"God tells Moses and Aaron what the Israelites can and can not eat. God tells specifically tells them the clean and unclean land animals, the clean and unclean aquatic animals, the unclean birds, the clean and unclean flying insects, and the unclean swarming creatures. God also tells Aaron and Moses how to purify themselves and other things after touching unclean dead animals."
Leviticus 11 Amplified Bible (AMP)
Laws about Animals for Food
11 The Lord spoke again to Moses and Aaron, saying to them, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘Among all the animals which are on the earth, these are the animals which you may eat. 3 You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof [that is, a hoof split into two parts especially at its distal extremity] and chews the cud. 4 Nevertheless, you are not to eat these, among those which chew the cud or divide the hoof: the camel, because it chews the cud but does not divide the hoof; it is [ceremonially] unclean to you. 5 And the [a]shaphan, because it chews the cud but does not divide the hoof; it is unclean to you. 6 And the hare, because it chews the cud but does not divide the hoof; it is unclean to you. 7 And the swine, because it divides the hoof and makes a split hoof, but does not chew the cud; it is unclean to you. 8 You shall not eat their meat nor touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you.Laws about Animals for Food
9 ‘These you may eat, whatever is in the water: whatever has fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, these you may eat; 10 but whatever does not have fins and scales in the seas and in the rivers, of all the teeming life in the waters, and of all the living creatures that are in the waters, they are [to be considered] detestable to you. 11 They shall be [b]hated things to you. You may not eat their meat; you shall detest their carcasses. 12 Everything in the water that does not have fins and scales is detestable to you.
Avoid the Unclean
13 ‘These you shall detest among the birds; they are not to be eaten, for they are [c]hated things: the eagle and the vulture and the buzzard, 14 the kite, every kind of falcon, 15 every kind of raven, 16 the ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull, every species of hawk, 17 the little owl and the cormorant and the great owl, 18 the white owl, the pelican, the carrion vulture, 19 the stork, all kinds of heron, the hoopoe, and the bat.
20 ‘All winged insects that walk on all fours are detestable to you; 21 yet of all winged insects that walk on all fours you may eat those which have legs above their feet with which to leap on the ground. 22 Of these you may eat: the whole species of migratory locust, of bald locust, of cricket, and of grasshopper. 23 But all other winged insects which are four footed are detestable to you.
24 ‘By [contact with] these you will become unclean; whoever touches their carcasses becomes unclean until the evening (dusk), 25 and whoever picks up any of their carcasses shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. 26 Concerning all the animals which divide the hoof, but do not have a split hoof, or which do not chew the cud, they are unclean to you; whoever touches them becomes unclean. 27 Also all animals that walk on their paws, among all kinds of animals that walk on four legs, are unclean to you; whoever touches their carcasses becomes unclean until the evening, 28 and the one who picks up their carcasses shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening; they are unclean to you.
29 ‘These also are unclean to you among the swarming things that crawl around on the ground [and multiply profusely]: the mole, the mouse, and any kind of great lizard, 30 the gecko, the crocodile, the lizard, the sand reptile, and the chameleon. 31 These [creatures] are unclean to you among all that swarm; whoever touches them when they are dead becomes unclean until evening. 32 Also anything on which one of them falls after dying becomes unclean, whether it is an article of wood or clothing, or a skin, or a sack—any article that is used—it must be put in water, and will be unclean until the evening; then it becomes clean. 33 As for any earthenware container into which any of these [crawling things] falls, whatever is in it becomes unclean, and you shall break the container. 34 Any of the food which may be eaten, but on which [unclean] water falls, shall become unclean, and any liquid that may be drunk in every container shall become unclean. 35 Everything that part of their carcass falls on becomes unclean; an oven, or a small stove shall be smashed; they are unclean, and shall be unclean to you. 36 Nevertheless a spring or a cistern (reservoir) collecting water shall be clean; but whoever touches one of these carcasses shall be unclean. 37 If a part of their carcass falls on any seed for sowing which is to be sown, it is clean; 38 but if water is put on the seed and a part of their carcass falls on it, it is unclean to you.
