Hello Everybody
We first come across the “clean and unclean” division in Genesis 7, where Noah was directed to make a difference between the number of which animals that were to go on board the ark. Noah knew how to differentiate.
Gen 7:1 And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.
Gen 7:2 Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.
Later, comprehensive instructions in Leviticus 11 were given by God to delineate what creatures were suitable for eating. God went into detail - it was not just a “throw-away” line here and there. We too easily overlook the word “abomination” ……
Lev 11:10 And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you:
Lev 11:11 They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomination.
In Leviticus 11, we read the word “abomination” 8 times! I think we need to keep that well and truly in mind and ask ourselves why God would have used that term.
As we read through Leviticus, we can recognise that God is addressing matters which bear upon the health and well-being of human beings which He has designed - to avoid illnesses, the spread of disease.
How many of us would sit up to, say, a bowl of fricassee of rat (nicely cooked) or dog-stew or vulture soup? Our own sense of hygiene would cause us to think twice, yet many ingest creatures which by their design are scavengers, who concentrate pathogens within their digestive systems and we can become quickly infected by dining on them. Oysters are a prime example and have caused serious outbreaks of fatal disease. They remain, in the world’s eyes, a “delicacy”. Should we “enjoy the world’s standards” and promote them?
A health inspector I once knew, told us that he always wore gloves when called upon to examine the insides of the carcase of pigs, as in almost every case, he would find lesions/cancerous growths and did not wish to be contaminated by them. Many animals, such as the pig, rabbit eat their own faeces…….that alone should alert us to their questionable food value, despite their
“tastiness”.
Lev 11:26 The carcases of every beast which divideth the hoof, and is not cloven-footed, nor cheweth the cud, are unclean unto you: every one that toucheth them shall be unclean.
God was giving the people a lesson in hygiene, because He loved them (and loves us) and wishes for us to avoid illnesses.
Lev 11:32 And upon whatsoever any of them, when they are dead, doth fall, it shall be unclean; whether it be any vessel of wood, or raiment, or skin, or sack, whatsoever vessel it be, wherein any work is done, it must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the even; so it shall be cleansed.
What’s that a lesson about? Cleanliness – we use cleaned utensils to cook in today, clean plates to eat off - don’t we?
Lev 11:33 And every earthen vessel, whereinto any of them falleth, whatsoever is in it shall be unclean; and ye shall break it.
Lev 11:34 Of all meat which may be eaten, that on which such water cometh shall be unclean: and all drink that may be drunk in every such vessel shall be unclean.
We avoid contaminated water today…..something that God warned about a long time ago.
Lev 11:35 And every thing whereupon any part of their carcase falleth shall be unclean; whether it be oven, or ranges for pots, they shall be broken down: for they are unclean, and shall be unclean unto you.
Lev 11:36 Nevertheless a fountain or pit, wherein there is plenty of water, shall be clean: but that which toucheth their carcase shall be unclean.
Lev 11:37 And if any part of their carcase fall upon any sowing seed which is to be sown, it shall be clean.
Lev 11:38 But if any water be put upon the seed, and any part of their carcase fall thereon, it shall be unclean unto you.
Lev 11:39 And if any beast, of which ye may eat, die; he that toucheth the carcase thereof shall be unclean until the even.
Lev 11:40 And he that eateth of the carcase of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: he also that beareth the carcase of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even.
The whole topic is “staying healthy”. It certainly is part of the “law of Moses”, as some would categorise it…..but does it make sense to abrogate ANY of these “health laws”?
In a figurative sense we too are being “brought out of Egypt (Babylon)” and the same principles apply.
Lev 11:45 For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.
Lev 11:46 This is the law of the beasts, and of the fowl, and of every living creature that moveth in the waters, and of every creature that creepeth upon the earth:
Lev 11:47 To make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the beast that may be eaten and the beast that may not be eaten.
God, next in Leviticus 13, deals with skin complaints and the theme of quarantine of those with contagious diseases. It is instruction which, again, comes from a loving God for our health benefits. Do we rescind those laws/statutes, simply because they are from the “old Covenant”? Ask your local hospital staff!
Lev 13:1 - 59 And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, saying……
Next, we find another topic relating to health matters….namely that of mould, which can cause serious and life-threatening problems.
