We will begin this lesson in Leviticus 11:37 “And if [any part] of
their carcase fall upon any sowing seed which is to be sown, it [shall be]
clean.”
We know that when a seed falls into the ground, it dies. and the new
plant which comes from the seed, can produce beautiful fresh products. It is
amazing to me, that a seed can be planted in a place covered with
fertilizer, and the fruit the plant brings forth is clean and sweet. There
is a process of death and life here that mortal man does not understand. The
reason the seed above is not unclean, is that it will never be eaten in it’s
present form. The new seed that comes from this dead seed will be perfectly
clean.
Leviticus 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.”
If water got on the seed, it would probably cause it to sprout, and the
contamination would be soaked into the seed.
Leviticus 11:39 “And if any beast, of which ye may eat, die; he that
toucheth the carcase thereof shall be unclean until the even.” Leviticus
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.”
Even clean animals have a possibility of carrying diseases when they
die, and in that case, the people would not be permitted to eat them. This,
then, has to be an animal that was killed on purpose for some reason or
other. It would, also, be an animal where someone quickly cut its throat, so
the blood would drain. Hebrews were forbidden to eat blood. Even if all
these things were done, the person who was preparing the meat would get very
nasty in the process. They would need to wash themselves and their clothes
to get rid of the dirt they had gotten preparing it.
Leviticus 11:41 “And every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth
[shall be] an abomination; it shall not be eaten.”
This would include snakes, lizards, in fact, all reptiles. These are
such an abomination to God, that the devil was in the form of a snake in the
garden of Eden. We will see in the next few verses from Genesis that God
cursed the serpent above all other animals. Genesis 3:14 “And the LORD God
said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou [art] cursed above
all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou
go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:” Satan {symbolized by
the serpent} is the enemy of mankind and will be always. Genesis 3:15 “And I
will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her
seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” We realize
that the spiritual meaning of that Scripture is speaking of the followers of
Jesus being the enemy of the devil and his crowd.
Leviticus 11:42 “Whatsoever goeth upon the belly, and whatsoever goeth
upon [all] four, or whatsoever hath more feet among all creeping things that
creep upon the earth, them ye shall not eat; for they [are] an abomination.”
As I said, this includes all vermin that crawl on their belly. It
seems, to crawl on the belly, was part of the curse God put on the serpent.
Leviticus 11:43 “Ye shall not make yourselves abominable with any
creeping thing that creepeth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with
them, that ye should be defiled thereby.”
This is just a broader statement about not eating, or coming into
contact with abominable things. Sometimes by association, they could become
abominable themselves. It is broad enough to cover all the things in detail
that were possibly not mentioned above.
Leviticus 11:44 “For I [am] the LORD your God: ye shall therefore
sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I [am] holy: neither shall ye
defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the
earth.”
God repeats, in no uncertain terms, who He is, and that the people will
conform to His wishes. We have said numerous times, that sanctify means to
set aside for God’s purpose. They should be glad to do these things, that
they might be called His. God expected no more from them, than He did of
Himself. He said, I AM HOLY. He shows them the way they can be holy, and
then tells them they must be holy. These people were being taught to be
clean. It is important for the body to be clean, but the real cleanliness
God was trying to teach them and us, is cleanliness of the spirit.
Cleanliness of the inner man, was the real message. Man was made in the
image of God, that He might fellowship with man. These Hebrews, here, were
descended from Abraham in the flesh. Christians are descendents of Abraham
through faith. Galatians 3:29 “And if ye [be] Christ’s, then are ye
Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” This is their Father,
and our Father, giving instructions on how to live pleasing unto Him.
Defile, in the verse above, means to pollute or make unclean. God wants His
family to be a separated people, not caught up in the things of the world.
There is a message in this for Christians, as well. We are to separate
ourselves from the world. Let’s take a look at what the Christians must be
like for our Saviour to come back for us. Ephesians 5:27 “That he might
present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any
such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.”
Leviticus 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.”
This statement, here, could be because in Egypt, nearly every animal
was worshipped. My own thoughts on this, however, is that God has brought
them out of the world, that they might serve Him. Egypt is a type of the
world. He took them out of the world, that He might take them to the
promised land. The very same thing is true with believers today. When we
decide to follow Jesus, we are no longer of this world. We have no permanent
dwelling place on this earth. To head for the promised land with God, we,
too, must leave Egypt. Abraham was looking for a city made by God. We, too,
must look for that city that cometh down from God out of heaven {New
Jerusalem}. Have you left Egypt {the world} yet? When you do, God will lead
you to the promised land.
Leviticus 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:” Leviticus 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.”
The one thing we must see in these laws of the diet, God had the
welfare of His people in mind when He gave these restrictions. Sometimes it
seems as if the restrictions God has made are unfair; don’t you believe it.
God loves you. He loved you so much, He sent His son to save you. Every
restriction is for our benefit.
GOD LOVES YOU—–HE WANTS TO SAVE YOU——LET HIM