The Root of Kashrut (Eating Kosher)
I Timothy 4:4-5 creates a problem
for most readers.
“For every
creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with
thanksgiving: For
it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.”
We must remember when reading the Renewed Covenant (New Testament) that
it was written under the assumption that the reader knew the basics of Torah
(the Law). So when Rav Sha’ul (Paul) says
“every creature,” he, being a Torah observant Jew, a Pharisee no less, would
not even remotely think of creatures outside of the ones approved by the LORD
in Leviticus 11. Verse 43 says that if
you eat anything not designated as a food source that you become an
abomination to ADONAI if you eat it!
Every animal has its purpose in creation. Some are scavengers, GOD’s garbage collectors
(Carnivores and Omnivores), and these are the types we are forbidden to eat,
and rightly so. For example, pigs do not
have sweat glands; this is why pigs wallow in mud to keep cool. Since they do not have sweat glands, they
cannot rid their body of toxins like we can, so the toxins stay in their meat,
and we consume that if we eat pork!
Also, shrimp is the sea equivalent to the cockroach, and the crab is the
sea equivalent to spiders. I saw a
documentary about some primitive tribal natives in some far off jungle where
the narrator tried fried tarantulas, and he said it tastes like crab. Verse 5 of I Timothy chapter 4 does NOT mean
that if you pray or bless unclean food that God will “magically” take the
impurities away. The physical
consequences of disobeying Torah still stand.
Exodus 15:26 says that if Israel keeps Torah, God will not allow the
diseases of the Egyptians to come upon them.
Autopsies have been preformed on many Egyptian mummies, and out of all
the mummies autopsied, most died of one of three diseases. These are the same top three diseases that
Americans die of today. These diseases
are a direct result of not keeping a kosher diet. They are:
1. Diabetes
2. Heart disease
3. Cancer
Verse 3 of I Timothy 4 gives us a little context. Some were abstaining from meat altogether and
becoming vegetarians for fear of not personally knowing the source of the meat,
Jew or Pagan, kosherly slaughtered or not, offered to idols or not. If the meat was served by a Jew, whether it
was originally bought or received from a pagan, the buyer would know if it was
kosherly slaughtered or not. If kosher
and blessed, it is “set apart” and dedicated to God, and made holy, regardless
if it was offered to an idol or not.
Many people say that Yeshua Himself declared “all things clean (Mk.
7:19).” That phrase in the KJV is italicized which means the translators added
it for confusion… I mean “clarification.”
So, those are not Yeshua’s words, nor his intent. Nor was Kefa (Peter’s) vision in Acts 10
permission from God to disregard the dietary laws of Lev. 11. Kefa (Peter) even admitted the vision he had
concerning the sheet with unclean animals concerned the inclusion of Gentiles
into faith in Yeshua Ha Moshiach (The Messiah) (Acts 10-11) and it had
absolutely nothing to do with food. If Peter never had that vision he would
have never went with the men Cornelius sent, because for purposes of ritual
purity a Jew simply didn’t go into the house of a non-Jew to chum around. The
vision was given to Peter so that he would know it was okay to go and that He
was opening the way of Faith to the Gentiles.
The only conceivable reason why God would change the dietary laws is that
He is a liar and does change, contrary to Scripture, and that He
no longer loves and cares about us.
It is so sad that people are so attached to such a thing as types of
“food,” that they cannot give up something so insignificant in light of God’s
direct and loving commands. I mean
people almost worship bacon the way they go on about it and look at you like
you have two heads if you tell them you don’t eat shrimp or lobster. And some
people make their appetites a deal breaker and say, “I can never give up pork
or shell fish! So there’s no way I could be a Torah Obedient Believer in Jesus.
I thank God He did away with those laws!” A lame excuse and a false, bias
interpretation of Scripture based on their fleshly craving that holds no water.
Besides, today there are enough substitutes that one should not even miss, or
make not having certain “foods” easier to deal with. For example, they have turkey bacon, lamb and
veggie sausage, veggie burgers, imitation crab made from kosher fish, etc. However, Rav Sha’ul (Paul) said in Philippians
3:19 (CJB), “They are headed for destruction! Their god is the belly; they
are proud of what they ought to be ashamed of, since they are concerned
about things of the world.”
Our bodies are considered the Temple of God. We do not want to put anything in it that
will defile it. We Jews believe God has
given us the divine responsibility to do all to His glory. When we eat, we elevate everything we consume
to a holy status, because it is put in the Temple of God and used to do His
will, fulfilling commandments, and doing His Torah!
1 Corinthians 10:31 Whether therefore
ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
