The following is Pastor Nate’s teaching transcription from Calvary Monterey’s 9/21/21 Tuesday Night Service. We apologize for any transcription inaccuracies.
Leviticus 11
1 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, These are the living things that you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth.
"And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron saying to them, speak to the people of Israel saying, these are the living things that you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth." One of the first things to notice in this new section of Leviticus, a section where God will declare to, Moses, and Aaron, what is clean and unclean, what is appropriate and inappropriate for God's people, what makes them ceremonially clean and what makes them ceremonially unclean. One of the first things to is that, Aaron, is addressed by God right alongside Moses here in the first verse. This is rare throughout the book of Leviticus. Normally, especially as we've gone through Exodus, but also here in Leviticus, Moses is the one that God addresses and Moses then hands down the dictates to Aaron, and of course, to the rest of the nation.
Clean and Unclean Food
But here, once these dictates concerning what is clean and unclean begin to be communicated by God, Aaron is now involved in the process. God needs to speak to Aaron. And the reason for that is likely because Aaron, in his position as the high priest, the leader of the priests, needed to be able to discern between clean and unclean, because he would be responsible for declaring cleanness or declaring uncleanness in Israel. And he would also be responsible and so would his fellow priests for communicating or teaching the congregation of Israel about what was clean and unclean before God. God begins addressing this man Aaron, right alongside with, of course, his younger brother, Moses. Now in this chapter, in Leviticus 11, we're going to see the clean and unclean animals that could be eaten if they were clean and could not be eaten if they were unclean. We're going to see that even dead animals or carcasses could not be touched. Plus they make a person ceremonially unclean before God.
And that certain household elements that were touched by specific types of carcasses were also to be considered unclean before then receiving a general synopsis that they needed to pursue these things in that time, because they needed to be holy like God Himself is holy. Now, as we approach it, one of the things we need to recognize is that these are very mundane matters. We're talking about the issues concerning the diet of the people of Israel. And a couple of things stand out to me already at this point in chapter 11. First of all, we in the church are called to be a kingdom of priests. We're to be a people who represent to the nations, who God is, what God is about, what God is like. And of course, communicate his glorious gospel.
And so part of what we do as a kingdom of priests is we need to judiciously with wisdom, with grace, with nuance and tact live lives, but also speak words that communicate to our communities what is clean and unclean before God today. And that God, through the gospel of Jesus Christ can make anyone who is defiled or unclean by sin, He can make them clean because of the precious blood of Jesus Christ. I think also though, we need to recognize, as we see God speaking into the mundane issues of the diets of the people of Israel. We need to know that God cares about the mundane stuff of life. He cares about what we're watching and what we're listening to and how we're spend our time and how we treat the barista at Starbucks. He cares about all these small little interactions.
Sometimes we make the kingdom of God about these big and grandiose things, but here, the reality of heaven was really touching into their everyday stuff of earth. God was concerned with what they wore and what they ate and how they farmed and how they bought and sold. And so God is interested in the mundane areas of our lives. Now, as this chapter unfolds, one question that's going to come up, it's inevitable is we're going to wonder why did God allow and disallow certain animals for food? And to be honest with you, this has been something that has been debated for thousands of years longer than the church has been in existence. Jewish rabbis have been debating and now the church, just part of this debate on why there were certain animals that were considered clean and unclean before God. And there are various suggestions or answers that are given and they can't all be accurate or true. And I'll just give you a clue. I'm not sure why some of these were considered clean and unclean before God.
A one answer that many of the old rabbis used to give is that these are arbitrary commands from God. There's no rhyme or reason attached to them at all. And this paints God in an unthinking, unlogical manner. And so I think we need to watch out for that answer, but that's one answer that's been given. This is just an arbitrary list that God just pulled out of a hat. Another reason that some people give is the reason that they say in that time, the Canaanites had sacrificial systems and God didn't want them to mimic the sacrificial systems. He didn't want the Israelis to mimic the sacrificial systems of the Canaanites. And so He made these delineations. But the problem with that interpretation is that there are plenty of animals that God said could be sacrificed or could be eaten that the Canaanites also sacrificed or also ate.
Some people say that there are symbolic reasons for all of this, that for the people of Israel, they were the clean nation before God. And that the Gentile world was considered unclean before God and to become cleansed, they needed to know the living God and the people of Israel were supposed to introduce them to the God of all flesh so that they could receive him and themselves become clean. And as you look at these different animals, some would say, for instance, the Israelites weren't supposed to eat swine or pig. And so some would point out to natural things about pigs that are unclean as an example, and some of the filthy things that they do or something like that.
