Leviticus 11
OGCLeviticus 11:1-8
**C. THE LAWS OF PURITY 11:1-15:30
- LAWS OF CLEAN AND UNCLEAN FOOD 11.1-47 a. FROM THE STANDPOINT OF DIET 11:1-23 (1) QUADRUPEDS 11:1-8 TEXT 11:1-8**
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And Jehovah spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them,
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Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the living things which ye may eat among all the beasts that are on the earth.
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Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that may ye eat.
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Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that part the hoof: the camel, because he cheweth the cud but parteth not the hoof, he is unclean unto you.
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And the coney, because he cheweth the cud but parteth not the hoof, he is unclean unto you.
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And the hare, because she cheweth the cud but parteth not the hoof, she is unclean unto you.
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And the swine, because he parteth the hoof, and is cloven-footed, but cheweth not the cud, he is unclean unto you.
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Of their flesh ye shall not eat, and their carcasses ye shall not touch; they are unclean unto you.
THOUGHT QUESTIONS 11:1-8
Is there any significance in the fact that God addresses Himself to both Moses and Aaron?
Why is God concerned with the diet of His people?
The beasts of the earth are contrasted with other animals upon the earth. What is the contrast?
Are we to understand that parts the hoof is one characteristic and cloven-footed is another? Explain.
Just what happens when an animal chews the cud?
Is there something wrong with the meat obtained from a camel?
Do we have rock badgers today? Where?
Is the hare of Lev 11:6 the same as our rabbit?
Show some similar characteristics of all these unclean beasts.
Was a person unclean if he touched the unclean beast while it was still alive? Why unclean after death?
PARAPHRASE 11:1-8
Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, Tell the people of Israel that the animals which may be used for food include any animal with cloven hooves which chews its cud. This means that the following may not be eaten: The camel (it chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves); the coney, or rock badger (because although it chews the cud, it does not have cloven hooves); the swine (because although it has cloven hooves, it does not chew the cud). You may not eat their meat or even touch their dead bodies; they are forbidden foods for you.
COMMENT 11:1-8
Leviticus 11:1-2 No one will be saved until he first discovers he is lost. Forgiveness is not appreciated by one who has no sense of guilt. Atonement means nothing until a deep sense of personal sin has been established. There is a two-fold purpose in the distinctions here established: (1) to become aware of the plain fact that there are those (of animals, fish and fowl) which God accepts and those which He rejects. It is right because God said it wasit was wrong because God said it was. Holy or unholyclean or unclean by God’s definitionnot man’S. Essentially this establishes in the mind of the sons of Israel the sovereignty of God. (2) These beasts were unclean from a dietary point of view, i. e. with the circumstances of food preparation the flesh of such animals would not be nutritious. There is always a practical side to God’s prohibitions if we look deeply enough. Even if we cannot find itour ignorance, not His choice, we need to call into question. There was nothing morally wrong in the beasts, but when man has developed his moral sensitivity in the choice of food he will be able to use the same sense in the choices that do have intrinsic moral distinctions. As example: there are clean and unclean women, i. e. your wife or a prostitute. There is clean or unclean money: that which is earned and that which is stolen. It will be much easier to keep your hands off the unclean if you exercise your moral sense in the choice of food. We ought to add that second and third helpings of food is unclean in the sense that it leads to gluttony. Gluttons are often immoral in more than eating.
Leviticus 11:3-4 Deuteronomy 14:1 ff gives us another list of the clean and unclean. A few more specific examples are included in Deuteronomy not listed here. Leviticus gives us the principle by which we should be able to make our own choices of clean and unclean among the larger animals of the earth.
The separation of the hoof must be complete, i.e. with no membrane or walking pod, such as is found on the dog or lion. Chewing the cud involves the use of more than one stomach and the regurgitation of the grass or greenery eaten. Chewing the cud eliminates all carnivorous or flesh-eating animals. If there is any spiritual lesson in this for us it is that God makes a judgment on the mouth and the feet. Both must be under His control before we can be pleasing to Him. We might also say that we are reckoned holy out of His grace and decisionour words and walk only demonstrates our cleanness, it does not produce it.
