Balm of Gilead

By James Ong, MSc, BSc (Hons)

[All Scripture passages are taken from the ESV, unless otherwise stated]

“For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.”  Malachi 3:6

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.  Hebrews 13:8

The Old Testament Dietary Laws

It may surprise many Christians that embedded within the Pentateuch (the first 5 books of the Old Testament) are two full chapters of very detailed dietary instructions God gave to Moses for his people to follow.  They cover the kinds of animal foods the children of Israel could eat.  For the most part, the ancient Israelites, from the time of the patriarchs until the early church, kept these dietary laws.  With the decline of the Jewish church and the expansion of the Gentile church, these laws eventually became largely ignored.  However, there is now resurgence in interest among Christians regarding these laws.  Let’s learn more about these dietary laws by exploring the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy.

In these two books, revered by both Jews and Christians, God gave the nation of Israel laws governing what the Israelites may eat among the animal kingdom.  These are often referred to as the kosher (i.e. fit for consumption) food laws:

Leviticus 11:1-47

And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them,  ² “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, These are the living things that you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth.  ³ Whatever parts the hoof and is cloven-footed and chews the cud, among the animals, you may eat.  ⁴ Nevertheless, among those that chew the cud or part the hoof, you shall not eat these: The camel, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you.  ⁵ And the rock badger, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you.  ⁶ And the hare, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you.  ⁷ And the pig, because it parts the hoof and is cloven-footed but does not chew the cud, is unclean to you.  ⁸ You shall not eat any of their flesh, and you shall not touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you.  ⁹ “These you may eat, of all that are in the waters. Everything in the waters that has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the rivers, you may eat.  ¹⁰ But anything in the seas or the rivers that has not fins and scales, of the swarming creatures in the waters and of the living creatures that are in the waters, is detestable to you.  ¹¹ You shall regard them as detestable; you shall not eat any of their flesh, and you shall detest their carcasses.  ¹² Everything in the waters that has not fins and scales is detestable to you.  ¹³ “And these you shall detest among the birds; they shall not be eaten; they are detestable: the eagle, the bearded vulture, the black vulture,  ¹⁴ the kite, the falcon of any kind,  ¹⁵ every raven of any kind,  ¹⁶ the ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull, the hawk of any kind,  ¹⁷ the little owl, the cormorant, the short-eared owl,  ¹⁸ the barn owl, the tawny owl, the carrion vulture,  ¹⁹ the stork, the heron of any kind, the hoopoe, and the bat.  ²⁰ “All winged insects that go on all fours are detestable to you.  ²¹ Yet among the winged insects that go on all fours you may eat those that have jointed legs above their feet, with which to hop on the ground.  ²² Of them you may eat: the locust of any kind, the bald locust of any kind, the cricket of any kind, and the grasshopper of any kind.  ²³ But all other winged insects that have four feet are detestable to you.  ²⁴ “And by these you shall become unclean. Whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening,  ²⁵ and whoever carries any part of their carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening.  ²⁶ Every animal that parts the hoof but is not cloven-footed or does not chew the cud is unclean to you. Everyone who touches them shall be unclean.  ²⁷ And all that walk on their paws, among the animals that go on all fours, are unclean to you. Whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening,  ²⁸ and he who carries their carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening; they are unclean to you.  ²⁹ “And these are unclean to you among the swarming things that swarm on the ground: the mole rat, the mouse, the great lizard of any kind,  ³⁰ the gecko, the monitor lizard, the lizard, the sand lizard, and the chameleon.  ³¹ These are unclean to you among all that swarm. Whoever touches them when they are dead shall be unclean until the evening.  ³² And anything on which any of them falls when they are dead shall be unclean, whether it is an article of wood or a garment or a skin or a sack, any article that is used for any purpose. It must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the evening; then it shall be clean.  ³³ And if any of them falls into any earthenware vessel, all that is in it shall be unclean, and you shall break it.  ³⁴ Any food in it that could be eaten, on which water comes, shall be unclean. And all drink that could be drunk from every such vessel shall be unclean.  ³⁵ And everything on which any part of their carcass falls shall be unclean. Whether oven or stove, it shall be broken in pieces. They are unclean and shall remain unclean for you.  ³⁶ Nevertheless, a spring or a cistern holding water shall be clean, but whoever touches a carcass in them shall be unclean.  ³⁷ And if any part of their carcass falls upon any seed grain that is to be sown, it is clean,  ³⁸ but if water is put on the seed and any part of their carcass falls on it, it is unclean to you.  ³⁹ “And if any animal which you may eat dies, whoever touches its carcass shall be unclean until the evening,  ⁴⁰ and whoever eats of its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. And whoever carries the carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening.  ⁴¹ “Every swarming thing that swarms on the ground is detestable; it shall not be eaten.  ⁴² Whatever goes on its belly, and whatever goes on all fours, or whatever has many feet, any swarming thing that swarms on the ground, you shall not eat, for they are detestable.  ⁴³ You shall not make yourselves detestable with any swarming thing that swarms, and you shall not defile yourselves with them, and become unclean through them.  ⁴⁴ For I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground.  ⁴⁵ For I am the LORD who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.”  ⁴⁶ This is the law about beast and bird and every living creature that moves through the waters and every creature that swarms on the ground,  ⁴⁷ to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean and between the living creature that may be eaten and the living creature that may not be eaten.