Land Animals
But that becomes a rather arbitrary way of interpreting this, to look at certain animals and say, "Well, obviously, that animal just feels like it's unclean because of the way that it behaves." I'm pretty sure that all of these animals do some pretty disgusting things from time to time. It seems like a bad way of interpreting scripture to make that the reason. Others, and this is a fairly popular interpretation have said that there were health reasons behind God's commandments. And certainly, there are some things about the commandments that God gave to the people of Israel that did promote great hygiene. For instance, later in the chapter, we're going to see that if a jar had been defiled or contaminated with the carcass of a rodent that had broken in or insects that had broken in, that jar needed to be thrown out. What it would encourage, of course, in the Israeli light society is good housekeeping and keeping the house clean, so that rats and rodents were not attracted to that space. And of course, that would lead to healthier living conditions.
And so there is something to the idea of good hygiene, but I think we have to be careful of that interpretation for a couple of reasons. There are some commands that are given even in this chapter that really don't make any hygienic sense. And also, it's only in our modern time that we're so infatuated with the idea of good health. It means so much to us. We got to be careful not to import our value system onto the Old Testament ceremonial loss. So as much as 21st century Western believers might be attracted to the idea that this was a healthy way of living before the modern sciences developed, I think we have to be a little cautious about that approach, because it really can only account for some of the prohibitions.
And when Jesus came onto the scene, He lifted many of these prohibitions. It seems like it would be silly for Him to do so, if in the mind of God, those prohibitions were there for hygienic health reasons, why would Jesus then lift them later on? The best that I can conclude is that these prohibitions are given by God for holiness reasons. And I think that there's a part of this where it defies human logic at times, as a way for the Israelites and a way for us now in our modern time to say, "We're not the ones who get to decide, God decides. God's ways are high above our ways, their past finding out and what God decrees for my life, I will submit to and accept because my father in heaven knows best. And even if I don't understand, or even if I don't understand all the reasoning behind the things that God has said, I want to submit to him."
Now to be candid and clear, most of the things that God has told us to do as believers, even in our modern time, for instance, the sexual ethic that God has given to us as human beings, there are great and incredible reasons for living out that sexual ethic. If 100% of humanity today from this point forward lived out the sexual ethic that is described in scripture, the world would be a happier, healthier, more wholesome, joyful, physically healthier place to live in. A society would be so much healthier and whole, and a place where children are safe if that sexual ethic was embraced. There's great reasons for the things that God says, but if we ever come across something, we don't really know exactly why God has declared that to us in His word.
3 Whatever parts the hoof and is cloven-footed and chews the cud, among the animals, you may eat. 4 Nevertheless, among those that chew the cud or part the hoof, you shall not eat these: The camel, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. 5 And the rock badger, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. 6 And the hare, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. 7 And the pig, because it parts the hoof and is cloven-footed but does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. 8 You shall not eat any of their flesh, and you shall not touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you.
We still should submit to it just as the ancient Israelites needed to submit to God, because we understand who God is. God is good. He is holy. He is right. He is pure. His ways are above our ways. So we want to submit to him. So I just love that God here deciding their diet. With that preamble to this whole chapter, let's get into verse three and following. God continues on talking to Moses and Aaron and says, "Whatever parts of the hoof and is cloven footed and chews the cud among the animals you may eat. Nevertheless, among those that chew the cud or part the hoof, you shall not eat these, the camel because it chews the cud, but does not part the hoof is unclean to you and the rock badger because it chews the cud, but does not part the hoof is unclean to you. And the hare because it chews the cud, but does not part the hoof is unclean to you and the pig because it parts of the hoof and is cloven-footed, but does not chew the cud is unclean to you. You shall not eat any of their flesh and you shall not touch their carcasses. They are unclean to you."
Again, some animals mentioned here in the list in Deuteronomy chapter 14, which of course was recorded later on or delivered later on, nine animals are mentioned as clean, including the deer, the wild deer and the antelope. There's a couple of animals here that are said to chew the cud which in actuality don't, but because of the way that there nose is twitched when they're eating, they look as if they do. The rock badger and the hare or the rabbit are mentioned here. And so that's likely what's happening. It's a description of what they look like they're doing. But God says, these are some of the animals that are unclean to you. The land animals that are unclean for you to eat.
