Thursday, October 15, 2015

Clean and unclean food

Leviticus 11:1-28
All the animals that live on land, these are ones you may eat: that has a split hoof completely divided and that chews the cud.
Defined ceremonially unclean animals and must not eat them. Such as camel, coney(rock badger), rabbit.
All the creatures living in the water of the sea and the streams, you may eat any that have fins and scales.
Defined some birds are to detest and not eat because they are detestable.
Whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean till evening. And must wash his clothes.
Today we can see past the detail of some of these laws to appreciate the sound principles of diet, hygiene and medicine which many of them express. God works in and through the processes he has built into the natural world.
The rules for the nations diet are clearly framed: borderline cases are excluded.
Israel may ear:

  • Animals which chew the cud and have cloven hoofs.
  • Sea creatures with both fins and scales
  • Birds not listed as forbidden
  • Insects belonging to four classes of the locust family.

Amongst those banned are:

  • Carnivorous(肉食性) animals  (these readily transmit infection in a warm climate where flesh decays rapidly.)
  • Pork (especially dangerous in this respect:this is the reason for the old British saying. "Only eat pork when there's and "r" in the month' - when it's cold). Pigs are also hosts to various parasites(寄生蟲).
  • Vermin(害蟲) and predatory(掠奪) birds
  • Shellfish (these are still a common cause of food-poisoning and enteritis腸炎.)

How?
God work into the living of Israelite when they did not know what food is good to them. God is good!


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