Kill & Eat Whatsoever thy Soul Lusteth After

Deuteronomy 12:15 KJVS

Notwithstanding thou mayest kill and eat flesh in all thy gates, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath given thee: the unclean and the clean may eat thereof, as of the roebuck, and as of the hart.

Some may read this verse and get the understanding that God is saying we may kill and eat any animal we have available to us or we simply desire. And it appears to seal the deal if one takes that understanding and adds the latter end of the verse, “the unclean and the clean may eat thereof, as of the roebuck, and as of the hart.” Well, if we know the roebuck and hart to be lawful then anything we desire must be acceptable now. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. The first thing we have to remember is that the law is the foundation and filter to sift every ideology we may think of or that is presented to us.

Leviticus 11:1-4 KJVS

And the Lord spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them, [2] Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth. [3] Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat. [4] Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof: as the camel, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.

The Most High gave us a dietary law. If he took the time to layout a dietary law (found in Leviticus chapter eleven) why then would he completely disannul that same law given in detail two books later around the same given time(in the book of Deuteronomy)? Especially, when he clearly states, “These are the beasts which ye shall eat among ALL the beasts that are ON THE EARTH.” This detail should hint that Deuteronomy 12:15 must be talking about something else. And if that weren’t enough God always reiterates it somewhere else. As redundancy is built into the foundation.

Deuteronomy 14:2-8 KJVS

For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth. [3] Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing. [4] These are the beasts which ye shall eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat, [5] The hart, and the roebuck, and the fallow deer, and the wild goat, and the pygarg, and the wild ox, and the chamois. [6] And every beast that parteth the hoof, and cleaveth the cleft into two claws, and cheweth the cud among the beasts, that ye shall eat. [7] Nevertheless these ye shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the cloven hoof; as the camel, and the hare, and the coney: for they chew the cud, but divide not the hoof; therefore they are unclean unto you. [8] And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcase.

If we get another account of the dietary law as found in the book of Deuteronomy, we see the same discussion being had and we receive a different perspective of the same laws given in the book of Leviticus. He reminds us that we are a holy people. Meaning separated and dedicated unto him. Which also lets us know that there is a standard of conduct that we must uphold. Then he follows that with “Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing.” Well, in order to give this instruction there must be a law that details what abominable things we must abstain from in order to be in compliance. Furthermore, if we were simply able to eat anything we simply desired that would make null and void what he is laying out here. And would be a complete contradiction! But it’s not. He lays out what we can and can’t eat in both Leviticus and Deuteronomy. And God wouldn’t say we can’t eat something in one book, then say we can two books later, and again, in that same book two chapters later say we can’t again. That would be a whole world of confusion. And we know God is not the author of confusion. So let us look back at Deuteronomy chapter twelve again.

Deuteronomy 12:15-16 KJVS

Notwithstanding thou mayest kill and eat flesh in all thy gates, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath given thee: the unclean and the clean may eat thereof, as of the roebuck, and as of the hart. [16] Only ye shall not eat the blood; ye shall pour it upon the earth as water.

God is simply letting us know that we can kill and eat all lawful flesh within our habitation whatever we desire according to the law, as he has blessed us with. Just as we would eat other lawful animals, like the roebuck and hart; which are types of deer. And reminds us not to eat the blood. This is the same context and example he told Noah.

Genesis 9:3-4 KJVS

Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. [4] But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.

Again, not a free for all. Just every lawful thing. And again, reiterating don’t eat the blood. But Noah was a righteous man. He kept the same laws we are to keep today.

Genesis 7:1 KJVS

And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.

Noah was a righteous man. He observed the law and what God says is good. Now the key scripture we are missing to best understand Deuteronomy chapter twelve is looking at chapter fifteen.

Deuteronomy 15:22-23 KJVS

Thou shalt eat it within thy gates: the unclean and the clean person shall eat it alike, as the roebuck, and as the hart. [23] Only thou shalt not eat the blood thereof; thou shalt pour it upon the ground as water.

The Most High was referring to the unclean and clean person shall be able to partake of the same dietary laws and clean foods as of (or like) the roebuck and the hart. And he follows up with the same statement as to not eat the blood. This is the contextual understanding God wants us to know and follow.

2 Timothy 2:15 KJVS

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.