39 ‘If one of the animals that you may eat dies [of natural causes], whoever touches its carcass becomes unclean until the evening. 40 And whoever eats some of its meat shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until evening; also whoever picks up its carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening.
41 ‘Now everything that swarms on the ground is detestable; it is not to be eaten. 42 Whatever crawls on its belly, and whatever walks on all fours, and whatever has many feet among all things that swarm on the ground, you shall not eat; for they are detestable. 43 Do not make yourselves loathsome (impure, repulsive) by [eating] any swarming thing; you shall not make yourselves unclean by them so as to defile yourselves. 44 For I am the Lord your God; so consecrate yourselves and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not make yourselves unclean with any of the swarming things that swarm or crawls on the ground. 45 For I am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; therefore you shall be holy, for I am holy.’”
46 This is the law regarding the animal and the bird and every living thing that moves in the waters and everything that swarms on the earth, 47 to make a distinction between the [ceremonially] unclean and the [ceremonially] clean, and between the animal that may be eaten and the animal that may not be eaten.
Footnotes: Leviticus 11:5 A small, shy fury animal (Hyrax syriacus) found in the peninsula of the Sinai, northern Israel, and the region around the Dead Sea; kjv coney, original NASB rock badger.
Leviticus 11:11 Lit detestable things.
Leviticus 11:13 Lit detestable things.
- HEALTH AND WELLNESS. God cared for the health and lifestyle of all the Israelite's that He also established clear commandments about their 'eating habits'. Again, this was a time of limited knowledge and information about what is clean or 'appropriate to eat' and what was not. Who knows better than the Creator who created everything?
"Then God said, “Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food." Genesis 1:29 (NLT)
"Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit." Genesis 1:29 (NLT)
"You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything." 1 Corinthians 6:12 (NLT)
"Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body." 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NLT)
"But
Daniel was determined not to defile himself by eating the food and wine
given to them by the king. He asked the chief of staff for permission
not to eat these unacceptable foods. At the end of the ten days, Daniel
and his three friends looked healthier and better nourished than the
young men who had been eating the food assigned by the king." Daniel 1: 8, 15 (NLT)
- FISH WITHOUT FINS AND SCALES. I have learned from watching health videos before, that fishes without fins and scales absorbs mercury and other harmful chemicals in the ocean, that is why it was not good or recommended by some doctors for eating. Scales and fins serves as protection to the fishes. Even though the earth was cleaner and not that polluted before, I believe that is God's reason and purpose as well. In a more polluted world in the present time, this is still a great commandment to adhere to.
- SUBMISSION TO GOD. Here, God reminded the Israelites again how He rescued them from the slavery of Egypt. They are now God's people, they belong to Him and His Kingdom. When I think about it-- compared to the number of acceptable foods to eat, there were really a 'few' restrictions. This made me remember God's command to Adam and Eve, wherein God allowed them to eat from ANY trees except the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
After reading, I always check out the Study Guide Commentary from David Guzik (very helpful!):
i. "It is now known that the pig is the intermediate host for several parasitic organisms, some of which can result in tapeworm infestation. One of these worms, the Taenia solium, grows to about 2.5 m in length, and is found in poorly cooked pork." (Harrison)
i. God was not making up new rules for Israel. Noah knew about clean and unclean animals (Genesis 7:2, 8:20). God simply codified what was already in the traditions of Israel.
b. The eagle, the vulture, the buzzard …: The common thread through most of these birds is that they are either predators or scavengers; these were considered unclean.
a. Whoever touches the carcass of any of them shall be unclean until evening: Unclean animals, when dead, couldn't just be left in the community to rot; they had to be disposed of. But the people who disposed of the unclean animals had to remedy their uncleanness by washing and a brief (until evening) quarantine.
