Eating is something we all do, at least 3 times a day, except where there is hunger in the world. Its a bit sad that one part of the world has bad or overeating problems, a larger part can’t get enough good food, but tha’s someone else’s book at this stage
So its only right that there is a lot in the Bible about eating.
In the Living Bible, Gen 1:29,30 read” And look! I have given you the seed-bearing plants throughout the earth, and all the fruit trees for your food.
30. And I’ve given all the grass and plants to the animals and birds for their food. “. Then we read about the tree they weren’t allowed and that’s a whole lot of stuff we won’t go into too much theologically.
So in the beginning, humans, animals and birds were all vegetarians!
In Genesis 9:2,3 we read “ All wild animals and birds and fish will be afraid of you”, God told him, “for I have placed them in your power, and they are yours to use for food, in addition to grain and vegetables.”
This is God speaking to Noah, after the Flood. So it appears the eating from the forbidden tree and the Fall of man, leading to be being banished from the garden of Eden, changed what man could eat. From the fall on, men and women started to die physically. Again, above my pay rate why, and not the purpose of this book.
In Exodus 25:30 God is talking to Moses about the Tabernacle in the era where God gave the Old Covenant Law to Israel. We are not under that Law now because Jesus fulfilled it, and because it was only given to Israel for the years about 1528 BC till 30 AD, about 1,558 years. There was about 4,046 years before Jesus birth, and 2,021 years since 0 AD. However, the Law is holy and gives some indications of the mind of God. How the Israelites coped with it tells us a lot.
So, in Exodus 25:30 we read “ and always keep the special Bread of the Presence on the table before me. “ LB. At that time only the priests could eat that. The principle here is that God uses bread as a symbol of His presence.
We see this again in John 6:35: “Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
The context shows that Jesus is talking about spiritual satisfaction. However, in Mat 6:25 - 34, Jesus promises to provide all our physical needs too.
In Mt 4:4 the Living Bible reads “ But Jesus told him, “No, for the Scriptures tell us (Deut 8:3) that bread won’t feed men’s souls: obedience to every word of God is what we need. ““
This was referring to manna that God provided supernaturally for 40 years in the wilderness of Sinai;
Ex 16:14 “When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor.”
Ex 16:31 “The people of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey.
So for 40 years the Israelites were McDougall vegetarians!
In Daniel ch 1 Daniel and his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah Chose to refuse the Babylon kings food for vegetables and water. In vs 15 & 16 gives the result:
“At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food.
So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.”
In Col 2:16,17 we get a balance: “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.” ESV. In 1 Cor 10:31, we read “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” NIV.. In 1 Tim 4:3 the NIV says “They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth.” I know some of these in context are talking about observance of the requirements of the Law re food, but the spirit is that God won’t regard it as sin to eat bad food, He doesn’t require you to be a McDougall vegetarian to get to Heaven, but He doesn’t promise to give you good health from all food.
See 1 Tim 4:4,5 “For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer” ESV
See also Rom 4:17 NIV “.For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.”
He doesn’t even say you will get to Heaven quicker if you eat the wrong food, and too much food.
But He does give us another angle in 1 Cor 6:19, 20 “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;
you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” NIV
The Mirror Bible puts it like this”
1 Cor6:19 “Do you not realize that your body is the sacred shrine of the Spirit of God, echoing within you. You do not own your life! 6:20 You are bought and paid for. All of you are his. Live your life conscious of how irreplacably priceless you are. You host God in your skin.” du Toit, Francois. Mirror Study Bible (p. 533). Kindle Edition.
The context is about sexual morality, the principle also applies to our eating and looking after our bodies by right eating, exercise and rest.
In Prov 24:13 we read: “Eat honey, my son, for it is good; honey from the comb is sweet to your taste” NIV
I think this is the only food actually recommended by the Bible!
However in a following verse we read: Prov 25:16 “If you find honey, eat just enough— too much of it, and you will vomit.” Interesting!
Now here is an interesting verse I have not got to the depths of yet, Prov 18:20. Let’s see a few versions.
“From the fruit of their mouth a person’s stomach is filled; with the harvest of their lips they are satisfied.” NIV
The Septuagint or LXX says: “A man fills his belly with the fruits of his mouth; and he shall be satisfied with the fruits of his lips.”
The CSB says “From the fruit of a person’s mouth his stomach is satisfied; he is filled with the product of his lips.”
In the NLT “Wise words satisfy like a good meal; the right words bring satisfaction.”
May the Holy Spirit give us revelation here. in the next verse, 18:21, the NLT reads “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those loving it eat its fruit.” Maybe giving thanks and being grateful help digestion and health?
Ps 34:8: “O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trustes in him.”
There is more I want to discuss from the Scriptures in Jn 6:47 - 63., but that is going in a separate blog “Eat My flesh and drink My blood”
Is 55: 2: “Therefore do you ⌃ value at the price of money, and give your labor * for that which will not satisfy? listen to me, and you ⌃ shall eat that which is good, and your soul shall feast itself on good things.
C. L. Brenton, Lancelot. Septuagint in American English 2012 (with Apocrypha) (p. 1367). Kindle Edition.
.