Leviticus 11-Leviticus 12 (Click title for audio access)
"I Can't Eat What!?" •
9.15.11 • Thursday Night Bible Study, Calvary
Christian Fellowship
Intro.
- Leviticus is
first and foremost an instruction manual on the proper worship of God. We have
seen in the first 10 chapters instructions on public worship. These next
chapters are more personal.
- Chapter 11
deals with the dietary restrictions that were set in place over the people of
Israel. Chapter 12 deals with restrictions pertaining to pregnancy.
- These
chapters refer specifically to the people of Israel, but speak principally to
us. The main thrust of these chapters remind us that our worship extends
farther than the Tabernacle walls.
- Our personal
worship of God is seen first in our discernment.
Text
• Leviticus
11:1,2 : "Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them, 'Speak to
the children of Israel, saying, 'These are the animals which you may eat among
all the animals that are on the earth:" : The Lord
begins with what will be known as the clean or pure animals, animals that they
would be able to eat.
- God gives them the permission to eat animals,
meaning that He endorses a diet with meat in it. That has been the case since Genesis 9:3 when Noah came out of the
ark.
- Before that time, it would seem that mankind
was mostly vegetarian.
- There is not a diet that makes one more holy
than another, however, one may be more healthy than another! These animals were
some that would be permissable to eat.
• Leviticus
11:3 : "Among the
animals, whatever divides the hoof, having cloven hooves and chewing the
cud—that you may eat." :
Essentially, in this first division, Moses is referring to land animals.
- The hoof refers to the foot of any given
animal, a cloven hoof speaks to a division in the hoof.
- "Chewing the cud" refers to an
animal that is fed by his food twice. When one thinks about it, it's fairly
gross, but it is a remarkable system.
- A cow for instance quickly consumes as much
grass as it can. Once swallowed, the grass is deposited into what is called the
"rumen."
- There it swims around in a microbial bath and
comes back up again so that it might be chewed again by the cow. From there, it
flows back down into the cow and helps to produce protein.
- That protein comes out in the form of meat,
milk and cheese, thank you very much!
- These type of animals, those with cloven
hooves and chewing the cud, were generally cleared for eating, with some
notable exceptions.
• Leviticus
11:4-9 : "Nevertheless these you shall not eat among those that chew the
cud or those that have cloven hooves: the camel, because it chews the cud but
does not have cloven hooves, is unclean to you; the rock hyrax, because it
chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves, is unclean to you; the hare,
because it chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves, is unclean to you;
and the swine, though it divides the hoof, having cloven hooves, yet does not
chew the cud, is unclean to you. Their flesh you shall not eat, and their
carcasses you shall not touch. They are unclean to you." :
These animals had one requirement but not both, ie., they chewed cud,
but did not have cloven hooves or vice versa.
- God lets them know specifically which was
which. The camel, the rock hyrax or the coney, the hare and the swine were to
be considered unclean.
- The idea of being unclean refers to being
cermonially unclean, unfit for worship, even though the world around them
enjoyed these animals.
- The world indulged in these animals. Camel
humps were considered a delicacy among the Arab people for example.
- Of course, coney, rabbit and pork are
generously consumed by people of other nations. The point here that God makes
and He repeats this 4 times, is that it's unclean "TO YOU!"
- If they were tempted to eat these animals,
they would then be excluded from worship. That is the issue: This was unclean
for them. It was not right for those who were in covenant with the Lord.
- For those who are priests, those who are in
relationship to God must recognize that while certain behaviors are accepted
culturally or even civilly, they are not acceptable to God's people.
- God has covered the land animals and now he
covers fish.
• Leviticus
11:10-12 : "These
you may eat of all that are in the water: whatever in the water has fins and
scales, whether in the seas or in the rivers—that you may eat. But all in the seas or in the rivers that do
not have fins and scales, all that move in the water or any living thing which
is in the water, they are an abomination to you. They shall be an abomination
to you; you shall not eat their flesh, but you shall regard their carcasses as
an abomination. Whatever in the water does not have fins or scales—that shall
be an abomination to you." : Fish with
fins and scales. Believe it or not, the operative word here is "AND!"
They had to have both.
- That which was prohibited were shellfish,
shrimp, lobster, frogs etc., all of which are immune to certain poisons, so
their digestive system do not efficiently clean them out.
- Today, through the process of time and
scientific research, we are able to harvest shellfish, frogs and the like and
prepare them to eat with knowledge and skill.
- Fish with fins and scales are able to digest
foods without keeping toxins in their flesh, making them safe to eat.
- God was removing the other items from the
menu for the sake of avoiding confusion.
- To the Jewish person, fish without fins and
scales were to be an abomination to them. Three times in this section, God
repeats that word.
