Adonai called them clean for a reason
In the eleventh chapter of Leviticus we find a list of animals that are considered “clean” by Adonai’s standards. These animals, and only these animals, are considered fit for human consumption.
The LORD spoke again to Moses and to Aaron, saying to them, "Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'These are the creatures which you may eat from all the animals that are on the earth. Whatever divides a hoof, thus making split hoofs, and chews the cud, among the animals, that you may eat.’” (Leviticus 11:1-3)
Cattle, goats, deer, sheep and bison all chew their cud and have split hooves and are therefore considered to be edible, according to the word of Elohim (God).
There are certain fish that are fit for human consumption, while others are not.
“These you may eat, whatever is in the water: all that have fins and scales, those in the water, in the seas or in the rivers, you may eat.” (Leviticus 11:9)
Sharks, catfish and seafood such as shrimp and lobster are not considered to be food according to His definition. Trout, bass, whiting, and salmon have both scales and fins and make wonderful dishes.
Not all birds are fit and proper either.
“These, moreover, you shall detest among the birds; they are abhorrent, not to be eaten: the eagle and the vulture and the buzzard, and the kite and the falcon in its kind, every raven in its kind, and the ostrich and the owl and the sea gull and the hawk in its kind, and the little owl and the cormorant and the great owl, and the white owl and the pelican and the carrion vulture, and the stork, the heron in its kinds, and the hoopoe, and the bat.” (Leviticus 11:13-19)
Notice that all of the scavenger birds, or birds of prey, are not included in the “clean” list. These birds were made for the purpose of cleaning up the planet, not as food for us to eat. Chickens, turkeys, and pigeons (doves) are all clean, as well as quail and guinea hens, and can be freely consumed.
Lastly, Adonai addresses the insects of the planet.
“All the winged insects that walk on all fours are detestable to you. Yet these you may eat among all the winged insects which walk on all fours: those which have above their feet jointed legs with which to jump on the earth. These of them you may eat: the locust in its kinds, and the devastating locust in its kinds, and the cricket in its kinds, and the grasshopper in its kinds. But all other winged insects which are four-footed are detestable to you.” (Leviticus 11:20-23)
When John the Baptizer came out of the wilderness, he was living off of the locust he found. In this way Adonai provides for us even in the wilderness. Although I would never think of eating locusts as a weekly, or even yearly meal, it is nice to know that there is always an option available.
Our Creator considers these animals, and insects, food for our bodies. Any and all animals not on this list are not fit for human consumption. It is that simple. Although considered to be delicacies in many cultures, shellfish, monkey brains and pork are all unclean and unfit for humans. We need to remember this when we are reading the Scriptures, especially the New Covenant (Testament) Scriptures, because there is much confusion regarding not only Peter’s vision, but also statements made by Yeshua Himself.
And He said to them, "Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him, because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?" (Thus He declared all foods clean.) (Mark 7:18-19)
Notice the parenthetical insertion… the phrase, “Thus He declared all foods clean,” is not found in the original and displays the translator’s lack of understanding. First, anything Yeshua referred to as, “food” would also be clean, because if it were unclean, He would not call it “food.” Yeshua would not teach contrary to Torah. If He did, He would not have been the perfect Lamb of God.
There is also a lot of confusion regarding the interpretation of the vision that Peter had on the rooftop in Joffa. Let’s look at that vision and what Peter himself said of it:
On the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. But he became hungry and was desiring to eat; but while they were making preparations, he fell into a trance; and he saw the sky opened up, and an object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground, and there were in it all kinds of four-footed animals and crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the air. A voice came to him, "Get up, Peter, kill and eat!" But Peter said, "By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean." Again a voice came to him a second time, "What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy." This happened three times, and immediately the object was taken up into the sky.
Now while Peter was greatly perplexed in mind as to what the vision which he had seen might be, behold, the men who had been sent by Cornelius, having asked directions for Simon's house, appeared at the gate; and calling out, they were asking whether Simon, who was also called Peter, was staying there. While Peter was reflecting on the vision, the Spirit said to him, "Behold, three men are looking for you. But get up, go downstairs and accompany them without misgivings, for I have sent them Myself."
Peter went down to the men and said, "Behold, I am the one you are looking for; what is the reason for which you have come?" They said, "Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and God-fearing man well spoken of by the entire nation of the Jews, was divinely directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and hear a message from you." So he invited them in and gave them lodging. And on the next day he got up and went away with them, and some of the brethren from Joppa accompanied him.
On the following day he entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for them and had called together his relatives and close friends. When Peter entered, Cornelius met him, and fell at his feet and worshiped him. But Peter raised him up, saying, "Stand up; I too am just a man." As he talked with him, he entered and *found many people assembled. And he said to them, "You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him; and yet God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean. That is why I came without even raising any objection when I was sent for. So I ask for what reason you have sent for me." (Acts 10:9-29)
Peter himself clearly states that when Adonai said, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy,” that He was speaking of men, not food. His interpretation of his vision was this: God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean. Peter said nothing about food in his interpretation, yet this vision is the excuse used by many believers as to why they don’t have to follow the dietary laws set forth in the eleventh chapter of Leviticus. As we can plainly see, this is not the case.
So why do so many people teach that those food laws do not apply to Christians? Even Muslims understand that pork is not clean; what is our problem? Is it that we don’t trust our Maker? Or are we more interested in feeding our bellies than obeying? We are all in search of the blessing, but do we realize that the blessing only comes with obedience?
Our Abba loves us very much… do we believe it? Are our actions the proof of that belief? Are we willing to sacrifice something that tastes good for our own health? Are we willing to sacrifice simply because He said so? These are very serious questions that we all need to ask ourselves. We need to weigh in the balance the teachings of man and the teachings of Adonai.
Like the buzzard, the pig is a scavenger and we have already seen how sick this animal is. The catfish is another scavenger that is eaten regularly. It searches the bottom of rivers, ponds, and lakes for decaying material, which it gladly consumes. It has no scales, instead having skin like a shark’s. Lobsters also search the bottoms for decaying food and have been often referred to as the “cockroach of the ocean.” Somehow Red Cockroach doesn’t sound quite as appetizing.
Many of today’s diseases have direct ties to eating unclean meats. You can get Hepatitis from seafood and parasites from pork and some have even speculated that AIDS came from the eating of monkey brains, although I seriously doubt that was the origin. The point is if we want to maintain optimum health we need to think of food as He defines it and eat only that which is clean in the eyes of Adonai.
Boundaries are not a bad thing; they actually keep us safe. Adonai gave us boundaries for our food source to keep us safe from the diseases caused by eating something that is not food. Our bodies were not designed to process these “other meats” so why put undue stress on our already over worked digestive system? Let’s trust our Creator to know what is best and tell those other folks to get lost.