Eden and Man's Original Diet

LESSON 1

EDEN AND MAN’S ORIGINAL DIET

You are welcome to another edition of Insights from God's Word, a Bible study programme that is committed to sharing God's Word by allowing the Bible to speak for itself.

In this edition, we continue with our series on How to Prosper in Health. The topic for this study is: Eden and Man's First Diet. From Genesis 1, we read the account of the creation of our world. The crowning act of God's creation was mankind. From Genesis 1:26-31, we read the following on the creation of man: "1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

1:29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

1:30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day."

(Genesis 1:26-31) From the passage above, we learn clearly that when God created mankind, He also established what was to be their diet. From Genesis 1:29, we note clearly that the original diet that God gave man right after creation were fruits, grains, nuts and legumes. Man was created a strict vegetarian. From Genesis 1:30, we also learn about how God established the green herb as food for the animal species. Beloved, in this order of things, we are told that "And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good" (Genesis 1:31).

Friends, after God had created mankind and ordered them their food, He did not allow them to just roam the face of the earth. The Lord created a special garden for the human family called the Garden of Eden. In this home of man, life was perfect. Joy, peace, beauty and harmony filled the life of our first parents. From Genesis 2, we learn the following interesting facts about the Eden home of mankind: "2:8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

2:9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

2:15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat.

2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."

(Genesis 2:8-9; 15-17) The utopia that mankind experienced in the Garden of Eden did not continue forever. From Genesis 3, we read about the sad story of the account of our fall. We learn about how Satan deceived our first parents to partake of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (see Genesis 3:1-6). From Genesis 3:17-18, we read about one of the consequences of man's transgression: "3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life.

3:18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field."

(Genesis 3:17-18) Beloved, one of the consequences of man's transgression was the curse of the ground. Because of man's sin, the ground was to no more yield the best of food for the human race. At this point in the life of man, God graciously added the herb of the field (vegetables) to the original diet of man (see Genesis 3:18). It is important to note that even after the fall, the diet that God allowed mankind to partake was still a strict vegetarian diet comprising now of fruits, grains, nuts, legumes and vegetables.

Friends, if we compare the amazing strength, health and longevity that characterized God's people who lived before the flood with our own, we realize that we fall desperately short. As we contemplate on this huge difference, one clear fact that is hard to miss is that they ate differently from us. Their diet contained no flesh food. It is clear from this scriptural analysis that the first food that God gave us is certainly the best.

Amidst the consistent outbreak of animal-infected diseases such as Bird Flu, Swine Flu, Ebola, Fish Tank Granuloma and many others that plague mankind today, people are beginning to seriously consider the wisdom of God's first food for the human race. Today, many nutritionists and honest-hearted scientists are propagating across the globe, the undeniable reasons why a plant-based diet is still a better option for mankind.

Exhortation: "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth" (3 John 2). In our next study, we will consider the topic: Biblical Distinctions Between Clean and Unclean Meat. The Bible Study references for this study are Genesis 7:1-3, Genesis 8:20, Deuteronomy 14:2-20, Leviticus 11:1-47, Leviticus 1:14-17 and Galatians 3:29. Please do well to go through these passages before the next study is released.

Stay blessed and keep shining for King Jesus.

Maranatha!

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