Scripture: (Lev 11:2 NKJV)  "Speak to the children of Israel, saying, 'These are the animals which you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth:

Observation: The eleventh chapter of the book of Leviticus is God’s list of clean and unclean animals.  While this is the first time we read it in the Bible, it is clear from the story of Noah’s ark that the distinction was in place since the week of creation.  For the recently freed slaves, it was important for them to learn that some of the diet they might have been following in Egypt was not healthy and would eventually lead them to have the same diseases as their captors.  Moses wrote: (Exo 15:26 NKJV)  "If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you."  God’s plan has not changed with the establishment of the Christian faith; after all, it is still the same God.  (3 John 1:2 NKJV)  Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.

Application: One of the responsibilities we have is to take care of our bodies, since they are temples of the Holy Spirit – (1 Cor 6:19 NKJV)  Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?  But once we establish a family, not only should we take care of ourselves but also we should care for the health of the other family members.  Every so often I have watched programs that report on morbidly obese people and have wondered, if they can’t get out of bed, how do they eat?  Who is feeding them?  Another way of asking these questions is , who is enabling them to continue this deadly path?  While their spouses or children may claim they’re doing it our of love or that they don’t want to see their loved ones “starve,” their actions, instead of helping their loved one, are really killing them.  In the family, love is not just a word expressed but a positive action on behalf of its members.  If food doesn’t affect me negatively by causing me to gain weight, it doesn’t mean it has the same effect on others.  So we must not only think of what food does to us but what effect it may have on the other members of the family.  Helping our loved ones to enjoy good health is another way to show them we love them.

A Prayer You May Say: Loving Father, thank You for your guidelines, teachings, and lessons concerning our health.  May we all be unselfish and more loving in what we eat and in what we provide our families for consumption.

Used by permission of Adventist Family Ministries, North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.