Now, this is not the first time in scripture that the idea of clean and unclean animals for eating of food or of sacrifice is mentioned. In the days of Noah, you might remember when he filled the arc, there were certain animals that he took more of that were clean, and then he just a pair of each unclean animal. And so some of that had to do with the sacrifices that, Noah, would offer. Some of it had to do with the food that Noah would eat. But the idea of clean and unclean animals extends at least all the way back to the days of Noah before the flood.
There's not a reference about clean and unclean animals from Noah's day, all the way to the time of Moses, except for the possibility of the book of Job. Job is likely the most ancient book written in the Bible. Not that it's the first event to have happened. The events of Genesis, of course, were the first events to have happened. But Job is likely the first book to have been recorded, or at least possibly it is. And it does at times mention the difference between clean and unclean animals. But again, the idea here is that God is the one who decides.
Water Creatures
9 “These you may eat, of all that are in the waters. Everything in the waters that has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the rivers, you may eat. 10 But anything in the seas or the rivers that does not have fins and scales, of the swarming creatures in the waters and of the living creatures that are in the waters, is detestable to you. 11 You shall regard them as detestable; you shall not eat any of their flesh, and you shall detest their carcasses. 12 Everything in the waters that does not have fins and scales is detestable to you.
Verse nine, he moves on to the creatures in the sea or in the water. He says, "These you may eat of all that are in the waters, everything in the waters that fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the rivers, you may eat. But anything in the seas or the rivers that does not have fins and scales of the swarming creatures in the waters and of the living creatures that are in the waters is detestable to you. You shall regard them as detestable. You shall not eat any of their flesh and you shall detest their carcasses. Everything in the waters that does not have fins and scales is detestable to you." All right. So here, God gives the prescription for what they could eat from the water and fish that had fins and scales were considered clean and other water creatures that traveled in a different way, or didn't look that way, they were considered unclean. And again, the question is why? Why were the ones with fins and scales considered clean and the ones without were considered unclean?
Again, there are various answers that people give and a common answer is the idea of hygiene that fish with fins and scales were freely swimming, and were generally free of parasites, whereas bottom dwellers or creatures that were crawling on the bottom or scavenging or in the mud, they would be more prone to parasites and sicknesses.
There's also an idea and you can see this repeated through the different types of animals. We've seen land animals now, and now we're looking at water animals. There's the idea of the way that these animals travel. The fish with scales and fins traveled with a sense of normalcy. And then there were animals that traveled in just a different way, and God prohibits them from eating those animals. We see a similar thing with the four footed animals, animals that just had four feet with the hooves, they could be eaten. But those that didn't, they could not be eaten. They traveled in a different way. Maybe there is something to that where God is saying, "I want you to differentiate between just a normal standard animal in these different elements, and then animals that travel in a different way. These animals are traveling in an odd way, and I don't want you to partake of them."
But again, I just simply land on the idea that this was God's will, this was God's purpose for their lives. They had to learn how to enjoy what God had prescribed and despise that which God had forbidden. It was a choice that these people needed to make between pleasing themselves and being unclean or pleasing the Lord and being clean. There was no middle ground. God is telling them how they need to live their lives.
Birds
13 “And these you shall detest among the birds; they shall not be eaten; they are detestable: the eagle, the bearded vulture, the black vulture, 14 the kite, the falcon of any kind, 15 every raven of any kind, 16 the ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull, the hawk of any kind, 17 the little owl, the cormorant, the short-eared owl, 18 the barn owl, the tawny owl, the carrion vulture, 19 the stork, the heron of any kind, the hoopoe, and the bat.
Now, in verse 13, we get to the birds, or we get to the animals in the air. We've seen animals on land and the sea. And these verse 13, "You shall detest among the birds. They shall not be eaten. They are detestable, the Eagle, the bearded vulture, the black vulture, the kite, the Falcon of any kind, every Raven of any kind, the ostrich, the night Hawk, the seagull, the Hawk of any kind, the little owl, the cormorant, the short eared owl, the barn owl, the tawny owl, the carrion vulture, the stork, the heron of any kind, the hoopoe and the bat." None of these birds of flight and bats are thrown into this category, were supposed to be eaten by the people of Israel.
