go into greater detail on these matters (and more) in future posts.

Conclusion.

God’s evolving provision for man was for one major purpose: to give man the strength and energy needed to subdue His earth and multiply upon it. God gave the command first to Adam and Eve and repeated it to Noah. Many people have forgotten God’s plan to subdue the earth. Some believe the mandate is no longer valid. Yet Christ Himself reiterated the plan to His disciples when He told them to go and make disciples of all the nations, teaching them to observe all that He has commanded. See Matthew 28:19-20. The first creation mandate was to populate the world. The new creation mandate (in Christ) is to make the population obedient followers of Christ.

The earth is the Lord’s and all it contains. Let us learn to live in it His way. Then we can live strong healthy lives and have all the stamina and energy to serve Him.

Next in this series, we will take a closer look at meat. The Bible provides an inspired account of how meat nourishes God’s people.

Next: Meat (not vegetarianism) Is a Gift from God to Be Enjoyed

Return to: Biblical Health Study

Disclaimer:

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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© 2017 Mischelle Sandowich
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