Deuteronomy 14:2-20

“You are the sons of the LORD your God. You shall not cut yourselves or make any baldness on your foreheads for the dead.  ² For you are a people holy to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.  ³ “You shall not eat any abomination.  ⁴ These are the animals you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat,  ⁵ the deer, the gazelle, the roebuck, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope, and the mountain sheep.  ⁶ Every animal that parts the hoof and has the hoof cloven in two and chews the cud, among the animals, you may eat.  ⁷ Yet of those that chew the cud or have the hoof cloven you shall not eat these: the camel, the hare, and the rock badger, because they chew the cud but do not part the hoof, are unclean for you.  ⁸ And the pig, because it parts the hoof but does not chew the cud, is unclean for you. Their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch.  ⁹ “Of all that are in the waters you may eat these: whatever has fins and scales you may eat.  ¹⁰ And whatever does not have fins and scales you shall not eat; it is unclean for you.  ¹¹ “You may eat all clean birds.  ¹² But these are the ones that you shall not eat: the eagle, the bearded vulture, the black vulture,  ¹³ the kite, the falcon of any kind;  ¹⁴ every raven of any kind;  ¹⁵ the ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull, the hawk of any kind;  ¹⁶ the little owl and the short-eared owl, the barn owl  ¹⁷ and the tawny owl, the carrion vulture and the cormorant,  ¹⁸ the stork, the heron of any kind; the hoopoe and the bat.  ¹⁹ And all winged insects are unclean for you; they shall not be eaten.  ²⁰ All clean winged things you may eat.

According to these passages, the animals that the Israelites may eat are those which God classifies as clean:  ruminants that part the hoof and chew the cud (e.g. antelope, bison or buffalo, caribou, cattle, deer, elk, gazelle, giraffe, sheep, goat, hart, ibex, moose, ox, reindeer and the like); fish with fins and scales; poultry birds such as chicken, turkey, duck, goose, quail, dove, pheasant, partridge, pigeon and the like), and certain insects such as grasshoppers, locusts and crickets.  All other animals are classified as unclean or non-kosher and deemed unfit for human consumption.  Hence, pork, shellfish and other crustaceans, stingrays, sharks, catfish, rabbits, kangaroos, emus, ostriches, etc., which modern man regard as food are actually forbidden in the OT. These are referred by God as unclean, abominations and detestable things.  Strong language indeed!  In addition to these passages, there are others that restrict the consumption of blood (Leviticus 3:17; 7:26-27; 19:26; Deuteronomy 12:16-24), fat of animals to be offered as sacrifices (Leviticus 7:25) and of animals that have been strangled (Leviticus 7:24; Deuteronomy 14:21; probably refers to those that were attacked and killed by other wild beasts) or the flesh of animals that died by themselves (i.e. not slaughtered by man for food, usually due to disease).  The word “kosher” basically refers to foods that have been sanctioned by Jewish law to be ritually fit for their consumption, having the idea of being fit, proper, acceptable and satisfactory to be eaten.  Modern kosher law of course goes beyond the OT’s simpler definition of what may or may not be eaten.

