THROUGH THE BIBLE - Leviticu..

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com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. Leviticus chapter 11. And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them, Speak to the people of Israel, saying, These are the living things that you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth, whatever parts of the hoof, whatever parts the hoof and its clothing footed and chews the cat among the animals you may eat.

Nevertheless, among those that chew the cat or part the hoof, you shall not eat this, the camel, because it chews the cat but does not part the hoof. is unclean to you. And the rock badger, because it chews the cat but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. And the hare, because it chews the cat but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. And the pig, because it parts the hoof and is cloven-footed but does not chew the cat, is unclean to you.

You shall not eat any of their flesh, and you shall not touch their carcasses. They are unclean to you. This you may eat of all that are in the waters. Everything in the waters that has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the rivers, you may eat. But anything in the seas or the rivers that does not have fins or scales and scales of the swarming creatures in the waters and of the living creatures that are in the waters is detestable to you.

You shall regard them as detestable. You shall not eat any of their flesh, and you shall detest their carcasses. Everything in the waters that does not have fins and scales is detestable to you. And these you shall detest among the birds. They shall not be eaten.

They are detestable. the eagle, the bearded vulture, the black vulture, the kite, the falcon of any kind, every raven of any kind, the ostrich, the night hawk, the seagull, the hawk of any kind, the little owl, the cormorant, the short-eared owl, the barn owl, the tawny owl, the carrion vulture, the stork, the heron of any kind, the hoopoe, and the bat. All winged insects that go on all fours are detestable to you. Yet among the winged insects that go on all fours, you may eat those that have jointed legs above their feet with which to hop on the ground. Of them you may eat the locust of any kind, the bad locust of any kind, the cricket of any kind, and the grasshopper of any kind.

But all other winged insects that have four feet are detestable to you. And by these you shall become unclean. Whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening. And whoever carries any part of their carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. Every animal that parts the hoof but is not clothed and footed, and does not chew the cat is unclean to you.

Everyone who touches them shall be unclean, and all that walk on their paws among the animals that go on all four are unclean to you. Whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening, and he who carries their carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. They are unclean to you. And these are unclean to you among the swarming things that swarm on the ground, the mole-rat, the mouse, the great lizard of any kind, the gecko, the monitor lizard, the lizard, the sand lizard, and the chameleon. These are unclean to you among all that swarm.

Whoever touches them when they are dead shall be unclean until the evening. And anything on which any of them falls when they are dead shall be unclean, whether it's an article of wood, or a garment, or a skin, or a sack, any article that is used for any purpose. It must be put into water, and it shall be clean until the evening. Then it shall be clean. And if any of them falls into an earthenware vessel, all that is in it shall be unclean, and you shall break it.

Any food in it that could be eaten on which water comes shall be unclean. And all drink that could be drunk from every such vessel shall be unclean. And everything on which any part of their carcass falls shall be unclean, whether oven or stove. you shall be broken in pieces. They are unclean and shall remain unclean for you.

Nevertheless, a spring or a cistern holding water shall be clean, but whoever touches a carcass in them shall be unclean. And if any part of their carcass falls upon any seed-grain that is to be sown, it is clean. But if water is put on this seed, and any part of their carcass falls on it, it is unclean to you. And if any animal which you may eat dies, whoever touches its carcass shall be unclean until the evening, and whoever eats of its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. And whoever carries the carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening.

Every swarming thing that swarms on the ground is detestable, shall not be eaten. Whatever goes in its belly, and whatever goes on all fours, or whatever has many feet, any swarming thing that swarms on the ground, you shall not eat, for they are detestable. You shall not make yourselves detestable with any swarming thing that swarms, and you shall not defile yourselves with them, and become unclean through them. Verse 44. For I am the Lord your God.

Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground, for I am the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall, therefore, be holy, for I am holy. This is the law about beast and bird and every living creature that moves through the waters and every creature that swarms on the ground to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean and between the living creature that may be eaten and the living creature that may not be eaten. Amen.

