It is pretty cut and dry when it comes to what the Bible says about diet. In the very beginning God said He’d given man every plant yielding seed on the face of all the earth and to man they were to be our food. Originally man began as a strict vegetarian because at this time Adam had not sinned and thus death was not mentioned. It is pretty hard to get a burger without killing the cow. However, once Adam sinned death entered the picture, not only for man but for beast as well. I can picture the animals saying to themselves, “this stupid man has gotten us all killed.”
So, what does the Bible say about diet? There are references to diet throughout the Bible, but the actual directive in eating beast and creeping things (bugs and insects) are found in the eleventh chapter of Leviticus. In an article titled the Jesus Diet, you can see that this is the preferred choice of diet by the Lord Jesus. Throughout the Bible, there are examples of people who avoided meat from animals. Daniel challenged the status quo and ate vegetables and drank water and his appearance was healthier than those who ate meat and drank wine.
In Ezekiel, a method of making and eating bread was given to him and people use this today (although I believe that was a meal the Lord told him to stay on until the prophecy was complete). The Lord ordered his priest to eat meat from the sacrifices offered and those for sin. It may appear they ate a lot of meat (and I’m sure they did), but the meat offered to the Levites was to be for the entire nation of Levites as well as for Aaron’s sons. In the twenty-fourth chapter of Saint Luke, Jesus was recorded as having some broiled fish with His disciples.
Abigail made a ready meal for David and his mighty men of loaves of bread, lamb, parched corn, clusters of raisins, fig cakes, and bottles of wine to wash it all down with (1st Samuel 25). When the Lord was promoting the land of Israel to the children of Israel, God would say, “a land of wheat and barely, vines, fig trees, pomegranates, olive trees, milk, and honey.” God has given us for food all natural great tasting foods that the body can handle. God has given the animals that are deemed clean to eat, and the animals that are unclean to eat and should be avoided.
The health is in the plants. The medicine is in the plants (Ezekiel 47 v12). The main thing we must remember is that God has sanctified foods to be eaten and foods to be avoided. He has given us plants and vegetation that is to be for food to us. God has given many examples in the Bible of what servants of God ate and we can listen to our health professionals today to get a good idea of how to take care of our bodies. Paul said our bodies are our temples so we need to take care of our bodies as best we can (1st Corinthians 6 v19-20).
One more word of caution, do not eat or drink the blood of the animal and do not eat the fat of the animal (Leviticus 3 v17). This is a directive from the captain, the captain of our salvation Jesus Christ.
Umar Johnson with Koko Ishe
Bible Study Ministry .com
