LESSON 29 CLEAN AND UNCLEAN FOOD
Deuteronomy 14:1-29
Mood is one of the primary needs of human beings. No one can survive without food. This was the reason, God, in His love and compassion, provided all that man would need before he was created in His image. Food includes everything we eat and drink to make us grow and keep us healthy and sound.
God had a very special relationship with the children of Israel. Deuteronomy 14:1,2 describes this special relationship thus:
(i) He chose them out of all the nations of the world.
(ii) He adopted them as His children to enjoy His love and blessings.
(iii) He set them apart to love and serve Him in holiness. Believers today are chosen by grace (Ephesians 1:4), adopted as God’s chosen (1 John 3:1) and set apart to serve God in holiness and righteousness all the days of their lives (Luke 1:74,75).
God expects the children of Israel and believers today to love and obey Him because He is our Father. He does not want us to do anything that will make us to forfeit the privilege of our special relationship with Him. This was why God gave Israel some laws when they were about to enter the Promised Land. The laws were to keep them from being polluted with pagan practices in Canaan.
Friends of Jesus are on a journey to heaven, our Canaan land. We must strive to please God by separating from all worldly influences and live in holiness and righteousness every day of our lives.
- CALL TO HOLINESS: Deuteronomy 14:1,2; Leviticus 11:44,45.
Our God is holy and He also desiresthat all His children are holy as well. God chose Israel to be a holy and a peculiar people unto Him, and thus warned them against any form of defilement. God wants to have our hearts totally surrendered unto Him so that we can obey Him easily. Keeping all kinds of laws without our heart made holy and pure will amount to just carrying out religious activities. The call of God to us today is to do away with all forms of filthiness in our words, thoughts, actions, character and hearts.
Holiness helps us to maintain a consistent walk with God. Therefore, if you have not answered the call of God to depart from sin; you need to do that today.
Accept that you are a sinner that needs pardon.
Believe that Jesus died on the cross to take away your sins and grant you pardon.
Confess your sins to God and ask for His pardon.
Depart from the way of sin permanently and start a new walk of faith with Christ.
- CLEAN FOODS FOR HEALTHY LIVING:
Deuteronomy 14:3-20; 1 Corinthians 6:12-20; 8:1-3
God gave Israel a long list of the kinds of water and land animals as well as birds that they could eat. The list of clean animals was enough to satisfy their desires for any type of meat. The other animals, commonly eaten by the idol- worshippers in Canaan must be strictly avoided and regarded as unclean. They were also not to eat dead animals and the blood of animals. Obedience to these commands on clean and unclean food marks Israel out as a special and holy people unto God. These were the laws. that guided Daniel and his friends’ decision to reject the king’s meat in Babylon.
God’s instructions are made to regulate our behaviour and they are intended for our good. He is our Creator and knows what is best for us. He knows those things we need to avoid because they are harmful to us either physically or spiritually. Every good parent is concerned about what his/her children eat. No good mother will allow her children to eat anything they like. This is because what you eat affects your growth, health and physical appearance.
The reasons God gave the instructions of what to eat and what not to eat are to:
(i) test our obedience to His instructions;
(ii) show that He is interested in every area of our lives;
(iii) keep us in good health. If we eat too much fat and sweet things, they can cause sickness in our body because it is not everything we love to eat that is good for our health;
(iv) help us live in holiness of life;
(v) help us always remember to worship God who created all things for us to enjoy. “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God“ (1 Corinthians 10:31).
Friends of Jesus today are special and peculiar children of God. They are to abide by the same principles of separation from unclean things. The society in which we live is filled with all sorts of abominable things such as cultism, homosexual acts, satanic games, drugs, alcohol, lack of respect for God, His word and righteous standard. The command from God is stated in 2 Corinthians 6:17,18, “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the LORD, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”
- CONDITIONS FOR A HAPPIER LIFE: Deuteronomy 14:21-29
The latter part of our Bible passage shows one of the most important conditions for receiving blessings from God. This condition is based on the principles of giving. The Bible clearly commands us to give our tithes, offerings and gifts for important needs in God’s house. The secret to prosperity in our willingness to give bountifully without grudging or holding back anything. There are three areas of giving as shown in our Bible passage
(a) Giving to God-God commanded the children of Israel to give unto Him their tithes, the same applies to us today. The tithe is ten percent of our earnings. Whatever money is given to you as a gift or reward must be tithed. Giving our tithe and offering is a sign of our obedience to and love for God.
(b) Giving to God’s servants God instructed the children of Israel to give to the Levites those who served in the temple. The Levites invested their time in God’s service and thus had no personal inheritance or time to work for themselves. The Levites in our days are our pastors and leaders who labour to ensure we grow spiritually and prepare us for heaven. We are to care for them by honouring, respecting and obeying them.
(c) Giving to the poor and the needy – The Bible encourages us to give to the fatherless, widows, orphans, strangers, and all categories of people in need. Nothing is too small to give to those in genuine need of our help. God has promised to bless bountifully those who obey Him in giving to Him and fellow men. You must cultivate the attitude of giving to God’s work and the poor. God will reward you as you obey.
QUESTIONS:
- God calls His children to live a life.
- God is concerned with every detail of the life of His people including what they eat. True/False?
- Mention the reasons for the command on clean and unclean food.
- What are the three areas of giving according to our study?
- Mention three blessings you will enjoy when you obey God.
MEMORY VERSE: “For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth. Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing” (Deuteronomy 14:2,3).
LESSON: God wants all His children to obey Him and be holy.
THOUGHT: I will obey God in every area of my life.
ACTIVITY: Read Deuteronomy 14:3-20 and write two examples each from the groups of creatures which God told the children of Israel to eat and the ones not to eat.
CONGREGATIONAL SONG: GHS 47 – JUST OBEY
CHORUSES:
(1) I live for Jesus, day after day
(2) My body is the temple of the Holy Spirit
(3) Follow, follow, I will follow Jesus.
HOMEWORK: Children are to read the following Bible passages. Then write in their homework book the principles about food offered to idols: Daniel 1:8; 1 Corinthians 8:1-13.
BIBLE WORD SEARCH
Find the meanings of these words. You can use your dictionary.
- Unclean
- Condition
- Peculiar
- Consistent
- Polluted