Leviticus 11:1-23 NKJV
11 Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘These are the animals which you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth: 3 Among the animals, whatever divides the hoof, having cloven hooves and chewing the cud—that you may eat. 4 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; 5 the rock hyrax, because it chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves, is unclean to you; 6 the hare, because it chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves, is unclean to you; 7 and the swine, though it divides the hoof, having cloven hooves, yet does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. 8 Their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch. They are unclean to you.
9 ‘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. 10 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. 11 They shall be an abomination to you; you shall not eat their flesh, but you shall regard their carcasses as an abomination. 12 Whatever in the water does not have fins or scales—that shall be an abomination to you.
13 ‘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, 14 the kite, and the falcon after its kind; 15 every raven after its kind, 16 the ostrich, the short-eared owl, the sea gull, and the hawk after its kind; 17 the little owl, the fisher owl, and the screech owl; 18 the white owl, the jackdaw, and the carrion vulture; 19 the stork, the heron after its kind, the hoopoe, and the bat.
20 ‘All flying insects that creep on all fours shall be an abomination to you. 21 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. 22 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. 23 But all other flying insects which have four feet shall be an abomination to you.
One of the main purposes of the Law of Moses was to create and maintain a separation between Israel and the other nations, so that Israel might be reminded every day that the Lord had set them apart from the world to be His own special people. While many of the Levitical laws served to accomplish this obvious, outward separation, two laws stood out in a very practical way. One was the Sabbath law, forcing the Israelites to rest on one day out of seven while the rest of the world worked away. The other was the law concerning clean and unclean foods.
In today’s reading, God defines for the Israelites which foods were clean and unclean. Clean land animals both had cloven hooves and chewed the cud. Clean sea creatures had both fins and scales. Clean birds were not birds of prey or birds that feed on carcasses of dead animals. Clean insects were the ones that hopped. All other creatures were to be “an abomination to you.”
In what sense an abomination? There was nothing inherently or morally bad about the unclean animals. Since the days of Noah after the Flood, God had made all animals potential food sources for mankind, and God had created all creatures, calling them all “good” in the beginning. Likewise, there was nothing inherently bad about the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. But just as God had branded that tree as “off limits” to Adam and Eve, so He now branded the unclean animals as “off limits” to Israel. They were to be viewed as detestable by the Israelites simply because, under the Mosaic Covenant, God had labeled them as such, forcing the Israelites to think carefully each and every day, so that their every decision, even what foods they should or shouldn’t eat, was in line with God’s Word.
Under the New Testament, Christians are to be separate from the world, too, but our separation is not a matter of food and drink. It is the much more important separation of faith in Christ instead of unbelief, cherishing God’s Word instead of dismissing it, righteous living instead of sinful living, living for God and our neighbor instead of living for ourselves, speaking the truth instead of fostering the lie. In all these things, may your life be a testimony to the world that God has set you apart! Let us pray: O Lord, sanctify us by Your truth. Your Word is truth! Amen.