This is the word of God. Well, brothers and sisters, now we've Chapter 11, we are moving into a new section of this book of Leviticus. And in this section, we're going to have lots of details and lots of laws and lots of regulations. This section could be called, or if we were going to give it a name to this section, this could be called something like the loss of purity or the loss of cleanliness or the principles of ritual purity. These are going to be instructions that deal with those things that make an Israelite, a person of the covenant, ceremonially unfit, and therefore they are to be avoided.

Specifically, this chapter that we have just read, chapter 11, deals with clean and unclean animals and those that could be eaten and those that should not be eaten, even animals that should be touched and those that should not be touched. These instructions that we are given here about these animals that should be eaten or could be eaten, and the ones that should not be eaten, not even touched because you can get unclean, this whole section in chapter 11 could be divided into four different sections. First, we are given information about lent animals that can be eaten and that cannot be eaten in verses 1 through 8. Then after those animals were given instructions by the Lord about water animals that can be eaten and cannot be eaten in verses 9 through 12. And then after that, we're given instructions about animals, flying animals that can be eaten and cannot be eaten from verses 13 to 23.

And then after verse 24, until the end of the book, we have some general principles of how a person can become and clean by these animals, touching them and the treatment to be clean. Now, Brothers and sisters, the Israelites, the people of the Old Covenant, took this chapter and the parallel chapter in Deuteronomy as something very important. They regarded this information as something very important, of course, the law of God. And they derived their diet from this section of the Scripture and were very strict in following these instructions. Animals that could be eaten, animals that could not be eaten because they will become ceremonially unfit.

Now, how are we going to understand these long list of foods and these many animals and sometimes even for me, very difficult names and animals that I didn't even know how you pronounce them in English? How are we going to understand this long list of animals that should be eaten and animals that should not be eaten? And all of these principles that are given to us, not only in this section here in Chapter 11, but this is going to be a section that goes from Chapter 11 and to Chapter 15. Now, brothers and sisters, we have said in the past that this book of Leviticus answers the question of how can a holy God dwell in fellowship with a sinful people? So the first thing that we need to do in order to understand this chapter and this whole section that goes from Chapter 11 to Chapter 15 with lots of details of clean and unclean and all of these little details, it is to remember the big picture of the book.

The book of Leviticus tried to give an answer to the question of how can a holy God dwell in fellowship with a sinful people, the people of Israel? Now, this question has been answered through the book in different ways. The first section of the book, as we have mentioned now many times, answered this question through the different sacrifices. We said that, generally speaking, sacrifices aim to preserve the relationship between the person, the worshiper, the Israelite, and God, who is holy. And we discussed five different types of sacrifices that were given to the people of Israel.

The burnt offering in Chapter 1, the grain offering in Chapter 2, the peace offering in Chapter 3, the sin offering in Chapter 4, and the guilt offering in Chapter 5. After we study those sacrifices, we move into the section of the priests, those people who were supposed to conduct or officiate those sacrifices on behalf of the worship and before the Lord God of Israel. So we discussed those instructions given to those priests about the sacrifices, and that was primarily in chapter six and seven. And then we move into the institution, or if you want, the ordination of the priesthood in chapters 8 and 9. And last week, as you remember, we concluded that section of the priesthood with the scene of Nadab and Abihu.

So now, this is how Leviticus is progressively answering the question, how can a holy God dwell in fellowship with a sinful But now, this question in this new section is going to be answered from the perception of the ceremonial laws of purity, that is, the laws that are required to be met by the people of Israel in order to draw near to a holy and perfect God. These laws of purity, these laws of purification, of cleanliness, if you want, these are the laws that people are supposed to follow in Israel so that they will be able to draw near to this holy God. Otherwise, if they do not follow this, they will see the judgment of God coming upon them just as Nadab and Abihud. So now, brothers and sisters, chapter 11, the one that we have just read into chapter 15, will be the section that addresses these laws of purity, or whatever name you want to give them. We will have lots of detail about clean and unclean, holy and common purification.

