Untitled

So here we have Adam and Eve's menu: herb-bearing seeds, fruits and nuts, a simple and well-balanced diet for all mankind.

It is not wrong to eat and drink what is healthful; however, this verse is talking about what and how they were eating and drinking. Even at that time God had placed a distinction between what was healthful and what wasn't, what was clean and what was unclean.

It is interesting to note that Noah must have already known which animals were clean and which were not, because God does not offer any explanation. He simply says, "Take seven pairs [see Appendix 1] of all clean, and two pairs of all unclean animals." And in verse eight we find that Noah did just as God had said.

It was not until after the flood that God allowed man to eat flesh, and then only because all the vegetation had been destroyed. Now verse three of chapter nine says,

It is rather self-apparent that Noah could have only eaten the clean animals, otherwise the few unclean animals would have very rapidly become extinct. You will remember that there were just two pairs of every unclean creature on the ark, but there were enough clean creatures (fourteen) to procreate and use for sacrifice as well as eat.

Amazingly, there comes a sudden and alarming decrease in longevity after the flood. Even though Noah and his family were eating clean meat, and at that time the animals were healthy unlike the animals we have today, still human life expectancy was shortened drastically. Why? The answer we will discover later when we look at how our bodies function. For now take a look at the chart and see for yourself how quickly humankind degenerated.

Before the Flood

Adam..............................930 years Seth................................912 years Enos...............................905 years Cainan............................910 years Mahalaleel.......................895 years Jared...............................962 years Enoch (translated)...........365 years Methuselah......................969 years Lamech...........................777 years Noah..............................950 years ___________________________ Average life span..........857.5 years

After the Flood

Shem...............................600 years Arphaxad........................438 years Salah...............................433 years Eber................................464 years Peleg...............................239 years Reu.................................239 years Serug...............................230 years Nahor..............................140 years Terah...............................205 years Abraham.........................175 years ___________________________ Average life span.............171 years

We know that even back in the beginning (Genesis 4:2-7) God had placed a distinction between the clean and

unclean. He gave very specific directions as to what kind of animal should be offered as a sacrifice for their sins. And when the sacrificial system was set up, only a perfect lamb, calf, goat or dove could represent the perfect son of God [see Appendix 2].

Throughout the Old Testament, even before Israel became a nation, the great patriarchs always offered a lamb or a calf. Never would they have even thought of offering a hog, lobster or snake. Yet how often are the unclean creatures brought right into our bodily temples!

In Romans 12:1, God pleads with us to be pure in our lifestyle habits and choices. He says,

In Malachi 1:6-13, God's contention with Israel was that they were bringing to Him an offering that was less than perfect. He says not even their governor would accept such a tribute. But this is exactly what we do still today! In 1Corinthians God makes it very clear.

Not only are we to offer ourselves holy and acceptable unto God, but also wholly acceptable. Too often because of how we eat we come to God with tainted lips, spoiled health and a dull mind. This is a sacrifice that He cannot accept. We are to be a living sacrifice, which means that it affects our everyday life. We are not merely making a mental or verbal assent; we are choosing to live in such a way by our daily lifestyle choices so as to present ourselves before God holy and acceptable.

God wants to have undisturbed access to our hearts. He knows that He can only have that if we will follow the principles which He has laid out for us in His Word. He is jealous of our love, time and attention, and only when we have clear minds and healthy bodies can He have free access to us. This is one of the reasons He gave us these simple but extensive health rules. He says,

What does eating the unclean thing have to do with idols? Anytime we knowingly and deliberately put our desires before God's will for us, we have then chosen to worship our own desires, thus we become our own idol. When we continue to do what we know God has expressly forbidden (Exodus 20:3), we then make the choice to worship our lower natures rather than to worship God.

Because God created us, He has every right to set perimeters around us. Since God made us, He knows how our bodies function and what will keep them operating smoothly. It is because He loves us and doesn't want us to suffer unnecessarily that our Father gives us this counsel. Shouldn't our love for Him be such that we unquestioningly obey Him at all times, even if we don't always understand?