Did I get your attention? I hope so. This is a message that is often difficult to stomach. Pun intended. And to be fair, I struggled with it earlier in my walk. Twenty years ago, I remember having a conversation with someone about this topic. He was considering whether we should be eating like Yahuah told us to eat in the Scriptures. I argued that those “old food laws” were done away with. I think I brought up some passages like Acts 10, Mark 7, Romans 14, etc. “Jesus freed us from the food laws,” I remember saying. We can eat pigs, shrimp, and catfish now. Right?
“Speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl, saying, ‘These are the living creatures which you do eat among all the beasts that are on the earth,” – Leviticus 11:2
In this passage, Yahuah lists the types of animals to be eaten, specifically those with split hoofs who chew the cud. Fish that have scales and fins. And locusts. Yes, John the Baptist ate clean! Moses even repeats these important instructions in Deuteronomy and repeats a list of unclean animals.
“Do not eat whatever is abominable.” – Deuteronomy 14:3
But why is this important? I will agree that food is not the most important topic in the Scriptures. But Yahuah does give us a definition for food. And it isn’t just anything that we put in our mouths. I’m sure my mother had to remind me that Play-Doh was not considered food. I have a vague memory of trying to eat it when I was a child. I can tell you that my special-needs daughter will eat just about anything that she puts in her mouth. But that doesn’t make it food.
The Scriptures define food according to what the Most High says we can eat. He does it in the front of the Book. And we need to use His definition of food every subsequent time it comes across in the Scriptures. We should eat in a way to honor Yahuah because He gave us those instructions. And not surprisingly, there is a reason that we should not eat certain animals.
The Father led me to follow His food instructions a few years ago. Almost immediately, I experienced the blessings promised for obedience to Yahuah’s commandments.
“And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of Yahuah your Elohim.” – Deuteronomy 28:2
I had been suffering for over twenty years from frequent rashes, hives, skin discoloration, itchiness, dry, chapped, and flaky skin, lethargy, and poor immune function. I had done multiple allergy tests, food sensitivity tests, doctors’ visits, convenient care trips, allergy shots, antihistamines, topical steroid creams, lotions, and prednisone shots. I had tried almost every sort of diet, all to no avail. I would break out in rashes and hives numerous times a year.
Yahuah put a desire in me to become more obedient to the Whole Word (still a work in progress). I wanted to allow scripture to define doctrine instead of the other way around. And in this process, I learned a few things…
“All Scripture is breathed out by Elohim and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for setting straight, for instruction in righteousness.” – 2 Timothy 3:16
And that includes Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14. He gave us instructions for what we put in our bodies. There have been several scientific studies about the difference between clean and unclean animals listed in Scripture. Dr. David Macht, a researcher at John Hopkins University, published a paper (link) about this in 1953. He found that nearly all the unclean animals are high in toxins and hazardous to people. Most were put on the earth to rid the environment of specific toxins by becoming garbage disposals. These animals eat dead or decaying animals to clean the environment. Among these animals, pigs clean the land, creatures like shrimp clean the sea floors, and catfish clean the ponds and river bottoms. I used to catch catfish with ‘stinkbait.’ That alone should have given me cause for concern. There is a reason Yahuah does not designate these animals as food.
Pork is Parasite Ridden (YouTube Short) – LINK
Unclean Animals (YouTube Short) – LINK
Science and the Scriptures: Why we don’t eat what is unclean (YouTube) – LINK
“For I am Yahuah, I shall not change,” – Malachi 3:6
Yahuah does not change, and this includes what He thinks about eating abominable animals. He lists several animals as abominable. In Isaiah 65, the prophet describes a group of people who are stubborn. They walk after their own thoughts, eating the flesh of pigs. That was once me.
“For I gave you good instruction: Do not forsake my Torah.” – Proverbs 4:2
We should not forsake the Torah of Yahuah. This includes the things that we eat. According to the Proverbs and the Psalms, His Torah is good instruction! I made the dietary change to eat according to what Yahuah instructed out of obedience to the Word, not for health reasons. But the result of that obedience was an unexpected health blessing. Little did I know that His dietary instructions were provided for our benefit! Eating clean is not a burden. It is not bondage. It is not a heavy yoke. It is just obedience. And it is a blessing!
Yahuah’s dietary instructions (and all His Torah) are set apart, and the command set apart, and righteous, and good (Romans 7:12). And most important, they were given because of His love for us. That we may be set apart as He is set apart. After eating only what Yahuah described as food, my skin changed, my immune function improved, and I realized that it was obedience to His dietary instructions that created those blessings.
So should you change to a Biblically-clean diet? I suggest you look closer at the Word and pray about it. But also examine the animals that Yahuah lists as clean and unclean. There is a reason He gave us these instructions. As a coach and a health instructor, this is an easy task. Who doesn’t want to be healthier? Find out why the Father instructs us not to eat animals that are unclean. He gave us these instructions for our health, and to set us apart. He gave us these instructions because He loves us.
FAITH IN MOTION 