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took into the ark of tpe clean ani–
mals, to be eaten for food, by sev–
ens; but of tbe unclean, of which he
was not to eat during the Flood, by
twos-only enough to preserve
their lives. The inference is ines–
capable that the additional clean
animals were taken aboard to be
eaten for food whi le Noah and his
family were in the ark.
Prior to the Flood, clean animals
were usual ly offered as sacrifices.
Those who ate the sacrifices often
partook of the animal flesh, but
vegetables were the main constitu–
ent of diet. After the Flood, God
gave Noah not merely the green
herb-vegetables-as the major
part of diet , but of every
type
of
living creature-clean animals,
clean fi sh, clean fowl (Gen. 9:3 and
Lev.
11 ) .
Genesis 9:3 does not say that
every living, breathing creature is
clean and fit to eat, but that
"as
t he
green herb have
I
given you all
things." God did not give poisonous
herbs as food. He gave man tbe
healthful herbs. Man can deter–
mine which herbs are healtbful , but
man cannot by himself determine
which flesh foods are harmful. That
is why God bad to determine for us
in bis Word which meats are clean .
Since the Flood every moving
clean,
healthful, nonpoisonous type
of animal life is good for food- just
as God gave us t he healthful , non–
poisonous herbs.
This does not give us permission
to do as we please!
Not Ceremonial Law
The instruction in Leviticus
l 1
and
Deuteronomy 14, then, is not sorne
ritualistic regulation for the Mosaic
period only. Why do so many
people have the idea that God is
sorne great unfai r monster who
imposes foolish hardships on bis
people? Whatever God instructs us
is for our good, not sorne nonsensi–
cal restriction for one period to be
changed around sorne different way
for other people of a different peri–
od.
Now for sorne specific instruc–
tion concerning mammals: "These
are the beasts which ye shall eat:
the ox [beef), t he sheep [lamb],
and the goat, the hart, and the roe–
buck, and the fallow deer, and the
wild goat, and the pygarg [ante-
36
Jope], and the wild ox, and t he
chamois [mountain sheep]. And
every beast tbat parteth the hoof,
and cleaveth the cleft into two
claws, and cheweth the cud among
the beasts, that ye shall eat. Nev–
ertheless these ye shall not eat of
them that chew the c ud, or of them
that divide tbe claven hoof; as tbe
camel, and the hare, and the caney:
for they chew the cud, but divide
not the hoof; therefore they are
unclean unto you. And the swine
[hogs], because it divideth the
hoof, yet cheweth not tbe cud, it is
unclean unto you: ye shall not eat
of their flesh ..." (Deut. 14:4-8).
Horse meat is not fit for humans
Justas every
plant that God caused
to grow out ·of
the ground was not
designed
f
or
food, so it is with
animal flesh.
because horses not only do not
h~ve
divided hoofs, but they also do not
chew the cud.
Similarly, swine flesh - pork,
ham, bacon, sausage- rabbit meat,
etc. are simply not fit for human
consumption. The same is true with
oysters, lobsters, clams, crabs,
shrimp, crawfish, dogs, snakes, rats
and skunks.
The only seafood fit for food are
fi sh having
both
fins and scales.
Halibut has both and is clean. Cat–
fish is' a skin fish- unclean.
lt's all a matter of what we have
become accustomed to doing.
It
seems stra nge and horrifying to
hear that sorne Orientals eat mice
as a delicacy. But many O rientals
are horrified to bear that we eat
nasty, slimy, filthy oysters! But
sorne human grown-ups, like little
babies, will eat anything they can
get their hands on and stuff into
their mouths.
At so-called quality g rocer y
stores in large towns and cities, spe–
cializing in rare delicacies, you can
purchase "delicious" canned rattle-·
snake-if you care for it.
So far as I am concerned, you
may have my portion if you wish to
try it.
I
do not care to eat it for the
same reason
I
do not eat slugs,
skunks, cats or eels- for the same
reason
I
do not eat poison ivy or
weeds.
Y
es, and for the same rea–
son
I
do not put fue! oil mixed with
sánd in the gas tank of my car!
The day will come wben we will
at last learn that eating greasy hog
flesh and other unfi t "foods" has
been a prime cause of cancer and
other deadly diseases.
What About Peter's Vision?
But what about the sheet contain–
ing unclean animals that was shown
to the apostle Peter in a vision
(Acts 10)? Did this vision change
t he entire composition of a ll
unclean animals, or of the human
apparatus, so that these unfit things
suddenly became nourishing food?
Not at all!
The purpose of this vision was
NOT
to cbange God 's food and
health laws that have been inexora–
bly in motion from the beginning,
but to sbow Peter "tbat [he] should
not call any
man common or
unclean "
(Acts
1
0 :28) . W hy?
Because t he J ewish people had
been taught to regard gentiles like
unclean animals-to have nothing
to do with them.
It is time you fully understood
this vision.
It
may well affect your
health , happiness and eterna! life.
Open your Bible to the 1Oth chap–
ter of Acts.
Notice, in the 1Oth chapter of
Acts, that Cornelius was an ltalian
soldier-an uncircumcised genti le.
To the strict Jews, he was to be
regarded as an unclean
man.
But
God looks on the hear·t. Cornelius
gave "much alms" to the Jewisb
people (verse 2). God remembered
bis alms and revealed in a vision
that be sbould send sorne of bis
servants to J oppa to contact Peter.
In verse 9, we fi nd Peter was a
man of prayer. While praying on a
bousetop, Peter became very hun-
The
PLAIN TRUTH