Consequences of the Flood: Changed Diet

Another Consequence

In terms of geologic impact, no other event has done more to change the landscape of our world since it was created by God than the Great Flood of Genesis 6-9. The impact of this event led to a number of consequences which continue still today. In this article, we will examine the consequence of a changed diet.

A Less “Drastic” Change

The consequence of a changed diet, in contrast with a longer lifespan or capital punishment, is not considered to be as drastic or important of a change. This change might not even be noticed, as it is only referenced in a few verses. However, the Bible is clear that, while man was originally created to be a vegetarian, after the Great Flood man was allowed to eat the meat of animals.

This is referenced by the words of God after the waters subsided. God told Noah:

The fear of you and the terror of you will be on every beast of the earth and on every bird of the sky; with everything that creeps on the ground, and all the fish of the sea, into your hand they are given. Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you as I gave the green plant.
Gen. 9:2, 3 (NASU)

This statement is very clear about what man was allowed to eat before and what man was allowed to eat after the Great Flood.

Some Questions

This creates some interesting questions, such as: What exactly did God mean by saying that the animals would now “fear” man as they did not before? This could mean simply that they had reason to fear, as we would now be hunting them. This could also mean that a change in the nature of animals themselves had taken place, and perhaps before the Great Flood there was less aggression within the animal kingdom.

In either case, this statement clearly answers the challenge of any who would question the “morality” of eating the meat of animals. As an ethical matter, it was allowed by God and the animals were created for such a purpose. They are not human beings, nor were they created in the image of God like man was (cf. Gen. 1:26).

Good or Bad?

With this considered the question then becomes again: Was this a good or bad consequence? Some advocate vegetarianism for dietary and health reasons. Such claims are dubious at best, but even if they were completely true, what kind of a world was a world of vegetarianism? Why did God make this change? Perhaps a world without the eating of meat is not such a great world after all!