In most churches, denominations and among many Christian scholars today, the view that is held regarding the OT dietary laws is that, since the coming of the New Covenant, such legalistic restrictions and distinctions between what is clean and unclean have been abolished.  These laws would fall into the same category as circumcision, Sabbath-keeping, the appointed feast days and the OT levitical sacrifices.  ”Jesus has put an end to the dietary laws and declared all foods clean,” or “We are not under law but under grace,” are the statements that they often make.  Hence Christians are free to eat pork, shrimp, squid, crabs, lobsters, oysters, clams, mussels and other “detestable” foods listed in the OT.  I will highlight the few Scripture passages that are used by this camp to defend their position later in my article.

Like many other Christians and Messianic Jews, I hold to a different view:  these dietary laws were given for our health and, since there has been no physiological change in these “unclean” animals or man’s digestive system post-Calvary, they should still be applicable to Christians.  We would do well to heed the words of Jesus himself in Matthew 5:17-19:

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. ¹⁸ For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. ¹⁹ Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Why did God give his people the dietary laws?  Was he a cosmic kill-joy, forbidding his children to eat foods that are so delicious and supposedly nutritious?  Scripture gives us the answer.  In Exodus 15:26, God commanded the Israelites to diligently obey his commandments and statutes so that they may enjoy superior health (compared to the heathens):

And He said, “If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the LORD, am your healer.” [NASB]

In this passage, Moses records for us one of the covenant names of God: Yahweh-Rapha.  God is our Great Physician, our Healer.  Who knows what is better for our health than he?  As the Great Physician, he gives us detailed and careful instructions what foods to eat and what to avoid so that his children may be healthy.  This idea is repeated in Exodus 23:25 (see also Deuteronomy 7:11-15, Psalm 103:3, 5; Psalm 104:14, 21, 25, 27-28).  Scientists, doctors and nutritionists today all agree that, as far as our physical bodies are concerned, we are essentially what we eat.  Deuteronomy 4:40 re-states this idea for a new generation of Israelites and is repeated throughout the book:

“Therefore you shall keep his statutes and his commandments, which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land that the LORD your God is giving you for all time.”

Hope Egan, author of Holy Cow[1] commented that it is unthinkable that the Creator God who gave so many instructions on marriage, family, social relationships, standards of righteous conduct, business dealings, agriculture, warfare, worship practices, feast days, etc., would remain silent on an activity we do 3-5 times a day and which is so fundamental to our physical well-being.  Well, for those who would accept it, Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14, together with other related passages on Biblical diet, are God’s divine instructions on optimal nutrition.  God would have given the Israelites and us every kind of animal to eat if they were all health-promoting, for Psalm 84:11-12 says:

¹¹ For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.  ¹² O LORD of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!

Could a rejection of the dietary laws by Christians be a sign of distrust?  That somehow, God did not know enough about what is best for us and was keeping good things from us?  It sounds like the serpent has triumphed again, like it did at the Garden of Eden.

I am clearly not alone in my view.  Many books have been written by Christian doctors, naturopaths, nutritionists and authors stating the same position (these include writers such as Rex Russell, MD; Jordan Rubin, ND; Don Colbert, MD; Michael Jacobson, MD; Gordon Tessler, PhD; David Meinz, RD, and Patrick Quillin, PhD, RD).[2]

It is not possible to go into a detailed treatment of all the Scripture references that support the continuance of the OT dietary laws. For an excellent in-depth treatment of this topic, I highly recommend the booklet, “What Does the Bible Teach About Clean and Unclean Meats?” written by David Treybing and published by the United Church of God.[3] I will attempt to prove from a number of Scripture passages that these distinctions between clean and unclean animals are intended to be permanent.  In other words, God intended these guidelines to be followed by his covenant people throughout the centuries.  The coming of the New Covenant and its emphasis on grace does not do away with the dietary laws.  Rather, the distinction between clean and unclean was intended to ensure the good health of God’s people.

