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THE DIETARY LAWS OF LEVITICUS!
In the recesses of
your mind, you already know what I am about to tell you is true. There
are a gluttony of diet plans in the marketplace! I mean if you "google" Diet
Plans you will find more plans than you can possibly swallow. There is
the South Beach Diet Plan, the Low-Carb Diet Plan, the Idiot Proof Diet Plan,
the Eat-and-Lose-Weight Meal Plan, the DASH Eating Plan, the Zone Diet Plan,
the All-Natural Diet Plan, the Sonoma Diet Plan, the Rosedale Diet Plan, the
Liquid Diet Plan, the Atkins Diet Plan, the Plan B Diet Plan, the Makers
Diet Plan, and the Mediterranean Diet Plan.
There is undoubtedly others for within two seconds "google" came
up with 40,400,000 hits. In fact, one of the diet plans not listed could
be called the Google Diet plan. That's where you discover that you can
lose weight simply by looking for the best diet plan. I know, because
I lost 2 lbs just by combing through many of the articles and I still have
over 40,000,000 articles to read! I figure by the time I'm done reading
them that I will weigh less than 100 lbs soaking wet.
It appears, from what I have read up to this
point, that everyone has a diet plan - including God. While "googling" I
discovered that some see Genesis 1:29 as the divine diet plan. It reads:
And God said, "Look! I have given you the seed-bearing plants throughout
the earth and all the fruit trees for your food."1
Then others look to Leviticus 11 and argue that
God never intended for us to be vegetarians. The real problem, however,
is like everyone else on planet Earth many Christians have "diet
plans" on their mind and so they start looking for one in the Bible. They
then stumble on Genesis 1:29 and read too much into it or look at the dietary
laws of Leviticus 11 and jump to the conclusion that God's intent was to spell
out what was healthy for the Israelites and what should be avoided at all cost.
Obsessed as we are with diet plans this is an
attractive interpretation of Leviticus 11. And it may well be that God
in his providence did give rules that contributed to the physical well-being
of the nation. It would be just like him to watch over us in this way. But
just because we might see some hygienic considerations underlying some of the
laws, it doesn't mean that this is what God had in mind when he gave this information
to Moses and Aaron.
Besides, if this was the intent why didn't God
declare poisonous plants to be unclean? And if health considerations
prompted the giving of this chapter to us why did Jesus declare such food as
clean in his day? Finally, it is to be noted that there isn't a
single hint in Leviticus 11 that some animals must be avoided for health reasons. Nevertheless,
if you do all your research on the internet you will conclude that Leviticus
11 is just another diet plan.
Not so! The intent of Leviticus 11 is
loftier than the physical well-being of Israel; though admittedly good health
may be thrown in as a bonus. At any rate, let's take a look at the chapter. In
vv. 1 - 23, as well as vv. 41 - 47 we read:
Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 2 "Give
the following instructions to the Israelites: The animals you may use for food
3 include those that have completely divided hooves and chew the cud. 4
You may not, however, eat the animals named here because they either have split
hooves or chew the cud, but not both. The camel may not be eaten, for though
it chews the cud, it does not have split hooves. 5 The same is true of
the rock badger 6 and the hare, so they also may never be eaten. 7 And
the pig may not be eaten, for though it has split hooves, it does not chew
the cud. 8 You may not eat the meat of these animals or touch their
dead bodies. They are ceremonially unclean for you.
"As for marine animals, you may eat whatever
has both fins and scales, whether taken from fresh water or salt water. 10
You may not, however, eat marine animals that do not have both fins and scales.
You are to detest them, 11 and they will always be forbidden to you.
You must never eat their meat or even touch their dead bodies. 12 I repeat,
any marine animal that does not have both fins and scales is strictly forbidden
to you.
"These are the birds you must never eat
because they are detestable for you: the eagle, the vulture, the osprey, 14
the buzzard, kites of all kinds, 15 ravens of all kinds, 16 the
ostrich, the nighthawk, the seagull, hawks of all kinds, 17 the little
owl, the cormorant, the great owl, 18 the white owl, the pelican, the
carrion vulture, 19 the stork, herons of all kinds, the hoopoe, and
the bat.
"You are to consider detestable all swarming
insects that walk along the ground. 21 However, there are some exceptions
that you may eat. These include insects that jump with their hind legs: 22
locusts of all varieties, crickets, bald locusts, and grasshoppers. All these
may be eaten. 23 But you are to consider detestable all other swarming
insects that walk or crawl.
Then dropping down to v. 41 we read:
"Consider detestable any animal that scurries
along the ground; such animals may never be eaten. 42 This includes all
animals that slither along on their bellies, as well as those with four legs
and those with many feet. All such animals are to be considered detestable. 43
Never defile yourselves by touching such animals. 44 After all, I, the
LORD, am your God. You must be holy because I am holy. So do not defile yourselves
by touching any of these animals that scurry along the ground. 45 I,
the LORD, am the one who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God.
You must therefore be holy because I am holy.
Lev. 11:46 "These are the instructions regarding the land animals, the
birds, and all the living things that move through the water or swarm over
the earth, 47 so you can distinguish between what is unclean and may
not be eaten and what is clean and may be eaten."
Because so much of Leviticus reads like a maintenance
manuel it is easy to overlook the fact that the narrative of Israel's history
frames the law and not vice-versa. For example, in the next five chapters
we will be looking at what is considered clean and not so clean. But
chapters 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 are framed by chapters 8, 9, and 10 on one
side with chapter 16 on the other side. It is this framework that periodically
reminds us that Leviticus is primarily a history book.
