A Holy Diet
Leviticus 11:45
Introduction.
Whenever we have a good barbecue plate or a seafood platter we might joke and say that we’re glad this food isn’t forbidden anymore.
It’s true, we have no dietary restrictions today.
One could make an argument that we should avoid eating things offered to idols, blood, and things strangled (Acts 15:20, 29).
Jesus does tell us that what defiles a man is what comes out, not what goes in (Mark 7:18-23).
But Paul affirms that, while nothing is unclean of itself, if a person considers it unclean, to him it is unclean (Rom. 14:14) – a matter of conscience.
Whatever the case, there are far fewer foods to avoid today than in the Old Law.
This section (Lev. 11—15) is about things considered ritually unclean.
It is a prelude to discussing these things in Lev. 16 concerning cleanliness and the Day of Atonement.
Lev. 11 talks of those dietary laws.
Lev. 12 talks of childbirth.
Lev. 13 and 14 talk of skin diseases, mold, and their cleansing.
Lev. 15 talks of other discharges.
These passages illumitate the cycle of holiness and cleanliness.
To be ceremonially unclean isn’t strictly a bad thing, but simply a state of being.
The unclean animals under discussion here are not bad, simply not appropriate for the Israelites to eat (e.g. camels still used as beasts of burden).
Consequently, being ceremonially clean is not strictly a good thing, but it did allow people to participate in worship.
If something were unclean, it was automatically unholy.
If something were holy, it was automatically clean.
To be clean meant you could either be holy or common.
One’s natural state is clean and could be made holy through sacrificial ritual.
Being unclean could occur through pollution or sinfulness.
Pollution, in this case, is not strictly bad, just what causes one to become unclean.
Sanctification, to be made holy, can refer to one of three different ideas.
Salvation – one is made holy when one is saved from the penalty of sin. This is a one-time event done at some point in the believer’s past.
Spiritual growth – where one grows and matures in their spiritual life. This is an on-going development, from conversion to death.
Glorification – when a believer dies and goes to his eternal reward. This is also a one-time event, occuring in the future of those living today.
These dietary laws fit into #2, spiritual growth, for those seeking a life of holiness.
We, too, are to grow spiritually, and we can make that application from this passage as well.
Preview: Reasons, Reflection.
Body.
Reasons for the Dietary Laws (Lev. 11:1-31).
Many suggest it’s for hygiene and health.
One argument is that pork is unhealthy if you eat it improperly cooked.
But this is also true for chicken.
Why aren’t these foods forbidden today? Doesn’t God care about our physical health?
So I’m not entirely convinced by this argument.
I think a better reason is symbolic due to how these animals lived and ate.
The hyrax and hare eat their own waste (11:2b-8).
Pigs will eat anything, wallowing in mud.
Catfish and shellfish are bottom feeders (11:9-12).
The birds of prey eat things that are forbidden later (11:13-19).
The carrion birds eat things already dead.
Most insects eat carrion or other waste (11:20-23).
The rodents and lizards mentioned also typically eat forbidden things (11:29-31).
But some of this is true with clean animals, too.
A reason that is more all-encompassing is that such dietary laws would separate them from the peoples around them (cf. Lev. 11:45).
Separation implies holiness.
The Lord brought them out of the land of Egypt, and He brought us from a life of sin.
That same Lord is holy, therefore we should be holy, too.
A Reflection of God’s Holiness (Lev. 11:32-47).
By the time of the first century, these dietary laws were taken to mean that one could not eat with Gentiles (Acts 10:28).
This shows that, even if it were okay, it would be difficult.
As today, many things revolved around eating.
It would be difficult to associate with Gentiles if one could not eat with them.
If these dietary laws were maintained, it helped to maintain the separation and distinction between the Israelites and the pagan nations around them.
This no doubt was helpful in maintaining their heritage during the Babylonian Captivity (Dan. 1).
How are we to treat an unfaithful brother? (1 Cor. 5).
Assuming his wrongdoing has been addressed through the proper means (Matt. 18:15-17), finally he was to be “delivered to Satan” (1 Cor. 5:5).
The reason is because that sin could spread, just as uncleanness in the Levitical system could spread—like a cancer, so it must be cut out (1 Cor. 5:6-8).
Paul even mentions Christ as our Passover, and those who were unclean because of a corpse could not participate in the Passover (Num. 9:6-14).
This passage in Leviticus shows us how contagious uncleanness can be (11:32-40).
There are some cases, as with a drop in the bucket, where it won’t matter to the whole, but we should strive to be holy in all things.
We see what being “delivered to Satan” means from a practical standpoint a little later on—not even to eat with such a person (1 Cor. 5:11).
In this way, we are to “put away from [ourselves] the evil person” (1 Cor. 5:13b).
The purpose is to help them realize what they are doing is wrong and to repent.
That does not mean we should not eat with those in the world.
Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners (Mark 2:15-17).
But His purpose was to call them to repentance, to share the gospel with them.
A few Sundays ago we talked about how we can do this safely.
I say that because: “Evil company corrupts good habits” (1 Cor. 15:33).
Our goal should be to present to them the gospel—keep that in mind.
Know your limits, limit your exposure to them, perhaps even bring a fellow Christian with you if you can.
The early Christians ate together.
Even in the early days of the church, we can see that they broke bread daily (Acts 2:46-47a).
Jude mentions love feasts which were common meals where the disciples ate together, often inviting the poor to eat with them (Jude 12).
There were spots on their love feasts, the false teachers who “crept in unnoticed” (Jude 4).
They should have been withdrawn from, as what happened to Alexander and Hymenaeus (1 Tim. 1:18-20).
They were delivered to Satan just as the immoral man in 1 Cor. 5 was, and the faithful brother was not to eat with them.
Those with whom we have fellowship is to be considered when we evaluate our own holiness.
While the particulars are different today than they were back then, they are no less crucial.
Let us abstain from things the Lord considers defiling today, the sin that we commit (cf. Mark 7:18-23).
And let us avoid our brethren who knowingly engage in them, too.
Conclusion.
Ultimately, the Lord wants us to be holy, even when it comes to food.
This lesson does not even touch the sins of gluttony and drunkenness—also things to avoid.
Whatever the case, this is the lesson we can take from Lev. 11 as Christians today.
“Those who have been redeemed by the holy, sovereign God must demonstrate His holiness in their everyday lifestyles (notably in eating)” (Ross 261).
While we do not have to maintain these strict dietary laws, we can still be judged with regard to our food.
Recall that the “kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 14:17).
We are not to cause anyone to stumble, least of all with what we eat.
Otherwise, we are not walking in love.
This could apply to many things, many of which we’ll get to later.
Let us honor God with our holiness to Him.
While we’ve been talking about sanctification in the present sense, this can only happen when we have been sanctified in the salvific sense.
This only matters if we have become a Christian, and we are right with God.