— Section seven —

The Bible Pattern

The five chapters in this section were prepared

- CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE -

1 – GOD’S INTEREST IN OUR HEALTH

Psalm 139:13-18: "For Thou hast possessed my reins: Thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are Thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from Thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in Thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. How precious also are Thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with Thee."

2 – THE BODY’S PART IN SANCTIFICATION

3 – THE SOUL TEMPLE TO BE KEPT PURE

Proverbs 23:29-32: "Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? . . . who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder" (see also verses 33-35).

Isaiah 5:11-12: "Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them! And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the operation of His hands" (see also Habakkuk 2:5, 15; Ephesians 5:18).

1 Corinthians 6:9-10: Drunkards shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Leviticus 10:8-11: Aaron not to drink wine.

Ezekiel 44:21: Priests was not to drink wine.

Luke 1:15: Instruction to John the Baptist’s mother that he should not drink strong wine.

Proverbs 31:4: Kings and princes were not to drink wine nor strong drink.

Unfermented wine: Genesis 40:11; Psalm 104:14-15; Mark 2:22.

Genesis 3:18: "Thou shalt eat the herb of the field (after sin entered)."

Genesis 9:3: "Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things (after the flood)."

Exodus 16:35: "And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited: they did eat manna, until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan."

Joshua 5:11-12: "And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the Passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the selfsame day. And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year."

Daniel 1:8-21: The example of Daniel and his companions and how they were blessed for being faithful to the principles of temperance and health reform.

Matthew 3:4: Locusts and wild honey was the diet of John the Baptist. It is generally agreed that the "locusts" was the fruit of the carob tree.

Genesis 9:3-5: "Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man" (note also verse 6).

Genesis 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."

Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14: lists of the clean and unclean animals, birds and fish.

Genesis 9:4: "But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat."

Leviticus 3:17: "It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood."

Leviticus 7:23-25: "Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Ye shall eat no manner of fat, of ox, or of sheep or of goat. And the fat of the beast that dieth of itself, and the fat of that which is torn with beasts, may be used in any other use; but ye shall in no wise eat of it. For whosoever eateth the fat of the beast, of which men offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord, even the souls that eateth it shall be cut off from His people."

See also Leviticus 17:10-12; Deuteronomy 12:23-25; Leviticus 10:17-18.

Acts 15:28-29: "For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; that ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication; from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well."

Leviticus 11:11: "Ye shall not eat of their flesh."

Leviticus 11:8: "Their carcases shall ye not touch."

2 Peter 2:22: "But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, the dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire."

Matthew 7:6: "Neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you."

Isaiah 65:3-5: "A people that provoketh Me to anger continually to My face; that sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon altars of brick. Which remain among the graves, and lodge in the monuments, which eat swine’s flesh, and broth of abominable things in their vessels."

Isaiah 66:15-17: The destruction of eaters of swine’s flesh.

Proverbs 23:20-21: "Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh: For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags."

1 Samuel 2:12-17, 22: Eli’s sons, who would have the flesh with the blood, were licentious (see Testimonies, Vol. 2; 62, 352, 362).

Noah, the tenth generation, lived 20 years longer than Adam; the eighth generation lived 39 years longer than Adam: Shem was brought up on a vegetarian diet and lived to a fair age; but the second generation after the Flood dropped to 438 years; and the eighth generation, instead of being the longest as before the Flood, was the shortest—only 148 years.

The above chart and comment were taken from Bible Handbook by S.N. Haskell, pp. 154-155.

Proverbs 15:17: "Better is a dinner of herbs, where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith."

Proverbs 17:1: "Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than an house full of sacrifices with strife."

Proverbs 16:32: "He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city."

Proverbs 23:1-3: "When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee: And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite. Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat."

Ecclesiastes 10:17: "Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!"

John 21:12-13: "Jesus saith unto them, come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask Him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread and giveth them, and fish likewise."

Genesis 25:29-34: The example of Esau who sold his birthright for a mess of pottage.

Hebrews 12:16-17: "Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears."

Romans 16:18: "For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple."

Honey, an example:

Proverbs 24:13: Eat it because it is good.

Proverbs 25:16: Eat what is sufficient, lest you vomit from an excess.

Proverbs 25:27-28: It is not good to eat much honey.

Genesis 3:1-11: The fall of Adam and Eve was on the point of appetite.

Numbers 11:4-5, 31-33: Israel’s lust for flesh and its results: "And the mixed multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks and the onions, and the garlick. . . . And there went forth a wind from the Lord, and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, as it were a day’s journey on this side, and as it were a day’s journey on the other side, round about the camp, and as it were two cubits high upon the face of the earth. . . . And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord smote the people with a very great plague."