It would seem that man has such perversity in accepting the distinctions of God and creates a question where there is none. We can almost hear someone say, What about the camel? God is very patient with man’s questionsThe camel is unclean! There are other animals where no ambiguity exists. In doubtful cases it is always safe to consider the animal unclean. Of course all such distinctions have long since disappeared when He cleansed the common and asked us to call nothing unclean (Cf. Acts 10:1 ff and 2 Timothy 3:1-9).
Leviticus 11:5-8 The hare here described is not our rabbit; it resembles it but is of a different specie. As the writer prepared his research for this writing project he had a choice of distilling into his own vernacular the material read. Most of the time this was the procedure, but ever and anon he came upon a passage that spoke so well he felt constrained to share it; such is the case herea quote from Andrew Bonar:
In Noah’s day, the distinction between clean and unclean was known; but only in its rudiments. That general rule is now branched out into particulars. By this new constitution, sin was much oftener brought before the eyes and into the thoughts of the godly men of Israel. For suppose an Israelite of quick discernment in the fear of the Lord going forth to his labour. As he goes forth, he meets one leading a camel along. The sight of this animal, marked as unclean in the law, stirs up his soul to reflect upon God’s having His eye on His people to see if they avoid sin and remember His revealed will; and just because this animal was one of those that it would have been difficult to determine whether it belonged to the clean or unclean, had not express authority decided, he is reminded that it will be safe for himself to observe the Lord’s positive decision in things that have a doubtful aspect. He walks onward. As he crosses the field, a hare starts from its form, and speeds past him. Here he is reminded that there are things which God has expressly forbidden, and which he must avoid with as much fear as this timid hare hastens its escape from him. As he passes near some rocky part of his farm, the coney, or wuber, attracts his eye, and deepens the remembrance that God has made a difference between good and evil; while it teaches him to hide from the approach of the least appearance of evil, even as that coney, at the sight of a foe, betakes itself to its rocks. In the more woody and wild scenes, he sees the swine and the wild boar enjoying their retreats in savage filthiness. There he again is reminded of the law of his God; and there he reads at the same time the filth of iniquityits impure, loathsome aspectthe swine wallowing in the mire, and the wild boar stretching his carcass at ease, or sharpening his tusks for some effort of destruction.
We have, in Deuteronomy 14:1-29, an enumeration of the principal clean animals. These would, in like manner, remind the Israelite of what was holy. One went forth to his flocks, and there the sheep, feeding in their pastures, spoke to him of the clean and holy ones whom the Lord watches over as their Shepherd. Another, who beheld the wild goat, amid solitary rocks where scarcely any foot ever trod, feels himself taught that the Lord has kept up the difference between holy and unholy even in the deepest solitude; while, at the same time, he reads the doctrine of a sustaining providence in the safety of the wild goat on its precipices. The hart, leaping in its joy, or hastening to quench its thirst in water-brooks leads his thoughts to holiness. It is a clean animal; it may guide his thoughts; it may remind him of the saint’s panting after God. Again; the roebuck, or gazelle, amid the fragrant shrubs, spoke of holy distinctions, and might lead up his soul to the beauty of holiness amid the enchanting beauty of earth’s rich scenery. It may have been thus that it was first seen by Solomon, in the hills of Bethlehem; and often, in after days, it would tell an Israelite of Him who was to come as a roe on the mountains of spices. They could not gaze on the beautiful antlers of the fallow-deer, nor on the pygarg (or lidmee), with its double-sized horns and double strength, on the buffalo’S wild might, or the chamois, sent out by God to people the very cliffs of the rockthey could never gaze on these merely with the feelings of one admiring a creating God; they were led to think of them as connecting them with a holy God, who discerned between the clean and the unclean, and sought the redemption of His fallen creatures. And thus there was a check in Israel upon the mere sentimental admirers of nature; their God superadded the idea of sin and holiness to all the objects they beheld.
FACT QUESTIONS 11:1-8
Give and explain the two-fold purpose God had in the distinctions He used among the animals. What application to us can we find here?
Define carefully the two characteristics of the clean animal.
What spiritual lesson is in this for us?
What shall we do in doubtful cases?
Discuss Bonar’s description.
Leviticus 11:9-12
(2) SEAFOOD 11:9-12 TEXT 11:9-12
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These may ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, that may ye eat.