Genesis 1:29-31

It is important to begin here because we learn from this passage that man, as well as the animals, were originally created by God to be nourished and sustained solely on plant foods.  Plant foods were man’s original diet and his digestive system and body was first designed for that.  Even doctors, scientists and nutritionists today agree that a diet consisting of an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables is the healthiest way to eat.  Man was not created to subsist primarily on animal foods.  In fact, science tells us that eating of animal foods comes with higher health risks.[4] Hence, it is not unreasonable to suspect that perhaps not every animal that God created, though good in the overall scheme of natural ecology, is intended or safe for human consumption.

Genesis 6:19-20; 7:2-3; 8:20-21

This is a very important and fascinating passage.  Most of us thought that Noah took only a pair of every animal into the ark for preservation.  This was not so.  He was asked to take seven pairs of clean animals.  For unclean animals, only one pair was to be preserved.  So, we see that more than a 1,000 years before the giving of the Mosaic Law code and before the nation of Israel came into being, God had already revealed to Noah, the father of all the ethnic groups of the world, the distinction between clean and unclean animals.  Clean animals were fit to be offered to the LORD as sacrifices and fit for human consumption, because part of the meat sacrificed was afterward consumed by the worshippers (just as the Israelites did many years later). God showed Noah, the patriarch of the new human race, that not all animals are suitable for food.  Indeed, after Noah and his family came out of the ark, he sacrificed clean animals on the altar and God was pleased.  Noah could not have sacrificed or eaten the unclean animals for that would have meant possible extinction for some species!

Daniel 1:5; 8-20

In this very interesting passage, we learn that Daniel and his three friends refused to compromise on their diet.  If they consumed the king’s food and wine, they would be disobeying God’s dietary laws.  Evidently, King Nebuchadnezzar’s daily banquet must have included meats of unclean animals, clean meats not properly prepared, blood, fat and strong wine.  So Daniel and his friends chose a strict vegetarian diet and water to drink.  After ten days (this is probably the earliest recorded incident of a scientifically-conducted human nutrition trial), they were better in appearance than the other young man who ate the king’s food.  Hence, Daniel and his friends enjoyed superior health and with it, far better mental capabilities.  What lesson can we learn from this passage?  That God’s dietary laws were given to ensure that his people, if they obeyed and followed them would enjoy superlative health, even attaining the fullest development in their mental capacities.  Even scientists today agree that our physical well-being has a tremendous impact on our mental and emotional functioning.  Furthermore, Daniel and his three friends attained uncommon spiritual anointing for serving God and the people.  I believe this passage has this take-home message for us:  obeying God’s dietary laws not only benefits the physical man; the spirit man benefits as well.  Of course, how this comes about is a mystery.

Isaiah 65:2-4; 66:15-17

These two passages reveal the mind of God regarding eating of unclean flesh – to him, the practice is as bad as pagan idolatry, worship of false gods and the observance of demonic rituals!  Indeed, ancient pagan religious rites often called for the sacrifice of unclean animals (e.g. Antiochus IV Ephiphanes’ sacrificed pigs in the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem in the 2^nd century BC).  The latter passage is most pertinent.  It is prophetic and eschatological, referring to the future judgment of God upon all ungodly mankind at the end of the present age.  The Word of God plainly says that he will destroy those who engage in idolatrous worship of false gods and who eat pig’s flesh, mice and other detestable things!  How scary these warnings are to me!  Clearly, the New Covenant did not change God’s attitude towards unclean meats.  A thousand years or more before the Mosaic Law code was given, God made the distinction between the clean and the unclean and thousands of years after Calvary, he has not changed his mind.

