Lev 11:2 - Distinction

Here we see God giving Aaron a very unusual command - He had already given Moses and Aaron the plans for the tabernacle and all its furnishings, as well as laws to govern the sacrifices and daily duties within the tabernacle - now He's giving them instructions on what to eat!! What God was doing was giving instructions to His people on how they could be visibly set apart for Him. Many of the animals that they were not allowed to eat were actually held in superstition by gentiles (the people who inhabited the land they were about to take over). Pigs especially were worshipped, hence the reason "swine" was mentioned as opposed to pork - they were to "abhor" eating pig's flesh. Why? So that they could be visibly set apart for God - so the gentiles around them would see that God's people have distinguishing characteristics from them. Also, God was making these laws so that it would test the obedience of His people. If you were an Israelite and you loved God then you wouldn't eat certain foods regardless of how much you may desire them.

The gentiles, on the other hand, at all foods - there was nothing to distinguish what they could eat and not eat. Hence God wanted a daily physical sign to show gentiles who was His and who wasn't. If a jew and a gentile were going to break bread (which that took time for them to actually get to the point where they could eat together) then you knew who was the jew and who was the gentile by the food that was on their plates! You could physically see it - there was a very clear distinction.
What the devil does today is to remove the distinction between the clean and unclean - he wants everything to look the same. Why? Because those who aren't of the faith won't know who to emulate - they won't see any distinction between the clean and the unclean and therefore they will remain in their sinful state. We need to make clear distinctions in our actions that we are God's people. Granted, we don't have to separate ourselves from physical food anymore, but we need to making a distinction in our lives by how we live - we need people to know that we are clean!

Created 4 months ago