- The word "abomination" means to be
abhorrent, extremely disliked. Other versions of the Bible translate this word
"detestable."
- They were to have an extreme aversion to
these things. Moses has covered land, moving to sea and water with the fish and
now covers the sky and the flying creatures.
• Leviticus
11:13-19 : "And these you shall regard as an abomination among the birds;
they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, the vulture, the
buzzard, the kite, and the falcon after its kind; every raven after its kind, the
ostrich, the short-eared owl, the sea gull, and the hawk after its kind; the
little owl, the fisher owl, and the screech owl; the white owl, the jackdaw,
and the carrion vulture; the stork, the heron after its kind, the hoopoe, and
the bat." : If you were a Jewish person, these
would be detestable to you for food.
- The reason postulated for their uncleanness
is that these birds are carrion, meaning that they feast upon dead meat without
concern for proper bleeding. These are undiscerning consumers.
- Moving from birds now, Moses instructs them
about insects.
• Leviticus
11:20-23 : "All flying insects that creep on all fours shall be an
abomination to you. Yet these you may eat of every flying insect that creeps on
all fours: those which have jointed legs above their feet with which to leap on
the earth. These you may eat: the locust after its kind, the destroying locust
after its kind, the cricket after its kind, and the grasshopper after its kind.
But all other flying insects which have four feet shall be an abomination to
you." : The distinction that is made here is
the insects with jointed legs. Those without jointed legs would be unclean.
- Locusts were a part of John the Baptist's
regular diet. For those who would live in the desert for several years, one
might find a real taste for them.
- Before you dismiss this out of hand, I read a
report this week from an article describing a U.N. movement to push the insect
diet agenda in order to save the planet's meat supply.
˚
"We’re looking at
ways of grinding the meat (of the insect) into some sort of patty, which would
be more recognizable to Western palates,' Van Huis says"[i]
- That's right friends: Bug burgers! I say
let's tell them to stop bugging us!
- This concludes the section on type of food.
Please notice how discernment comes into play. They could eat land animals who
had cloven hooves and chewed the cud.
- Fish had to have fins and scales. Certain
flying creatures could not be eaten. And only insects with jointed legs could
be consumed.
- I find it interesting that in the life of the
believer, we are often presented with choices. We might find something that has
a desirable characteristic, but is lacking the "other."
- For example: "I love the pay of that
job, but it takes me from my family." "I'd love to live in that town,
but there are no good churches." "I love their looks, but they don't
seem too crazy about Christ!"
- In our lives, we need to be discerning,
looking for cloven fins AND scales!
- The next section deals with unclean actions
and the believer's distinction.
• Leviticus
11:24-38 : "By these you shall become unclean; whoever touches the carcass
of any of them shall be unclean until evening; whoever carries part of the
carcass of any of them shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening: The
carcass of any animal which divides the foot, but is not cloven-hoofed or does
not chew the cud, is unclean to you. Everyone who touches it shall be unclean. And
whatever goes on its paws, among all kinds of animals that go on all fours,
those are unclean to you. Whoever touches any such carcass shall be unclean
until evening. Whoever carries any such carcass shall wash his clothes and be
unclean until evening. It is unclean to you. These also shall be unclean to you
among the creeping things that creep on the earth: the mole, the mouse, and the
large lizard after its kind; the gecko, the monitor lizard, the sand reptile,
the sand lizard, and the chameleon. These are unclean to you among all that
creep. Whoever touches them when they are dead shall be unclean until evening. Anything
on which any of them falls, when they are dead shall be unclean, whether it is
any item of wood or clothing or skin or sack, whatever item it is, in which any
work is done, it must be put in water. And it shall be unclean until evening;
then it shall be clean. Any earthen vessel into which any of them falls you
shall break; and whatever is in it shall be unclean: in such a vessel, any
edible food upon which water falls becomes unclean, and any drink that may be
drunk from it becomes unclean. And everything on which a part of any such
carcass falls shall be unclean; whether it is an oven or cooking stove, it
shall be broken down; for they are unclean, and shall be unclean to you.
Nevertheless a spring or a cistern, in which there is plenty of water, shall be
clean, but whatever touches any such carcass becomes unclean. And if a part of
any such carcass falls on any planting seed which is to be sown, it remains
clean. But if water is put on the seed, and if a part of any such carcass falls
on it, it becomes unclean to you." : They were not
to touch the dead animal, nor in many cases, touch what the dead animal
touched. If you did, you would remain unclean throughout the day.
- The exceptions were here at the end with
regard to a large body of water, either that of a spring or of a cistern. The
spring would be moving, literally having living water.
- To remove the carcass would make the person
unclean, but not the water source, as if cleaned itself out. The same was true
for the cistern, which were often underground caves.
- If an animal died there, because of the
amount of water, the cistern would not be unclean.