Now, these are some cool animals that God describes. I was walking early in the morning recently while it was still dark. And I saw a white owl hunting out in the field, and it was just marvelous to just watch this creature doing its thing. But here, this negative list is given, these are the types of birds they were not to eat. And again, the question is, why were these birds of prey because it's really what they are? Why were they considered unclean? Well, the common idea is that, well, they were hunters and because they hunted, they would eat blood and they'd interact with carcasses. Therefore, just like the people of Israel, if they touched blood, or if they interacted with a carcass, these birds of prey were ceremonially unclean.
And it is interesting because in the law, there are moments where even beasts animals are told to keep the law. The Sabbath was to be kept even by the beasts of burden in Israel, oxen and donkeys were to rest on that day. The first born of animals was meant to be consecrated and set apart to God, just like the first born of men were meant to be dedicated to the priesthood, or at least purchased back into their families so that the Levitical order could take care the priesthood. And so perhaps the idea here is that these birds are breaking the law by interacting with carcasses, drinking blood, or eating blood. And so they are unclean. There is a little notation or an addition to this in Deuteronomy 22:6, which says that, "They could eat the eggs of some of these animals, but they could not go after the mother bird." The idea being, you need to take care of the source of the food. You don't kill her, but then you can eat of the eggs. It has the idea there of being a good steward of creation so that it can continue to feed and sustain you, but you don't cut off the supply.
Winged Insects
20 “All winged insects that go on all fours are detestable to you. 21 Yet among the winged insects that go on all fours you may eat those that have jointed legs above their feet, with which to hop on the ground. 22 Of them you may eat: the locust of any kind, the bald locust of any kind, the cricket of any kind, and the grasshopper of any kind. 23 But all other winged insects that have four feet are detestable to you.
Number 20, it says, "All the winged insects that go on all fours are detestable to you, yet among the winged insects that go on all fours, you may eat those that have jointed legs above their feet with which to hop on the ground of them. You may eat the locust of any kind, the bald locust of any kind, the cricket of any kind and the grasshopper of any kind. But all other winged insects that have four feet are detestable to use." So insects forbidden, except God gives this exception regarding locusts or grasshoppers, insects that are able to hop on or off of the ground. And I'll just say it like this, nobody has any idea why this is accepted in God's sight, is just an interesting concept. Nobody really has any idea, except for perhaps the idea that again, God is thinking about the way that these animals travel. He thought about the way certain kind of fish travel, animals travel. Maybe that's what God is alluding to here, but at best, it's an unclear guess as to why God allowed this. Of course, we know in the New Testament that John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, he was sustained at least in part on a diet of locust out in the wilderness. So he was not breaking the law of God when he ate that way.
Carcasses
24 “And by these you shall become unclean. Whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening, 25 and whoever carries any part of their carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. 26 Every animal that parts the hoof but is not cloven-footed or does not chew the cud is unclean to you. Everyone who touches them shall be unclean. 27 And all that walk on their paws, among the animals that go on all fours, are unclean to you. Whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening, 28 and he who carries their carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening; they are unclean to you.
Verse 24, he says, "And by these, you shall become uncle. Whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening. And whoever carries any part of their carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. Every animal that parts the hoof, but is not cloven-footed or does not chew the cud is unclean to you. Everyone who touches them shall be unclean and all that walk on their paws among the animals that go on all fours are unclean to you. Whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening. And he who carries their carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening, they are unclean to you. So the Hebrew people, the Jewish people were not only supposed to avoid eating these animals according to this paragraph, but they were also to avoid touching their dead carcasses.
And some of these laws would definitely have promoted good hygiene in the camp or amongst the nation. It would help them control the spread of rats, eating these carcasses and unclean animals like spiders or flies or bugs or mice not interacting with them would definitely control sickness, pestilent, and days like those. Perhaps that's what's happening here, but God says you're not allowed to touch these carcasses, if you do, you're unclean until the evening. And the idea would be that they'd go through a ceremonial cleansing process, which of course, would promote great hygiene as well.
Small Creatures
29 “And these are unclean to you among the swarming things that swarm on the ground: the mole rat, the mouse, the great lizard of any kind, 30 the gecko, the monitor lizard, the lizard, the sand lizard, and the chameleon. 31 These are unclean to you among all that swarm. Whoever touches them when they are dead shall be unclean until the evening.
