Day 36 - Leviticus 11-12

ONE-YEAR JOURNEY OF THE BIBLE

Day 36 -Leviticus 11-12 (Forbidden Foods in the Old Testament )

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“Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them, "Speak to the children of Israel, saying, 'These are the animals which you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth:..”  (Leviticus 11:1-2)

I don’t know about you but I’m sure glad that we do not live under the law of the Old Testament.  Although I know that it is not healthy for me, I still like to eat bacon and shrimp whenever it is on a table in front of me.  In all seriousness, God had very good reasons for forbidding certain foods to be eaten by the Jews.

One reason I believe God has for forbidding certain foods is for health of His people.  David Guzik writes,  “Among the animals, most considered unclean fell into one of three categories: Predators (unclean because they ate both the flesh and the blood of animals), scavengers (unclean because they were carriers of disease, and they regularly contacted dead bodies), or potentially poisonous or dangerous foods such as shellfish and the like. Eliminating these from the diet of Israel no doubt had a healthy effect!”  (http://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/guzik_david/StudyGuide_Lev/Lev_11.cfm?a=101001)

Another reason that I believe God forbade certain unclean foods was in order to differentiate His people from those of other nations that did not worship Him.  God not only wanted to spare His people from sickness and death that could come from eating unclean foods, He also wanted their dietary practices to be a testimony to the world of their separation from sin which the unclean foods represented, so it can be argued:  

“You shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creeps; nor shall you make yourselves unclean with them, lest you be defiled by them.  For I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy. Neither shall you defile yourselves with any creeping thing that creeps on the earth. For I am the Lord who brings you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.”  (Leviticus 11:43-45)

In the New Testament, Paul wrote that Christians have liberty to eat whatever we want: “forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.  For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.”  (1 Timothy 4:3-5)

Paul, however, also wrote that  “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.” (1 Corinthians 6:12). In particular, Christians must be careful not to offend other with the liberty to eat any food:

“But food does not commend us to God; for neither if we eat are we the better, nor if we do not eat are we the worse.  But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak.  For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol's temple, will not the conscience of him who is weak be emboldened to eat those things offered to idols?  And because of your knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died?  But when you thus sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.  Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.”  (1 Corinthians 8:8-13)