As a Believer in Jesus Christ, I look for absolutes in Scripture, not in the Government, Hollywood, or anywhere else. The focus of this article is to answer the question: what is the diet acceptable to God? It makes sense that we eat the way God wants us to eat. Right? Let’s start from the beginning:
Then God said, “Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food. Genesis 1:29 (NLT)
Whoever presses the point that we were vegans in the beginning is correct. There is no mention of eating meat at the beginning. Thousands of years later, we find a man named Daniel, who was somewhat eating according to Genesis 1:29. Daniel and his friend were also vegans.
“Please test us for ten days on a diet of vegetables and water,” Daniel said.13 “At the end of the ten days, see how we look compared to the other young men who are eating the king’s food. Then make your decision in light of what you see.”14 The attendant agreed to Daniel’s suggestion and tested them for ten days.
15 At the end of the ten days, Daniel and his three friends looked healthier and better nourished than the young men who had been eating the food assigned by the king. 16 So after that, the attendant fed them only vegetables instead of the food and wine provided for the others. Daniel 1:12-16 (NLT)
I said that Daniel was eating somewhat according to Genesis 1:29 because Daniel and his friend only ate vegetables and only drank water; there is no mention of fruit. This was not a fast but a lifestyle for Daniel and his friends. So far, things are looking good for the vegans.
Egypt enslaved the children of Israel for 400 years. God used Moses to liberate them, and as soon as they were free from Egypt, God announced some dietary changes. Exodus 16 starts with the Israelites complaining; their first official complaint concerned food. They missed whatever they were eating in Egypt, never mind that they were enslaved; they missed the food over celebrating their freedom; this is how powerful food cravings are. God was not happy about their complaints, and He stated the following:
Then Moses said to Aaron, “Announce this to the entire community of Israel: ‘Present yourselves before the Lord, for he has heard your complaining.’” 10 And as Aaron spoke to the whole community of Israel, they looked out toward the wilderness. There they could see the awesome glory of the Lord in the cloud.
11 Then the Lord said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the Israelites’ complaints. Now tell them, ‘In the evening you will have meat to eat, and in the morning you will have all the bread you want. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’”
13 That evening vast numbers of quail flew in and covered the camp. And the next morning the area around the camp was wet with dew. 14 When the dew evaporated, a flaky substance as fine as frost blanketed the ground. 15 The Israelites were puzzled when they saw it. “What is it?” they asked each other. They had no idea what it was.
And Moses told them, “It is the food the Lord has given you to eat. Exodus 16:9-15 (New Living Translation)
The children of Israel complained, specifically, about not having meat; they were craving meat as they said: “If only the Lord had killed us back in Egypt,” they moaned. “There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted. But now you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death.” Exodus 16:3 (NLT) We could argue that it was God’s perfect will for them not to eat meat, but as we see many times, God gave them what they wanted… MEAT. In this initial introduction of meat in Scripture, God provided one specific kind of meat: Quail. I was curious to know more about it.
“Quail and chickens are close relatives (Order: Galliformes; Family: Phasianidae), sharing approximately 95% homology at the gene sequence level, and of critical importance to avian immunology, quails are susceptible to most chicken diseases [91]. However, a clear advantage/attraction of quail over chicken when it comes to genetic engineering applications is that they reach sexual maturity in 6 weeks, which is significantly shorter than 26 weeks for chickens.”[1]
Some nutritional facts about Quail: “One 4 oz portion of cooked quail (about 113g) has 257 calories, 28.5g of protein, 16g of fat, and no carbohydrates, fiber, or sugar. Quail is a good source of iron, vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), zinc, and vitamin B3 (niacin).”[2]
Quail Compare to Chicken
The facts about quail are fairly compelling (as cited from the Self Sufficient Me website):
- Quail meat has 4 times more vitamin C than chicken meat
- Quail meat has over 3 times more iron than chicken meat and an incredibly 4% more iron than beef sirloin!
- Quail meat has vitamin A, whereas chicken meat has none.
- Quail meat rates significantly higher in minerals and amino acids than chicken meat.[3]
It seems to me that God provided the children of Israel with, perhaps, the best meat for consumption.