Mark 5:1-17

This passage provides indirect evidence regarding Jesus’ attitude on swine.  Here we read that Jesus cast the legion of demons into a herd of about 2,000 pigs, which then rushed down the steep bank and drowned in the sea.  Jesus thus destroyed meat that could have fed perhaps 25,000-30,000 people.  Contrast his action here with his instructions to his disciples after the feeding of the 4,000 and 5,000 (Matthew 14:15-21; 32-38; John 6:12):  all leftover fragments were to be picked up and nothing left to waste.  Why such difference of treatment?  Evidently, Jesus did not consider pigs to be suitable for food.  The herdsmen in the region of the Gadarenes (who could be Gentiles), had transgressed the commandment of God and they were thus afraid of him when confronted with their guilt and pleaded with him to leave the region.

Revelation 18:2

This passage re-affirms what I said regarding Isaiah 66:15-17.  During the seven-year Tribulation in the Last Days, God still regards certain birds and beasts as unclean and detestable (the same Gk. words akathartos and miseo are used as in the OT).  That is many, many years after Calvary!  Guess where the unclean animals are found?  Spiritual Babylon, the harlot that opposes God’s rule in every way and slays the saints of God!  And we are further commanded in 18:4 to come out of Spiritual Babylon lest we share in her punishment.

From these passages, we can see that God’s view of unclean meats has not changed through the centuries.  Let us now examine some of the most frequently cited proof texts that supposedly show the abolition of the OT dietary laws.

The Opposition’s Proof Texts Re-examined

The opposing proof texts, the arguments put forth and the counter-arguments are tabulated below:[5]

Proof Text	Argument	Counter-Argument
Genesis 9:3	God gave every moving thing that lives for food to Noah and his descendants, so we can eat any animal.	Not every tree and plant is fit for human consumption. Some are very poisonous.  Others are indigestible by humans.  Likewise, not every animal is safe for our consumption, e.g. puffer fish, certain frogs and spiders, etc.  Therefore “every moving thing” is to be understood in a restricted sense.  God is highlighting his graciousness and generosity in permitting man to consume many types of animal foods rather than giving man the license to eat anything and everything. Another possible interpretation is that Noah understood “every moving thing” to refer only to those clean animals that God had already pointed out to him as fit to be offered as sacrifices and for human consumption afterward. Please read my argument on Gen. 6:19-20; 7:2-3; 8:20-21 (above).  It should be particularly noted that from Genesis 9:3 onwards till the end of Genesis, there isn’t a single record of any of the patriarchs – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph – ever eating unclean meats or offering them for sacrifice.
Mark 7:14-19	Jesus declared all foods clean and that we cannot be defiled by what we eat.  Hence, we are free to eat all kinds of animals under the New Covenant.	Verse 19 has been mistranslated in most modern English translations.  The best translation of the original Greek is the KJV: “Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught (latrine, toilet, sewer), purging all meats? Jesus was teaching them Nutrition 101, that food goes into our gastrointestinal tract and whatever is not absorbed as nutrients goes out as feces in the toilet.  Foods are thus purged or cleansed this way, our gastrointestinal tract acting as a filter.  He was therefore addressing the issue of whether eating food with unwashed hands could defile a person spiritually; he was not talking about physical defilement.  The answer is of course an emphatic no!  Medical science informs us however that we may still suffer food poisoning if our food or hands are contaminated with harmful bacteria, so hand washing before meals is a good practice.  In Jesus’ time, food (Gk. broma) can only refer to edible plant foods and clean meats because it would be unthinkable for law-abiding Jews, Jesus included, to eat unclean meats and break the law.  Unclean meats are never referred to as broma in the Bible.  They are referred to as abominations, detestable and filth. This passage is about what defiles us spiritually, not about breaking down the distinction between clean and unclean foods.  The words in parentheses were added in later to prove the point that eating meats offered to idols does not in and of itself defile a person spiritually (cf. Romans 14:20 and I Corinthians 8:8).
Acts 10:9-16	God has made all the animals clean so Christians should not regard them as common and unclean what God has already cleansed through Christ’s atoning work.	If the passage is read in its entire context, Peter’s conclusion was that the vision was given by God to teach him that Gentile believers, whom God had cleansed and sanctified through Jesus’ atoning death, are now to be accepted into the fellowship of believers.  Peter himself gave the interpretation of the vision in 10:28, 34-35.   Animals were used to symbolize Gentile ethnic groups whom the Jews regarded as unclean.  At no point did he conclude that God had now permitted unclean meats to be eaten.  On the contrary, this passage proves that ten years or more following Calvary, Peter still kept the OT dietary laws.  Neither before nor after this event is there any evidence that the any of the apostles abandoned the OT dietary laws.  This vision was therefore all about the Holy Spirit opening the door of the gospel, which at that time had been confined only to the Jews, to the Gentiles.  It was never about food!
Romans 14:1-23	We should not pass judgment on a brother regarding what he eats for he answers only to God.  So long as he is honoring God, he can eat anything.	Very weak argument because if properly interpreted, this passage is about eating of meats offered to idols (a common practice throughout the 1st and 2nd century Greco-Roman world) and the effect on a weak brother’s conscience, who believed the offering of meat renders it unclean or unfit for consumption.  Consult a good commentary to confirm this.
Colossians 2:16-23	We should not pass judgment on other Christians regarding issues of food and drink.  These are of no substantial value; what matters is holding on to Christ.	This passage again offers weak support because Paul is dealing with an early form of Gnosticism which emphasizes asceticism, worship of angels, visions and following man-made rules.  OT dietary laws are God-given, not man-made, and are not the subject here.  In any case, it is not my intention to pass judgment on what a person eats but to point towards the truth regarding what Scripture says about the dietary laws.  At the end of the day, each Christian must be fully convinced on such matters and hold himself accountable to God.
1 Timothy 4:1-5	Everything created by God is good for food and nothing is to be refused.  We should not be legalistic and forbid consumption of certain foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving.	Paul is again dealing here with false teachers who teach doctrines of demons (probably Gnosticism), promoting asceticism and avoidance of those things which God expressly approves (e.g. marriage).  The “everything” that God created must be understood in a restricted sense – they are clean foods that are declared by God in his Word to be safe for human consumption; otherwise we might as well say that we can eat every living thing, even those outright harmful to us.  Paul actually states for us what is deemed as food (Gk. broma):  that which is sanctified or set apart or made holy by the Word of God!  Where in the Word of God is this distinction made?  In Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 of course.

