In Leviticus 11, God established specific standards of things which His people could and could NOT touch & eat. He did so that His people might be safe and sanctified. These were never intended to be everlasting covenants, but standards set to protect their health and holiness from the pagan practices of nations around them. These would later be supplanted by God Himself when He removed the distinction in order to clarify that His Grace was for all people (Acts 10:9-20).
1. Be healthy
Lev. 11:43-47 “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.”
2. Be holy
“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. For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. This 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: 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.”
LESSON - We are blessed to be living during this age of modern medicine and food storage, so many of the standards that God set for His people regarding dietary restraints are no longer necessary. Also, we should no longer require God‘s Law as motivation to be sanctified people. We have something better! We have all of God‘s word, as well as His indwelling Holy Spirit. Therefore, we have a better motivation for being holy separated people. Just like in the OT, the unregenerate people around us should marvel at God’s work displayed in our lives. Unlike the OT, they should marvel not only at His work FOR us but also His work IN us! May our transformed lives reveal that we are a holy sanctified people and that God is faithful to His own!
~Mike
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