Chapters 8, 9 and 10 told us of Aaron's ordination
and the subsequent disobedience of Nadab and Abihu. Chapter 16 takes
us back to the tabernacle to show us God's plan for how he intends to stay
in what all-too-often became a polluted neighborhood.
In the meantime, the following dietary laws
were given to Israel:
1. Cloven-hoofed, cud-chewing land animals (such as sheep and cattle) may be
eaten. Other mammals are classified as unclean (such as pigs and camels)
and may not be eaten.
2. Only fish with fins and scales may be eaten. This means trout is
out.
3. Birds of prey, or so it appears, may not be eaten.
4. Flying insects may not be eaten, hopping insects are edible.
5. Touching the dead carcass of an unclean animal makes a person unclean.
6. Swarming animals, such as mice and lizards. are unclean. If they are
found dead inside a vessel, the vessel becomes unclean and must be destroyed
or purified.
7. Clean animals that die of natural causes become unclean, unfit to eat and
a source of pollution.2
These rules about what is clean and unclean
are pretty straightforward. However, the criteria for classifying some
as clean and others as unclean is obscure. So much so that some think
God arbitrarily chose some as clean and others as unclean. Perhaps, but
a social anthropologist by the name of Mary Douglas believes otherwise.
She notes that the animal world is divided into
three spheres: those that fly, those that walk, and those that swim. Each
sphere has a particular mode of motion associated with it. Birds have
two wings with which to fly and two feet for walking; fish have fins and scales
with which to swim; and land rovers have hoofs with which to walk and run. The
clean animals are those that conform to these standard pure types. Those that
somehow transgress what is normal for these types are classified as unclean. For
example, animals with an indeterminate form of motion, i.e. those that swarm,
are unclean.
Picking up on this idea of classifying animals
based upon the order of creation, L. R. Kass suggest that the main point is
separation. If Israel was to be holy then it had to learn to make the
same distinctions that the Lord made in creation. Using the principles
of place, kind, motion, and form from Genesis 1, Kass believes the classifications
in Leviticus 11 were made according to the following guidelines:
1. Creatures that have no proper or unambiguous place, such as amphibians,
are unclean.
2. Creatures that have no proper form, such as the camel, are unclean.
3. Creatures that violate proper locomotion, such as water animals that
walk, are unclean.
4. Creatures that violate the original dietary code, showing no respect
for life, such as vultures, are unclean.3
In practice, this meant that in everyday life
the Israelites were to learn to distinguish between what was holy and what
was common, what was clean and what was unclean.4
So, in part, the dietary laws served to remind
Israel at every meal that they were a redeemed people. For their diet
was limited to certain meats in imitation of their God who had restricted his
choice among the nations to Israel. But they also reminded Israel
that they were to be a holy people. For they only ate that which behaved
as designed, that is, they only ate that which was holy in the sense that it
moved within its sphere appropriately and fed on that which was appropriate
for its kind. In short, the dietary laws were an everyday reminder that
Israel was called to be a holy people; a people called to live in accordance
with the original design.5
But in practice the dietary laws did more than
serve as a day-in and day-out reminder of holiness. They served as a
means of keeping Israel separate from the nations around them. This
was good, and it was bad. It was good in the sense that it effectively
prevented Israel from being unduly influenced by the surrounding nations. It
was bad in the sense that it made it impossible to develop a close relationship
with someone with whom you can neither eat nor drink.
You and I know from personal experience that
local practices about food and drink are very effective in keeping people from
different cultures apart from each other. To sit down for a meal in
Chad with the Migaami people, for example, is an in-your-face reminder that
others are different; so different that sharing a meal with them is not the
most comfortable thing for someone from the outside world to do with ease. In
fact, it is so uncomfortable that it hinders the very things a good meal should
bring out - laughter and fellowship.
In Scripture we see the problem in Genesis 43:32
where Joseph's brother ate at one table while the Egyptians ate at another
table. For some of the animals the Israelites ate with no qualms the
Egyptians refused to eat because they were sacred to some deity. We also
see it in Galatians 2 where Peter was initially willing to eat with Gentiles
but when some Jewish friends dropped by he caved into peer pressure and separated
himself from the Gentiles.
So the dietary laws were good in that they taught
Israel to distinguish between what was holy and what was common. But
in the end they proved to be a significant barrier between the Jews and the
Gentiles; a barrier that was removed by Christ.
1 See
the attached article entitled God's Diet Plan.
2 Gordon J. Wenham, The Book of Leviticus, William B. Eerdmans
Publishing Company, 255 Jefferson Ave. S.E., Grand Rapids, MI 49503,
1979. pp. 165 - 166.
3 Alan P. Ross, Holiness to the Lord, Baker Academic, Grand
Rapids, MI 49516, 2002, p. 254.
4 This fits in well with Leviticus 10:10 which reads: "You
must distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and clean." Granted
Moses was addressing the priest but they in turn were to teach the Israelites
all the decrees of theLord.
5 It is worth noting that Deuteronomy 14 introduces the
dietary laws with a reference to Israel's election while Leviticus 11
concludes its remarks with similar words.
LEVITICUS - GOD'S GUIDEBOOK TO WORSHIP 4/02/06 1
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