Believers today have a hard time accepting the idea that the Bible prohibits eating certain kinds of foods. Yet it clearly does, with the most well-known prohibition being that against eating pork of any kind. Pork isn’t the only meat that God said not to eat though; there are actually quite a few different types of meat that God tells His people to stay away from.
The question has been passed down through the ages, as to exactly why God made these commandments. There is no clear answer given in the Bible, other than the fact that God calls certain animals “clean” and others “unclean.” We find both categories existing within land animals, water animals, insects and birds. With animals, only those with divided hooves, which chew the cud are considered clean and can be eaten (Leviticus 11:3). Those which are unclean are prohibited from being eaten.
When it comes to animals living in the water, only those which have fins and scales can be eaten (Leviticus 11:9-12). That includes most categories of fish. But not all fish have scales; the trout, for example, does not. Those creatures we categorize with the general name “seafood,” are all prohibited. This includes clams, oysters, lobster, crabs and shrimp.
But just what is there about these animals which would make them unclean? Some have suggested that God declared those animals unclean because they are unhealthy to eat. To back up that position, they cite that pork is known for having parasites, meaning that if it is not properly cooked, it can cause the person eating it to end up with intestinal parasites. As for seafood, most of that is high in cholesterol, which nutritionists tell us we should avoid. However, these people do not go through the entire list of animals which are prohibited, giving reasons for them all. So that is merely a theory and not a fully-proven reason.
In the case of shellfish, most of those are bottom-dwellers which feed off the waste from other sea creatures, including both their carcasses and their excrement. Considering that what they feed off of isn’t the cleanest of foods, that may be enough to call them unclean. It might also mean that the flesh of such creatures can become contaminated by what they are eating, passing it on to us, when we eat them.
But is Eating Shrimp Sin?
The Bible uses a term to describe these animals that can’t be eaten, calling them “unclean.” This isn’t the only place in the Old Testament Law where this term is used. There are a number of things mentioned in the Law, which will make someone “unclean,” including touching a dead body.
As New Testament believers, we tend to equate anything unclean with sin; but that’s not what the Bible is saying. Touching something unclean doesn’t make someone a sinner, it merely makes them ceremonially unclean. In the case of these food items, usually only until nightfall. Then the person is to bathe, wash their clothes and they are considered clean again. In the meantime, they are not able to participate in any worship activity until they have ceremonially washed to become clean again.
That’s a long way from it being sin. The Bible doesn’t say anything about the blood of Jesus cleansing us from being unclean; it cleanses us from our sin. For that matter, the Bible doesn’t say that being ceremonially unclean separates us from God, only sin does that.
But should that concern us?
Today, we don’t have the temple that the nation of Israel did nor is there any requirement in the New Testament for such a temple. We ourselves are called the “temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), so when we gather together with other believers, we together are also the temple.
Even so, there is also a symbolic meaning here to consider. The New Testament doesn’t contain a whole lot of symbolism, but the Old Testament does, especially in the books of the prophets. Some of the things which can be symbolic in the New Testament can also be understood in a natural way, without the symbolism. The result of this is that we New Testament beliefs tend to ignore the symbolism in the Bible, even when it stares us in the face.
It’s clear in the Old Testament Law that contact with something unclean makes the individual unclean as well. In other words, contact with something physical or natural is having a spiritual impact. We see that in our lives all the time; natural things that we come into contact with, which have an impact on our spiritual life, often a negative impact. It can draw us away from God, even if it doesn’t actually cause us to sin.
There are countless examples of this, every one of which will probably offend someone. But let me take a swing at it anyway. Let’s use music. Now, I’m not going to say that any particular style or genre of music is evil or sinful in and of itself, but there are an awful lot of songs which have lyrics that talk about doing ungodly things or holding ungodly attitudes. Can we listen to such music, without it having an impact on us? I would have to say no; and I’d also have to say that the impact it would have certainly wouldn’t be to draw us closer to God.
Uncleanliness and God’s Blessing
There’s another aspect of uncleanliness that needs to be touched upon; that of how it can impact God’s blessing on our lives. I mentioned that those who were unclean couldn’t participate in ceremonial worship in Old Testament times. That meant that they couldn’t draw close to God. Drawing close to Him is part of receiving His blessing; those who were unclean were in a position of missing out on receiving that blessing.
This is not a real example, but allow me to use it anyway, as I think it will make sense. Let’s imagine for a moment that God was going to give away $1,000 to everyone who believed in Him. But there’s a catch; to get that money, each and every believer has to present themselves before God in a time of worship. What would happen to those people who were ceremonially unclean at that time? They couldn’t present themselves before God, so therefore couldn’t receive that blessing.
