I've been reading through the laws of Leviticus and have been thinking about God's reasons for the laws He has for the Hebrews. Why does He say that some animals are clean and some animals that are unclean. It can't be just because He wants the Jews to eat healthy. I believe that I have found a clue as to what God's reasons could possibly be and I'd love to hear what you think.
Leviticus 20:25-26 gives us this clue: "You are therefore to make a distinction between the clean animal and the unclean, and between the unclean bird and the clean; and you shall not make yourselves detestable by animal or by bird or by anything that creeps on the ground, which I have separated for you as unclean. Thus you are to be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy; and I have set you apart from the peoples to be Mine." (NASB). Just as God chose animals to be clean, He chose the Israelites to be His Chosen People. The rest of the people of the world weren't a part of this group, just like the rest of the animals were considered unclean for eating.
As we know now a person from any ethnic background, not just a Jewish background, can be a child of God as long as "you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead." (Romans 10:9, NIV). Is this shown in any references to clean and unclean animals? I believe it is. In Acts 10: 9-16 (it's too long to type, so I'll let you look it up) Peter is praying and falls into a trance. In the trance a giant sheet filled with many different types of animals came down from the sky. God tells Him to kill and eat, but Peter refuses because the animals, by Levitical law, are considered unclean. Then the Voice of his dream says "What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy." (Acts 10:15, NASB). I believe that this represents the fact that Gentiles can become part of God's Chosen People because "Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring [us] to God." (I. Peter 3:18a, NIV). Just like no animal is considered unclean anymore, any person from any nationality can be cleansed by Christ's precious blood.
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2 comments:
for posterity's sake...
Crosby-
I agree almost 100%, except I'm hesitant to embrace the full implications of this line of thinking, as we talked about last night.
I believe you are right with the fact that we can all be made clean in god's eyes, but as for clean animals and the law. In that respect I think it was rather a way of living. people where not nearly as refined in farming and herding. So many creatures would have made them sick based either on the unclean ways the animals lived in and how poorly they would be cleaned compared to even the time of Christ. As well as the the foods they would find and eat on there own. A lot of the unclean animals diets would make them potentially poisonous. There for I think we should still view our food with caution." ...and you shall not make yourselves detestable by animal or by bird or by anything that creeps on the ground, which I have separated for you as unclean." What is to say all our unhealthy foods of today are any better than the unclean animals of the past. If we allow ourselves to be sickened with these fake sugars and food additives how can god look favorably upon that. I am not saying it is grounds for damnation for we are already saved. Rather like how breaking any of the law was a sin for the Jews likewise I feel that my eating habits (Diet Pepsi and Runts) Surely doesn't fit into a godly life. I feel I should focus more on my obvious faults more but all in all I say even the tiniest ones can lead us to a bigger and greater rift in our walks. Yes I think that message can be implied as god saying go out and preach to the gentiles. Also I fully believe Christians are the new people of God. Still though the law is important. Even if Christ fulfilled it. It still stands as an example of Godliness and I still respect it. As much as I can with my obvious faults but never the less I try.
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