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And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of all the living creatures that are in the waters, they are an abomination unto you,
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and they shall be an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, and their carcasses ye shall have in abomination.
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Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that is an abomination unto you.
THOUGHT QUESTIONS 11:9-12
Why not eat cat fish?
Wouldn-’t this limit their choice?
How could this apply to those who lived inland?
PARAPHRASE 11:9-12
As to fish, you may eat whatever has fins and scales, whether taken from rivers or from the sea; but all other water creatures are strictly forbidden to you. You mustn-’t eat their meat or even touch their dead bodies. I-’ll repeat it againany water creature that does not have fins or scales is forbidden to you.
COMMENT 11:9-12
Leviticus 11:9-12 Once again the prohibition is for your health as well as disciplinary reasons. All fish with fins and scales would be nutritioussurely this did give Israel a wide variety of seafood. We need to remember that several of the tribes when their allotment was given them lived by the seaside, either of the Mediterranean or the Sea of Galilee. The other tribes lived near enough to streams of water to be able to exercise this regulation. For those who were commercially engaged the Lord evidenced His care over the spiritual and physical health of the seaman and fishers of Israel. It tried their faith when they needed to cast away whatever unclean fish they had enclosed in their net. Some, indeed might reckon such minute and arbitrary rules as these to be trifling. But the principle involved in obedience or disobedience was none other than the same principle which was tried in Eden at the foot of the forbidden tree. It was really thisIs the Lord to be obeyed in all things whatsoever He commands? Is He a holy lawgiver? Are His creatures bound to give implicit assent to His will? (Ibid.)
When the Lord was recognized as one of infinite love and mercyOne of joy and peace, such regulations would then be regarded as what they were: expressions of concern and care for those whom He loved. Most of all the Creator wanted to fill land, sea and air with tangible evidence of His sovereignty and holiness. When a son of Jacob ate a fish or an animal or fowl with the thought, How good of God to let me know what was the very best of food! then God’s purpose was fulfilled. Unfortunately Satan was ever ready to suggest that the reason God refused some food was because it was the best, He is really selfish and hates you. He is holding out the best for Himself. What a terrible lie! and yet it is told and believed every day.
FACT QUESTIONS 11:9-12
Read a map and name the tribes to whom this regulation had particular application.
Show how this related to the economic and social life of Israel.
Aren-’t these really rather trifling regulations?
Show how this relates to today.
Leviticus 11:13-19
(3) BIRDS 11:13-19 TEXT 11:13-19
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And these ye shall have in abomination among the birds; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the gier-eagle, and the ospray,
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and the kite, and the falcon after its kind,
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every raven after its kind,
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and the ostrich, and the night-hawk, and the sea-mew, and the hawk after its kind,
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and the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl,
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and the horned owl, and the pelican, and the vulture,
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and the stork, the heron after its kind, and the hoopoe, and the bat.
THOUGHT QUESTIONS 11:13-19
Name ten unclean birds. Why list so many of them?
Is there some uniform characteristic of these birds?
PARAPHRASE 11:13-19
Among the birds, these are the ones you may not eat: the eagle, the metire, the osprey, the falcon (all kinds), the kite, the raven (all kinds), the ostrich, the nighthawk, the seagull, the hawk (all kinds), the owl, the cormorant, the ibis, the marsh hen, the pelican, the vulture, the stork, the heron (all kinds), the hoopoe, the bat.
COMMENT 11:13-19
Leviticus 11:13-16 We could conveniently divide these unclean birds into two categories: (1) Birds of the air: the eagle, the vulture, the ospray (the fish-hawk), the kite, the falcon, the ravensix birds of the air. (2) Birds of the earth, i.e. that live and eat nearer the earth than the above: the ostrich, the night-hawk (or a certain species of owl known to Syria), the sea gull, the hawk (small hawk of the field), the owl (we would consider this as the common barn owl)five birds of the earth. Much description could be givenand has been given concerning the nature and habitat of such birds. We refer the reader to other works on this subject.
