Consumption and dependence on meat referenced in the bible are often made in reference to death and disconnection from God.
“6 You have killed many people in this city and filled its streets with the dead. 7 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: The bodies you have thrown there are the meat and this city is the pot, but I will drive you out of it.” - Ezekiel 11:6-7.
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“3 Tell this rebellious people a parable and say to them: This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Put on the cooking pot; put it on and pour water into it. 4 Put into it the pieces of meat, all the choice pieces — the leg and the shoulder. Fill it with the best of these bones; 5 take the pick of the flock. Pile wood beneath it for the bones; bring it to a boil and cook the bones in it. For this is what the Sovereign Lord says… 10 Cook the meat well, mixing in the spices; and let the bones be charred. 11 Then set the empty pot on the coals till it becomes hot and its copper glows, so that its impurities may be melted, and its deposit burned away. 12 It has frustrated all efforts; its heavy deposit has not been removed, not even by fire. 13 Now your impurity is lewdness. Because I tried to cleanse you, but you would not be cleansed from your impurity, you will not be clean again until my wrath against you has subsided. 14 I the Lord have spoken. The time has come for me to act. I will not hold back; I will not have pity, nor will I relent. You will be judged according to your conduct and your actions declares the Sovereign Lord.” - Ezekiel 24:3-14
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4 “You dine on choice lambs and fattened calves. 5 You strum away on your harps like David and improvise on musical instruments. 6 You drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions, but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph. 7 Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile; your feasting and lounging will end.”- Amos 6:4-7
If we take a look at this from a different perspective; what we still don’t see in scripture are God’s people or followers referred to as glistening meat that I crave or a cluster of new eggs to eat. However, in Micah 7 listen to what is being said about Israel’s misery.
“1 What misery is mine! I am like one who gathers summer fruit at the gleaning of the vineyard; there is no cluster of grapes to eat, none of the early figs that I crave. 2 The faithful have been swept from the land; not one upright person remains.”
The upright people of Israel are referred to as a gleaning cluster of fresh grapes or early ripe figs. Why do we consistently see references to fruits, vegetables, and grains in the bible but no references to God’s chosen people as being meat, eggs or fish? Was God intentional when He instructed the vernacular of the bible? Was Jesus intentional about his word usage when using parables to answer questions of the Pharisees?
I hope something inside of you is starting to wrestle with the idea of diet and health as it relates to scripture. My goal today isn’t to change your mind completely. My goal is to help open our eyes to the possible fallacy, there is only one way and it’s the only way because it’s how we’ve been told to do it. If you think what I’m asking you to do is extreme, then let’s take a closer look at an even more extreme case of full reliance upon our Heavenly Father for our complete needs through John the Baptist.
In Mark 1:4, Jon the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching about baptism of repentance and forgiveness of sins in the wilderness. John was eating whatever God provided him in the wilderness, but it doesn’t say he killed animals for food. Is it probable, John ate plants, insects, and possibly manna as we have seen God provide elsewhere in scripture, especially if John the Baptist was supposedly sent “to prepare the way for Jesus” (Isaiah 40:3; Mal. 3:1; Matt. 3:3)?
Exodus 16:31(KJV) - And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made