The Bible lists clean and unclean meats in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14: what meats we should eat and what meats we should not eat. Was this still God’s permissible will? I think Noah’s flood would have been a good time to reset our diet and return to Genesis 1:29. However, God instructed Noah to bring into the Ark seven pairs of clean animals and a pair of unclean ones. (Genesis 7:2)
Ezekiel and Peter were very disciplined men who did not defile themselves by eating unclean meat (Ezekiel 4 / Acts 10:14), but they ate meat. John the Baptist had a very interesting diet: “…For food he ate locusts and wild honey.” Matthew 3:4 (NLT). I don’t know what to say about John the Baptist’s diet!
Peter had a vision that gave us some insight into this meat issue. In Matthew 10:13-15 we read, “Then a voice said to him, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat them.” 14 “No, Lord,” Peter declared. “I have never eaten anything that our Jewish laws have declared impure and unclean. ”15 But the voice spoke again: “Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.” (NLT) Was this symbolic of God speaking to Peter about the Gentiles? He was talking about the Gentiles, but was there a message about meat we are missing here? Perhaps!
In the Old Testament, all the sacrifices involved killing animals, and their meat was for consumption (Leviticus 7:11-21). God did not prohibit the priest and Levites from eating meat; why not if it was so bad? Eating certain animals directly violates the Law; it makes you ceremonially unclean.
Should we eat meat? After all, back in Genesis, we were told to eat fruit and vegetables. Was meat in God’s permissible will but not his perfect will?
To answer this question, we are going to look at our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, as He fulfilled the whole Law (Matthew 5:17). Surely, if eating meat is a sin, eating meat is something we should not do, then Jesus will let us know and show us the way. Right? Well, in Matthew 11:18-19 he is accused of being a glutton, a sin punishable by death in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 21:18-21),
For John didn’t spend his time eating and drinking, and you say, ‘He’s possessed by a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man, on the other hand, feasts and drinks, and you say, ‘He’s a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and other sinners!’ But wisdom is shown to be right by its results.” (NLT)
I find it hard to believe that Jesus would have been accused of being a glutton if he only ate fruits and vegetables. In Luke 24:41-43 we can see that Jesus cooked fish for his disciples; we assumed he ate with them. If we are supposed to eat only vegetables and fruits, why did Jesus not serve vegetables and fruits?
I think that Apostle Paul tells us exactly how to handle this issue when he states,
But you must be careful so that your freedom does not cause others with a weaker conscience to stumble. 10 For if others see you—with your “superior knowledge”—eating in the temple of an idol, won’t they be encouraged to violate their conscience by eating food that has been offered to an idol? 11 So because of your superior knowledge, a weak believer for whom Christ died will be destroyed. 12 And when you sin against other believers by encouraging them to do something they believe is wrong, you are sinning against Christ. 13 So if what I eat causes another believer to sin, I will never eat meat again as long as I live—for I don’t want to cause another believer to stumble. First Corinthians 8:9-16 (NLT)
There is no justification for us to be so dogmatic when it comes down to specific preferences in food. Gluttony is a sin (Overeating); we should eat twice a day and give the body time to digest the food properly. As Paul tells us, we are called not to eat food offered to idols. I am convinced that today’s version of food offered to idols is processed food. Processed food is a slap in the face of God, as if He cannot provide enough food to feed the world. In Matthew 6:25, Jesus tells us,
“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? (NLT)
The Bible gives us a roadmap for eating right; God’s way is divine; however, let’s not forget that God also shows us variety; after all, we are all different. I think that we all need to stop making doctrines out of opinions.
[1] https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/phasianidae#:~:text=Quail%20and%20chickens%20are%20close,most%20chicken%20diseases%20%5B91%5D.
[2]https://www.precisionnutrition.com/encyclopedia/food/quail#:~:text=Nutrition%20Info,and%20vitamin%20B3%20(niacin).
[3] https://purposedrivenhomestead.com/2023/02/01/are-quail-the-new-chicken/#:~:text=Quail%20meat%20has%204%20times,amino%20acids%20than%20chicken%20meat.
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