The Bible and Science – Cud to Curd

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So there are no soured expectation later, I am not going in to the processes of milk formation or cheese production; this is a by-product of the post – Ruminants.

Leviticus and Deuteronomy refer to animals that chew the cud and have split hooves. This was a way for the Children to determine if they should eat them; camels and rabbits chew cud but do not have split hooves. Sheep, goats, cows, and the deer-family do meet those qualifications and they have a stomach and digestive process that needs for them to rechew their food (cud). It seems that they lack the ability to produce certain enzymes.

This process starts with the animal consuming a large amount of roughage or plants. The first chew breaks the plants down, some, and adds ‘juices’ to it as it rests in an upper part of the stomach. Later, this juicy mix is pushed back up the esophagus into the mouth. There it is squeezed and the liquid is swallowed and the ruminant chews the cud.

I remember as a city-boy going to my uncle’s farm and seeing cows chewing something even when there were no plants or feed around. I asked how they were eating and I was told they were chewing the cud. That went right over my head, but I had an answer.

As the animal chews it again, the plant material is broken down more so that bacteria in the stomach have more area to work. When it is small enough, it passes into other sections of the stomach and small intestines where fatty acids and other nutrients are removed for the animal to use in bodily processes.

There were two things that I found interesting that can have a negative impact on this process:

  • Eating food that does not have enough fiber in it. Too little fibrous material can shut the process down and could lead to death.
  • Tannins are a chemical in the plants. To much of this can be toxic to the animal.

Now to the cruds. Cottage cheese is an example of curds; the stuff Little Miss Muffet ate with her whey. They are a step in the making of cheese. To help milk form into curds a chemical called rennet is added; this is found in the stomach of young cows. The young animal would give their all for the cheese making process;{

Cheese and milk are mentioned in the Bible. Remember, the Land flowed with milk and honey, which speaks to it being blessed. Cheese is the reason David got to go see Goliath, 1 Samuel 17. Jael, Judges 4, gave Sisera milk from a skin, that milk may have been curdling because they did not have refrigeration.

Paul, Peter, and the Book of Hebrews all talk about milk and compare it with food for our Christian growth.

Dear fellow SHEEP of the Flock of Jesus, I will synch this with the Ruminants post. Jesus is leading us to green pastures and quiet waters, but we still need to pay attention to what we consume. Milk is fine and needed, but at some point, we need to start eating ‘solid food’. If we don’t ‘eat’ teachings that cause us to rechew them we may lose the ability to digest ‘massa’ for our growth.

Tannins DO NOT taste nice and can be toxic; think tannic acid for curing leather. The Children of Jacob, the heirs of Abraham, were fed tannins from the time of Solomon to Jeremiah, some ate, some did not. In the writing of Amos and Isaiah the religious and political leaders are called out for their toxic ways, Isaiah 32:6 and many other verses. Under the shadow of Assyria many stayed with idols, looked to Egypt for help, and even tried to make peace with the ‘great king’ of Assyria, and then shuttered when ‘he’ came to crush them. The Father called them out for chewing on these toxins for many years and offered them hope if they would only bring ‘words with them’ when they came to repent.    

Our time in history is just as bad. Political leaders are mispresenting the Father and Jesus; be careful what you eat and then decide to rechew.

The Bible and Science – Ruminant

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This post flows through dietary laws, a current buzzword, and a comparison of how we should study. Ruminants are an important part of Bible history, and their science is a work of art in the digestion world. There are about 200 ruminant species (roughly) world-wide that chew a cud.

Ruminants can graze a large amount of food and later rechew it and then send it on for it to be used in its life processes. In good-ole-boy speech that is they can pig out and then chew on it all night long. (Pigs are not ruminants.) This process is known as rumination, which means they regurgitate what they have eaten, rechew it breaking it into smaller pieces, mix saliva into the food again, and swallow their meal a second time.

The first chew and swallow are important because microbes are introduced that ferment the food, while in the stomach, that helps break down the plants’ cellulose. The saliva helps the food to form a solid and liquid layer. The solids or cud is then rechewed, helping to break it into smaller particles that allows for the nutrients to be absorbed.

This ‘liquid meal’ can now pass into the omasum or “third stomach” which keeps the particle size small so it can go into the abomasum. This part of the stomach releases chemicals that further helps in the digestion process. The omasum also absorbs volatile fatty acids (VFA) and ammonia, which is important. Then this digesting mass is passed into the abomasum. The final step for digestion and absorption is done in the small intestines.