This chapter set the foundations for what comes in chapter 16, which will be the great day of atonement, the greater purification, the greater cleanness, if you want. So that means that Leviticus is answering the question of how can a holy God dwell in fellowship with a sinful people by pointing us to the sacrifices that are needed by Israel to preserve the relationship with a holy God and also the role that priests who are needed to officiate these sacrifices are supposed to do to preserve the relationship of the worshiper, the Israelite, with God. And now, in this new section, my beloved of Christ, that we're just starting with all of these details, we're going to be given another layer to answer that question. And those are the laws of purity, of purification or cleanliness that are needed so that people will be accepted when they come close to God to offer their sacrifices and these sacrifices being needed to preserve the relationship with this Holy God, Set-apart God. Now, as I have said before, it is important that we do not get lost, brothers and sisters, with the amount of details and information that were given throughout this book, and that we do not lose perspective of the big picture.

Remember that all of these instructions given to the people of Israel who have just been recently liberated or freed or redeemed from their bondage in Egypt. Then after that liberation, they were given the law, the institution of the Sabbath and the construction of the tabernacle as we studied in the book of Exodus. And now in this book of Leviticus, they are receiving these Levitical instructions, if you want. which are basically instructions on how to use the tabernacle, which is the dwelling place of God, so that they can have this relationship with God and the different ceremonies around their identity as the people of God. And as I said before, to have fellowship with this holy God of Israel.

Now, my beloved of Christ, brothers and sisters, they are still in the wilderness. The people of Israel are still on their way to the promised land. This is very important. We should not lose perspective from this. They are still on their way to the promised land.

So all of these laws of the covenant given to them are assumed to be given to a people that soon will be settling down in the promised land that the Lord God of Israel promised them. Now, brothers and sisters, we know that they will sin. We know that because we know our Bible. They will sin, and they will end up spending like 40 years in the wilderness. But, beloved of Christ, it is very important that as we progress through this book of Leviticus, we do not lose from perspective that they are still in the wilderness, and they are receiving all of these laws and all of these commandments.

Also, the other very important thing that will help us understand, I think, this section that is starting now in chapter 11 that goes through chapter 15, is this concept of holiness. First of all, brothers and sisters, we must remember that God is holy. That is, that God is set apart, different to all other beings. And therefore, when God liberated Israel from Egypt, He made them their people and therefore made them holy. This is that now Israel is separated from all other nations.

They are set apart. Israel is set apart by a holy God that makes Israel a holy nation. However, this holy nation that now has been separated, chosen from all other nations, chosen by the holy God, He, or this nation, it is now called to be holy, even though now they are holy because they had been separated. Now this nation is called to be holy. And this is one of the important elements of this book.

This is this is mentioned in Leviticus 19 verse 2 that God is going to spoke to Moses and to tell Moses to tell the congregation that this is the message that he should pass into the congregation. You shall be holy for I, the Lord your God, am holy. It is the same words that we have just read here in the end of chapter 11. The Lord says, I am the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.

Now, brothers and sisters, pay attention to this. This is very important. Yes, Israel is holy because they have been set apart from all other nations. Yes, they are holy in the sense that they have been chosen from all the Gentiles, from all the hidden nations. They have been the peculiar, special people of God.

Yes, they are holy because of this sovereign choosing grace of the sovereign electing grace of God. But Even though they are holy because of that choosing in that election, they are called to be holy so that they can continue to have fellowship with God. Now, what I have just said, it might sound simple, brothers and sisters, but this is very important in theology. This is what in theology is called the principle of positional and progressive holiness. Israel is positionally holy, separated from all nations.

