Eating Insects. Christ as God and Man.
by Pastor Walter Snyder

Q: In Leviticus 11:21-23, God spoke of insects as food: "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. Of them you may eat: the locust of any kind, the bald locust of any kind, the
cricket of any kind, and the grasshopper of any kind. But all other winged insects that have
four feet are detestable to you."

My problem is that there are no four-legged insects. Since God created insects wouldn't He
know how many legs they have? How can this be explained?

A: None of my resources go into any detail as to why this wording is used; only a few even note
the obvious difference in the number of legs. Thus, I'll offer my "educated guess": Since these are
being compared with various other clean and unclean animals, I take "all fours" to stand for
walking bugs as opposed to those that crawl about. It could also mean that the two hopping legs
are considered separately from the four non-hopping when considering insects.

For many people, the very idea of eating any insect, let alone having it declared good to eat,
seems strange. Yet among the foods that are allowed or disallowed to Israel, here we find them
listed.

This chapter begins a major shift in the theme of Leviticus. The first ten chapters deal primarily
with atonement, forgiveness, and cleanliness. Most of the rest of the book deals with what defiles
or makes unclean God's chosen people. Areas of concern include diet, disease, personal
relationships, birth, and death. Thus, they deal less with how God forgives and deals with a sinful
people in grace (justification) and more with how God's people act in response to His grace
(sanctification).

While the other classes of living creatures include some general summary of what makes them
"clean" or "unclean," the only insects or other creeping things allowed are those mentioned
specifically in verses 11-23. While God doesn't explain Himself, and while His treatment of
certain animals seems arbitrary to human understanding, setting these creatures aside as permitted
food makes sense. When we look at the other creatures, we see that predators and scavengers are
generally excluded. The diet of these locusts and crickets is exclusively vegetarian and they would
not be associated with having come into contact with either dead creatures nor to have eaten the
blood of a living creature---both of which also were acts that caused defilement for Israel.

Note that many of the dietary and other commands don't appear to be health-related. Instead,
they are "worship-related"; that is, they are ways in which God separated the children of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob from the surrounding nations. God took away from Israel many of the
options in dress, eating, and other behavior that were allowed to the children of Adam and those
of Noah and all their descendants. This was part of their being set aside.

As Christians, we also realize that God, through Moses, gave this portion of the "Levitical Law"
exclusively to Israel. Just as the other 600-odd individual laws or commandments in Leviticus,
Exodus, Numbers, or Deuteronomy pertained specifically to the Hebrew people, so also these
dietary regulations. As Christians, we aren't bound by God's Law in most of these areas---only a
handful of the commandments to Israel are reenforced by Christ or His apostles in the New
Testament. Yet even in freedom, Christians still have specific responsibilities, best summed up by
Saint Paul: "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
(1 Corinthians 10:31)"

Q: How can Jesus be both God and the son of God? Isn't that illogical?

It is illogical from a human perspective, yet that is how the Scriptures identify Him. He is of one
substance or essence with the Father and the Holy Spirit, yet is a distinct Person. How this can be
is impossible for reason to resolve. Yet if not so, it renders Christ's own words and those of the
prophets and the apostles false and empty.

As God, the Son has only one parent (God the Father); He is eternally begotten, yet never born
(according to His deity). As man, His parents are the Father and the Virgin Mary. God deemed
both to be necessary in order to accomplish our salvation. Although I don't understand how all
this may be, I accept this word on faith because Christ has accepted me by grace.

To Ask the Pastor, please write Ask the Pastor, PO Box 12, Emma, MO, 65327 or send email
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Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of
the book "What Do Lutherans Believe."

Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from ~The Holy Bible, English Standard
Version~<TM>, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles.

Ask the Pastor, © 2002 by Walter P. Snyder. It may be reproduced in totality, including this
disclaimer, by anyone, provided that no profit is generated by said republication and
redistribution. Translations into other languages should similarly note the United States'
and any appropriate international copyrights, as well as God's Scriptural injunctions
concerning the property of others.