Leviticus 11:17-19 Among several works we have found this description too good to miss:
The cormorant might be seen all over the surface of the Mediterranean, near its shores, sailing gracefully on the calm waves, or fluttering boldly amid the foaming billows in the storm, seeking its victims. The great owl, or bittern, might be heard booming from the sedges of the waters of Merom or of Jordan, busy all the time in industrious search for what would fill its appetite; and along with it the swan, or purple-bird (porphyrio hyacinthinus), seeking its supply of fishes by the side of lakes and rivers. By the shore of the Sea of Galilee, the pelican fished for its prey, and stored what it found in the bag wherewith it is provided. The gier-eagle is very tender of its young, according to its Hebrew name, yet in their behalf unsparingly seizes fish or winged fowl. It manifests evil in combination with good, and being pronounced unclean, led Israel to entertain abhorrence of any mixture of good and evil. The same lesson might be learnt from the stork. It was a bird familiarly known, nesting in the roofs of their houses, possessed of strong social and parental affections, yet feeding on lizards, frogs, serpents, and other living things. Last of all, the heron, angry and irritable, would often startle the man of God in some solitary spot, where it stood watching for its prey; the hoopoe, also, or lapwing, beautiful in feathers, yet filthy in habits, and noisy in its cry; and the bat (into whose retreats the shining idols of the heathen shall yet be cast, no more to catch the eye by their gaudy show, Isaiah 2:20), coming forth at evening-tide, when the air was still, hunting in the dusk for its food, and often flapping its wings most unexpectedly on the passer-by, and unpleasantly disturbing his quiet thoughts. All these, not only kept up to remembrance that there was a difference between clean and uncleansin and holinessgood and evilbut, by their individual qualities, impressed dislike for the unclean, and taught Israel to associate most unpleasant ideas with whatever was forbidden. (Andrew Bonar)
FACT QUESTIONS 11:13-19
Name the two categories of birds and give three examples for each.
Discuss the meaning of Bonar’s description.
Leviticus 11:20-23
(4) INSECTS 11:20-23 TEXT 11:20-23
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All winged creeping things that go upon all fours are an abomination unto you.
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Yet these may ye eat of all winged creeping things that go upon all fours, which have legs above their feet, wherewith to leap upon the earth;
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even these of them ye may eat: the locust after its kind, and the bald locust after its kind, and the cricket after its kind, and the grasshopper after its kind.
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But all winged creeping things, which have four feet, are an abomination unto you.
THOUGHT QUESTIONS 11:20-23
What insects could be eaten?
How could one recognize a clean insect?
PARAPHRASE 11:20-23
Flying insects with four legs must not be eaten, with the exception of those that jump; locusts of all varietiesordinary locusts, bald locusts, crickets, and grasshoppersmay be eaten. All other things that fly and have four feet are forbidden to you.
COMMENT 11:20-23
Leviticus 11:20-23 Here are instructions concerning winged insects: there are some of them which are edible: two kinds of locust; the cricket and the grasshopper. If the insect does not have legs by which it can leap it is unclean. A good number of authorities agree that locusts were eaten by many of the nations of antiquity, both in Asia and Africa, and even the ancient Greeks thought them very agreeable in flour. In Arabia (even today) they are sold in the market, sometimes strung upon cords, sometimes by measure, and they are also dried and kept in bags for winter use.. They are generally cooked over hot coals, or on a plate, or in an oven, or stewed in butter, and eaten either with salt or with spice and vinegar, the head and wings, and feet being thrown away. (Keil) Cf. Matthew 3:4.
FACT QUESTIONS 11:20-23
Name three clean insects.
Comment on the quote from Keil.
b. CLEAN AND UNCLEAN FOOD AS RELATED TO **PHYSICAL CONTACT 11:24-43
**
Leviticus 11:24-43
TEXT 11:24-43
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And by these ye shall become unclean: whosoever toucheth the carcass of them shall be unclean until the even;
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and whosoever beareth aught of the carcass of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even.
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Every beast which parteth the hoof, and is not clovenfooted, nor cheweth the cud, is unclean unto you: every one that toucheth them shall be unclean.
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And whatsoever goeth upon its paws, among all beasts that go on all fours, they are unclean unto you: whoso toucheth their carcass shall be unclean until the even.
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And he that beareth the carcass of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: they are unclean unto you.
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And these are they which are unclean unto you among the creeping things that creep upon the earth: the weasel, and the mouse, and the great lizard after its kind,
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and the gecko, and the land-crocodile, and the lizard, and the sand-lizard, and the chameleon.
