[Leviticus 11] Touch Not the Unclean Thing! In this chapter, God speaks to Moses about dietary laws. Are these required for us today? What about bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches? If the dietary requirements are not literal for us, then what do they say to us? In the nutritional laws are many revealing truths about discernment, and cleanness before the Lord. God wants that which is internalized in our lives to arise from life and be full of life. Much overlooked and dismissed, these dietary laws contain many revelatory truths that will encourage your growth.
[Lev 11:1-47 KJV] 1 And the LORD spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them, 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These [are] the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that [are] on the earth. 3 Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, [and] cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat. 4 Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof: [as] the camel, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he [is] unclean unto you. 5 And the coney, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he [is] unclean unto you. 6 And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he [is] unclean unto you. 7 And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he [is] unclean to you. 8 Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch; they [are] unclean to you. 9 These shall ye eat of all that [are] in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat. 10 And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which [is] in the waters, they [shall be] an abomination unto you: 11 They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomination. 12 Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that [shall be] an abomination unto you. 13 And these [are they which] ye shall have in abomination among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, they [are] an abomination: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray, 14 And the vulture, and the kite after his kind; 15 Every raven after his kind; 16 And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind, 17 And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl, 18 And the swan, and the pelican, and the gier eagle, 19 And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat. 20 All fowls that creep, going upon [all] four, [shall be] an abomination unto you. 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; 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. 23 But all [other] flying creeping things, which have four feet, [shall be] an abomination unto you. 24 And for these ye shall be unclean: whosoever toucheth the carcase of them shall be unclean until the even. 25 And whosoever beareth [ought] of the carcase of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even. 26 [The carcases] of every beast which divideth the hoof, and [is] not clovenfooted, nor cheweth the cud, [are] unclean unto you: every one that toucheth them shall be unclean. 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. 28 And he that beareth the carcase of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: they [are] unclean unto you. 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, 30 And the ferret, and the chameleon, and the lizard, and the snail, and the mole. 31 These [are] unclean to you among all that creep: whosoever doth touch them, when they be dead, shall be unclean until the even. 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. 33 And every earthen vessel, whereinto [any] of them falleth, whatsoever [is] in it shall be unclean; and ye shall break it. 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. 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. 36 Nevertheless a fountain or pit, [wherein there is] plenty of water, shall be clean: but that which toucheth their carcase shall be unclean. 37 And if [any part] of their carcase fall upon any sowing seed which is to be sown, it [shall be] clean. 38 But if [any] water be put upon the seed, and [any part] of their carcase fall thereon, it [shall be] unclean unto you. 39 And if any beast, of which ye may eat, die; he that toucheth the carcase thereof shall be unclean until the even. 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. 41 And every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth [shall be] an abomination; it shall not be eaten. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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: 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.
Now we come to the dietary laws of the Israelites. Some of these laws make perfect sense to modern thinking, for instance, no swine’s flesh, which many health-conscious people would agree is not the best meal options. Dr. Atkin would undoubtedly concur with the diet of the priests, which was very protein-heavy. I have often wondered why God, in giving the perfect dietary laws, didn’t put the people back on the diet of Eden, an entire vegan affair. Before the fall, there was no death, and man certainly would not have eaten any meat whatsoever. All this aside, there are also spiritual truths reflected in the dietary laws, and that is what we will be looking at today. In this chapter, we will look not at the natural benefits of a kosher diet but the spiritual truths to be learned by studying them.
In vs. 1-8, we see that any animal with a cleft hoof or split hoof was considered clean. Why? Because we are called to walk in the Spirit and walk according to the word of God. We walk with His word, and the word of God is the divider and the discerner of all things as the writer of Hebrews states in the following verse:
[Heb 4: 12 KJV] 12 For the word of God [is] quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and [is] a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Any animal that chewed the cud was also acceptable to eat. Have you ever been invited to sit down and “chew the cud” with a friend for a visit? This is also known as rumination. To ruminate is to meditate or contemplate, specifically in this case, the word of God.
[Jos 1: 8 KJV] 8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
[Psa 1: 2 KJV] 2 But his delight [is] in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
[Psa 119: 15 KJV] 15 I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.
In vs. 8-12, we find that fish and other sea creatures that did not have fins and scales could not be eaten (there go all our catfish dinners!). Sea creatures with fins and scales, however, were acceptable to eat. Fins and scales are used to protect the fish and to help them navigate through the water. Water is a type of spirit. God wants us to be people who know how to navigate the realm of the spirit while at the same time being protected from the spirits that are not of God. Sea creatures without fins or scales were forbidden. Sea creatures that do not have fins and scales generally are found to be carrion eaters and bottom feeders. God wants us to be partakers of life and not of death.
In vs. 13-20, the eating of birds and fowl is addressed. Ravens and eagles generally are thought of positively, even in scripture, but are forbidden to eat. Owls, swans, and pelicans were thought of by pagan cultures as spiritual creatures and messengers of the dead. Ravens as well were thought of as communicating with demons and those that were dead. This speaks to us of a restriction against dabbling in spiritual things, beings, teachings, and experiences that do not arise from or originate with God. Not everything spiritual is of God. In our culture today, many have dabbled with witchcraft or entertained themselves with such stories, books, movies, etc. Without getting into a litany of superstition and weirdness, it is a fact that you open yourself up to many sorrows, demon oppression, depression, and suicidal thoughts when you experiment with such things.
In v. 20-31, we cover in greater detail the laws pertaining to touching unclean things. Interesting that these further mentions of unclean animals, many of which are metaphors for people we usually don’t think well of (weasel, lizard, ferret, chameleon, snail, mole, etc.), are all unclean things. WHEN THEY WERE TOUCHED, it caused an unclean condition that required ceremonial cleansing. Some vessels, when they touched the unclean thing, had to be discarded altogether. There was one singular exception – RUNNING WATER. When an unclean thing touched running water – the running water didn’t render the unclean thing pure, but the running water itself was not unclean itself as a result of touching the unclean. With that in mind, consider the words of Jesus:
[Jhn 4:14 KJV] 14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
[Jhn 7:38 KJV] 38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
God told me a long time ago, “this is a river, not a metaphor for a river.” If you have ever been up close with a river and witnessed its power (such as the Mighty Mississippi), you get an idea of what God has put within us. Rivers cannot be tamed. God doesn’t want tame Christians. He wants wild and uncontainable Christians. Christians today live their lives within borders, boundaries, and the confines of religion and religious thinking. He doesn’t want us to do any such thing – but as the ancient Celts, we need to let the Wild Goose of the Holy Spirit fly in our lives.
In v. 37, we see laws about seed. Seed touched by a carcass was not considered unclean, but if water were involved, the grain would be contaminated. Water causes a seed to germinate. God does not want His seed within us to be conceived from that which arises from death. God is a God of life, and death has no place within Him. Anything that went on its belly is unclean. Suppose a person allows base appetites to become the driving force in their lives. In that case, that is an impure influence and should be dealt with – a sobering consideration when you look at the epidemic of obesity in our culture.
In dealing with all of this, if an unclean condition was found, it was up to the person to deal with it. The verses say, “I am the Lord – therefore sanctify yourselves and be holy…” Not a popular message, and there are many religious and legalistic ideations of what holiness is but suffice to say that there is a pursuit of holiness that God looks for in our lives. It is up to us to find it if we wish to be pleasing to our heavenly Father.
