Gen 9:3 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. (ESV)
Up till this point men had only eaten vegetables. Can you imagine Abel sacrificing his sheep or whatever it was, with all that wonderful aroma filling the air, and not being able to eat it! He must have been tempted! Anyway, it was already ok to kill animals and at last it's ok to eat them! God has given animals to us for food. No one has to eat them or be made to feel bad because they don't (Rom 14:2), and we must be careful to treat animals well (Prov 12:10), but this verse helpfully and clearly puts meat on the menu.
Obviously Noah had or was given some idea of what clean and unclean animals were. God spelled it out again later in Lev 11:46-47 and Deut 14:4-8. It all seems a bit arbitrary (unless there is something intrinsically more healthy in eating clean animals) until Peter gets the explanation in Acts 10:15. In a vision he is shown unclean animals and told to "kill and eat". When, as a good Jew he protests, God says "do not call anything impure that God has made clean". No sooner has the vision ended than there is a knock at the door and Peter is invited to come to a Gentiles house where he shares the gospel. The main reason for the food laws therefore seems to be that God wanted to use what people ate to illustrate the specialness of his people. Some meat is acceptable and some is not. Some people are accepted and some are not. Now, in the NT, through the gospel the cocoon of God's people Israel bursts open and out comes the church, a multicoloured, multinational, holy nation of special people.
It may have been Peter who looked back at Jesus' statement about "Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him?" Mark 7:18 and commented "Thus he declared all foods clean." Mark 7:19.
God's people remembered the Passover by eating a lamb. It helped look back to the time when it's blood had kept them safe from the avenging angel in Egypt. Meat also played a central part in the sacrificial system, as much of the time parts of the animals were eaten (Lev 7:15, 22:29-30. (God's people were also promised a land flowing with milk and honey.) Then along came Jesus, the Lamb of God, who said "whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life. For my flesh is real food and my blood real drink" (John 6:54-55). The symbols and illustrations, the lambs, the manna, the bread have done their job and lead us to the real deal. Jesus. As we come to him we enter into a relationship far deeper and intimate even than we have with our food. Jesus still wants us to keep the symbols in communion where we eat bread and drink wine to remember him, as it helps us feast on him. And one day those who enjoyed this intimate relationship with him on earth will feast at the wedding supper of the lamb and enjoy a new heaven and earth (Rev 19:9) . If the imagery that the bible uses is anything to go by the food is going to be amazing!
What is my attitude to food? Philip 3:19 says my stomach can become to me like a god, drawing my attention and energy and worship in a way that only God should. Sometimes I wonder at how persuasively food can promise to fill a hole that isn't in my stomach. Fasting can help dissolve this gastric god giving me a clearer view of the real one and helping me feast on him. If my stomach sometimes craves a bit of chocolate, how much more my soul the living God. The bible says "Taste and see that the Lord is good". I want to do that more!
Eating with a thankful heart is also a good way to honour God with my food (1 Tim 4:1-5). I do sometimes say "grace" at meals (and the children love a great singing version "so here we are together, together, together, there's [youngest person] and ... and ...[oldest person], thank God for our food. Amen") but that can be an empty gesture if it doesn't come from or result in a thankful heart. Next time I eat I will check my heart and encourage it to be thankful.
Interesting to note how feasting and fasting have their twisted counterfeits in overeating and under eating. When we eat without reference to God it's like a ship without ballast. The whole thing can become rather unstable. We were made to eat with God, and though it is strange to say we were made to "eat God". No wonder Jesus' disciples said "this is hard teaching, who can accept it" (John 6:60). Of course it's not meant to be taken literally but its true meaning is no less shocking or offensive or amazing. Please God teach me more how to feast on you.
I guess one aspect of that is reading, and meditating on and studying his Word. There are so many programs about food on TV right now. At the moment the food aspect is cleverly blended with a reality TV source. It's amazing how interesting food can be. It just occurred to me that just as a chef's job is to serve up food in a way that excites and delivers, bringing out authentic flavours and contrasting tastes and textures, so those that preach or share God's word, or the gospel need to make sure that it is served up well. Of course we are reliant on the Holy Spirit to open the hearts of our hearers, but he is also at work in us in our preparation. Surely he will move us to great efforts, passions, creativity and skill in handling his word.
I could talk about worship and other stuff in the context of feeding on Jesus, or obedience (John 4:35) but this blog is far too long already and I wanted to do other stuff this evening. Just goes to show how interesting and significant food is.
I have also just realised that in my meandering thoughts I have not addressed a question that first occurred to me on reading this verse. Why is it now ok to eat the animals? Why not before? My guess is it's to draw our attention to the process of eating flesh that would be fulfilled in Jesus but I can't find anything to back that up. For now then, I am left with a desire to have not just a full stomach but a full soul. A conviction not to serve up gospel gruel or putrid preaches but to be a Michelin star chef of God's word, letting people taste and see the goodness of God. Thank you Jesus that you gave yourself up for me. Thank you that we will eat with you in paradise.
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