Chapter 11
Leviticus 11 - GENERAL REMARKS - The concept of clean and unclean animals pre-dates the law. Like our discussion on Genesis 38:24, there were certain Laws given to Moses that were already written in creation order. In Genesis 7:2-3, 8, you see that Noah made a distinction between clean and unclean animals. In that passage, it was for the sole purpose of sacrifices, however. Here, it is written into the Law of God not just for sacrifices but for food supply. Later, the Lord repealed this Law when Peter was praying on the rooftop in Acts 10:9-32. Modern Christianity makes much of the dietary laws of the Jews citing how much more healthy it is to live that way. It will do the Christian well to remember that the Lord pronounced all creatures clean. There are a great many distractions among Christians today, and concerns for diet and health are among the chief. Other laws repealed would be like the killing of the adulterous recorded in John 8:1ff.
Leviticus 11:2 - I like the way this law is framed: Of all the millions of creatures on the earth, these are the ones you may eat. It doesn't make them feel so badly that the Lord is restricting their diet when you consider just how many types of animals there are in the earth. If someone were to complain, "Hey, there are only 100 different types of animals that fit these regulations!" The Lord might easily reply, "Just how much variety do you need? Is that not sufficient for you?" It makes me think of where the Lord places restrictions on the extent of a woman's ministry in 1 Timothy 2:12. The Lord does not permit a woman to teach a man or to exercise authority over a man. We have spoken of laws written in creation order, this is also one of them. Paul cites creation order as his reasons in the following two verses. So a woman may complain, "Hey, why can't I teach man?" The Lord might say, "There are over 3.3 billion women in the world. When you are done ministering to them, then you can minister to men."
Leviticus 11:10-12 - Over these three verses, the Lord repeats three times that these fish are detestable. He was not that adamant about the mammals.
Leviticus 11:21 - This is truly the world the Lord created. Observe the specificity with which He speaks about creation. He is able to differentiate between species in a way that only scientists can. We must assume that His decisions are not arbitrary, so that He not only can differentiate anatomy, but also the health benefits or consequences of the species.
Leviticus 11:24 & 25 - Why until evening? Because in the Jewish system, the next day starts in the evening. They were unclean for the duration of the day.
Consider creation: "And there was evening and morning, one day" (Genesis 1:5). Observe how the start of the count was in the evening. Also consider that the Sabbath for the Jewish people begins on Friday evening and runs until Saturday evening. What is the significance of this? It shows us that in God's world, the new day starts with light and ends with light. Our days start with dark and end with dark. I think I like God's way better.
Leviticus 11:36 - I offer a spiritualized lesson from this verse: We see that springs or cisterns that are constantly renewed do not become unclean by the things that make man unclean. Why? They are constantly renewed. They are always fresh because of the constant infilling of water. Jesus spoke to the woman at the well (John 4) telling her that those who accept Him would become like a "well of water springing up to eternal life." This is how we may remain clean in a world that is constantly touching us with uncleanness. If we are continually being renewed by the Spirit of God, we become this spring of water that remains clean.
Leviticus 11:44-45 - It is easy to miss the significance of these verses. We are tempted to look at those verses and say, "Oh, that is just God telling us to be good people again." No. You are missing the point. He wants us to be like Him! Holy. Pure. Different from the rest of the world. Throughout Exodus and up till now in Leviticus, the Lord has described things in the temple or relating to worship as being holy. This verse is the first time the Lord says, "I am holy" in the whole Bible. That is significant. He declared other things to be holy. Now He declares that He himself is holy, and thus we should be holy too.
Leviticus 11:47 - Again we see the process of separation. Separating light from darkness, land from sea, clean from unclean. We separate health from disease. Wheat from tares. Goats from sheep. The whole of the Christian life is about separation, also called sanctification or to make holy.