While the example I just gave is purely fictional, there is some truth to the concept behind it. God does want His people to come into His presence and it is there in His presence that we receive some of our biggest blessings. Yet, if we are unclean in some way, contaminated by this world we live in, it can be difficult to enter into His presence and receive that blessing; even if that means we are distracted during a time of worship and aren’t able to fully focus on worshiping Him.
Does this Apply to the New Testament Believer?
The next question that comes up, is whether this applies to Christians, as it does to the Jews? Many Christians point to a couple of verses in the Gospels as evidence that we no longer need to obey the Law. However, those same believers say that we do need to obey the 10 Commandments, which are part of the Law. The two verses they use are:
Do not think that I (Jesus) came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. – Matthew 5:17
Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”) – Galatians 3:13
In the first verse there, the argument is “Jesus fulfilled the law, so we don’t have to.” But Jesus himself said that He didn’t come to destroy the Law or the Prophets. He goes on to say, in the next verse, “For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one title will by no means pass from the law until all is fulfilled” (Matthew 5:18). Has everything been fulfilled? By no means. At a minimum, there are the End Time events written about in Revelations that still need to be fulfilled.
As for the second verse, yes, Jesus did redeem us from the curse of the law; but that doesn’t mean that he redeemed us from the Law, which is a curse. That’s how many people take it though. The Law is not a curse and He did not redeem us from it. Rather, He redeemed us (bought us back) from the curse. So, what is this curse? It’s the price of death that comes to those who disobey God and break His law. It’s also the eternal separation from God and His love that comes to those who remain outside the law, unrepentant and out of relationship with God. If you want more detail about that, read Deuteronomy, chapter 28 sometime, it does a great job of delineating the blessings for obedience and the curses that come to those who disobey God.
Let me just put a seal on this with one more verse:
And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one title of the law to fail. – Luke 16:17
If we stop here, it seems that the Old Testament Law applies to Christians, just as it does to Jews. We must obey all 613 commandments of the Law or expect condemnation.
But…
Jumping to that conclusion is based upon a false premise; that of the Jews being saved by obedience to the Law. While God did give them the Law, with all its commandments, He never expected that they could fulfill it. The purpose of the Law was never to earn salvation; because salvation can’t be earned. Paul, who was a Jewish scholar and Pharisee among Pharisees made this clear in his letter to the Galatians:
We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, 16 knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified. – Galatians 2:15-16
Paul makes It clear here; the Jews were and still are saved the same way we are, by faith in their Messiah, who we know as Jesus Christ.
So, Jesus said the Law still applies, but we are not saved by the Law. What purpose does the Law serve then? It serves the purpose of showing us what is sin, so that we might recognize our need for a Savior. Without the instruction that the Law provides, we would probably not recognize our sin and our need for the saving grace that comes from the blood of Jesus Christ.
There are some aspects of the Law which no longer apply today, specifically those involving giving sacrifices for our sins. Jesus was the sacrifice for our sins, once and for all. So, we no longer need to make animal sacrifices.
But what about the shrimp?
In order to say that the commandments about eating shellfish and other prohibited foods don’t apply to us today, we would need to find scripture in the New Testament which negates it.
Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such as are set before you. – Luke 10:8 (Jesus speaking to His disciples when He sent them out)1
This verse hints at the idea of eating anything and everything, regardless of what the Old Testament Law says about it. I imagine that Jesus’ disciples took it that way. Even so, it’s not fully clear.
So He said to them, “Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, 19 because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?” 20 And He said, “What Comes out of a man, that defiles a man…” – Mark 7:18-20
Jesus goes on to say that what comes out of a man comes out of his heart, where all evil things come from. Those are what He’s referring to, that defile a man. In the NIV version of the Bible, verse 19 ends with a parenthetical statement, saying, “(In saying this, Jesus declared all foods ‘clean.’).” That’s a clear statement that all foods can be considered clean, even those the Old Testament calls unclean.
Let’s seal that with one more passage of scripture. The Apostle Peter was traveling and fell into a trance, during which he had a vision:
And saw heaven open and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth. 12 In it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild bests, creeping things, and birds of the air. 13 And a voice said to him, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” 14 But Peter said, “Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean.” 15 And a voice spoke to him again the second time, “What God has cleansed you must not call common (unclean)1.” 16 This was done three times. And the object was taken up into heaven again. – Acts 10:11-16
Some have explained this away, saying that Peter’s vision only referred to the people he was about to meet and not to animals. But the vision was rather clear. As a general rule of thumb for determining whether something is symbolic or not in the Bible, if it can be understood in the natural, accept it in the natural. Only assume it has to be symbolic if it can’t be understood naturally. In other words, when it says that Jonah was swallowed by a big fish, he was swallowed by a big fish.
We have three witnesses here, speaking about eating all types of animals as food. That passes the scriptural basis for accepting a testimony. All three are in agreement and there are no verses in the New Testament which are not. Therefore, based upon that, I’d have to say that it is okay in the eyes of God for us to eat shrimp.