Words Evolve.

My husband and I are nearly 20 years apart in age, so we were raised in different generations. He came of age in the 60’s; I came of age in the 80’s. In the twenty years in between, language had changed a bit. There was a time when the word awesome meant full of awe and fearful. But in my generation awesome took on a totally different meaning, namely cool.

My husband’s generation might have called something “awesome” or “cool,” groovy. The millennial generation might think groovy refers to something with a lots of grooves, like the edge of a quarter.

Defining Terms.

For the purpose of communication it is always good to clarify terms so everyone is on the same page. So when I talk about food that sanctified an entire nation, I don’t mean the food made the nation “holy.” What I do mean by sanctified is “set apart.”

We see a microcosm of this today, especially around the holidays. Everyone has their favorite ethnic dishes that are peculiar to certain cultures and religions. Growing up,  potato strudel — a German dish — was our ethnic tradition. My husband’s family made piroshki — a Russian dish.

In the same manner,  the Israelites had peculiar foods and traditions, only theirs were ordained by God — and sanctifying.

Sanctifying Foods.

These food distinctions were so strong that the Israelites would not even eat with a gentile for fear of becoming “unclean” by association. Their diet kept them separate from all the other unclean nations. This is why Peter three times said,  “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean” after God showed him a vision of a sheet swarming with all kinds of unclean animals.

Interestingly, God never rebuked Peter for refusing His request to “kill and eat!” Rather the Scripture records that Peter was perplexed over the vision as to what the Holy Spirit could have meant. But God revealed to Peter the meaning of the vision. He was no longer to stay separate from the gentiles just because they ate unclean meats. They too could be clean through the gospel of Jesus Christ, thus becoming partakers of the New Covenant through faith. You can read about Peter’s vision in Acts 10:9-20, 11:5-18.

Therefore clean and unclean foods would no longer be a cause for separation among believers.

So what were these special animal and insect fleshes that separated the Israelites from the rest of the nations? A full list can be found in Leviticus chapter 11. Here is a summary.

Safe Meats

• Animals with split hoofs that chew the cud
• Sea creatures with fins and scales
• Birds that were not included on the forbidden list
• Winged, four legged insects with jointed legs for jumping
  • Crickets
  • Locusts
  • Grasshoppers

Rejected Meats

• Animals without a split hoof and/or that do not chew the cud
  • Camels
  • Rabbits
  • Pigs
• Animals that walk on four paws
• Sea creatures without fins and scales
• Vultures
• Eagles
• Buzzards
• Falcons
• Owl
• Pelicans
• Winged, four legged insects without jointed legs for jumping
• Moles
• Mice
• Lizards
• Geckos
• Crocodiles
• Chameleon
• Things that crawl on their bellies

It is interesting to note two facts about the acceptable and forbidden meats:

1. Many of the animal meats considered acceptable for food in Leviticus 11 have a very different digestive system than those that were forbidden. Cows for example (chew the cud and have a split hoof) have a four part stomach, while pigs (have a split hoof, but don’t chew the cud) have a simple stomach. The four stomach system is better able to keep disease out of the flesh of the food. The simpler stomach of the pig allows more toxins to enter the flesh, thus making it a dangerous food to eat. We will talk more about this in greater detail in the future.
2. Most of the animals, birds, sea creatures, and insects that are to be rejected for food are scavengers upon the earth. They were not designed to be eaten, but rather to clean up the earth, purify water, and devour putrefying, disease carrying substances from their surrounding environments.

These two points demonstrate that God forbade the eating of certain flesh out of His great lovingkindness for His people, to preserve life.

So it was through the distinction of clean and unclean animals that God kept Israel separated (sanctified) from the other nations until Christ came. Now Christ is the one who sanctifies. All who come to Him in faith are spiritually clean regardless of their diet.

This is part four of a 10 part series called: 10 Ways Food Impacts History, Life, and the World.

Next: Nine Miracles in the Bible about Food

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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© 2017 Mischelle Sandowich
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