But Israel is called to be progressively or continually holy by the keeping of the law. That is, that Israel, when Israel was chosen, elected, by God who is holy, then Israel was declared positionally holy, separated from all other nations, set apart, just as God is divine and perfect and He's holy, set apart from all other beings. When Israel was chosen by this holy God, Israel is positionally holy as separated from all other nations. But But this Israel who is already positionally holy is called to be progressively and continually holy by keeping all the requirements. So brothers and sisters, this is very important.

Positional holiness is the position that the people of God has before this holy God and progressive holiness is the state that people of God or that the people of God are called to have to preserve the relationship with this holy God who has chose them as their peculiar people. This is super important in theology, brothers and sisters, because these are principles of the Old Testament that I carry unchangeably onto the New Testament. I don't know if you remember, but almost two years ago, I preached a sermon, my second sermon in the book of First Peter that was called what is definite sanctification. I was dealing with that particular topic under the new covenant. We are positionally sanctified as the people of God, but we are also called to be holy.

This is what the Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians and also the Apostle Peter mentions in his first letter. Now, the reason why I'm saying all of these things, brothers and sisters, is of course because these principles will help us understand this coming section of this book, chapters 11 through chapters 15. You see this loss of purity and purification that as I said are given to us in chapter 11 through 15 are the result of the instruction that was given to Aaron in the previous chapter, in chapter 10. If you quickly go to chapter 10, you will see there that in verses 10 and 11, Aaron is going to receive a message directly from God. The Lord spoke to Aaron and the commission of the instruction that he was given Aaron was not to drink any wine or any strong drink.

And this was going to be a perpetual throughout the generations, a perpetual statute throughout the generations. But in verse 10, God is going to speak to Aaron as the high priest and give him this commission, very important commission. And that commission is that the priest is to distinguish between the holy and the common and between the unclean and the clean. And you're to teach the people of Israel all the statutes of the Lord that he has spoken through or by Moses. So the high priest, my dear brothers and sisters, it is that the priest is going to distinguish between the holy and the common and the clean and the unclean.

Understanding this principle of the positional holiness and progressive holiness will assist us to understand this task of the priest, namely this distinguishing between holy and common and clean and unclean. So we have two contrasts here. In that verse, in that instruction that When the Lord is speaking to Aaron, we have two contrasts. We have the contrast of the holy and the common and the clean and the unclean, because that is exactly what chapter 11 is about. It is about things that clean foods and unclean foods and how a person can be made unclean if he touches or eats an unclean food.

So we need to understand this principle that is given to the priest in chapter 10 verse 10 to distinguish between the holy and the common, the clean and the unclean. Simply put, my beloved of Christ, simply put, that which is holy is that which positionally belongs to God, that is, which God has set apart for Himself. Of course, the contrary, the common, is that which is not set apart by God, and therefore common in position, if you want. please notice that common does not necessarily mean evil it means not set apart by god now common could be evil but holy, something that is holy, something that has been set apart. Israel was holy as they were set apart by God, but all the other nations are common as they were not set apart or chosen by God.

Or think about the gold and the items and the different furniture of the tabernacle that we study in the book of Exodus, for example. They were holy or they are holy because they were set apart for the service of God in the tabernacle while all of the other furniture that was even in the land or in the camp of Israel was common as they were not set apart for that particular use or service of God. Holy is that which is positionally belonging to God, and common is that which is not set apart by God to the service of God. On the other hand, we have these other countries between clean and unclean. That which is clean, brothers and sisters, is that which is fit for God's presence.

That which meets the requirements for God's presence. That is something that is clean, and that which isn't clean, of course, is that which is unfit for God's presence. So the people of Israel, who were already positionally holy as the set-apart people of God from all the nations, were still called to be holy in the sense of remaining fit for the presence of God. In other words, to remain clean. So that means, brothers and sisters, that the Israelites, the people of Israel, even though holy positionally speaking, could be unclean or polluted and therefore unable to approach God and other Israelites as they were not fit according to these laws.