- Anyone who would have such duty, would be
unclean until evening. What happens at evening time? To us that is the end of
the day, but not to the Hebrews.
- They view their days as beginning in the
evening. Therefore, they would be unclean until the next day. The new day would
bring a new opportunity to be pure.
• Leviticus
11:39-47 : "And if any animal which you may eat dies, he who touches its
carcass shall be unclean until evening. He who eats of its carcass shall wash
his clothes and be unclean until evening. He also who carries its carcass shall
wash his clothes and be unclean until evening. And every creeping thing that
creeps on the earth shall be an abomination. It shall not be eaten. Whatever
crawls on its belly, whatever goes on all fours, or whatever has many feet
among all creeping things that creep on the earth—these you shall not eat, for
they are an abomination. You shall not make yourselves abominable with any
creeping thing that creeps; nor shall you make yourselves unclean with them,
lest you be defiled by them. For I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore
consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy. Neither shall you
defile yourselves with any creeping thing that creeps on the earth. For I am
the Lord who brings you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall
therefore be holy, for I am holy. This is the law of the animals and the birds
and every living creature that moves in the waters, and of every creature that
creeps on the earth, to distinguish between the unclean and the clean, and
between the animal that may be eaten and the animal that may not be eaten.’" :
Moses gives us the reason for all of this: God prohibits this for their
health and for the sake of their holiness.
- God was holy and part of their being holy was
an abstention from these foods.
- Part of their being holy was the
understanding that because God's presence was among them, everything from their
outer clothing to their inner digestive tract, was to be pure before Him.
- God, both as their Creator and as their
Redeemer, calls upon them to identify themselves with Him in these things.
- Worship is not just about where we show up
and what we do when we get there. Worship is what we are and to truly worship
is to value the Lord in every part of our lives.
- These actions were outward manifestations of
their inner devotion, making them distinct from others.
- When friends tell you that they have done
something the world applauds, God applauds when we abstain from that activity!
Whose applause are we living for?
- Finally, they were to worship in the living
out of their doctrine.
• Leviticus
12:1-4 : "Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'Speak to the
children of Israel, saying: ‘If a woman has conceived, and borne a male child,
then she shall be unclean seven days; as in the days of her customary impurity
she shall be unclean. And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be
circumcised. She shall then continue in the blood of her purification
thirty-three days. She shall not touch any hallowed thing, nor come into the
sanctuary until the days of her purification are fulfilled." :
40 days were determined for a woman who had given birth to a male child.
The first week because of the birth and the last 33 days her child.
- She was not allowed to come to the tabernacle
because of the blood she had lost.
- One might view this as a punishment. On the
other hand, one can look at this as a blessing. This woman who has borne a male
child for 9 months, now gets a little over two months to recover.
• Leviticus
12:5-8 : "But if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean two
weeks, as in her customary impurity, and she shall continue in the blood of her
purification sixty-six days. When the days of her purification are fulfilled,
whether for a son or a daughter, she shall bring to the priest a lamb of the
first year as a burnt offering, and a young pigeon or a turtledove as a sin
offering, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Then he shall offer it
before the Lord, and make atonement for her. And she shall be clean from the
flow of her blood. This is the law for her who has borne a male or a female. And
if she is not able to bring a lamb, then she may bring two turtledoves or two
young pigeons—one as a burnt offering and the other as a sin offering. So the
priest shall make atonement for her, and she will be clean.’" : If you were a lady and the baby was a
girl, everything is doubled: Two weeks from conception and 66 days, being 80
days!
- Afterward, the woman was to bring a burnt
offering and a sin offering for the child, male or female. A burnt offering was
for consecration of the child, a sin offering for his sinful nature.
- This may give us a clue regarding the
difference of time between the male and the female. The male is one sinner, but
the female is a sinner who will bring other sinners into the world!
- God allows for this Mother, in the event of
poverty, to bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons, being the offering of
the poor for the child.
- When Mary came into the Temple at the end of
her days of purification, she offered the offering of the poor before the Lord.
Jesus came and submitted fully to the law, even from birth.
- On the 40th day of His life, Jesus was
presented to the Lord, consecrated to Him and was identified, not as a sinner,
but with sinners, on whose behalf, He would be sacrificed.
- Her private worship led her to act this way,
according to what she believed in.
Conclusion
- If we are to
worship the Lord, it will require discernment in our lives. Will this decision
put me in a better position to serve the Lord? Will it help or hinder me?
- Our worship
of the Lord will leave us feeling like we stand out, as the world engages in
behaviors that we will not. Our worship should leave us feeling distinctive.
- Finally, our
worship should prove our doctrine. I believe this about God, therefore I act
this way and do this thing. This is the kind of worship that brings pleasure to
the Lord.
No comments:
Post a Comment