32 And anything on which any of them falls when they are dead shall be unclean, whether it is an article of wood or a garment or a skin or a sack, any article that is used for any purpose. It must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the evening; then it shall be clean. 33 And if any of them falls into any earthenware vessel, all that is in it shall be unclean, and you shall break it. 34 Any food in it that could be eaten, on which water comes, shall be unclean. And all drink that could be drunk from every such vessel shall be unclean. 35 And everything on which any part of their carcass falls shall be unclean. Whether oven or stove, it shall be broken in pieces. They are unclean and shall remain unclean for you. 36 Nevertheless, a spring or a cistern holding water shall be clean, but whoever touches a carcass in them shall be unclean. 37 And if any part of their carcass falls upon any seed grain that is to be sown, it is clean, 38 but if water is put on the seed and any part of their carcass falls on it, it is unclean to you.
"And these," verse 29, "Are unclean to you from the swarming things that swarm on the ground, the mole rat, the mouse, the great lizard of any kind, the gecko, the monitor lizard, the lizard, the sand lizard, and the chameleon. These are unclean to you among all that swarm. Whoever touches them when they are dead, shall be unclean until the evening.
And anything on which any of them falls when they are dead, shall be unclean. Whether it's an article of wood or a garment or a skin or a sack, any article that is used for any purpose, it must be put into water and it shall be unclean until the evening. Then it shall be clean. And if any of them falls in any earth and wear vessel, all that is in it shall be unclean and you shall break it, any food in it that could be eaten on which water comes, shall be unclean and all drink that could be drunk from every such vessel shall be unclean.
And everything on which any part of their carcass falls shall be unclean, whether oven or stove, it shall be broken in pieces. They are unclean and shall remain unclean for you. Nevertheless, the spring or a cistern holding water shall be clean, but whoever touches a carcass in them shall be unclean. And if any part of their carcass falls upon any seed, that is to be sewn, is clean, but if water is put on the seed and any part of their carcass falls on it, it is unclean to you."
Now, some of the animals mention in this paragraph highlight some of the difficulty of interacting with the Old Testament in our modern time, and especially the book of Leviticus, because some of the animals that are listed, if you read this passage in five or six different English translations, you'd probably see five or six different suggestions for what some of these animals are. It's hard to know exactly what the Hebrew word from ancient times means for our modern time today. It's impossible to be sure of their identifications, this is one of the elements that's helpful to us in our modern time to help us understand that the law, this law, this ceremonial law is not for us today because it's hard for us to deduce which animals are even spoken of in that time.
But for us as Christians, the details are not important. But the question that we might have again ask is why were these creatures not allowed to be eaten or to be touched by God? The idea here is that they're unclean because they're swarming animals. Why is that something, a behavior that would cause uncleanness in God's sight. Some have suggested that it's because when God created, he took chaos and made order, and these animals operate in a chaotic fashion. The way that they swarm, the way that they move very unlike the other animals that the people of Israel could eat. And that chaos is something that needs to be reject. I believe that interpretation is a stretch, but nonetheless, it's at least interesting to us. But again, the idea here as is mentioned in verse 37 and 38, is that God is making a decision about what is clean and what is unclean. 32 times in this chapter, you'll find the word unclean and 10 times you'll find the word abomination.
Theological Conclusion
39 “And if any animal which you may eat dies, whoever touches its carcass shall be unclean until the evening, 40 and whoever eats of its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. And whoever carries the carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening.
41 “Every swarming thing that swarms on the ground is detestable; it shall not be eaten. 42 Whatever goes on its belly, and whatever goes on all fours, or whatever has many feet, any swarming thing that swarms on the ground, you shall not eat, for they are detestable. 43 You shall not make yourselves detestable with any swarming thing that swarms, and you shall not defile yourselves with them, and become unclean through them. 44 For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground. 45 For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.”
God is the one declaring what is good, what is right and what is evil and unclean for His people. And then in verse 39, he says, "And if any animal which you may eat dies, whoever touches its carcass she'll be until the evening. And whoever eats of its carcass, shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. And whoever carries the carcass shall washes his clothes and be unclean until the evening. Every swarming thing that swarms on the ground is detestable. It shall not be eaten. Whatever goes on its belly, whatever goes on all fours, whatever has many feet, any swarming thing that swarms on the ground, you shall not eat for their detestable. You shall not make yourselves detestable with any swarming thing that swarms and you shall not defile yourselves with them and become unclean through them for I am the Lord, your God. Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy for I'm holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground, for I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be Holy for I am Holy."