Does the field of medicine, natural health and nutrition have any evidence to help us prove that the OT dietary laws were indeed meant to keep us healthy?  Yes, indeed!  Space does not permit me to go into details but I will just highlight a few (please refer to the books cited in the bibliography for further reading).

In a 1953 study by Dr. David Macht of Johns Hopkins University, the toxic effects of animal flesh on a controlled growth culture was tested.  A substance was classified as toxic if it slowed the culture’s growth rate below 75%.  In each case, the blood of all the animals Dr. Macht tested showed up more toxic than the flesh (proof that it is best to avoid blood).  Dr. Macht further showed that the flesh of animals and fish given to us by God for food are all non-toxic, but all forbidden animals lie in the toxic range![6] The results were amazingly consistent.  All unclean flesh inhibited cell growth whereas all clean flesh promoted it.  It is interesting to note that TCM physicians say the same thing and always advise someone who is recovering from injury or illness to abstain from seafood (crustaceans and mollusks, not fish).  Isn’t it sad that they confirm God’s Word while we, the children of God, negate it?

Scientists examining these forbidden creatures tell us that these are essentially scavengers, carnivorous meat eaters (who may feed on decaying, putrid flesh), and bottom filter feeders of the oceans, seas and rivers.  Their simple digestive systems tend to absorb bacteria, fungi, viruses, parasites and other toxins (many of which are carcinogenic) from the food (or should we say, junk) and water they ingest and concentrate these in their flesh. Marine scientists today measure the toxin level in the oceans, seas and rivers by testing the flesh of crustaceans.  Every year, warnings are issued by the public health authorities not to consume shellfish during certain times because of severe contamination.  God created these creatures to clean up the environment – they are the garbage collectors of the earth.  They were not designed as food.  Once dead, their flesh putrefies very rapidly and the high level of pathogens in them multiplies to dangerous levels.[7]

Yes, the health laws of the OT have a firm foundation in medical fact!  S. I. McMillen, MD and David E. Stern, MD, summarized their view of the laws God revealed to the Israelites:

