More and more people are switching to a vegetarian or completely plant-based diet. Others like their meat very much.
What does the Bible teach us about eating meat? Are all types of meat good to eat? Or are we only allowed to eat the flesh of clean animals? As a Christian, why would you choose not to eat meat anymore?
In the first part of this series, we concluded, based on Bible texts, that the ban on eating unclean animals still applies. You can read the entire blog here.
This time I discuss which meat can be eaten, if you so choose.
Noah
Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 clearly explain which animals are clean and which are unclean. But we can assume that this distinction was known to the people much earlier. The first clue to this is in Genesis 4:4 where Abel brings an offering, which God accepts. The few words that describe the sacrifice are in accordance with the laws for the sacrifices given in Leviticus.
Noah knew which animals are clean or unclean. In Genesis 7, God commands Noah to take one pair of every unclean animal and seven pair of every clean animal into the ark.
"Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female. ... And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him." Genesis 7:2 and 5.
After the flood, Noah offered burnt offerings. He used clean animals for this. “And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.” Genesis 8:20.
In the next chapter of the Bible, God says: “And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered. Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.” Genesis 9:2-3. Here God gives us two things: the responsibility to treat the animals well and we are given permission to use them as food.
Does this text say that we can eat all kinds of meat? No, we also need to read this Bible passage in context and in line with the rest of the Bible. We don't eat all kinds of plants. For example, think of grass, this is for cattle (Psalm 104:14). We also don't eat all kinds of meat.
Clean and unclean animals
For clarification, in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14, we read records of animals that we may eat, if we wish. Due to the length of this article, I will not include the texts of these chapters here. I recommend that you read through these passages of the Bible.
Clean animals are:
- Mammals living on land which have split hooves and chew the cud
- Aquatic animals (fish) which have scales and gills
- Certain birds
- Certain types of locusts, grasshoppers and crickets
Unclean animals are:
- All mammals that do not have split hooves and chew the cud
- Reptiles
- Amphibians
- Shellfish
- Other animals that live in the water and fish that do not have scales and fins
- Birds of prey and other birds that eat vertebrates
- Virtually all insects
For a more specific list of clean and unclean animals I refer to my free download. In the download you find an overview of clean and unclean animals according to the directions in the Bible, that can be found in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14.
Click here to go to the download page.
Health
Leviticus 11 and the chapters that follow are about health and hygiene. Health and purity largely determine whether an animal is fit to eat or not. What an animal eats and how it excretes its waste is an indication for this.
Food for herbivores comes from the bottom layer of the food chain, is less “polluted” and is more in line with the dietary requirements of the early chapters of Genesis.
The food of unclean animals comes from higher up the food pyramid and contains (usually) meat. For example, think of scavengers, such as hyenas and vultures. The best known unclean animal that is often used for meat is the pig. This is an omnivore, which is susceptible to various diseases and parasites. Another example is mussels. Because these filter the water, they contain (more) toxins. Finally, a group of animals unclean, because they eat their own excrement. Rodents are an example of this. They do this because it is necessary for their own health, but it makes them unfit for human consumption.
By eating unclean animals, the eater also gets this uncleanness in his body. It can cause illness.
Even clean animals can become unclean. We are not allowed to eat them anymore if they have died (of themselves) and therefore have not been slaughtered in health. Before you eat meat, you need to know that the animal was healthy. Compare this also with Deuteronomy 14:21. You should not eat an animal that has died of disease or has been attacked, as it poses a risk of disease.
Holiness
Where in the Bible book of Leviticus the focus is on health and in Deuteronomy the emphasis is on how to serve God. This is a second argument against eating unclean animals. “Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing. … for thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God.” Deuteronomy 14:3 and 21. Leviticus also indicates this: “For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” Leviticus 11:44.
God wants us to be holy, because He is holy. He asks us to arrange our lives in harmony with Him. The Lord created us in His image. Sin has clouded this picture, but we can make choices to (with His help) let our thoughts, words, and actions be in harmony with His will. How God wants us to live is revealed in the Bible. Part of that is not eating unclean meat.
Concluding
God asks us that if we choose to eat meat, we eat only clean animals. This is important for our health and holiness.
The third and last part of this series will deal with the arguments not to eat meat or animal foods as a Christian.
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