To Eat Or Not To Eat Part 2

We read in the 1st article in 1Tim.4:2 where “ God created food for human consumption to be received with thanksgiving and prayer “. He didn’t create all of His creation to leave the choice to us. It was designed for us to examine the clean from the unclean and to see the types and shadows even in His creation. We know that the Nation of Israel was flesh and blood just as we are. If obedience was expected then, why would it be different today? Don’t we have the same physical body as they did? When Jesus talked with the woman of Samaria He amplified His teachings.

John 4: 24, “God is a spirit; and they that worship Him must worship him in spirit and truth“.

This statement sets the bounds for the physical as well as the spiritual realm. The Apostle Paul teaching on the physical body as well as the spiritual body.

1st Cor. 15:40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of celestial is one and the glory of the terrestrial is another.

We have two bodies, one celestial and the other terrestrial. This is what makes man different from animals. Animals function from instinct the moment they are born. Humans need to be taught everything from birth to educate the human spirit within them.

Why does God have such concern for us and why does He want us to follow His guidance? The answer to that question is because God created and owns our souls.

Ezekiel 18:4, “Behold all souls are Mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is Mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.

We are His children and He is concerned with our welfare. We take in physical food to nourish our physical bodies but what about our spiritual body? The nation of Israel experience the Exodus only after staying in their houses all night and eating the Passover lamb. It wasn’t until the morning light that Moses led the people out from Pharaoh and let the people go. The lamb that they ate was a shadow of the true lamb of God that we can feed on today.

John 1:29,“The next day, John, seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.“ John 6:55, “For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.

The Gospel of John makes reference to who Jesus was.

John 1:1, “ In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God.

We are to feed on the word of God so our minds and action will reflect our judgments on a grander scale. But why are dietary laws important for us today? The shadow of physical laws then and now is to keep our bodies healthy and are a reflection of care and protection of what we take into our minds spiritually. If the teachings of this world don’t align with God’s word they are to be rejected because they wouldn’t be healthy for our spiritual mind and body. There are those who have said, I’ve eaten such and such for years and I have not felt any ill effects. Such people don’t know they are breaking God’s dietary laws but difficulties will come sooner or later. The book of Ecclesiastes is written to the man that walks under the sun, (all of mankind).

Ecc. 8:11, “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil“.

God is patient and full of mercy. Breaking God’s laws doesn’t mean that a person is going to get away without a penalty. He gives us plenty of time to have a change of heart so healing can begin.

In examining nature and why things were created the way they were gives us a foundation as a 2nd witness and adds to our understanding.

Leviticus chapter 11 and Deuteronomy chapter 14 are where Gods instructions concerning what food we are to partake of are found.

Cattle is designed with 1 stomach with 4 different departments. It can digest food, swallow it and bring it up again to continue chewing again. This is called “chewing the cud“. ( a type of meditating )

Psalm 1:2, “ And his delight is in the law of the lord; And in his law he doth meditate day and night .

There are also animals that have a “cloven hoof“. Nature tells us that the animal with a cloven foot (split hoof) teach us that we can go in a any direction symbolizing the taking the Gospel throughout all the world.

Swine? Pigs have been know to eat dead insects, worms, rotting carcasses as well as garbage. They also don’t have sweat glands to eliminate poisons from their body thereby retaining toxins in the fat. Swine were created as a scavenger.

Sea food, only fish which have fins and scales are to be eaten. Nature shows us that fins help guide the fish through the water. Water represent the people of the world and teaches us that listening to people instead of God without checking for truth can get us in trouble.

Revelation 17:15, And he saieth unto me,“ the waters which thou sawest where the whore sittth are peoples, and multitudes , and nations and tongues.

The scales represent the amour of God.

Ephesians 4: 10, “ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Verse 11, “ Put on the whole Armour of God, that you may stand against the wiles of the devil.

The waters in the world contain sea creatures, which are used by natural means to clean up pollutants as well as dead matter. It would take an entire book to compare God’s dietary laws to His natural creation. These few examples could lead to a larger and more complete study.

Conclusion: Mankind in general is unclean. We don’t have a cloven foot, a physical stomach as cattle to regurgitate food, fins or scales to guide us through life etc. But we do have The Word of God to help us on life’s journey. He warns us what is good for us and we can even examine the design in nature to give us a 2nd witness.

2nd Peter 3: 1, “ Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts“.

We should want to be true believers of God’s word as is stated in the book of john.

John 3:16, “That God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall have everlasting life“.

We are admonished not only to be hearers of the word but doers also.

James 1:22,“ But be you doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

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