Lev 14:34 When ye be come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put the plague of leprosy in a house of the land of your possession;
Lev 14:35 And he that owneth the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, It seemeth to me there is as it were a plague in the house:
Lev 14:43 And if the plague come again, and break out in the house, after that he hath taken away the stones, and after he hath scraped the house, and after it is plaistered;
Lev 14:44 Then the priest shall come and look, and, behold, if the plague be spread in the house, it is a fretting leprosy in the house: it is unclean.
Lev 18:4 Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the LORD your God.
And the point of it all? For the benefit of living well and not becoming ill, or worse.
Lev 18:5 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD.
What came next? Rules regarding sex, incestuous relationships etc. Should these be ”scrapped” because they are part of the “law of Moses”?
Lev 18:6 None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I am the LORD.
Lev 18:7 The nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she is thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
Lev 18:8 The nakedness of thy father's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father's nakedness.
Lev 18:26 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you:
Lev 18:27 (For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;)
Would the apostles have ever had in mind to suggest that these “laws of Moses” be abandoned when they sent Judas and Silas to the Gentiles? I don’t think so. I think the same applies to eating “unclean meats”.
The matter of what to eat and to avoid eating is repeated (as a second witness) in Deuteronomy 14. Again, we find that word “abominable”.
Deut 14:3 Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing.
Deut 14:21 Ye shall not eat of anything that dieth of itself: thou shalt give it unto the stranger that is in thy gates, that he may eat it; or thou mayest sell it unto an alien: for thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk.
Were they then, really “a holy people”? Not really - but they were intended to be - and to be a “type” for us, as Paul wrote.
In the future we read that there will be lessons again taught when it comes to separating the clean from the unclean.
Eze 44:15 But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord GOD:
Eze 44:23 And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.
The case of Peter’s vision has been raised:
Act 11:5 I was in the city of Joppa praying: and in a trance I saw a vision, A certain vessel descend, as it had been a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came even to me:
Act 11:6 Upon the which when I had fastened mine eyes, I considered, and saw fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.
Act 11:7 And I heard a voice saying unto me, Arise, Peter; slay and eat.
Did Peter immediately go to the meat vendor and order a Camel burger? No - he rather understand the intent of the vision.
Act 11:17 Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?
Act 11:18 When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.
When we come to the account where Jesus spoke of “being defiled” - not by what we eat, it is easy to misuse this and to think “anything may be eaten with God’s blessing”. What is the core of what Jesus said to the Pharisees?
Mar 7:5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?
Mar 7:6 He (Jesus) answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
Jesus “looked within”…….past their “outward appearance of supposed righteousness” and put His finger on what defiles….
Mar 7:14 And when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand:
Mar 7:15 There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man.
Mar 7:16 If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.
If we come to the conclusion that all He was saying is, “we can eat whatever we like”…..we have missed the boat.
Mar 7:17 And when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable.
Well, fancy that….ANOTHER parable. And as Ray warned us, don’t take parables literally, if you want to “see behind it”.
Mar 7:18 And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him;
Mar 7:19 Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?
If we eat something which is not good for us physically, it will “come out” eventually! Maybe immediately! But our “rotten nature” is what we need to be more aware of and concerned about - that is not so easy to be rid of!
Mar 7:20 And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that [is what] defileth the man.
Mar 7:21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
Mar 7:22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
Mar 7:23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
We find a parallel account in Mathew 15.
Mat 15:12 Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?
What a surprise - the Pharisees were upset! Why? They looked to their dietary strictness “as a measure of their righteousness”. We could fall into the same trap, if by avoiding unclean meats, we feel exonerated….or self-righteous.
Does that make it right to eat unclean meats? No - it doesn’t….the “abomination” clause still applies, but if we think that by not eating pork or shellfish, that that makes us “undefiled” then we have missed the lesson of Jesus’ parable. Our diet can affect our physical health, but it does nothing to offset the “inner” things which really defile.
Jesus went on to say, “leave them alone, those who cannot see”.
Mat 15:13 But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.
Mat 15:14 Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
And then….Peter (like some of us) turned around and said “what does it all mean”?
Mat 15:15 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable.
Mat 15:16 And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding?
I have a suspicion that Peter was the one to whom that vision was given in such a way, that Peter would have the lesson “driven home”.
Colin