We will begin this lesson in Leviticus 11:21 “Yet these may ye eat of
every flying creeping thing that goeth upon [all] four, which have legs
above their feet, to leap withal upon the earth;” Leviticus 11:22 “[Even]
these of them ye may eat; the locust after his kind, and the bald locust
after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the grasshopper after his
kind.”
I repeated verse 21 from the last lesson, to make a complete statement
here. In the part of the world, where the Israelites lived, beetle, locust,
and grasshopper were eaten regularly. These were not only eaten when they
were in desperate situations, but were actually thought of as a delicacy.
Personally I have never eaten anything like this, but in many parts of the
world today these are still served as a delicacy.
Leviticus 11:23 “But all [other] flying creeping things, which have
four feet, [shall be] an abomination unto you.” Leviticus 11:24 “And for
these ye shall be unclean: whosoever toucheth the carcase of them shall be
unclean until the even.”
It seems that out of all the insects that fly and walk, just the ones
of the locust family were permitted to be eaten. Come to think of it, who
would want to eat a fly, or mosquito, or any of the other flying pests we
spray to get rid of? There is nothing dirtier, in my opinion, than a roach.
We could understand with no problem God restricting them in use for the
table.
Leviticus 11:25 “And whosoever beareth [ought] of the carcase of them
shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even.”
Mosquitoes carry malaria, among other things, and you can see it would
not be good to touch them. These ordinances are just good common sense rules
that God has made to help man. We watch out for our children and try to keep
them safe. God cares more for us than we do for our children. Why would He
not give these ordinances to protect us from destroying ourselves?
Leviticus 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.” Leviticus 11:27 ” And
whatsoever goeth upon his paws, among all manner of beasts that go on [all]
four, those [are] unclean unto you: whoso toucheth their carcase shall be
unclean until the even.”
Those animals that have paws, would be all animals from the cat family.
This, also, includes dogs and wild animals like bear. These warnings just go
into greater detail than those mentioned earlier. Some animals eat things
like grass and do not eat flesh. Other animals do not eat anything but
flesh. God made each animal for its specific use on this earth. We need to
learn what God’s purpose was for each animal and use them for that purpose
only.
Leviticus 11:28 “And he that beareth the carcase of them shall wash his
clothes, and be unclean until the even: they [are] unclean unto you.”
As we said before, a carcase is the body of a dead animal. It died for
some reason. You can catch a disease from an animal the same as from another
human. This washing of the clothes is another common sense precaution. Any
germs in the clothes probably would be lost after washing. In our day when
so many dread diseases are around, we should be very careful to always wash
our hands after coming in contact with animals, or even after we have shaken
hands with a stranger. In the hospitals, nurses wear gloves when they are
caring for patients to keep from catching the Aids virus and other dreaded
diseases.
Leviticus 11:29 “These also [shall be] unclean unto you among the
creeping things that creep upon the earth; the weasel, and the mouse, and
the tortoise after his kind,” Leviticus 11:30 “And the ferret, and the
chameleon, and the lizard, and the snail, and the mole.”
The only visible difference in these and the unclean we read about in
the previous verses, is that these go on their belly, they do not fly. Many
of the things in this category, such as squirrel, and snail are eaten today.
These are not forbidden to those who speak the Word and pray over everything
they eat. Food is cleansed by the Word and prayer.
Leviticus 11:31 “These [are] unclean to you among all that creep:
whosoever doth touch them, when they be dead, shall be unclean until the
even.” Leviticus 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.”
As we have mentioned throughout these lessons, these instructions were
given for the benefit of man. These things mentioned here, are just very
good health practices. The Israelites were not as well learned on germs and
how they are passed on, as our society today. I believe these laws were like
{rules for living a healthy life}.
Leviticus 11:33 “And every earthen vessel, whereinto [any] of them
falleth, whatsoever [is] in it shall be unclean; and ye shall break it.”
An earthen vessel could not be properly washed and freed from germs.
The only thing to do to get rid of the germs then, would be to break it.
Leviticus 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.”
This is speaking of the earthen vessel above. It is easy to see that
anything in the earthen vessel that had been contaminated would, also, be
contaminated, since you could not wash the earthen vessel and remove the
germs.
Leviticus 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.”
This just shows how the germs can be carried from the carcase, and
anything it touches would be contaminated. This is just stating again, that
anything the dead body falls on, that can not be washed up, has to be done
away with. I remember, when I was a child, if you went to see someone with a
disease like typhoid, you had to go to a place away from everyone, take a
bath and burn your old clothes you wore in the room where the patient was.
There would be fresh clothes that had not been in contact with the disease
to put on. I really believe this is what God is saying here. It has just
been in the last few years, that Doctors and nurses wore masks in the
operating room. Until modern cleanliness standards were incorporated into
hospital regulations, many people died from infections, rather than the
illness they were being doctored for.
Leviticus 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.”
You can easily see why running water would wash the contamination away.
Just to sum up this lesson, I would say a loving God cared so much for
His children that He not only gave them laws to preserve their soul, but
gave them laws of cleanliness to help them live healthy lives here on earth