DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- CLEAN AND UNCLEAN

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – CLEAN AND UNCLEAN

"This is the law of the animals and the birds and every living creature that moves in the waters, and of every creature that creeps on the earth, to distinguish between the unclean and the clean, and between the animal that may be eaten and the animal that may not be eaten." (Leviticus 11:46-47)

The next five chapters – chapters 11-15 – may not seem to have much relevance to us today. But the emphasis of the difference is striking between the clean and unclean – between the holy and unholy.

Chapter 11 deals with regarding prohibitions of eating unclean animals. In the New Covenant, there are no such restrictions. Remember Peter's vision in Acts chapter 10 when he sees a vision of a great sheet lowered form heaven filled with all kinds of animals, creeping things, and birds. A voice said, "Rise, Peter, kill and eat." This was totally against the Mosaic law and Peter's training. But God said, "What God has cleansed you must not call common." The purpose of the vision was to open Peter's understanding that the Gospel was open to all races. But it also showed the difference between the Old and New Covenant in regard to food. There are no unclean dietary restrictions in the New Covenant. If you like pork – enjoy it!

For the Christian, observance of these laws is no longer mandatory. But they do point to the fact that holiness and purity are important to God. He is pure and holy, and He emphasizes holiness in His people. The phrase, "Be holy," is found 20 times in the book of Leviticus. In Leviticus 11:44. God said to the Israelites, "I am the LORD your God. You shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy" (Leviticus 11:44). Peter quoted this verse when he wrote, "But as He who called you is holy, you be holy in all your conduct because it is written, 'Be holy, for I am holy"(I Peter 1:15-16). God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness (I Thessalonians 4:7), and without holiness, no one shall see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14).

But holiness is not a matter of outward appearances, or keeping a bunch of rules that make us look holy. The Pharisees tried that approach, and failed. As Christians, "we are washed, we are sanctified, we are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of God" (I Corinthians 6:11). This is what makes us holy before God. Holiness is a matter of the heart. But then, we are called to walk in that holiness. That's why the Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, admonishes us, "Just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness" (Romans 6:19). And again he wrote, "...Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (I Corinthians 7:1). We are examples to unbelievers in our words, our conduct our love, our spirit, our faith, and our purity (I Timothy 4:12). Since we are holy because of God's work in us which makes us holy, we are called to put flesh and bones on that holiness, and live out that holiness in our lives.

Love, Dad