And again, the idea here from God, He gives us general statement, a call to His people to be holy, to pursue holiness. The Bible tells us whether we eat or drink, whatever we do, we should do all to the glory of God. And of course, we live in a time where these dietary laws do not govern us as Christians. When Jesus came, he abolished the middle wall of separation, so that delineation between clean Israel and unclean nations was destroyed by Jesus. And so now clean and unclean is delineated by the blood of Christ. Anybody who's under the blood is now clean in the sight of God. And He wants everybody, He desires that all men, the Bible tells us would be saved. He wants people to become clean by placing their faith in Jesus Christ. But for those of us who have this call from God remains, be holy for I am holy and consecrate yourselves, therefore.
I think one of the big things that I get from some of these passages in Leviticus, passages like the chapter that we've just read is that as a believer, I want to be a person who by reason of mind, by the study of scripture is able to discern between good and evil. This is one of the things that Solomon prayed about when he became king in Israel. He went before God, he said, "God, I'm like a little child. I don't know how to go out. I don't know how to come in, but give me wisdom that I might discern between good and evil."
And we need this. God's word is a treasure concerning helping us know what is good and what is evil, but it takes study and meditation and thought. And each new era of human history provides fresh opportunities for us to take the timeless truth of God's word and apply it to the temporary issues of our society and culture. But we have to do the work. We need to be like these priests in the book of Leviticus, able to discern with our minds, as we apply God's word, what is good and what is evil. And then, of course, there's not just the concept of knowing what is good and what is evil, but then disciplining ourselves to become a people who are consuming that which is right, are doing that which is good and are living out the life the Lord has asked us to live.
He says, "Be holy for I am holy." I thank God every day of my life that Jesus Christ, His blood, His cross has made me holy before God. But now what I want to do is I want to pursue that life of holiness. I want to live out the holiness that has been deposited into my account. These laws, which again, might seem silly to us were very important to ancient Israel. They were reminders to Israel, you're different. And when we, as Christians, read in the New Testament the dictates of God, the word of the apostles, the exercitation that are given to us, things that just will make us be different and stand out from society. We should not despise those, we should embrace them and say, "This is part of who I am as God's child." Just like ancient Israel had these laws that made them different and stand out from the nations. We should accept the word of God governing our lives so that we can be different as well.
46 This is the law about beast and bird and every living creature that moves through the waters and every creature that swarms on the ground, 47 to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean and between the living creature that may be eaten and the living creature that may not be eaten.
He says in verse 46, "This is the law about beast and bird and every living creature that moves through the waters, and every creature that swarms on the ground to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean and between the living creatures that may be eaten and the living creature that may not be eaten. Again, the laws concerning what the people of Israel could and could not eat. Now, of course, when we get to the New Testament and I realize I'm saying over and over again, that these particular laws do not apply to us, but some of you might be wondering, well, why is that the case?
Well, Jesus, when he came along, he actually began the process. It wasn't something that the apostles instituted themself. Jesus began the process of challenging the norms that had become accepted. He started the process of teaching and the defilement doesn't come from outside in by what you eat or consume. But from the inside out that all of this was emblematic of the problem of the human heart. Jesus started that process, but once He then died was buried rose from the dead and imparted His spirit to His church and particularly His disciples who became apostles. And then he ascended to the right hand of the father. They then went out and they began to flesh this out in some specific ways. One way was a massive development in Acts 10:11, where Peter was told by God through a vision to not call anything common or unclean that God himself had cleansed. He had a vision that was attached to it, of a sheet coming down from heaven, with all of these unclean animals, according to Leviticus 11, with the voice of God saying, "Rise, Peter, kill and eat."
He says, "God, you know I've never eaten anything like that. I've never touched anything common or unclean." But God said, "What I've cleansed you must not call common." This was a vision that was a preemptory word from God for Peter when he went to the house of a man named Cornelius, a Gentile who summoned Peter and the spirit told Peter to go. And when Peter got there, this house was filled with Gentiles. He says, "This is not what I normally do. I don't normally walk through the threshold of a Gentile home. What can I do for you? How can I help you?" And they asked him to share with them what he knew. And so he shared the gospel. He told the life of Jesus. He shared the gospel with them and they believed as he spoke and the spirit fell upon them just like the spirit fell upon the church in Acts chapter two.