“For centuries, epidemics killed thousands of Egyptians and Hebrews.  Ancient treatments rarely helped.  Often the ‘cure’ was worse than the diseases.  Yet here [Exodus 15:25] God made a fantastic promise – freedom from diseases.  God then gave Moses many health rules, filling a whole section of the Bible … Moses recorded hundreds of health regulations but not a single current medical misconception.  Thousands have died through the centuries, however, because doctors ignored the biblical rules.  Finally, when doctors read and tried these guidelines, they quickly discovered how to prevent the spread of epidemics.  Thus Moses could be called the father of modern infection control.  Even today we are still benefiting from God’s 3,500-year old instructions.”[8]

Far from being a catalog of food taboos based on fad or fancy, these lists emphasize a fact not discovered until late in the 19^th century and still not generally known:  animals carry diseases dangerous to man.

Scientists have good reason to believe that the 1918 flu pandemic had its origin in infected swine which spread to humans (their flesh serving as mixing vessels).  In the health supplement to the Straits Times newspaper, Mind Your Body, dated May 10, 2006, an article on the bird flu quoted scientists’ warning that pigs may again serve as mixing crucibles for the avian and human flu viruses, leading to mutant viruses that are able to transmit from humans to humans, with deadly pandemic consequences.  The recent H1N1 pandemic (2009) that has affected tens of thousands of people worldwide and caused many deaths is believed to have originated from swine – hence it was initially called swine flu.

SARS is believed to be caused by the eating of civet cats (forbidden by the OT).  AIDS may have jumped to humans from monkeys and the Ebola virus from rats.  Encephalitis is caused by viruses in pigs.  Some years ago, the Nipah swine virus in various parts of Malaysia led to a major health crisis and forced the Malaysian authorities to slaughter thousands of pigs and close down many pig farms.

An interesting point to note is that Jewish kosher slaughter practices are the most highly regarded in the industry and many slaughterhouses actually base their operating procedures on Jewish kosher laws.

Conclusion

I have often thought about why so many Christians are strongly resistant to the idea that the biblical food laws are still applicable today.  I can think of two reasons:

1. Perhaps we have become so accustomed to our traditional foods and we love them so much that it is very painful for us to give them up.  My wife and I had no problem giving up these foods (though at times the temptation to “try” a bit when the food has been ordered and placed before us is indeed very strong).  I believe that with the Holy Spirit’s help and the inner conviction that God wants our temples to be as healthy as possible, we will be able to resist the temptation to indulge in these unclean foods.  My advice is to think about and feast on the vast array of clean, delicious and wholesome foods that God has sanctioned for our consumption and we will not “lust” after unclean food.  Let us not be like Adam and Eve, who took their eyes off all that God had allowed them to eat and focused on the forbidden tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
2. Perhaps we do not want non-believers to perceive Christianity as a legalistic, old-fashioned and exclusivist type of religion, as this may adversely affect our evangelistic efforts.  We especially do not want to be associated with Judaism or Islam (though Muslims do not abstain from shellfish and other crustaceans).  But is it right for us to cut out parts of God’s Holy Scripture for the sake of the world’s acceptance or have we forgotten God’s sovereignty in salvation (John 6:37) or his command to come out of Babylon (Revelation 18:4)?

God gave the dietary laws so that his people whom he loved with an everlasting love would be the healthiest people on the earth and will develop to their fullest physical, mental, psycho-emotional and spiritual potential.  If we review the history of the Jewish people, they do indeed enjoy superior health through the centuries and accomplished far more in the areas of science; music and the arts; banking and finance; medicine, and many other fields of learning than many other ethnic groups far larger in numbers than them.  It is time for the Christian church to re-discover these timeless truths and live by them so that we may truly reflect God’s glory, enjoy life to its fullest and prove the following Scripture to be true:

Deuteronomy 4:5-8

See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.  ⁶ Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’  ⁷ For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is to us, whenever we call upon him?  ⁸ And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?

