A Land Flowing with Milk and Honey — Not for Humans to Consume. By Dr. Chapman Chen

Summary: In Exodus 3:8 (NKJV), God speaks to Moses from the burning bush and announces His plan to deliver the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and bring them into Canaan, described as “a land flowing with milk and honey.” Israel then sets out toward Canaan, and the spies sent by Moses later confirm its extraordinary fertility with a massive cluster of grapes. The people’s fear causes a forty-year delay in the wilderness, and only the next generation, under Joshua, finally enters the Promised Land.

The view that “a land flowing with milk and honey” refers to a place brimming with animal milk and bee honey for human consumption is simply anthropocentric. The phrase is a metaphor for a fertile, green land where all species flourish, where babies of many kinds are well fed by their mothers’ milk, and where bees are busily pollinating flowers (cf. The Christian Animal Rights Association n.d.). This interpretation is corroborated by the fact that in Numbers 13:24 the spies sent by Moses to explore Canaan returned with grapes, figs, and pomegranates—not milk and honey—as evidence that the land was indeed “flowing with milk and honey.” If the land literally flowed with milk and honey, the milk would turn rancid in a few days, and the honey would make the ground sticky and uninhabitable (cf. Wescoe 2021).

Full Text: https://www.vegantheology.net/post/a-land-flowing-with-milk-and-honey-not-for-humans-to-consume-by-dr-chapman-chen

1. An Anthropocentric Interpretation

Non-vegan Pauline Christians often object to the vegan diet as prescribed by God in Genesis 1:29, on the ground that the land promised to Israel by God "flows with milk and honey". Now, Jehovah first guarantees the Israelites this land in Exodus 3:8 NKJV:- "So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians... to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and..." The line is brought up quite a few times in the Old Testament. It is generally deemed to signify a land that abounds in animal milk and bee honey for human beings to consume. But this interpretation is actually a demonstration of humanocentrism for only out of human supremacy would milk and honey be thought of as food products just for humans, instead of any other species. Indeed, a cow’s milk is meant for her calves only; and honey is bees' hard-earned food. Humans have no right to steal them. (The popular conception that humans are superior to other animals, that humans are entitled to abuse, slaughter, devour and exploit other animals is humanocentrism according to Revd Prof. Andrew Linzey [2009].)

2. A Place where ALL Species Thrive alongside their Young w/ Abundant Vegetation

According to The Christian Animal Rights Association's (n.d.) interpretation, a land flowing with milk means that babies are being well fed with milk by their mothers from a whole variety of species; a land flowing with honey implies that the bees are pollinating the flowers. Therefore, a land flowing with milk and honey denotes "a place where all species thrive alongside their young with abundant vegetation."

This vegan interpretation sounds more reasonable than the humanocentric one, especially we take into consideration Deuteronomy 6:3 and 11:9, and Numbers 13.

3. "Multiply Greatly" with "Offspring"

God tells Israel that they will be able to "multiply greatly" in the land flowing with milk and honey as promised to their fathers and "offspring":- 

"Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey" (Deuteronomy 6:3, ESV).

"and that you may live long in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers to give to them and to their offspring, a land flowing with milk and honey" (Deuteronomy 11:9 ESV).

"Multiply greatly" and "offspring" could well correspond to and/or echo "milk and honey".

4. Fruits instead of Milk and Honey Brought back from Canaan

The "milk and honey" in "a land flowing with milk and honey" is probably metaphoric language, according to Craig Wescoe (2021). In fact, in Numbers 13, Moses, in accordance with God's order, sent a group of men like Joshua to explore the land of Canaan. When they came back, they reported to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community, “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit" (Numbers 13:27 NIV). Note that they brought back fruits, including grapes, pomegranates and figs (Numbers 13:24), rather than actual milk and honey. 

5. Rancid Milk and Sticky Honey

Further, if it’s really a land flowing with milk and honey, then the milk would go rancid in a few days’ time and the honey would make the ground extremely sticky (cf. Wescoe 2021).

6. Conclusion

In a word, the “land flowing with milk and honey” is a metaphor for a land of fertility and rich vegetation. It by no means encourages or condones the consumption of dairy milk and bee’s honey. Cow’s milk is for calves only, and honey is bee’s hard-earned pension. 

Article link: https://www.hkbnews.net/post/a-vegan-interpretation-of-a-land-flowing-with-milk-and-honey-by-dr-chapman-chen-hkbnews

References

Wescoe, Craig (2021). "What does it mean for a land to be flowing with milk and honey?" Creation Care Church, 6 Nov. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTSIFdE2UlQ&t=382s

Linzey, Andrew (2009). Creatures of the Same God. New York: Lantern Books.

The Christian Animal Rights Association (n.d.). "Why Do You Promote Veganism When God Promised A Land Flowing with Milk and Honey?" Christiananimalrights.com   https://christiananimalrights.com/FAQ#:~:text=A%20land%20flowing%20with%20honey,where%20no%20one%20goes%20hungry .