And what Peter recognized was that God had accepted these people, not because of their allegiance to, or obedience to Leviticus 11, but that God had cleansed what was previously common. He had cleansed what was previously unclean. And he went back to Jerusalem and championed this reality to the church in an Acts 15, the church gathered together. All of the leadership gathered together. Paul and Barnabas testified to the way they'd seen God moving amongst the Gentile world and the early church made a decision. We're not going to take the requirements and dictates of the Old Testament law for the people of Israel, the ceremonial portions of it, especially, and lay it upon the shoulders of the Gentile church. Instead, we're going to tell them to keep some basic commandments to refrain from sexual immorality because that's a timeless truth. And we're going to ask them to just move forward in walking with the Lord
Ephesians 2:13 says, "Now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off, have been brought near by the blood of Christ." That's the idea here is that we're not under Leviticus chapter of 11, and those are some of the reasons why. But again, I just encourage you, let God be the one who decides what you consume and the way that you live.
Leviticus 12
Now, chapter 12 is a very brief eight verse chapter, it's just an interesting chapter. It's about the way that a woman in Israel needed to respond to childbirth. She'd be ceremonially unclean after childbirth. And so God gives a prescription as to how to go through the process of becoming clean. Now we're shifting here, we're still in the same section, dealing with cleanness and uncleanness. And we will be for a little while, but now we're moving into the ritual defilement that follows childbirth.
Purification After Childbirth
1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If a woman conceives and bears a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days. As at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. 3 And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. 4 Then she shall continue for thirty-three days in the blood of her purifying. She shall not touch anything holy, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying are completed.
"The Lord," verse one, "Spoke to Moses saying, speak to the people of Israel saying if a woman conceives and bears a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days. As at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. And on the eighth day, the flesh of his four skin shall be circumcised. Then she shall continue for 33 days in the blood of her purifying. She shall not touch anything Holy nor come into the sanctuary until the days of her purifying are completed." There's a little hint there in that paragraph about the days of her menstruation, she's going to be unclean just like she would be on the days of her menstruation. And when we get to chapter 15, we'll see that spelled out in more detail. But the idea here is that after a woman gave birth, there be a period of waiting before she could come into the temple, offer some sacrifices or tabernacle, offer some sacrifices and be declared ceremonially clean before God.
None of this really had anything to do, as you can tell with sin, it was not a sin to bear a child. It was not a sin to grow a family. She was not guilty of any time lists sin, but a temporary ceremonially unclean activity. And people have tried to figure out why was this considered ceremonially unclean for a woman to give birth. And there have been different options that have been held out, perhaps the idea that there was a discharge, of dead matter coming from her body, along with the living baby, perhaps there were health concerns.
This was just good hygiene. You need to just rest and heal up. Perhaps it was just a practical matter where God was creating a way and a space for a woman to recover for a long time. Have a maternity leave before then going in and being cleansed. Perhaps this was for the health of a baby, because if anyone interacting with her becomes unclean, then there would be a constant ceremonial cleansing of her space and her home. And this would likely lead to a decrease in germs so that the children that are born could survive, and so could the mother at a higher rate than in places where they did not observe that of hygienic lifestyle. Could have been a lot of different reasons.
But definitely, the birth of a baby was a cause for great celebration in Israel. It was no sin to be cleansed up. And when they actually would come in and offer their sacrifices, they would offer a burnt offering first and then a sin offering second. And when someone really committed a sin, they would offer a sin offering first, then a burnt offering. My theory is that, or at least, I wouldn't be surprised. I don't know that it's my theory. I just wouldn't be surprised if the reason why there's uncleanness, at least, in part is because she's just given birth to a sinner. She just introduced a new center to planet earth and we all need the blood. We all need sacrifice. We all need cleansing. Perhaps that's part of what's happening here.
Now we learn or see again that on the eighth day, the Jewish baby boys would be circumcised. This is different than many other nations that even at that time were practicing circumcision, but it was a rite of passage for a teenage boy becoming a man. That's not what's happening here. They're just immediately marked as different before the Lord. Now, there is something interesting here because we're given certain requirements for if she has a baby boy. Seven days, she will be uncleaned. The eighth day, he will be circumcised and then 33 days she'll continue after that for purification.
5 But if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstruation. And she shall continue in the blood of her purifying for sixty-six days.
