Flesh Foods
141
measure. He had granted them flesh in answer to their clamors, just
before reaching Sinai, but it was furnished for only one day. God
might have provided flesh as easily as manna, but a restriction was
placed upon the people for their good. It was His purpose to supply
them with food better suited to their wants than the feverish diet to
which many of them had been accustomed in Egypt. The perverted
appetite was to be brought into a more healthy state, that they might
enjoy the food originally provided for man,—the fruits of the earth,
which God gave to Adam and Eve in Eden.
Had they been willing to deny appetite in obedience to His re-
strictions, feebleness and disease would have been unknown among
them. Their descendants would have possessed physical and mental
strength. They would have had clear perceptions of truth and duty,
keen discrimination, and sound judgment. But they were unwilling to
submit to God’s requirements, and they failed to reach the standard
He had set for them, and to receive the blessings that might have been
theirs. They murmured at God’s restrictions, and lusted after the flesh
pots of Egypt. God let them have flesh, but it proved a curse to them.
Again and again I have been shown that God is trying to lead us
back, step by step, to His original design,—that man should subsist
upon the natural products of the earth. Among those who are waiting
for the coming of the Lord, meat-eating will eventually be done away;
flesh will cease to form a part of their diet. We should ever keep this
end in view, and endeavor to work steadily toward it. I can not think
that in the practice of flesh-eating we are in harmony with the light
which God has been pleased to give us. All who are connected with
our health institutions especially should be educating themselves to
subsist on fruits, grains and vegetables. If we move from principle
in these things, if we as Christian reformers educate our own taste,
and bring our diet to God’s plan, then we may exert an influence upon
others in this matter, which will be pleasing to God.
Testimonies for the Church 6:372
Our habits of eating and drinking show whether we are of the world
or among the number whom the Lord by His mighty cleaver of truth
has separated from the world. These are His peculiar people, zealous
of good works. God has spoken in His word. In the case of Daniel and