sundayword:BY PROSPER TINGINI
A full chapter of the Bible is dedicated to the Lord our God’s instructions to humanity on the distinction between what he termed as “clean” and “unclean”, among all species of His creatures. The book of Leviticus has chapter 11 wholly dedicated to reciting the Creator’s own spoken words on how to make a differentiation between the “clean” and the “unclean”. Creatures which He labelled as “unclean” were forbidden for human consumption due to some contamination factors known to the Almighty himself. Even the contact with their carcasses was judged to bring some ‘uncleanness’ to mankind.
After giving His narrations on the guiding principles, He proclaimed in Leviticus 11:46: “This is the law about beast and bird and every living creature that moves through the waters and every creature that swarms on the ground, to make a distinction between the clean and the unclean and between the living creatures that may be eaten and the living creatures that may not be eaten”. Humanity must be guided by this divine fundamental element to avoid some of the pandemics caused by our failure to abide, or just a disdain for the rules of our living God.
For those that need the education to distinguish between the unclean creatures from the clean, Leviticus 11:3 reads, “Whatever parts the hoof and is cloven footed and chews the cud, among the animals, you may eat”. In short, the Lord is saying that only those animals whose feet are divided into two separate hooves, plus have a habit of bringing back swallowed food back into its mouth to chew it again for better refinement (chewing the cud) are the only of animals that should be eaten by humans. An absence of any one of those features makes the animals ‘unclean’. He specifically gives us examples, (Leviticus 11:48) “Nevertheless, among those that part the hoof, you shall not eat these: The camel, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. And the rock badger (mbira in Shona), because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. And the hare (tsuro), because it chews the cud, but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. And the pig, because it parts the hoof, and is cloven footed, but does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. you shall not eat their flesh, and you shall not touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you.” Many mistaken Christians think that the pigs were only made unclean when Jesus Christ directed some demons which were afflicting a mentally possessed man to be exorcised and cast out into the pigs. Herein is the true reason.
God forbids us to even touch the carcasses of any dead animal which has died on its own whether classified as clean or unclean (Leviticus 11:39): “And if any animal which you may eat dies, whoever touches its carcass shall be unclean until the evening, and whoever eats of its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. And whoever carries the carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening”. Any animal that dies on its own must have succumbed to some diseases, thus rendering any such carcass a deadly health danger.
Apart from animals, the Almighty went on to clarify which of all the species of birds could be eaten and not eaten, naming some of them by their names. He went on to do the same for the winged insects, making a clear distinction on which of them can be eaten. Leviticus 11:21 reads; “Yet among the winged insects that go on all fours you may eat those that have jointed legs above their feet with which to hop on the ground”. All other insects without this feature are considered as unclean. In addition there are those with claws or paws that tend to sometimes walk on their bellies. He mentioned a handful of them by name and spoke, “Whoever touches them when they are dead shall be unclean until the evening. And anything on which any of them falls when they are dead shall be unclean, whether it is an article of wood or garment or a skin or a sack, any article that is used for any purpose. It must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the evening then it shall be clean”. The Lord is thus putting in place a very high standard of hygiene to prevent fatal contagious diseases from passing to humans.
He also dwelt on the creatures of the rivers, seas and oceans. Only those with two distinct features combined, i.e fins and scales, can be eaten. All the others should be regarded as detestable, including their carcasses (Leviticus 11:9-11). Humans of today eat even some creatures that are too ghastly to mention, in defiance to the Lord our God. When diseases of all kinds befall us, we then cry out to the Lord as if he has forsaken us. He forbad us from eating living creatures unselectively, because of the health consequences.
There are also parasitic creatures that thrive on sucking the blood of host animals. The bats, among others, are a classical example of such a creature. They are suspected as a possible link to the coronavirus epidemic. We also have the mosquitoes that suck human blood and pass on the malaria disease. Other deadly virus-carrying parasites are the fleas that feed on some animals. These and many others have brought virus-related pandemics of catastrophic proportions upon mankind.
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The most deadly epidemic was transmitted on the shoulders of rodents whose fleas were infected with bacteria. The Justinian Plague of 541AD-542AD originating from China decimated half of the world’s population then. There was also the pandemic of a dreadful nature that was known as the Black Death that again had its source from China, killing over 25 million people in the process. It was known as the Black Death because of the unusual black spots that appeared on those infected.
Although I am not at liberty to say this because of possible repercussions, I am inclined to think that some unselective eating habits of the Chinese and their handling of a variety of unclean creatures could be a contributing factor in the spread of diseases, as recorded in the histories of some pandemics. Some eat monstrous creatures like bats, snakes and many others on both land and the waters, not to mention the disgusting habit eating of dogs and cats. They have a booming trade in exotic animals of “unclean” kinds, some of which die and whose carcasses are then handled by bare hands, in contravention of directives from the Almighty. Humanity must be guided by the Lord our God’s directives on the handling of “unclean” creatures and on what we should not eat.
l Prosper Tingini is the Scribe of the Children of God Missionary Assembly — God’s messengers. Contact details: Mobile / Whatsapp — 0771 260 195. Email address: [email protected]