Those VFAs are from the fermentation of the carbohydrates the animal chews on. These non-sugar compounds are what is used to make glucose and lactose in the ruminant.

FOOD – In the Bible mankind begins and ends his story in a garden with fruit trees; in between those two points foods, feasting, and fasting shows up in religion.

Ruminants (sheep, goats, and cows) are the center point of the sacrifices in the ancient world. For Hebrews those animals also provided a meal after the sacrifice, not all of the animal was burnt. 1 Kings 4:22+23 list the daily provisions for Solomon, they are heavy on ruminants, but I doubt that the average family ate that good. (With 1,000 wives to feed maybe they did use that much!)

Thoughts, opinions, and ‘facts’ about the food laws are abundant and free. These laws were given after the food from Egypt was gone and about a year and a half before they should have gone into the Promised Land where “milk and honey” waited for them. I also know Peter and Paul said a lot about food because of the insight they were given.

Why ruminants? I do not have the 411 from the Lord on that subject. I tend to think that the lifestyle of the animals is better because of the moving about to find pasture. This in turn may lead to a healthier animal for us to eat.

To Ruminate

Buzzwords are just so buzzy. Yes, I have used ‘to ruminate’ occasionally, so I can’t be to mean. In the ‘good ole days’ it used to be chew the cud or reflect or meditate or ponder or muse, but no more now we ruminate. Psychology seems to associate rumination with negative thoughts; while dictionaries cover all of the bases. I just wonder how many people know the actual process requires eating grass, throwing it up, rechewing it, and then swallowing the goods. Would using this word qualify as exploitation of animals?

My Comparison with Studying

My turn to contemplate and deliberate on ruminate to graduate and show myself approved. I now step into the Land of Metaphor to conclude this study. For my convenience I will only travel from the head to small intestines, after that this metaphor could get messy. In this Land there are lessons to be learned, so we can improve how we study. At the beginning of a study, we take in a lot of information and mix it around with stuff we already know. After the church service, Bible study, or a long talk at small group we know that some info is usable now and it is passed on, however, something was hard to swallow even with some extra chewing. In our quiet time, the thought, or notes, or second listen brings the hard stuff back to be ‘chewed on again’. Added resources in the form of a concordance, text analysis, or second talk with a friend lets us send it into our lives where it is useful. We pull out the good and neutralize the bad before it is absorbed and becomes a working part of us. Bye the way bringing in too little food can shut the whole system down.

Ruminant – Wikipedia 

Hosea Speaks to Ephraim

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In this post I will continue the study of Hosea and start the climb into the hill country of Ephraim. If this combination sounds strange, consider that the Lord had Hosea specifically use the name of Ephraim over thirty times in eleven chapters.

Hosea – In verse 1 of Chapter 1 is the timestamp of his ministry; the three kings that I want to call attention to is Uzziah, Jotham, and the king of Israel/Samaria, Jeroboam. Jeroboam II is a grandchild of Jehu, the crazy chariot driver. This places Hosea with Amos, primarily, and Isaiah. He would have seen one Assyrian king conquer the Northern Kingdom and then another one smash Judah but not defeat Jerusalem. The shadow of the Assyrian storm cloud covers the ministry and writings of seven prophets (maybe 8) and Assyria was cruel to anyone who opposed them. Each of these writings share the heart of God as He talks to Jacob’s children and gives us glimpses of what is to come. I will encourage you to read this Assyrian period as a block; start with 2 Kings 14:23 and 2 Chronicles 26 and read all of the “Assyrian books”.

Chapters 1,2, and 3 are Hosea’s personal story and sets the allegory of his marriage to Gomer while giving the tone for the rest of the Book. On one level I know this Book is addressed to Israel the Northern Kingdom, but on level two I can see it is addressed to all of Israel starting with Judges and maybe even in the Exodus. In Hosea’s part of God’s song, he sings “Ephraim” framed by his own turbulent marriage.

Names

Names by this time in biblical-history are not just a person but large groups of people; they are tribes and kingdoms. The city names are more than just a place; many are wordplays with secondary meanings or events tied to them. I feel that some of the people names can represent different groups and are still connected with the namesake.

