“Every Moving Thing”
“Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs”.
Genesis 9:3
The Eden diet consisted of grains, fruits, nuts and vegetables (Genesis 1:29; 3:18). But with the temporary destruction of all plant life during the Flood and the diminishing of food resources on the ark, the Lord gave the permission to Noah to eat the flesh of animals. But this was not the original will of the Creator that His creatures should consume one another.
The phrase “every moving thing” doesn’t literally include all animals because God Himself made the clear distinction between the clean and unclean animals that entered the ark saying: “Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female” (Genesis 7:2). But of the unclean, He said, “…and of beasts that are not clean, …There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female…”(Genesis 7:8, 9).
God saw beforehand that after the flood, there will arise a need for consumption of clean animals, therefore, He sent more clean animals into the ark than the unclean ones. As God allowed Noah and his family to eat all green herbs and naturally not all green herbs are fit to be eaten (some are poisonous or thorny), likewise, God allowed them to eat meats while its obvious that not all meats are healthy and fit for human consumption.
This distinction of clean and unclean was known from the beginning at the time of Noah but with the passing of generations, this knowledge was forgotten which necessitated that God would give it again through a written instruction by Moses in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14.
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In His service,
BibleAsk Team
