Soon after the Coronavirus began to spread around the world, in late February and early March, Israel applied swift International travel restrictions followed by in-country restrictions which are still in affect until today. All of a sudden, like the majority of people on the planet, most of my scheduled plans were cancelled and I had more time than usual. About a month ago, I decided to watch a movie, Contagion, that follows the storyline of a viral pandemic which sweeps across the world while they race to develop a vaccine. It seemed like such a fitting movie to watch in light of the current situation.
It was an interesting movie and it provided some scientific framework to our current pandemic. One of the threads of the movie is the search to find patient zero (the first infected person) and the source of the virus. The movie ends by showing real-estate development encroaching upon the jungles of a certain Asian country and how the bats, which make their home in the jungles, are forced into more populated areas.
The movie then shows how one of the bats flew to a banana plantation and started eating a piece of banana. The bat then flew to a pig farm as it nibbled on the banana. The bat dropped the piece of banana which it was eating and one of the pigs ate the chunk of banana. The pigs were then sold wholesale to various buyers. A chef prepared a pig which was bought from that farm for his customers at a restaurant and that chef is shown to have direct contact with one of the clients in the restaurant. The pieces of the viral pandemic in this movie were then all in place to show how the virus started in a bat, was transferred to a pig, then from a pig to a restaurant with human contact and social spread became inevitable. The origin of the virus is revealed to be a bat.
What is the origin of the current COVID-19 pandemic?
We are still not 100% certain of the exact origin of the New Coronavirus, however, after reading the website of the World Health Organization (WHO) together with reports out of China, we are being told that the first outbreak came from the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China. According to a Washington Post report, seafood is not the only food available at this market, but rather a plethora of exotic animals:
Despite its name, the market was selling a huge variety of wild animals for consumption, including live cats and dogs, turtles, snakes, rats, hedgehogs and marmots. Menus and signboards posted online listed foxes, wolf cubs, monkeys and masked palm civets, among other animals. – Denyer, Simon. “China bans wild animal trade until coronavirus epidemic is eliminated.” Washington Post. Jan. 26, 2020
The Huanan Seaford Market is known as a “wet market” where a variety of seafood and wild animals are sold while they are still alive. As a result of the uncontrolled nature of these wet markets, it is believed that the virus was transferred from some wild animal to humans which has now turned into a pandemic, affecting at least 185 countries in the world.
As scientists around the world attempt to understand this virus, its origins, how to treat it, and hopefully develop a vaccine for it, many are speculating that the virus had its origin in a bat. I have read and watched several leading scientists speak on this subject, and most signs point us to bats as the original source. The following is an excerpt from an article quoting a scientist who specializes in bat viruses:
Dr Michelle Baker, an immunologist at CSIRO who studies viruses in bats, says some of the research on Covid-19’s origins have stepped off from what was known from the past. But “we really don’t know” how accurate the origin story is, she says: “There’s some sort of connection [to the Wuhan market] and there were people exposed to the market that were infected.” Baker says what is “very likely” is that the virus originated in a bat. “It’s a likely scenario but we will never know. The market was cleaned up quite quickly. We can only speculate.” Readfern, Graham. The Guardian. “Coronavirus outbreak.” April 13, 2020
According to Dr. Baker, the most likely origin of the virus is from a bat. There is still much to be learned about this virus and its origins and hopefully the origin and a vaccine will be discovered soon.
One truth that is coming out as a result of this COVID-19 pandemic is the danger in allowing wet markets to function in cities around the world. Wild animals and reptiles were not meant to be caged and sold in exotic markets for the pleasure of a few people. The following excerpt from a recent National Geographic article brings this truth to light:
The chaos of the trade enables the spread of zoonotic diseases—those that spread from animals to humans—says Christian Walzer, chief global veterinarian at the U.S.-based Wildlife Conservation Society. Wild animals, he explains, can carry viruses that “in a normal world, would not come into contact with humans.” These carriers aren’t sick—they’re simply “silent reservoirs.” But as we encroach into animals’ habitats, we increase our exposure. – Daly, Natasha. National Geographic. “Chinese citizens push to abolish wildlife trade as coronavirus persists.” January 30,2020
As a result of the Coronavirus, which is said to have started in the Huanan Seafood Market, the Chinese government has shut down the Huanan Market and others like it in China. The Chinese authorities are talking about making this a permanent ordinance to keep this from happening again in the future.
How Are Coronavirus & Wild Animals (Including Bats) Connected To The Bible?
COVID-19: Be Careful What You eat!
In this week’s Torah Portion we read in Leviticus chapter eleven about the various animals which God permitted and forbid the Israelites to eat:
The LORD spoke again to Moses and to Aaron, saying to them, “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘These are the creatures which you may eat from all the animals that are on the earth…’” – Lev. 11:1-2
The LORD then gave Moses and the Israelites a definitive list of animals that they could and could not eat. God provided a list of clean and unclean animals which would be for the benefit of the people if they adhered to His instructions.
The list of clean and unclean animals was then followed by restrictions concerning clean and unclean sea creatures as well as various insects and all creeping things on the earth. The list for birds is a short list of flying creatures which God commanded His people to not eat:
These, moreover, you shall detest among the birds; they are abhorrent, not to be eaten: the eagle and the vulture and the buzzard, and the kite and the falcon in its kind, every raven in its kind, and the ostrich and the owl and the sea gull and the hawk in its kind, and the little owl and the cormorant and the great owl, and the white owl and the pelican and the carrion vulture, and the stork, the heron in its kinds, and the hoopoe, and the bat. – Lev. 11:13-19
Most of these birds are birds of prey, eating various animals and reptiles, making them unclean for humans to eat. What about the bat? Why is the bat on the forbidden list of food?