Now, brothers and sisters, unclean does not necessarily mean dirty or lacking hygiene or sick or something like that that might come into our minds. And clean means unfit for the presence of God. Now, this is going to be very important. So in these very detailed laws of purity or cleanliness, as I'm calling or referring to them, they might have different names, we can see that God is very concerned with the practical holiness of his holy people. And I hope that you understand when I say now the practical holiness of the people of Israel.

I'm not talking about the positional holiness of Israel, but the practical, the ongoing and progressive holiness of the people of Israel. God is concerned. He's very detailed when it comes to the practical holiness of the people of Israel. He's concerned that those who have been set apart from the world as His people, Israel, might continue to be holy as He is holy, therefore hence the commandment. And what this means under the old covenant was that the people of Israel would need to be separated as holy, not only positionally, but also practically.

That is that the people of Israel was not only to be just chosen and set apart, but also they needed to distinguish or differentiate from the other nations. as practically holy. They were to distinguish themselves for living lives and practices different to the other nations, lives and practices regulated by the word of their God. And in this case of chapter 11, it was about food and how to relate to those foods or animals and how to relate to those animals that will be their foods. the Israelite, was very careful, brothers and sisters, very discerning when choosing what to eat.

That's why the Lord gave all of these very detailed lists of the living, the land creatures, and the water creatures, and the flying creatures, and touching, not to touch them, the carcasses, the dead, not to, the water, how to, all of these specific details, they were very, very detailed. And the people of Israel was very, they were very careful and discerning when touching certain animals and foods. The Israelites needed to keep always in their mind this constant awareness, even when eating, lest they make themselves unclean and therefore unfit to the presence of God. If they wanted to be able to enjoy not only being a member of the holy people of Israel, but also to participate in the worship ceremonies that will bring them close to the presence of the holy God of Israel, then brothers and sisters, they needed to be diligent in keeping themselves clean. or feet for that purpose.

Now, the cleanest state was their default state. They needed to be careful not to make themselves unclean or are fit for God's presence and even to the presence of other fellow Israelites. That was their natural state, if you want, or the default state. They were clean. They had been set apart as holy, and their default state was clean.

But they needed to be careful not to make themselves unfit or unclean for God's presence and even the presence of other fellow Israelites. You see, It was not that there was something intrinsically wrong with these foods or animals. It's not that they contaminated the person. It was that by following these instructions, they showed obedience and trust to God. Very similar to what happened in the Garden of Eden.

I don't know if you can see the similarities even in the order and how the animals, the animals of the sea or the animals of the water, the animals of the earth, the animals of the land. Very similar to what happened in the Garden of Eden. you shall not eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil for in the day that you eat of it you will certainly die there was nothing intrinsically wrong with the fruit but not eating of the fruit kept adam and eve in their natural upright state and therefore they will be able to remain in the presence of God. But if they were going to disobey and eat of the fruit, they were going to be made unfit to remain in the presence of God and hence be rejected or ejected or removed from the presence of the Lord in the Garden of Eden. Food has never had the power to draw people close to God.

Genuine faith and trust in God's Word is what is manifested in a genuine heart and then that produces obedience. Now, the Israelite was called to discern how to be holy, not for the sake of food, but for the sake of the God that gave them freedom because of the freedom, the salvation that they had received from this merciful and mighty God. Now, that was the substance in their obedience, or at least it was supposed to be. So when it came to choosing food, it was not just I choose it because it's good or that, but it's because I obey the one who saved us and the one who gave us life. That which is in the heart of the person is what defines how clean or unclean they are.

It is the substance of the heart, the one that truly manifests the relationship of a person with God in the old covenant and in the new covenant. This is exactly the whole point of the Lord Jesus Christ in Mark 7, when he's actually going to declare all foods clean. Mark 7 reads and gives the story of the confrontation of the Pharisees with the Lord, and it reads, In chapter 7 verse 1, Now when the Pharisees gathered to him with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders. And when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash.