I find it strangely odd that many church ministers and leaders today teach their congregation that tithing is still applicable for NT Christians whereas the dietary laws are no longer applicable.  After all, the distinction between the clean and unclean pre-dates even tithing (first mentioned only in the Abraham narrative).  Is it because our spiritual leaders are more concerned about balancing the church’s accounts and keeping them in the black than with the physical health of their congregation or correctness of Scriptural interpretation?  Or could it be that we all have bowed to the pressures of a society opposed to religious bigots or non-conformists?  Or, simply that we do not wish to give up our favorite foods?

As for me and my house, we will pass the pork, crabs, lobsters, shrimp, oysters, clams, mussels, abalone, scallops, squid, etc, as often as possible, so that we can be as healthy as we can be and so serve God most effectively.

Bibliography

Alexander, T. Desmond.  From Paradise to the Promised Land:  An Introduction to the Pentateuch. 2^nd ed.  Grand Rapids:  Baker; Carlisle:  Paternoster, 2002.

Cherry, Reginald.  The Bible Cure. Lake Mary, Florida:  Siloam Press, 1998.

Colbert, Don.  What Would Jesus Eat? Nashville, Tennessee:  Thomas Nelson, 2002.

Egan, Hope.  Holy Co. Littleton, Colorado:  First Fruits of Zion, 2005.

Jacobsen, Michael D. The Word on Health. Chicago, Illinois:  Moody Press, 2000.

Macmillen, S. I. and Stern, David E.  None of These Diseases: The Bible’s Health Secrets for the 21^st Century.  Grand Rapids, Michigan: Revell, 2000.

Meinz, David L.  Eating by the Book. Virginia Beach:  Virginia:  Gilbert Press, 1999.

Quillin, Patrick.  Healing Secrets from the Bible. Tulsa, Oklahama:  Nutrition Times Press, 1996.

Rubin, Jordan.  The Great Physician’s Rx for Health & Wellness. Nashville, Tennessee:  Thomas Nelson, 2005.

Rubin, Jordan.  The Maker’s Diet. Lake Mary, Florida:  Siloam Press, 2005.

Russell, Rex.  What the Bible Says About Healthy Living. Ventura, California:  Regal Books, 1996.

Tessler, Gordon S.  The Genesis Diet. Raleigh, North Carolina:  Be Well Publications, 1996.

Treybig, David.  What Does the Bible Teach About Clean and Unclean Meats? Cincinnati, Ohio:  United Church of God, 2002.

Useful Websites on Biblical Health:

http://www.biblicalhealthinstitute.com

http://www.davidmeinz.com/

http://www.drcolbert.com/

http://holycownews.com/

http://www.makersdiet.com

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[1] Hope Egan, Holy Cow, Littleton, Colorado:  First Fruits of Zion, 2005.

[2] Jordan Rubin’s two books, The Maker’s Diet and The Great Physician’s Rx for Health and Wellness had been on the New York Times bestsellers chart for many weeks, proving that many Christians and even non-Christians are taking a fresh look at their diet and aligning themselves with God’s Word.  See references at the end of the paper for details on these books).

[3] Available for free download from:  http://www.gnmagazine.org/booklets/CU/CU.pdf.  It not only contains excellent exegetical analysis of the passages defending or purportedly abolishing OT dietary practices, it also contains a quick overview of the medical evidence found in most of the books cited in the bibliography.

[4] I, and I am sure many others too, have experienced this first-hand with bouts of severe food poisoning caused by contaminated animal foods.  Also, the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) imposes far stricter guidelines on the import of animal foods than on plant foods.  Many health certificates have to be produced to their satisfaction before a batch of animal products may be imported into Singapore.

[5] A detailed treatment is clearly beyond the scope of this article.  Please refer to David Treybig’s booklet and the books cited in the bibliography for further reading.

[6] Study cited in Rex Russell, What the Bible Says About Healthy Living (Ventura, California:  Regal Books), 1996, pp. 150-153.

[7] I will not spoil the reader’s appetite with more gruesome details.

[8] S. I. McMillen and David E. Stern, None of These Diseases:  The Bible’s Health Secrets for the 21^st Century, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Revell, 2000), p. 11.