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These are they which are unclean to you among all that creep: whosoever doth touch them, when they are dead, shall be unclean until the even.
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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, wherewith any work is done, it must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the even; then shall it be clean.
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And every earthen vessel, whereinto any of them falleth, whatsoever is in it shall be unclean, and it ye shall break.
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All food therein which may be eaten, that on which water cometh, shall be unclean; and all drink that may be drunk in every such vessel shall be unclean.
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And everything whereupon any part of their carcass falleth shall be unclean; whether oven, or range for pots, it shall be broken in pieces: they are unclean, and shall be unclean unto you.
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Nevertheless a fountain or a pit wherein is a gathering of water shall be clean: but that which toucheth their carcass shall be unclean.
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And if aught of their carcass fall upon any sowing seed which is to be sown, it is clean.
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But if water be put upon the seed, and aught of their carcass fall thereon, it is unclean unto you.
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And if any beast, of which ye may eat, die; he that toucheth the carcass thereof shall be unclean until the even.
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And he that eateth of the carcass of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: he also that beareth the carcass of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even.
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and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth is an abomination; it shall not be eaten.
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Whatsoever goeth upon the belly, and whatsoever goeth upon all fours, or whatsoever hath many feet, even 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.
THOUGHT QUESTIONS 11:24-43
In touching a dead body a person became uncleanfor what purpose was he unclean? Why only until evening?
Supposing a farmer found the dead body of an unclean animal upon his property. What is he to do?
If the animal was touched while yet alive was the person yet unclean?
What animal would be included among those that go on their paws?
Why classify the weasel, the mouse and the great lizard, etc., in a separate category?
If a person dropped his coat on one of the unclean animals what is he to do with his coat?
Why break the earthen vessels? Supposing such a vessel was not broken?
It would be sad to bring any part of the dead carcass into your kitchen. Why?
A cistern or a spring is not unclean if a part of the unclean animal fell into it. Why?
Seed for sowing can be made unclean only under certain conditions. What were they?
Even a clean animal can be counted as unclean if it does not die in the right way. Discuss.
What did God say about snakes?
PARAPHRASE 11:24-43
Anyone touching their dead bodies shall be defiled until the evening, and must wash his clothes immediately. He must also quarantine himself until nightfall, as being ceremonially defiled. You are also defiled by touching any animal with only semi-parted hoofs, or any animal that does not chew the cud. Any animal that walks on paws is forbidden to you as food. Anyone touching the dead body of such an animal shall be defiled until evening. Anyone carrying away the carcass shall wash his clothes and be ceremonially defiled until evening; for it is forbidden to you. These are the forbidden small animals which scurry about your feet or crawl upon the ground: the mole, the rat, the great lizard, the gecko, the mouse, the lizard, the snail, the chameleon. Anyone touching their dead bodies shall be defiled until evening, and anything upon which the carcass falls shall be defiledany article of wood, or of clothing, a rug, or a sack; anything it touches must be put into water, and is defiled until evening. After that it may be used again. If it falls into a pottery bowl, anything in the bowl is defiled, and you shall smash the bowl. If the water used to cleanse the defiled article touches any food, all of it is defiled. Any drink which is in the defiled bowl is also contaminated. If the dead body of such an animal touches any clay oven, it is defiled and must be smashed. If the body falls into a spring or cistern where there is water, that water is not defiled; yet anyone who pulls out the carcass is defiled. And if the carcass touches grain to be sown in the field, it is not contaminated; but if the seeds are wet and the carcass falls upon it, the seed is defiled. If an animal which you are permitted to eat dies of disease, anyone touching the carcass shall be defiled until evening. Also, anyone eating its meat or carrying away its carcass shall wash his clothes and be defiled until evening. Animals that crawl shall not be eaten. This includes all reptiles that slither along upon their bellies as well as those that have legs. No crawling thing with many feet may be eaten, for it is defiled. Do not defile yourselves by touching it.
