"And the Lord God said, Behold, I have given you every green 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. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that creeps upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat; and it was so." (Genesis 1:29-30) "And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food." (Genesis 2:9) "He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man; that He may bring forth food out of the earth." (Psalm 104:11) "And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots and when we did eat bread to the full, for you have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger. Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven unto you; and you shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law or no." (Exodus 16:3-4) "You shall remember all the way which the Lord your God led you these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you, and to prove you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments, or no. And He humbled you, and suffered you to hunger, and fed you with manna, which you know not, neither did your fathers know; that He might make you know that man does not live by bread only, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord does man live." (Deuteronomy 8:2-3) "Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Then said Jesus unto them, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the Bread of God is He which comes down from heaven, and gives life unto the world. ... I am that Bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof and not die." (John 6:31-33,48-50) "Our fathers ... Did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink; for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them; and that Rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not well pleased; for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted." ... "Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents." (1 Corinthians 10:1,3-6,9) "And they tempted God in their heart by asking meat for their lust." (Psalm 78:18) "So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief." (Hebrews 3:19) "And he that doubts is damned if he eat, because he eats not of faith; for whatsoever is not of faith is sin." (Romans 14:23) "I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; And when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, Take eat; this is my body, which is broken for you; this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also He took the cup, when He had supped, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood; this do you, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread, and drink this cup, you do show the Lord's death, till He come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily; shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eats and drinks unworthily, eats and drinks damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep." (1 Corinthians 11:23-30) "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits; Who forgives all your iniquities; who heals all your diseases; Who redeems your life from destruction; who crowns you with loving-kindness and tender mercies; Who satisfies your mouth with good things; so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's." (Psalm 103:2-5) "Wherefore do you spend money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which satisfies not? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness." (Isaiah 55:2) "My son, attend to my words; incline your ear unto my sayings; Let them not depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh." (Proverbs 4:20-22) "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled." (Matthew 5:6) "The just shall live by faith." (Romans 1:17)
It is out of the ground that God makes the food grow that should be eaten by every living creature. It is true that many animals, since the fall, subsist largely or wholly on the flesh of other animals; and man has also been allowed to do the same thing; "but from the beginning it was not so." (Matthew 19:8)
Since the work of Christ is to restore all things, it is evident that the food which God gave man in the beginning is the best for him, and should be adopted by all who wish the perfect image of God to be restored in them, as in the beginning.
Plants, and plants only, can assimilate unorganized matter. They can take the ultimate elements, and transform them into living substance. Then these elements are in a condition to be assimilated by animals. But this food does not undergo any change in the bodies of the lower animals that it does not undergo in the bodies of men. No new food substance is formed in the bodies of animals.
They simply use that which has already been prepared in the plant for both man and the other animals. Therefore when men eat the flesh of animals, they are simply taking their food second-hand; and food that has once been used loses strength and value just the same as any other article does through use. Thus it is that the flesh of animals is not so nourishing as grains. More than that, the degenerate characteristics of the animal are necessarily imparted to the food that it has formed into its own flesh; and if the animal is diseased, which is very commonly the case, this evil is intensified.
When God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, to fulfill to them the promise made to Abraham, He gave them the purest food possible--bread direct from heaven. Is it not consistent that when He "sets His hand the second time" (Isaiah 11:11) to deliver His people, He will expect them to come as nearly as possible to the same style of living? In those days the people tempted God, by asking meat for their lust, and as a consequence they were destroyed. "Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted." (1 Corinthians 10:6)
The bread which they had was from heaven, given not by Moses, but by God. It was daily bread, for the nourishment of their bodies, and was their living for forty years. Yet it was "spiritual meat." (1 Corinthians 10:3) It was by giving them this bread that God undertook to teach them that man does not live by bread only, but by the Word of God. Therefore we see that in eating of it they were eating the Word of God.
By the giving of the manna, God would have us learn that in the daily bread which He gives us, He is giving us himself. Christ is "the living bread that came down from heaven," (John 6:51) and it was upon His body that the children of Israel were fed; in refusing that food, they were rejecting Christ.
But they did not discern the Lord's body, and so, although the food which they had was the very best that could be given them, they died. They ate and drank condemnation to themselves. Men may do this, we learn from the 11th chapter of 1 Corinthians, even while eating the body of Christ. And yet, if we do not eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ, we have no life in us. (John 6:53) Only the perfect body and blood of Christ can give life, but that life must be received in faith, else even it will be of no avail.
The Lord's Supper, consisting of the very purest materials that can be obtained,--unleavened bread and unfermented juice of the grape, "the fruit of the vine," (Mark 14:25) is the best possible exhibition of the body and blood of Christ, "a Lamb without blemish and without spot." (1 Peter 1:19) Christ said of it, "this is my body," (Matthew 26:26) and, "this is my blood." (Matthew 26:28)
It is to teach us the same lesson that was given in the manna,-- that in the food which He gives us, He gives us himself; that what nourishes our bodies is at the same time to be to us "spiritual meat." (1 Corinthians 10:3)
It follows therefore that the Lord's Supper is the model meal. Christ is "The bread of God...which comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world." (John 6:33)
Whoever does not eat of Him by faith, has no life. So then we should eat of nothing else but Him, if we would have perfect life. If in our daily meals we ate only of that food in which the perfect life of Christ is clearly exhibited, and ate in recognition of that life, we would be constantly living in Him. Such a life would be a life of faith, and would therefore be a life of righteousness.
It is by taking the words of Christ, which are Spirit and life, that we eat His flesh and drink His blood. But we must remember that Christ gives us His words in a tangible form. Remember that the manna was given to show that man must live by the Word of the Lord. But the words of the Lord "are life unto those who find them, and health to all their flesh." (Proverbs 4:22)
So this living by faith,--the conscious taking of the Lord's life, and that only, in the food which He gives us,--will be physical health.
It does not mean self-punishment or the mortification of the body by denying one's self of any good thing, but on the contrary the eating of that which is good, (Isaiah 55:2) having the mouth satisfied with good things, (Psalm 103:5) and delighting in fatness. (Isaiah 55:2)
It is as much more enjoyable a way of living as righteousness and health are more enjoyable than sin and disease.
Life is fullest of content
Where delight is innocent.
--Thomas Campion (1567-1620), Masque at the Marriage of the Lord Hayes.
--Present Truth, November 24, 1898.