Psalm 106:14-15: Leanness was sent to their souls as a result of eating flesh.

Isaiah 7:14-15: "Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel. Butter and honey shall He eat, that He may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good."

Matthew 4:1-4: "Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter came to Him, He said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But He answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."

Romans 5:12-19; 1 Corinthians 15:45-47: The second Adam (Christ) overcame where the first Adam fell.

1 Peter 2:21: "For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow in His steps."

Matthew 24:38: "For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark."

Luke 17:26-30: Eating and drinking to forgetfulness of God was prevalent in the days of Noah and Lot, and will be in the last days before Jesus comes.

Ezekiel 16:49: "Behold this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom: pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy."

Philippians 3:18:19: "For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things."

Philippians 3:18-19 (Phillip’s Translation): "For there are many, of whom I have told you before and tell you again now, even with tears, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ. These men are heading for utter destruction—their god is their own appetite; their pride is in what they should be ashamed of; and this world is the limit of their horizon."

Romans 16:18: "For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple."

Isaiah 66:15-17: "For, behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with His chariots like a whirlwind, to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by His sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many. They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine’s flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the Lord."

Isaiah 65:21-25: There will be a vegetarian diet in the new earth—also happy people and gentle beasts.

Quadrupeds which do not chew the cud (ruminate) or have cloven feet (Leviticus 11:4-8; Deuteronomy 14:7-8); fish without scales and fins (Leviticus 11:9-12); birds of prey and such as feed upon worms and carrion (Leviticus 11:13-19); serpents and creeping insects; insects which sometimes fly and sometimes go upon their feet, with the exception of some of the locust kind (Leviticus 11:20-24, 42); blood and flesh of cattle and birds (Leviticus 3:17; 7:26; 17:10-14; Deuteronomy 12:16-23; cf. Genesis 9:4; 1 Samuel 14:32); fatty portions (Leviticus 3:17; 7:23-25); everything consecrated to idols (Exodus 34:15); flesh of cattle that had fallen down dead or had been torn by wild beasts (Exodus 22:31; Leviticus 11:39; Deuteronomy 14:21); food prepared with water on which dead unclean insects had fallen (Leviticus 11:33-34); all food and liquids remaining in an uncovered vessel in the tent or chamber of a dying or dead man (Numbers 19:14-15).

Grain, the chief food, roasted in the fire, especially wheat kernels; milk—not only cow’s, but of sheep and goats (Deuteronomy 32:14; Proverbs 27:27); butter (Proverbs 30:33); wild-bee honey (1 Samuel 14:25; Matthew 3:4); raisins, dried figs (1 Samuel 25:18); date cakes (2 Samuel 16:1); and various fresh fruits. Chief vegetables were pulse, lentils, beans, with onions, garlic, and cucumbers; also green herbs, sometimes raised in gardens and sometimes growing in the fields (1 Kings 21:2). Of the animal food permitted and especially used in the sacrificial services: oxen, sheep-goat meat ranks first; there was also calf, lamb, and kid, pigeons, and turtle dove meat. The wealthy had stag antelope, buck, and winged game (1 Kings 4:23; Nehemiah 5:18); fish from the lake of Galilee (John 21:11; cf. Matthew 14:17; 15:34); and, later from the sea, brought to Jerusalem by the Phoenicians (Nehemiah 13:16).

Grain was eaten at first without any preparation, and still occasionally done in the time of Christ (Matthew 12:1); later parched; milling was widely used; lentil soup (Genesis 25:34); vegetables, pulse, and herbs cooked in pots (2 Kings 4:38-39; Numbers 11:8; Judges 6:19) and seasoned with oil; salt was very anciently used (Numbers 18:19; cf. 2 Chronicles 13:5); the wealthy had special cooks (1 Samuel 9:23) and, in the larger cities, bakers (Hosea 7:4).

Meals at breakfast and midday (Genesis 18:1; 43:16, 25; Ruth 2:14; 1 Kings 20:16) and occasionally in the evening (Genesis 19:1, 3; Ruth 3:7); hands were washed both before and after eating (Matthew 15:2; Mark 7:2; Luke 11:38). At first it was the custom to sit at the table (Genesis 27:19; Judges 19:6; 1 Samuel 20:5, 24; 1 Kings 13:19); but later it was common to recline upon cushions or divans.