But verse five, "if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean two weeks as in her menstruation. And she shall continue in the blood of her purifying for 66 days." Everything is doubled for a baby girl. A baby boy is born and the mom is unclean just like she would be on the days of her cycle or menstruation or period for seven days. But for a baby 14 days, two weeks.
And then after the baby boy's circumcision, she would be resting and continue in the blood of her purifying for 33 days, but for a baby girl, 66 days. So exactly double. And of course, this brings up the question, why? Why would it be longer for a baby girl? And I've been saying really throughout this whole study, it's unclear in our modern time, why? But there are some suggestions. Some think that this was just an age old custom, that was old Israel practice which thought of the new mother as unclean. And so they just endorsed this practice in the law.
Others think that this was a cultural influence that in many countries, since girls are less desirable than boys are and wrongly so, perhaps a thoughtless husband would have taken poorer care of his wife if she had a girl. And so this doubling of the number would force him to really make sure that she had a time of rest and care for her twice as much, even if she'd had a son. Some wonder if there's a ceremonial for shadowing here, baby girl is potentially going to grow up to be a mother herself, have a baby, and then become ceremonially unclean. Maybe there's a doubling because of mother and daughter, both having that potential of having a child. And some wonder if there's a connection here with protecting baby girls health a little bit better than protecting the health of boys because baby girls tend to be smaller at birth than baby boys are. And perhaps there's a health concern here where they're going to protect her so that she can grow and she can thrive, just be with her mom for a period of time and get stronger.
And I really don't know what the answer is or why God has given this prescription or requirement? I know that He loves baby boys. He loves baby girls. But this is just part of His law, something different for the people of Israel to embrace. Whatever the reason, God used His sovereign right, in a sense and mark a distinction from the very beginning between baby boys and baby girls. I don't think there's any sense in which God is saying one is better than the other, but they clearly are different in his sight. And God has different plans and dreams and desires for boys than he does girls and girls than he does boys. And He's just starting that out right off bat in the nation of Israel.
6 “And when the days of her purifying are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb a year old for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering, 7 and he shall offer it before the Lord and make atonement for her. Then she shall be clean from the flow of her blood. This is the law for her who bears a child, either male or female. 8 And if she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. And the priest shall make atonement for her, and she shall be clean.”
Now let's close our time together by looking at the last few verses. Verse six, "And when the days of her purifying are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb a year old for a burnt offering and a pigeon or a turtle dove for a sin offering. And he shall offer it before the Lord and make atonement for her. And then she shall be cleaned from the flow of her blood. This is the law for her who bears a child, either male or female. And if she can not afford the lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons, one for a burnt offering. And the other for a sin offering and the priest shall make atonement for her and she shall be clean." This describes the process that they would go through to actually become ceremonially clean. And as I mentioned already, it's not that the mother was guilty of any sin, but this was just an activity that made her ceremonially unclean. And so she needed to go through this process to become cleansed by God.
Now, she had the opportunity to offer a lamb, but if she was poor, then she could offer, it says in verse eight, two turtledoves or two pigeons. And of course, in the New Testament, it's recorded for us in Luke 2, that when Mary, the mother of Jesus dedicated Jesus on the eighth day, fulfilling this law, she did not offer a lamb. She was poor. She offered two turtledoves before God.
And so she qualified for this concession and she used it, which helps us understand the environment that Jesus was born into. And that makes us rejoice over Jesus afresh in some powerful ways that as Paul said, "Though, He was rich, for your sake, He became poor. He laid down his life in every way and every measure, not just going to the cross, but as He became one of us, as He partook of humanity, he took partook of the poorest of humanity. And that just makes Him all the more beautiful in our sight.
And so then if she did all of these things, it says in verse eight, all these sacrifices, she would become clean. She would become clean. And again, this reminds us that God is the one who decides not just what we should consume or what we should partake up, but he's the one who decides who is clean and who is unclean in his sight. It says in Revelation 21:27, that, "Nothing unclean will ever enter into heaven, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life."
So all the way to the very end through all of eternity, God will be the one who determines who is clean and unclean. And the people of Israel were meant to be a living witness and testimony to that reality and truth. To our modern sensibilities, where we think that everything should be clean in God's sight, we have to take a step back and say, "No, we're not the ones who get to make that decision. It is God who makes that decision, but by the grace of God, everyone can be clean by the precious blood of Jesus Christ." God bless you church. Have an incredible week.