i. This means that if a dead rat was found in an Israelite village, it would be carefully and promptly disposed of, and the one disposing of it would wash afterward. This would help prevent disease in a significant way; after all, the Black Death - bubonic plague - killed one quarter of Europe's population around 1350, but Jewish communities were largely spared because they followed these hygienic regulations. Sadly, because they were often largely preserved, they were often accused and punished for being "masterminds" behind the plague.
b. Everything on which a part of any such carcass falls shall be unclean: These laws also promoted a general state of cleanliness inside the Hebrew home. This certainly promoted the health and the welfare of the family.
a. For I am the LORD your God: God claims the right to speak to every area of our life, including what we eat. He had the right to tell Israel what to eat and what not to eat.
b. You shall therefore sanctify yourselves: One great purpose of the dietary laws of Israel was to sanctify - to set them apart - from other nations. It made fellowship with those who did not serve God far more difficult.
c. Neither shall you defile yourselves: Not only did unclean animals defile one spiritually, but there was also a hygienic defilement, and Israel was spared many diseases and plagues because of their kosher diet.
i. Among the animals, most considered unclean fell into one of three categories: Predators (unclean because they ate both the flesh and the blood of animals), scavengers (unclean because they were carriers of disease, and they regularly contacted dead bodies), or potentially poisonous or dangerous foods such as shellfish and the like. Eliminating these from the diet of Israel no doubt had a healthy effect!
Reference and credits to https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/guzik_david/StudyGuide2017-Lev/Lev-11.cfm © 2004 David Guzik
i. "It is now known that the pig is the intermediate host for several parasitic organisms, some of which can result in tapeworm infestation. One of these worms, the Taenia solium, grows to about 2.5 m in length, and is found in poorly cooked pork." (Harrison)
i. God was not making up new rules for Israel. Noah knew about clean and unclean animals (Genesis 7:2, 8:20). God simply codified what was already in the traditions of Israel.
b. The eagle, the vulture, the buzzard …: The common thread through most of these birds is that they are either predators or scavengers; these were considered unclean.
a. Whoever touches the carcass of any of them shall be unclean until evening: Unclean animals, when dead, couldn't just be left in the community to rot; they had to be disposed of. But the people who disposed of the unclean animals had to remedy their uncleanness by washing and a brief (until evening) quarantine.
i. This means that if a dead rat was found in an Israelite village, it would be carefully and promptly disposed of, and the one disposing of it would wash afterward. This would help prevent disease in a significant way; after all, the Black Death - bubonic plague - killed one quarter of Europe's population around 1350, but Jewish communities were largely spared because they followed these hygienic regulations. Sadly, because they were often largely preserved, they were often accused and punished for being "masterminds" behind the plague.
b. Everything on which a part of any such carcass falls shall be unclean: These laws also promoted a general state of cleanliness inside the Hebrew home. This certainly promoted the health and the welfare of the family.
a. For I am the LORD your God: God claims the right to speak to every area of our life, including what we eat. He had the right to tell Israel what to eat and what not to eat.
b. You shall therefore sanctify yourselves: One great purpose of the dietary laws of Israel was to sanctify - to set them apart - from other nations. It made fellowship with those who did not serve God far more difficult.
c. Neither shall you defile yourselves: Not only did unclean animals defile one spiritually, but there was also a hygienic defilement, and Israel was spared many diseases and plagues because of their kosher diet.
i. Among the animals, most considered unclean fell into one of three categories: Predators (unclean because they ate both the flesh and the blood of animals), scavengers (unclean because they were carriers of disease, and they regularly contacted dead bodies), or potentially poisonous or dangerous foods such as shellfish and the like. Eliminating these from the diet of Israel no doubt had a healthy effect!
Reference and credits to https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/guzik_david/StudyGuide2017-Lev/Lev-11.cfm © 2004 David Guzik
No comments:
Post a Comment