Grain, cut with sickle (Deuteronomy 16:9); reapers lived on parched grain and bread (Ruth 2:14); when cut, it was gathered on the arms (Psalm 129:7); bound in sheaves, and laid in heaps to be threshed (Ruth 3:7); threshing floors were in the open air, leveled and hardened, usually on elevated ground, so that in winnowing the wind might carry away the chaff (Hosea 13:3; Jeremiah 4:11); threshing was done by oxen driven over the grain to tread out the kernels with their hoofs (Hosea 10:11); by weighted machines or small wagons with low saw-like cylindrical wheels (Isaiah 28:27; 41:15); small quantities of grain, or tender cereal, were threshed with flails (Ruth 2:17; Isaiah 28:27); winnowing was done with a broad shovel or fork and thrown against the wind, usually done in the evening breeze (Ruth 3:2; Jeremiah 4:11; 51:2); chaff and stubble were burned (Isaiah 5:24; Matthew 3:12); grain was sifted (Amos 9:9).

In recognition of God’s continual ownership and blessings, the Sabbath rest was observed (Leviticus 19:3); the soil lay fallow in the sabbatical and jubilee years (Leviticus 25:3, 11). An ox and ass could not be yoked together (Deuteronomy 22:10) because one was clean and the other was unclean; mixed seed could not be sown (Leviticus 19:19; Deuteronomy 22:9) or moistened seed on which an unclean animal carcass had fallen (Leviticus 11:37-38); the corners of the fields were not reaped, and remainder of the gleanings of the fields were left for the poor (Deuteronomy 24:19; Ruth 2:2); the heads of ripened grain could be left in the field and plucked while passing along in the path (Deuteronomy 23:25; Matthew 12:1; Luke 6:1); the first fruits of all crops belonged to the Lord, in recognition of His blessings. Orchard fruit was unclean for the first three years, and not eaten. All of the fourth year’s yield was consecrated to the Lord and first eaten by men in the fifth year (Leviticus 19:23).

Genesis 48:15; Psalms 23:5, 103:4, 111:5, 136:25, 145:15, 147:9; Proverbs 30:8; Isaiah 3:1; Matthew 6:11; 1 Timothy 4:3.

Ezekiel 4:16-17; 5:16; 14:12-14. Bread of affliction (1 Kings 22:27; Psalm 127:2; Hosea 9:4; Isaiah 30:19-21). Leavened bread (Leviticus 7:13, 23:17; Hosea 7:4: Amos 4:5). Unleavened bread (Genesis 19:3; Judges 6:19). Figurative (Isaiah 55:1-3; 1 Corinthians 10:16-17). Symbolic of Christ (John 6:5-13, 23-60; Matthew 26:26-39). How it was prepared (Exodus 29:2; 1 Kings 4:22; 5:11; Psalm 81:16; Numbers 11:8; 1 Kings 17:12; Exodus 16:31). Kneaded (Genesis 18:6; Exodus 8:3; 1 Samuel 28:24; 2 Samuel 13:8; Jeremiah 7:18; Hosea 7:4). Made into loaves (1 Samuel 10:3; 17:17; 25:18; 1 Kings 14:3; Mark 8:14). Cakes (2 Samuel 6:19; 1 Kings 17:13). Wafers (Exodus 16:31; 29:23). Cracknels (1 Kings 14:3). Baked in ovens (Exodus 8:3; Leviticus 2:4; 7:9; 11:35; 26:26; Hosea 7:4. In pans (Leviticus 2:5, 7). On hearths (Genesis 18:6). On coals (1 Kings 19:6; Isaiah 44:19; John 21:9). Made by men (Genesis 40:2). Made by women (Leviticus 26:26; 1 Samuel 8:13). Traffic in (Jeremiah 37:21). Sacrificed (Leviticus 21:6, 8, 17, 21, 22; 22:25; 1 Samuel 2:36; 2 Kings 23:9). By idolaters (Jeremiah 7:18; 44:19).

Genesis 2:7; 7:22; Acts 17:25; Ecclesiastes 12:7. Breath of God (2 Samuel 22:16; Job 4:8-9; Job 15:30, 31; 33:4. 37:10; Psalms 18:15; 33:6, 9; Isaiah 30:33; Ezekiel 37:4-6, 8-10, 14).

Labor (Genesis 3:19; Exodus 20:9-10; Ecclesiastes 5:12; Luke 10:7). Industry and Diligence (Genesis 2:15; Proverbs 12:11, 24, 27; 13:4, 11, 23; 14:4, 23; 29:3; 22:29; Ecclesiastes 9:10; 11:4, 6). Idleness and Slothfulness (Proverbs 18:9; 19:15, 24; 20:4, 13; Ecclesiastes 4:5; 10:18; Ezekiel 16:49; 2 Thessalonians 3:10-11: Proverbs 26:14: Romans 12:11).

(Mark 6:30-32; Matthew 11:28-30; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8; Hebrews 4:1-11). Sleep (Psalm 127:1-2; Mark 4:37-40. Sabbath rest (Exodus 20:8-11; 34:21).

"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." —Genesis 1:29

"Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul." —1 Peter 2:11

"And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway." —1 Corinthians 9:25-27