COMMENT 11:24-43
Leviticus 11:24-28 It is not only important to avoid the unclean animals while they are alive, it is just as important to not touch them when they are dead. This uncleanness would prevent anyone from attending ceremonies at the tabernacle or from bringing an offering to the tabernacle. It also separated them from others who wished to attend the tabernacle service. Notice the very careful specifics in these prohibitions: (1) touching the dead body, (2) carrying any portion of the carcass, (3) touching a live unclean animal, (4) carrying the total carcass. Notice the very specific cleansing regulations: (1) carrying any portionwash your clothes, (2) carrying the whole carcasswash your clothes, (3) in all other circumstances reckon yourself as unclean until sundown. Disease was easily passed to those who handled dead bodies. God was teaching not only an aversion to the uncleanbut an abhorrence of it! When will we learn to hate sin? It will happen when we begin to see moral distinctions in the this and the that of daily living.
Leviticus 11:29-31 Among the considerable number of reference works consulted, only Andrew Bonar comments on these verses in any extended form with any practical application. He says:
A man of Israel, within the limits of his own field and farm, has on every hand memorials of sin; the mole, working up the earth in search of its prey below, attracts his eye in the heaving ground; or the mouse (jerboa)of the same race that afterward devoured the Philistines-’ cornfields (1 Samuel 6:4)is seen burrowing in the sandy soil as he approaches. Or near some stream, the slow-moving tortoise drops down into the water at the sound of man’s footsteps; and then the doleful cry of the gecko-lizard (not ferret), that by its very touch injures the victuals over which it passes its cold body; and the strong lizard forcing its way into the sand to escape its pursuer; and the poisonous, filthy lizard, that wallows in dirt and rubbish,all these keep before him the great truth that he is in a fallen world, where not only the birds of the sky above, and the animals that roam at liberty around, and the insects of the air, but even the reptiles which his foot might crush, are polluted. Look up, or look around, or look down, memorials of sin abound.
Then, the snail and the chameleon (Bochart has been followed by most writers in the opinion that this name describes the chameleon, which has lungs of such vast dimensions, that, when filled, the body is made to appear transparent. It alters the colour of the skin by thus exposing more or less of the blood to the air, Travellers mention it.) on the trees or shrubs; the one filthily spreading its slime over every leaf, the other hanging from a twig, greedily intent on drawing into its mouth the gnats and almost invisible insects that play in the web of the sunbeams, and changing colour according to the green or yellow hue of the leaf;these are memorials of uncleanness to the Israelite, held up before him by the sides of his house, or among the tender branches which he is examining. At every point he is startled with some object that speaks of the difference between the clean and the uncleanthe holiness of God and the sin of man.
Leviticus 11:32-35 These verses discuss uncleanness as it relates to the ordinary tasks of the household. We can catch just a glimpse of the spotless kitchen, living room and bedroom area in the tents of Israel. To follow these regulations would produce germ-free living quarters. Any unclean dead bodyanimal, fish, fowl or insect falling upon a wooden bowl, article of furniture, or or upon any garment, a skin or a sack, any vessel used for any purpose, must be put into the water for a washing and left until sundown. Any dead body of the above falling into a vessel of wood or earth is to be broken and thrown outif a dead insect falls on your foodthrow out your food! Throw out your drink and smash the cup. Any unclean body on your stove or oven and you need a new stove and oven. The regulations of hygiene here given were only discovered for our use in modern times. The population of Israel must have been strong and healthy and could have lived to a ripe old age.
Leviticus 11:36 There is an exception hereor what seems to be an exception: if an unclean body falls or is thrown into a spring or cistern, the water is not unclean, i.e. the flow of the water in the spring and the quantity of the water in the cistern will purify itself. However, anyone reaching into the spring or cistern to pull out the dead body is counted unclean by his contact with the body.
Leviticus 11:37-38 The very practical application of these regulations should be obvious. When seed is being sown and no water has reached it the shell or husk of the seed would protect it from pollution, but not so if it has begun to sprout after water has been used. Israel was taught the danger of coming in contact with sin. You must be shielded from its touch; the husk taught that. You must shrink back from all appearances of itthe soaking water taught this. (Ibid.) We suppose such moral applications were used by many a rabbi in later years.
Leviticus 11:39-40 Even clean beasts were unclean if they died by disease or in some other manner. It is easy to see the potential danger in such cases. A provision is made for those animals which were obviously edible: they can be eaten but precautions must be taken none-the-less. The clothes must be washed and the Israelite is unclean until evening. The burial of the animal produces a sundown uncleanness, i.e. if the body of the animal is handled. The remembrance of sin was constantly before Israel. Or perhaps the emphasis was upon the interest and concern of God in all the affairs of daily life.
