LESSON 3
EVERY MOVING THING THAT LIVETH SHALL BE MEAT FOR YOU: AN EXPOSITION ON GENESIS 9:3
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: "Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you": an exposition on Genesis 9:3. In our previous study, we considered in detail the biblical distinctions between clean and unclean meat. We concluded from the scriptural passages we reviewed in the study that the various distinctions God gave His people in relation to what they could eat and what they could not eat are still in force even today.
But someone is likely to ask after going through this previous lesson, the following question: With the explanation you have given so far, how do you deal with the text in Genesis 9:3 which says every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you? How do you prove that the clean animals are the only ones that are being referred to in this text? Beloved, these are very important questions. And the answers to these questions will form the content of this study in four sub-sections as follows:
1) THE TEXT OF GENESIS 9:3 DOES NOT STAND IN ISOLATION
For us to understand the text in Genesis 9:3, we must consider it in the context under which it was written. Before this text in Genesis 9:3, Noah already knew about the distinction between the clean and unclean animals and birds. From Genesis 7:1-3, we read the following:
"7:1 And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.
7:2 Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.
7:3 Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth."
(Genesis 7:1-3)
It is important to note that Moses made the statement in Genesis 9:3 based upon the background of Genesis 7:1-3. The author basically didn't see the need to repeat what he had clearly established in Genesis 7:1-3. This point becomes very clear in the light of the repetition of this dietary distinction in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14. The fact is that if God had wanted mankind to eat of every flesh food, He would not have given the laws in relation to the clean and unclean animal species later on in Scripture. The fact that what is found in Genesis 7:1-3 is expanded and made clear in other texts after Genesis 9:3 (such as Leviticus 11:1-47; Deuteronomy 14:2-20), makes it clear that Genesis 9:3 must be understood in the context of the distinction between the clean and unclean animal species.
2) WHAT DOES THE PHRASE "EVERY MOVING THING THAT LIVETH" REFERS TO?
A careful reading of Genesis 9:3 reveals clearly what the phrase "every moving thing that liveth" refers to. From Genesis 9:1-3, we read the following:
"9:1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.
9:2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every BEAST of the earth, and upon every FOWL of the air, upon ALL THAT MOVETH UPON THE EARTH, and upon all the FISHES of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.
9:3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things."
(Genesis 9:1-3; Capital Emphasis Added)
Friends, from the account of Genesis 9:1-3, it is clear that the phrase every moving thing that liveth should be understood in the context of the FOUR CATEGORIES of the animal species that God created; that is, THE BEASTS, THE FOWLS, THE CREEPING THINGS AND THE FISHES. Every one of these four animal species was delivered to mankind to be used as food (review Genesis 9:2-3). Thus, it is important to note that the phrase "Every moving thing that liveth" as found in the text of Genesis 9:3 is not even used in reference to the animal species in terms of their being clean or unclean, but rather to the FOUR CATEGORIES of animal species that God had created. It will interest you to know that these categories of animal species is exactly the categories we find in the creation account in Genesis 1 (see Genesis 1:20-25). Thus beloved, it is clear from the context of Genesis 9:1-3, that the text "Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you" cannot be used as a justification to eat unclean food. This is because the context does not even allow one to make such a conclusion.
3) EVEN AS THE GREEN HERB HAVE I GIVEN YOU ALL THINGS
The complete text of Genesis 9:3 reads: "Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things". Some interpreters usually utilise the second part of the text to support their argument that the Lord has given mankind all things; thus concluding that the use of the word 'all', includes unclean food. Beloved, to arrive at a fuller understanding of this text, it is important to analyse the phrase "all things" in light of the entire second part of the text. The second part of the text reads: "even as the green herb have I given you all things".
Thus, the entire text in Genesis 9:3 should be understood in the context of the chronology of the food items that God allowed mankind to partake of right after he was created to the time after the flood. You see friends, the original diet that God gave to man after creation was composed of fruits, grains, nuts and legumes (see Genesis 1:29). When mankind sinned and was expelled from Eden, God added the herb of the field (vegetables) to their diet (see Genesis 3:18).
After the flood, God then gave man the permission to make use of the four categories of the animal species as food. This is the account we read from Genesis 9:3 as follows: "Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you (i.e. the four categories of the animal species); even as the green herb (vegetables) have I given you all things". Thus friends, the phrase "all things" must be understood not as all animal species including even the unclean ones, but rather, all things that mankind could now utilise as food, which were not originally given to them by God, such as the green herb.
4) Friends, from the scriptural passages we have reviewed so far, it is clear that the text in Genesis 9:3 cannot be used as a justification for eating unclean meat. The fact that God made a distinction between the clean and unclean animal species before and after the flood in Noah's day lends credence to our conclusion in this study.
Exhortation: "For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee" (Psalms 84:11-12).
In our next study, we will consider the topic: "you shall eat neither fat nor blood": an exposition on Leviticus 3:17. The Bible Study references for this study are Leviticus 3:17, Genesis 9:3-4, Leviticus 17:10-15, Deuteronomy 14:21 and Hebrews 9:11-12. 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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