  • Ephraim – He was Joseph’s second son, a tribe, and here he, at times, represents the Northern Kingdom. Ephraim | The amazing name Ephraim: meaning and etymology In other books he is also the Tribe of Joseph, some of those will include Manasseh.
  • Jacob – The second-born twin of Issac and Rebecca, his name was changed by God after a wrestling match.
  • Israel – This is Jacob’s other name. It was taken by the North as their national name.
  • Jacob/Israel – I think when these names are used in the same verse or thought, they represent the natural children of Abraham (Jacob) and the spiritual seed of Abraham (Israel). You are a ‘Jacob’ by birth and an ‘Israel’ by choice; both are important to God. There are verses that this may not apply too, but I have found very few that it would not fit. (This is for your consideration only.)
  • Judah – He was the fourth son of Jacob by his first wife, Leah, and was advanced to the role of leadership by Jacob and God. His name represents the Southern Kingdom and is where the name Jew comes from.
  • Gilead – He was a man that lived in the time of Joshua and is associated with the east bank tribes. The name has been a city and a region in that area of Israel. In Hosea I have taken this name in the place of Manasseh, but Manasseh had inheritance on both sides of the Jordan.
  • Joseph the first-born son of Jacob with Rachel, the second wife, I did not find his name in Hosea. Manasseh, Joseph’s first-born son. That name is not used in Hosea.

No, I did not give meanings for most of those names;) you should look them up, you can use the link for Ephraim, there is a button on the left. The birth order is/can be a touchy subject that you can read many things into. Images, parallels, connections, and “always’ can get in the way of God’s big picture; He loves His people and wants us to follow Him not idols.

Ephraim – His part in God’s song covers the full range of notes, from high to low but always a very prominent part. When I started this study, Isaiah 28:1 was my paradigm for him as a tribe. As I read all of the verses with his name in them and his actions and God’s thoughts; I knew I needed a new paradigm. Now, he is a/the PRODIGAL SON. Hosea is the condensed version of his story, so it is a good place to start. I tend to think very linear; I am glad God is not confined to that. So, I sorted out the mentions of Ephraim using five very loose topics. They helped but they still need to be read in context, because pulling ‘A verse’ out can be misleading. I will list chapter and verse and highlight some, but all thirty-two mentions would be a very lloonngg read. I used the NIV as my reference.

  • At First – 11:3 “I taught Ephraim to walk”, start at verse 1 and go to 4, yes, it starts with Israel; 13:1a “When Ephraim spoke, men trembled”.
  • The Sin – 13:1b “But he became guilty of Baal worship and died”; 4:17 Ephraim is joined to idols; Chapter 5 is a series of warning and judgments with sins, plus some other named participants; 6:10 Ephraim is given to prostitution (You can read Israel in these as everyone other than Ephraim); 8:11 Ephraim built altars that became altars for sinning; 12:8 Ephraim boasts they are rich and wealthy, and that hides their sins; 6:8, 8:5, 10:5, and 12:11 are Gilead and the calf idol. Sure, there are more, hopefully you have the idea. The sin of Ephraim, making idols and picking non-Aaronic priest started in Judges.
  • Judgment – 5:9 and 14; 9:8 snares and hostilities wait for Ephraim; 9:11-16 are about Ephraim’s children (it is not pretty); 10:6 the calf idol will be carried off; 10:10-11 nations will put bonds on Ephraim; 12:14 Ephraim has provoked and the guilt of bloodshed remains and his contempt will be repaid.
  • Assyria and Egypt – 7:11,9:3, 11:5, 11:12-12:1 mention both; 5:13b Ephraim sent for help from the ‘great king’ this is a term Assyria liked to use. I think it is used here and other places in a mocking of Israel/Ephraim and Judah; 7:8 Ephraim goes to the nations and is compared to a ‘flat cake not turned over’ that means it is stuck and burnt; 8:9-10 Ephraim sold herself and is under the oppression of the great king; 10:6 Assyria carried off nations gods as an insult, some were put on trial and found guilty; 10:14 is a reference to an Assyrian king.  
  • Mercy and Godnews – 6:1-3 Let us return to the Lord, He will heal, bind up wounds, revive, restore, plus He will appear as the rising sun and the winter and spring rains; 11:8-9 God says, “How can I give you up.”, 11:11 has His children coming back from Assyria and Egypt; Chapter 14.

Ephraim as a prodigal son/tribe/nation: he starts well, goes downhill, and the Father is waiting for him to comeback. The second-born child of a favored wife, who is put ahead of his brother, has his story told by Hosea in a ‘Reader’s Digest’ version of Ephriam’s story.

John, the Festivals, and the Man Born Blind

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The Father made these feasts/festivals part of the covenant, they are important. I think He started them to remind the People of important events, and they are prophetic for us now.

This is a reference section.