Understanding Bat Life
Bats generally eat insects and, therefore, they are called insectivores. Bats are unique creatures in that a bat is actually a flying mammal, in fact, it is the only flying mammal. Bats are also one of the highest carriers of viruses in the animal kingdom. I recently discovered the following statistic in my research:
When it comes to carrying viruses that can be transferred to other species including humans (so-called “zoonotic” viruses), bats are in a league of their own. These flying mammals host over 60 zoonotic viruses. This is rivaled only by rodents that carry a wide range of bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and helminths (worms). – Sanicas, Dr. Melvin. Healthcare in America (website). “What Makes Bats The Perfect Hosts For So Many Viruses?” June 28, 2018.
Bats are flying mammals which host a large number of viruses which human bodies struggle to fight off and defeat. To understand more about the viruses that bats carry in their bodies, I recommend learning more by clicking this link: Bats & Viruses
Any other time while reading Leviticus chapter eleven, I would have never given a second thought to bats being on the forbidden list of creatures to eat. God is the Creator and He obviously knows what is best for His creation, especially for His people. As China again attempts to close down these “wet markets” (which were temporarily shutdown after the first SARS outbreak in 2002-2004), we are reminded that there is good reason to eat certain animals, birds, and insects, while avoiding others altogether.
In just the last couple of days, literally as I’m writing this article, it is being reported that there is evidence to show that the Coronavirus pandemic started in a viral lab in Wuhan, China where the Coronavirus was being studied in bats. One of the interns in the lab is being reported as transferring the virus out of the lab and from there the virus somehow reached the wet market in that city leading to the human to human spread of the virus. The truth about the origins of this virus will eventually come out.
The Foods We Eat
Because I am Jewish and live in Israel, I am often asked by Gentile believers (Christians) about eating kosher and what the Bible has to say about what we should or should not eat today according to the New Testament. I was not raised eating kosher, according to Leviticus chapter eleven and I have generally held to an understanding that all foods are considered clean. That said, I have been reflecting more and more on this subject of God’s best diet for His people in recent years and I believe there is much wisdom in accepting what God says to eat or not eat.
As believers in Yeshua we are not bound to keep the Law according to the Covenant at Mount Sinai but there is much truth and wisdom in the Law that God gave to the Israelites. We need wisdom and discernment in applying the totality of God’s Word to our lives today. I would like to provide a brief illustration for this by looking at the commandment regarding the Sabbath.
Because I have hosted groups for the Sabbath weekly for years and have taught extensively on this subject, I often have Christians challenge me regarding the relevancy and validity of the Sabbath for today. I always like to remind my listeners that we are now living under the New Covenant which Yeshua instituted for us and that we have great freedom in the Messiah. We are free to keep the weekly Sabbath as we believe is right before God. Yeshua reminded us that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27), therefore, we are free to enjoy this gift of God in the manner of our choosing. If someone chooses to reject this weekly gift and work seven days a week, that is their choice.
Is a person really free if one chooses to reject the weekly Sabbath day of rest and to work seven days a week? Can we agree that true freedom is found in obeying God’s commandments? I believe the Sabbath is still valid for us today and that this is God’s best design for humanity: to work six days a week and to rest one. I also believe it is best that we can keep the weekly Sabbath on the seventh day, if possible, as God originally prescribed it, however, we do not worship a day but we worship God. I am not a Seventh Day Adventist and do not teach others that you must keep the seventh day legalistically. I believe that the principle of working six days and resting one is the greater good that God has given us for our refreshment and enjoyment in life. We can take this same understanding and apply it to the food laws prescribed in the Bible.
Eating God’s Way – No Bats
We need to learn to use our freedom for good and in a way that promotes life as God intended it. Although we may be free to eat all things, we obviously know that not all things are beneficial to our bodies. We need to choose well for the sake of preserving life and giving proper honor to our physical bodies which God has given us to maintain for the years that we live on this earth. One of the most clear passages in the New Testament on this subject of how we are to apply God’s standards for the foods we eat is found in the letter to the Colossians:
Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day— things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Messiah. – Colossians 2:16-17
Most importantly we worship Yeshua as the Messiah who has given His life for ours. In light of who He is, we are to apply the teaching of God’s Word in all of these areas and show grace to others in how they choose to live, eat, and worship the Lord by keeping certain days and eating certain foods.
The above verses from Colossians are a good reminder regarding all of the guidelines provided in the Law for the Sabbath day, the Festivals, and the various kosher laws. I believe that there is great benefit to understanding and embracing all of these things at some level in our lives as followers of God but we need to always remember that we are not under the Law but under grace through Yeshua (Romans 6:14).
I believe we would be wise to understand the dietary kosher laws from this same mindset and biblical teaching. If someone wants to keep the food laws according to Leviticus chapter eleven, one is free to do so, however, we are not strictly bound to keep them as a followers of the Messiah today. At the same time, it is good to understand that there are obvious reasons why God prohibited the Israelites from eating certain creatures and we would be wise to heed His counsel. One thing is certain, we should never eat bats!
Shabbat Shalom!
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*All Scripture take from NASB Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
**The Hebrew name “Yeshua” is used in the biblical quotations in place of the English name “Jesus” to give emphasis to the meaning of this name, salvation. The word “Messiah” is also used in place of the word “Christ” to bring clarity to the office of Yeshua.
Hello Daniel! Great article. Thank you!