…AND WHY WOULD THEY BE CATEGORIZED AS “UNCLEAN ANIMALS”?

God loves all creatures and they all have a purpose. In His wisdom, God knows why he created all things. Look at everything in nature, all things were perfectly made and are well-organized. When it comes to creatures of the earth, we might wonder why God made the unclean animals. But while we may not understand God’s process, we must trust that every choice He made was done with intention.

Here are some of the Bible verses that tell us how much God cares for all creatures:

• “And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and everything that creep upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.” – Genesis 1:25
• “O LORD, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.” – Psalm 104:24
• “Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feed them. Are ye not much better than they?” – Matthew 6:26
  
• “The glory of the LORD shall endure for ever: the LORD shall rejoice in his works.” – Psalm 104:31
• “And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?” – Jonah 4:11
  

Some animals are categorized as “unclean” by God, but not because they are less beautiful or less useful.

You will find that many unclean animals are non-vegetarian; in fact, most are carnivores and even scavengers.

Scavenger: An animal such as a pig, a vulture or a crab that feeds on dead or decaying matters. If humans consume these animals it can he harmful to our health.

Some animals such as the pigs, vultures, crabs or oysters have been created to be a cleanup crew for the earth, the bottoms of lakes, rivers, and oceans. Other animals balance the circle of life. Indeed carnivores are predators that prey on other species, but this also helps control animal populations.

Let’s get some examples of nature’s vacuum cleaners:

• Example 1: Lobsters
  Lobsters walk the bottom of the oceans and scavenge for dead animals and debris. These creatures will sometimes bury dead fish and later dig them up to munch on.
• Example 2: Crabs
  Crabs will eat anything and are known to be “garbage hunters”.
  
• Example 3: Shrimp
  Shrimp also feed off of dead and decaying matter.
• Example 4: Shellfish
  Oyster, clams, mussels, and scallops purify the water. These animals cannot hunt, but are found in streams, coastal areas and lakes. They are also considered filter-feeders. This means that they pump large amounts of water over their gills, trapping small pieces of viruses, bacteria and plant debris to eat them, and expel the clean water.
• Example 5: Pigs
  Pigs eat just about anything and everything: hairs, bones, defecations and many other unimaginable things. They can clean up a field full of garbage!
  
• Example 6: Eagles
  Eagles or other carnivorous animals are obviously very important to control the populations of other groups of animals.

In the next chapter, we will discuss some of the health consequences to eating unclean animals.