  • Leviticus 16 – This is detailed instructions for the sons of Aaron and the Day of Atonement when they go behind the curtain into the Most Holy Place. A New Testament connection is this is what Zechariah was doing when he spoke to Gabriel in Luke 1.  
  • Leviticus 23 – These cover seven feasts and the Sabbath.
  • Numbers 28:16 to 29:40 – This covers five feasts and gives instructions for the offerings to be made for each feast.
  • Exodus 23:14-19 – This has the three feasts that all the men were to attend. Other requirements are stated and then these are repeated in Ex 34.
  • Exodus 34:18-23 – This also states that all men are to appear three times a year and then in verse 24 it has a promise about the land. (Two witnesses.)
  • Deuteronomy 16:1-17 – The three required feasts are listed with reminders of the requirements and some encouragement for the feasts.
  • Ezekiel 45 + 46 talks about offerings and specifically mentions Passover.

The festivals that I am concerned with today is the Feast of Ingathering/Tabernacles (John 7) and the Feast of Dedication or Hanukkah it is in John 10:22 (this one is not found in the Torah). The narrative of the man born blind (John 9) is in-between these two feasts. Image when there were no chapters or verses; the text flowed from one feast to the next with the conversations and the miracle in-between. There are some early manuscripts that do not have the story of the woman caught in adultery, but what a great story of redemption to have right there. Tabernacles is the end of twenty-one days, after all the crops are in, given to the Lord. The seventh month starts with Trumpets, then the Day of Atonement, and finally all of Israel celebrating the journey to the Promised Land. These three also mark the harvest seasons.

I noticed that there are many conversations from Chapter 7 to 10 that flow from the symbolism of the feast. The three required feasts for all the men to attend were: Passover, Weeks or Pentecost, Feast of Ingathering/Tabernacles.

  • Passover is the start of the Jewish religious year. It is when the Death Angel passed over Israel and struck Egypt. The first crop is barley, which is associated with the Children of Israel.
  • Weeks or Pentecost (Shavuot) marks the length of time it took Israel to get to Mt. Sinai and meet God. It is seven weeks +1 day or fifty days after Passover. This is the wheat harvest; think about Ruth and Gideon. Wheat can represent abundance and blessing, which then speaks to spiritual growth and maturity. Jesus ascended forty days after Passover, allowing the disciples to pray for ten days.
  • Ingathering/Tabernacles (Sukkot) marks the end of all the harvest (fruit); it starts on the fifteenth day of the seventh month and last for seven days. The Children are to ‘live’ in shelters of branches for this time.

God was looking ahead to the Promised Land when he gave these feasts as part of the covenant while they were in the desert.

  • Hanukkah is not in the Torah, but it is part of God’s Song. Jerusalem and Israel were under Greek control; they desecrated the Temple. When the Maccabees beat the Greeks, they wanted to rededicate the Temple for God’s use. (This Temple was built by Zerubbabel [See Haggai and Zechariah] and is known as the Second Temple; Herod used this temple as the Holy of Place in his temple.) Part of the process required that the Temple Menorah be burning using special oil. They only had enough oil for one day, but they started the dedication anyway. The Lamp burned off of that one-day supply for eight days allowing the Temple to be rededicated. This joyful holiday is noted for the miracle supply of oil and for Light.

The Man Born Blind

We do not know the exact time that this miracle took place, but it was between the end of Tabernacles (Jn7:37) and before Hanukkah. This is the time period when the barley crop is planted for the harvest at Passover. The end of Jesus’ ministry is coming, so the disciples have been with Him for three years and He is about to ride into Jerusalem to pay the Bride’s price for His Church, and say, “It is finished”.

In John 9:2 the disciples ask a question that stems from the Second Commandment (Ex 20:5); who sinned? Interesting! (Remember, the Day of Atonement has just happened, that is the day for Israel’s sins to be covered for that year.) Jesus’ answer, Neither. I will bet that many people did not understand that and it shook some religious paradigms to the core. After all it was in the Bible. Continued Study. The Second Commandment is about making idols and worshipping them, that is the sin. Illness and problems are not punishment from God. The Father is not an angry God looking for ways to hurt His Children.

I am going on a “what if” journey. Did this man stay with Jesus and see Lazarus brought out of the tomb? Was he with them when Jesus washed feet? Could he have been in the Upper Room on Pentecost and spoke in tongues? Did he get picked to be a deacon? What if he did not go and wash because he knew someone in his family had sinned and he was paying the price? After all it was the Sabbath and walking and washing sounds like work. It is worth noting Jesus never told the man what would happen when he washed. The ‘traditions’ formulated while in Babylon said healing was not allowed on the Sabbath, so that was work.

Jesus was gathering fruit, planting seeds, and being the Light.