Dear friends and readers,
MORE ON COVID 19! How did it start? Did the world contract this because mankind was eating unclean animals?
OOOOHHH, I know I will get blasted for this one. But before any of you "put out a contract" on me for sliding back into the dark side of legalism---read the entire article---PLEASE!
I am, as are you, a born again believer saved by grace and as such the legalisms of the Old Testament---such things as prohibitions of certain types of food, no longer apply to us.
That's my "bullet proof" disclaimer:
And absolutely YES, I do know exactly what Acts has to say in 10:15 "WHAT GOD HAS CLEANSED YOU MUST NOT CALL COMMON"! And although Jesus was actually referring to Gentiles becoming part of the church---still Peter was shown a vision of a sheet descending from heaven and in it were all kinds of four-footed animals, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. And yes Jesus did tell Peter "Rise Peter, kill and eat"!
And yes, I am fully aware of Colossians chapter 2:16 "Let no one judge you in food or drink" etc etc etc! AND YES, Jesus says in Matthew 15:10-11 "HEAR AND UNDERSTAND: Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man"!
WHEEEEW! Glad we got THAT out of the way.
But Seriously, did you know that many of the recent plagues that have descended on the earth have been tracked back to mankind eating Biblically forbidden foods? Well that's actually a misnomer because God never ever said that some 'FOODS' were forbidden. What He said was that certain animals were given to mankind FOR food. All the other beasts of the earth we're not considered food to begin with. That is an important distinction.
So I know at this point that some of you are desperately beginning to twitch and wonder if I am going to tell you to clean up your act---of eating that is. But no I am not. In fact I love sometimes to go downtown and snarf up copious numbers of shrimp tacos, go to our bay and munch down great, fresh from the sea oysters and occasionally love a good pork roast. So you can stop twitching now (-:
But lets have a review; In Genesis 1:29 God listed food for man originally as herbs and grains and fruits. In Leviticus 11 this list was expanded to creatures from the land that included animals that had BOTH divided hoofs and chewed the cud. And anything from the sea or lakes that had fins and scales. And some birds. The following were considered to be "CLEAN" for mankind to eat; Cattle, sheep, lambs, goats, wild sheep, wild goats, gazelles, antelopes, deer, fish, most birds, quail, doves, pigeons, locusts, crickets, grasshoppers, katydids.
Gosh I'm certain that God must have accidentally left out Twinkies!
Unclean for mankind to eat were; Camels, rock hyrax, rabbits, pigs, lizards, weasels, eels, shell fish, catfish, eagles, vultures, falcons, kites, ravens, ostriches, owls, sea gulls, hawks, pelicans, osprey, cormorants, storks, herons, hoopoes, bats, swarming insects and we could add to that dogs and cats.
So why do you think that God said that some animals were clean and some were not? Iv'e actually had someone try and tell me that it was because there was no refrigeration in those days. WOW!
Actually it is because the unclean animals are basically all scavengers. In other words God put them on the earth to clean up the mess. Eat dead animals, keep the seas clean and so forth. Ever seen a dog eat his own vomit or role in and eat dead birds?
A great friend of mine (another pastor by the way) once said to me when we ordered lobster and shrimp "You know there is nothing that tastes better than some fresh bottom dwelling scum sucker"! And how could we possibly survive without a great big BLT once in a while. YUM, bacon!
I was raised on a ranch and had pigs as a Future Farmer project. Did you know they eat their own poop? Well, hey this is a family article, so lets not go there shall we?
Yep it's great to be saved by grace. We can eat whatever we want.
But did you know that they are now pretty certain that the Coronavirus (Covid 19) may be traced back to the common everyday practice in China of people eating things like bats, dogs, eels and actually very many of the unclean animals on God's hit list? YUM!
SOOO, do you think God forbad the eating of bats because it would give Him ample reason to slap down offenders? Or maybe--JUST MAYBE, it was because our Creator knew a thing or two about what it takes to keep His created beings healthy?
Actually there is ample reason to believe that many of the pandemics in man's history were related to feasting on unclean animals and other beasts. The practice of which can pass on disease to the consumers and then to other people they come in contact with.
Consider this list of some past pandemics and some foods that were later discovered to be related to the outbreaks;
PIGS (Spanish flu, Asian flu, Swine flu).
BATS--and certain other flying creatures (SARS, MERS, Probably Covid 19).
PANGOLINS (again poss. Covid 19).
CHIMPANZEES (HIV/AIDS).
RATS (BLACK DEATH, GREAT PLAGUE OF LONDON, THIRD PLAGUE OF EUROPE).
CAMELS (MERS).
DOGS (HONG KONG FLU, ASIAN FLU).
CIVET CATS--Mongoose like creatures (SARS).
Not to mention horrible outbreaks from flies, fleas and mosquitoes (Malaria).
Now once again, I for one, fully intend to covet and enjoy my next BLT.
But It does make me wonder if God may have been onto something there when He clearly said "these things are unclean for you---mankind!
So now we have Covid 19, hundreds of thousands dying around the globe and the potential for a worldwide financial disaster unlike anything the world has ever seen before.
Bat soup anyone?
Ah, sometimes we can be our own worst enemies.
No legalism here!
God bless,
Pastor Rance.
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