Nevertheless these you shall not eat among those that chew the cud or those that have cloven hooves: the camel, because it chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves, is unclean to you; the rock hyrax, because it chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves, is unclean to you; the hare, because it chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves, is unclean to you; and the swine, though it divides the hoof, having cloven hooves, yet does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. Their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch. They are unclean to you. (Leviticus 11:4-8)

Bacon Prohibited

The Law of Moses was specific in determining what kinds of animals were clean and unclean. Not every animal could be eaten under Jewish law, and God went to great lengths to distinguish the animal that could be eaten and those forbidden. Clean and unclean animals are not new to the Law of Moses as Noah was instructed to take into the ark seven each of every clean animal, a male, and his females; two each of animals that were unclean, a male and his female. It is unclear the background for such a request in the days of Noah, but it is undoubtedly an integral part of the Law of Moses. God told Moses to command the people of Israel the animals they could eat among all the animals on the earth. At the end of the instructions, the Lord pronounced His seal upon the commands given about clean and unclean, and the people were to be holy in what they ate. The separation of clean and unclean animals made the people holy when they obeyed the will of God.

There is nothing in scripture to suggest why God allowed some animals and rejected others. The point of the law was to establish the will of the Lord, and there was to be obedience to that law. Some animals seem obvious why they are unclean and should not be eaten. Any creature of the sea that did not have fins or scales was to be an abomination. The vulture and the buzzard were prohibited. The swine was on the list of animals that were forbidden. Many foods come from the swine, such as pork, bacon, pork chops, and ham. For the modern man, the pig is one of the most popular animals, with bar-b-que restaurants filling every landscape and homes eating many pounds of bacon and ham each year. Under the Law of Moses, bacon was prohibited.

Someone could argue there was nothing wrong with eating bacon or pork or hams as far as hygiene or health reasons if the meat is prepared correctly. The pig has become a multi-million dollar industry. What was the Jew to do when he read the law prohibiting eating bacon? Under the Law of Moses, he had no choice. To eat bacon, pork, or ham would have been an abomination in the eyes of God. Why? Because there were health reasons? No! A Jew eating a BLT was committing an abomination because God said not to eat bacon – period. The Law of Moses was not a set of laws suggesting a course of action for those inclined to do so. God put His seal of authority on the law of clean and unclean animals by reminding Israel that He was the Lord God who brought them up out of the land of Egypt to be their God. His word was law. Whether they understood or disagreed, the law of God stood firm.

The story of the Jews and Bacon is about man’s attitude towards law-keeping. Non-disabled people will park in disabled parking spaces because they believe they are entitled. Signs can say truck parking is prohibited, but someone with a higher view of their self-worth will ignore the warning. Men have taken the Bible and created the Jefferson version of scripture, where they take out what they don’t like and do what they want to do. Imagine an Israelite coming to Moses telling him that he likes bacon too much to give it up, and he refuses to keep the law. He would have been committing an abomination before God and punished. One of the ways the children of God disobeyed Him was to go after idols which included eating forbidden foods.

God’s word is law. There are consequences to ignoring the law of the Lord. Human wisdom can try to rationalize why God prohibited pigs from being eaten, but at the end of the day, the pig was an abomination. Eating bacon would have damned the soul. That is how clearly the word of God must be respected. Trying to create a different kind of faith and following a pattern of worship the Lord has not prescribed displeases the only Lawgiver. When God says lying is a sin, it is a sin. Lusting after a woman is sinful. Having a covetous heart is against the law of God. The Bible was given as the measure of righteousness by which all men will be judged. Too many people think they can eat bacon under the Law of Moses. They can now because it is not prohibited, but then they ignore the other commands of God to their destruction. Two things are certain: there is a God, and you are not Him.