L17-4: Was man created to be a vegetarian?

Since Leviticus chapter 17 deals with the proper slaughter of animals for both sacrifice and food, at this point I think it would be appropriate to have a quick review of the history of God’s instructions in this area starting from what the Lord said on this matter all the way back in the book of Genesis.

Let’s take a look at Genesis 9:1-6.

God blessed Noach and his sons and said to them,
“Be fruitful, multiply and fill the earth.
The fear and dread of you
will be upon every wild animal,
every bird in the air,
every creature populating the ground,
and all the fish in the sea;
they have been handed over to you.
Every moving thing that lives will be food for you;
just as I gave you green plants before,
so now I give you everything
— only flesh with its life,
which is its blood, you are not to eat.
I will certainly demand an accounting
for the blood of your lives:
I will demand it from every animal
and from every human being.
I will demand from every human being
an accounting for the life of his fellow human being.
Whoever sheds human blood,
by a human being will his own blood be shed;
for God made human beings in his image.

The first point I find interesting is that we’re told “all living creatures are going to fear men”.

Why is this?

It seems like before the flood, the animals had little if any fear of men.

This would also explain why Noah didn’t have any problems getting all the different species of animals to come into the ark.

It wasn’t only until after the flood that for the first time in history, God had given man permission to kill and eat other living creatures.

Therefore, it seems like God put the instinctual fear of men into animals for their preservation.

Now look at verse 9:3.

Every moving thing that lives will be food for you;
just as I gave you green plants before

This verse explains that prior to the flood, man’s official food source was green plants.

So it would appear that man was created to be a vegetarian.

This is hard for me to stomach (pun intended), because I love my juicy steaks, beef hotdogs, hamburgers and lamb chops as much as anybody.

Now take a look at Genesis 9:5.

And surely your blood of your lives will I require; 
at the hand of every beast will I require it, 
and at the hand of man; 
at the hand of every man’s brother 
will I require the life of man.

What?!

It says “at the hand of every beast I will require it”.

This is saying that the Lord will require that animal’s life for killing any other life that has blood in it.

So we see that before the flood, BOTH humans and animals were vegetarians.

And it seems like in the coming kingdom we will be restored to a pre-flood situation because the Scripture says in the new kingdom the lamb will lie down with the lion. 

What I can deduce from all this is that prior to the flood, animals didn’t have an instinct to kill other animals.

They had no taste for flesh at that time.

If they had, Noah would have been dead meat when he tried to escort a pair of lions into the ark. 

So here’s a quick timeline of the history of man’s relationship with animals and killing them for food.

BEFORE THE FLOOD:
Animals were not killed FOR FOOD.  However, it is presumed that CLEAN domestic animals were killed for sacrificing and it also seems like the skins of animals were used for clothing, tents, and made into containers to hold water, etcetera.  So again, up until the flood, it seems like men (and animals) were vegetarians.  But I’m pretty sure, some probably disobeyed God’s instructions on this matter.

AFTER THE FLOOD:
Man received divine decree to kill animals for food and it seems like no KOSHER restrictions were placed.  There is no mention of CLEAN or UNCLEAN as far as distinction of animals for food being made here.  However, it may have been understood that man was only to eat those things suitable for sacrificing to God.  In other words, what was good for man to consume was what was only good for God to consume.  Now as for the reason why all of a sudden God permitted animals to be eaten for food, I don’t know, simply because the Scripture doesn’t say.

AT MOUNT SINAI
When God handed down the Law at Sinai, the Lord clearly made a division between those CLEAN foods that were okay to eat and those UNCLEAN foods that weren’t.  In other words, he set down certain dietary rules that His People called Israel (and those grafted into Israel) were to follow.