And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches. And the Pharisees and the scribes asked the Lord, Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands? After they ask that question, then the Lord is going to give a very strong exhortation about their traditions of the elders and how the traditions of the elders have taken the place of the words of God. But then after that very strong exhortation, there in Mark 7, then in verse 14, we're told that when he called the people to him, he said to them, hear me. all of you and understand there is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him.

But the things that come out of a person are what defile him. And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. And he said to them, Then, are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart, but his stomach, and it is expelled? Thus the Lord declared all foods clean, and he said, What comes out of a person is what defiles him.

From within, out of the heart, amen, comes evil thoughts, and sexual immorality, and theft, and murder, adultery, and all of these sins, all of these evil things that come from within the person. The Lord Jesus Christ was pointing to the heart of the person, and therefore, as the text says, declaring all foods clean. This was later confirmed, brothers and sisters, with a vision that the apostle Peter receives in Acts chapter 10, when he's going to visit Cornelius and the family. But before he goes to do that, and he receives this vision in chapter 10, and Peter saw the heavens, the scripture says, opened and something like a gray sheet descending, being let down by these four corners upon the earth. In the sheet were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the earth, very similar to what we read in Leviticus 11.

And there came a voice to him, rise Peter, kill and eat. But Peter said, by no means Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean. And the voice came to him again a second time and said, What God has made clean, do not call common. This happened three times and the thing was taken up at once to heaven. Then he's going to understand after that, that the gospel was also unto the Gentiles.

Brothers and sisters, foods, animals are not evil or bad or dirty or clean in and of themselves. What God says about them is what matters. Why? Because what God says is to be obeyed. And genuine obedience to God can only be obtained by the power of the gospel working in the heart of a person, giving the person new life.

You see, obedience is a natural manifestation of the divine power of the Holy Spirit working in the heart of a dead sinner who, apart from the grace of God, would have remained in that death and walking towards hell, and nothing would have stopped them. But when Christ is reeled in that person by the power of the Spirit, then obedience and conformity to Christ, it is the natural response of a regenerated heart. In Christ, we become the true Israel of God, the people of God. And as the Apostle Paul will say in Colossians chapter two, in him, you Gentiles were also circumcised with a circumcision made with our hands by putting off the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ. having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.

And you who were dead in your trespasses and under circumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all of our trespasses by canceling the record of death that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing to it the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities, and put them to open shame by triumphing over them in him. Therefore, therefore, let no one pass judgment on you in question of food and drink, or with regard to a festival, or a new moon, or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.

Praise God. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance, brothers and sisters, belongs to Christ. Christ has fulfilled the law, not abrogated the law. He has fulfilled the law. And because this ceremonial law of Leviticus chapter 11 through 15 and in Leviticus has been fulfilled but not abrogated, then the intrinsic principle, the implicit principle carries on to the New Testament.

What is the intrinsic principle? I'm not even sure if that is a word in English, but the implicit principle. Be holy, for I am holy. a principle that calls the people of God to be separated, to be holy, not only because they have been positionally made holy upon regeneration, but because they have the Spirit of God dwelling in them that empowers them to be holy as the Lord Jesus Christ is holy. This principle is literally repeated in the New Testament by Peter and in Hebrews.

God desires that his people will be conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ, just as in the continuation of chapter 8 of Romans that our brother read. For those whom he foreknew he has predestined to be conformed to the image of the firstborn among many brothers, the glorious Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, the one who has paid it all, the one that has covered every sin, the one who opened the divine curtains of heaven, so that grace will be poured unto us, and the reddest of our sins will be covered, and that we will be free from the bandage of our sins, and our eyes will be opened to see him upon that cross, triumphing over death, and nailing all of our sins to that cross, so that we will say, you are our God, and we are your people. Praise the Lord Jesus Christ, brothers and sisters. Praise the Lord. Amen.