Leviticus 11:41-43 Besides the eight reptiles which defile by touching their carcass, and which are enumerated in Leviticus 11:29-30 all other creeping things upon the earth with the exceptions of those specified in Leviticus 11:21-22, are to be treated as an abomination, and must not be eaten, though their carcasses do not defile by coming in contact with them. From the fact that the creeping things here described are called those creeping upon the earth, it has been thought that this refers to something larger than the small worms found in fruit and vegetables and refers to only those who actually make contact with the earth.
This is the last of the list of those created beings which defile. It seems interesting to conclude the list with whatsoever goeth on its belly since this is where all defilement began. We hope many were taught of the promised seed of the woman who would make us all clean and cleanse away all defilement of flesh and spirit.
FACT QUESTIONS 11:24-43
What exclusions were involved as a result of touching an unclean body?
Show the specific sins and the specific cleansing related to touching a dead body.
Discuss the practical application made by Andrew Bonar on Leviticus 11:29-31.
The homes of Israel must have been very clean. How do we know?
Discuss the minute care used in the household for preventing disease.
Show how Leviticus 11:36 is an exceptionand yet is not. Does this relate to the shortage of water in Palestine?
What possible moral lesson is taught in the regulations concerning the seed?
Discuss the very practical application of the use of dead animals who had not been killed in the usual manner.
What was included and what was excluded in the phrase those creeping upon the earth?
What is the significance of the last item in the list of those things that defile?
Leviticus 11:44-47
c. HOLINESS DEMANDED OF THE PEOPLE OF GOD 11:44-47 TEXT 11:44-47
44
For I am Jehovah your God: sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that moveth upon the earth.
45
For I am Jehovah that brought 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 beast, and of the bird, and of every living creature that moveth in the waters, and of every creature that creepeth upon the earth;
47
to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean, and between the living thing that may be eaten and the living thing that may not be eaten.
THOUGHT QUESTIONS 11:44-47
How is the word sanctity used here? How does it relate to holiness?
How does the character of God relate to our character?
How does the deliverance from Egypt relate to holiness?
God is interested in what we eat. Is this the message we should get from these verses? Discuss.
PARAPHRASE 11:44-47
I am the Lord your God. Keep yourselves pure concerning these things, and be holy, for I am holy; therefore do not defile yourselves by touching any of these things that crawl upon the earth. For I am the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You must therefore be holy, for I am holy. These are the laws concerning animals, birds, and whatever swims in the water or crawls upon the ground. These are the distinctions between what is ceremonially clean and may be eaten, and what is ceremonially defiled and may not be eaten, among all animal life upon the earth.
COMMENT 11:44-47
Leviticus 11:44-47 These verses contain a reason and a summary. Israel had reasons for being different: (1) Be different because you accept God as Lord. I am the Lord your God, if I make distinctions, you will accept them. They are for your benefit, but whether you can see the benefit or not you accept the distinctions because you have accepted my Lordship. (2) Be different because your consecration demands it. You were set apart from other men who do not know Me. The ceremonies just concluded on the eighth day were to dramatically and publicly declare your distinctiveness. Commit yourself to your consecration or ordination. (3) Be different or holy for I am holy. There is nothing more desirable in life than to be like God; to share the nature of God in the ordinary affairs of life. If you carefully follow God’s choices of clean and uncleanthis will indeed separate you from those who do not make such distinctionsbut who is more important? Do you want to be like men or like God? Follow men or God? (4) Be different and follow Me, because I delivered you from slavery in Egypt. Do you appreciate my freedom? Then be different as I am different. To be different like God is different is to be beautiful, peaceful, joyful, for God is all of this and more! Our blessed Lord is the best example of holiness and its beauty. Cf. 1 Peter 1:15-16 for the same kind of direction.
FACT QUESTIONS 11:44-47
Why does our acceptance of the Lordship of Jesus necessarily make us different from other people?
Show how our baptism makes us distinctive.
To be like God is to be differentshow how.
Our deliverance makes us different. How so?