Leviticus 11:1

The Bible says in Leviticus 11:1-8, “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.” Of course, this chapter has a lot to do with dietary restrictions. Part of the law was commandments on what the Israelites could eat and what they could not eat. The best known had to do with swine. These restrictions were for their own good because they lived when there was no refrigeration and less knowledge of science and the dangers that can exist in meat. In the New Testament there are no dietary restrictions other than your own common sense. For example, it says in First Timothy 4:1-5, “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;[2] Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;[3] Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.[4] For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:[5] For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.”

The Bible says in Leviticus 11:9-12, “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.” It seems clear that these restrictions on what kinds of fish they could eat were also for health reasons. Fish to be eaten had to have fins and scales. This would keep them eating game fish, and not bottom dwellers.

The Bible says in Leviticus 11:13-19, “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.” This appears to be with the view of conservation. These are mainly birds of prey. No birds of prey were to be killed and eaten. We have a lot of similar laws about birds of prey also even today.

The Bible says in Leviticus 11:20-23, “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.” This is a list of the insects that those under the law were allowed to eat. At least no one was required to eat these insects, but John the Baptist took advantage of the permissions. It says about John the Baptist in Mark 1:6, “And John was clothed with camel's hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey;” Actually, some insects are a good source of protein. Some of the prisoners of war survived only because they added insects that they caught to their diet.

The Bible says in Leviticus 11:24-43, “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.” Most of the verses in this passage have one thing in common: do not touch any dead carcass or anything that the dead carcass touches. If anything accidently does touch something that is dead, make sure to wash thoroughly. Once again this shows us that these types of commandments in the Law were based upon science. Because of modern science we now know of all the disease and germs and contamination that can be found in decomposing carcasses. The people of the earth did not have the benefit of modern science four thousand years ago, but God knows much more than our current knowledge in science. The Bible is true from every perspective. The Bible and true science are once again shown to be in agreement.

The Bible says in Leviticus 11:44-47, “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.” God makes it clear why He gave all the commandments about “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:” so that the Israelites would see that there is a difference between what is clean and what is unclean. Every Christian must understand this spiritual principle: not in regards to what they eat, but in regards to the circumstances that they come across on this earth. That which is unclean symbolizes that which is sinful. Some activities on this earth are sinful, and God wants His children to avoid those activities. This standard is very high: holiness. That means to be completely separate from whatever is sinful: in actions, words, and thought. To be holy will require knowing the Bible very well and putting it into practice. To be holy will require loving God and Jesus more than self. To be holy will require having a firm foundation, knowing who you are, wanting to please the Lord Jesus above all else, and not fearing the opinions of others.

The Bible says in Leviticus 12:1-8, “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,[2] Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days; according to the days of the separation for her infirmity shall she be unclean.[3] And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.[4] And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying three and thirty days; she shall touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying be fulfilled.[5] But if she bear a maid child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her separation: and she shall continue in the blood of her purifying threescore and six days.[6] And when the days of her purifying are fulfilled, for a son, or for a daughter, she shall bring a lamb of the first year for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon, or a turtledove, for a sin offering, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest:[7] Who shall offer it before the LORD, and make an atonement for her; and she shall be cleansed from the issue of her blood. This is the law for her that hath born a male or a female.[8] And if she be not able to bring a lamb, then she shall bring two turtledoves, or two young pigeons; the one for the burnt offering, and the other for a sin offering: and the priest shall make an atonement for her, and she shall be clean.” Verse three mentions the requirement of circumcision for a male child. Cutting off the flesh of the foreskin had a medical benefit for cleanliness, and it also symbolized the fact that a believer should take out of his or her life anything that is sinful or unclean. There is also a practical benefit in Leviticus chapter 12 to the fact that a mother was “unclean” after giving birth for thirty-three days for a boy child and sixty-six days for a girl child. Such a time would give mother and child the opportunity to rest and recuperate. Interesting that with a girl child twice as many days are given as with a boy child. Perhaps this is an indicator that girls will be treated differently than boys because of physical differences. Girls should be given consideration. They should be treated gently and respectfully. They should be helped and treated with great courtesy. We have an old saying that boys are all about “snakes, and snails, and puppy dog tails, and girls are sugar and spice and everything nice.”

It is interesting that once the days of their separation was over, sacrifices were required for cleansing and for sin. This shows that in every event in life the Israelites were to think of the need of the forgiveness of sins. Christians should also think in this way. Everything that we experience in life depends upon the mercy of God. Every moment of every day we need to think about Jesus and what He did for us when He shed His precious and powerful blood on the cross of Calvary.

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