Faith

June 10, 2007

By Linus Mathis

How many of each kind of animal did Noah take aboard the Ark with him?

Genesis 7:1-3

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.

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.

Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth. (1769 Authorized Version)

Upon reading the body of the context we find he took two of the &#8220unclean” animals and seven of the &#8220clean.” This may be a revelation to some folks while serving to teach others the importance of reading the context. Too many (especially &#8220Bible” teachers) arrest verses from their context in order to substantiate religious doctrine. An honest handling of Scripture demands complete acknowledgment of the context, remote as well as immediate.

The &#8220clean” beasts were those suitable for sacrifice and, as we shall see later, consumption. Consequently, God commanded Noah to take them seven by seven. Whereas, those not &#8220clean,” two by two, male and female exclusively for the preservation of the species (Darwinism being yet a fallacious non-issue for future imbeciles to adulate). Seven of each giving latitude for procreation as well as sacrifice and

consumption.

The blood of the clean animals would need to be shed for remission of sin.

Hebrews 9:22b

. . . without shedding of blood is no remission. (1769 Authorized Version)

Animal sacrifice would have to do until the spilling of the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Hebrews 9:13-14

For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:

How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (1769 Authorized Version)

Today, praise God, no further sacrifices are ever required! But as for Noah, the time for that was yet future.

The Great Flood obliterated all life not in the Ark and greatly changed the complexion of Earth's surface. The relationship between man and beast also experienced drastic change (God judged the world by water then but the next time it will be by fire).

Genesis 9:1-3

And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.

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.

Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. (1769 Authorized Version)

Years later God made clear in writing (in the Mosaic Law) which animals could be eaten and which could not. He gave detailed commands to help man become ceremonially and sacrificially clean. However, with the sacrifice of Jesus Christ all ceremony and sacrifice were justified once and for all.

Hebrews 10:9-10

Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.

By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once [for all]. (1769 Authorized Version)

His sacrifice changed everything, including what we can eat!

I Timothy 4:1-5

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, [and commanding] to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.

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. (1769 Authorized Version)

Cholesterol and saturated fat aside, if you're like me you want the main course to have parents and a face. Forget what the bean sprout-eating fanatics have to say and enjoy your summer barbeque. All that nonsense about violence and animal protein has its roots (no pun intended) in Eastern religion. Some of those fellas will not kill an insect. Imagine living harmoniously amid the Alaskan mosquito population. How absurd!

Read your Bible and enjoy your steak!

The Reverend Linus A. Mathis III is the founder and director of Frontier Christian Ministries. Contact him at fcm@mtaonline.net.