Q: #125. Why did God want the fat of animals when it is something we usually throw in the garbage anyway?
A: In Bible times, the fat was considered the most important part of an animal. Unlike today, it was considered a delicacy. One of the main reasons that we do not eat fat today is because it is so unhealthy, especially since so much of our foods are already LOADED with fat. This being the case, we try and limit our fat intake. However, in those days, very little that they ate contained fat, so when it was rarely available, it was valued and rarely caused health problems because they didn’t eat much of it.
Because fat was so rare, it was associated with personal prosperity (Ps 92:14)(Prov 11:25)(Ps 22:29)(Prov 13:4) and the best of things (Gen 45:18)(Num 13:20)(1 Chr 4:40)(Neh 9:25)(Hab 1:16) [KJV Bible uses “fat” while other versions use different words].
God always asks His people to sacrifice their best for Him, so because the fat of animals was considered the best, He asked them to sacrifice it (Lev 3:14-16)(Lev 6:12)(Lev 4:26)(Ex 29:13), and they were told not to eat it (Lev 7:23-25)(Lev 3:17).
