LEVITICUS 27


     We will begin this lesson in Leviticus 11:1 "And the LORD spake
unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them,"  Leviticus 11:2 "Speak
unto the children of Israel, saying, These [are] the beasts which ye
shall eat among all the beasts that [are] on the earth."

     We will be studying in this lesson the dietary laws that God sent
down to His chosen people. In the practice of the Mosaic law, it was
very important what you ate and drank. Under grace all things are
clean for the Christian, if they are prayed over before they are
eaten.  I Timothy 4:4 "For every creature of God [is] good, and
nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:" I Timothy
4:5 "For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer."  We, also,
know about the sheet lowered from heaven, and Peter directed to kill
and eat things that he had classified as unclean. Acts 10:11 "And saw
heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had
been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the
earth:" Acts 10:12 "Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of
the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the
air."  Acts 10:13 "And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill,
and eat." Acts 10:14 " But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never
eaten any thing that is common or unclean."  Acts 10:15 "And the voice
[spake] unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, [that]
call not thou common."  In giving this lesson on the dietary laws, I
am not saying that we are to keep them today. I will, however, try to
point out the obvious reasons God has given these ordinances.

     Leviticus 11:3 "Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted,
[and] cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat."

     This would probably be better understood, if we knew that
clovenfooted meant a claw, or a split hoof. It, also, means to split
or tear, and fissure. I do not believe that God was restricting these
animals for the reason most believe. I believe that God was telling
His family which animals He made for food and which animals were on
the earth for other purposes.

     Leviticus 11:4 "Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that
chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof: [as] the camel, because
he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he [is] unclean unto
you."

     The camel was obviously made by God for transportation for the
desert people. The one thing that makes you know for sure that was
God's purpose for this animal, is the fact that the camel can go many
days without water. This would be a tremendous advantage in the
desert. We studied in the book of Genesis that animals were made for
the use of man. In the first chapter of Genesis beginning at the 20th
verse all the way to the end of the chapter, you will read why God
made the animals, fowls etc. God prepared the earth and everything on
the earth, and then made man, after He had prepared the earth and made
it habitable for man.
     Leviticus 11:5 "And the coney, because he cheweth the cud, but
divideth not the hoof; he [is] unclean unto you."

     We would probably understand this a little better, if we knew
what the word coney means. This means a rock rabbit. A few years ago
many people learned the hard way why God had included this animal in
the group of unclean. Rabbit fever became a threat to those who ate
rabbit. Even today those who hunt rabbit, will not eat them at certain
times of the year.

     Leviticus 11:6 "And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but
divideth not the hoof; he [is] unclean unto you."

     Leviticus 11:7 "And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be
clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he [is] unclean to you."

     Pork is very dangerous to eat, if it is not thoroughly cooked. At
the time these ordinances were given, there was not nearly as good a
way to cook meat as we have today. There was no refrigeration at all.
I am sure God took all of this into account when He said do not eat
swine. The swine has always been thought of as dirty, not only on the
outside, but because of the food it ate, as well.

     Leviticus 11:8 "Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their
carcase shall ye not touch; they [are] unclean to you."

     The carcase of any dead animal should not be touched, because you
have no idea what killed it, and many diseases can be spread by
carelessly touching them. A swine wallows in the mud and from the
physical point would  certainly be unclean. This, however, is speaking
more of a defilement than a physical touch.

     Leviticus 11:9  "These shall ye eat of all that [are] in the
waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas,
and in the rivers, them shall ye eat."  Leviticus 11:10 "And all that
have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that
move in the waters, and of any living thing which [is] in the waters,
they [shall be] an abomination unto you:"

     Fish, such as bass and crappie {which have scales} prefer live
bait when you are trying to catch them. On the other hand, catfish are
scavengers and will eat anything. The slick skin fish, all are the
fish who eat the garbage in the waters. I believe God made each fish
for it's own purpose. Now there are fish farms, where catfish are
raised just for food and they are fed well and do not have to live
like a scavenger. Perhaps, in the restrictions of animals, fish, and
fowl that God said was O. K. to eat, was so that we would not be
eating things that would make us sick.

     Leviticus 11:11 "They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye
shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in
abomination." Leviticus 11:12 "Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in
the waters, that [shall be] an abomination unto you."

     I am thoroughly convinced that this is because they will eat just
anything, and you might take a disease because of their practices of
being a scavenger.

     Leviticus 11:13  "And these [are they which] ye shall have in
abomination among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, they [are] an
abomination: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the osprey,"

     The ossifrage, here, is just another type of eagle. The ospray
was a sea eagle. All of these eat dead things.

     Leviticus 11:14 "And the vulture, and the kite after his kind;"
Leviticus 11:15 "Every raven after his kind;" Leviticus 11:16 "And the
owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckoo, and the hawk after his kind,"
Leviticus 11:17 "And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great
owl," Leviticus 11:18 "And the swan, and the pelican, and the gier
eagle," Leviticus 11:19 "And the stork, the heron after her kind, and
the lapwing, and the bat."

     If we were to closely investigate, I would say that, perhaps, no
civilized peoples of the earth eat these fowls. These are all in the
class of the vulture in their choice of food. God thought of
everything when He made the earth, and He made some of these fowl to
eat the dead animals on the highway. They are our clean-up crew if you
will. We always try to see the spiritual lesson in all the verses we
read. I see, in this, that God wants His people to abstain from any
and everything that might connect them with worldliness in any way. We
all want to live in divine health and these Israelites were no
different from us on this point. They were to be a separated people.
One of the things that set them apart, was the fact that they rigidly
conformed to the wishes of God on the matter of clean and unclean.
They never questioned why. God said it was an abomination, so they
left it alone. We believers in Christ need to have that type of
separation to our LORD today. If Jesus said don't do it, don't. We
want to know the reason for everything. True faith in Jesus Christ is
when we learn to trust the Lord in everything, even if we do not
understand why right now.

     Leviticus 11:20 "All fowls that creep, going upon [all] four,
[shall be] an abomination unto you." Leviticus 11:21 "Yet these may ye
eat of every flying creeping thing that goeth upon [all] four, which
have legs above their feet, to leap withal upon the earth;"

     The main thing we need to learn from this, is that all of this
was under the Mosaic law. All things are clean for Christians, if we
pray over the food before we eat it. Some of the things in this lesson
are not too good for your health. We need to take care of our body.
Our flesh should be controlled by our spirit. If we would study these
laws, and watch our diet and take care of the body God gave us for our
use on this earth, we could do much more for God. We need to realize
that we are not our own. We have been bought with a price {Jesus'
blood}. Our body is the temple of the Holy Ghost. I Corinthians 6:19
"What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost
[which is] in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?"
                             Questions 27

1.  In the beginning of this chapter, who did God speak to?
2.  What laws are in this chapter?
3.  In the Mosaic law, what 2 things were very important that were
    taught in this lesson?
4.  What things are clean to eat under grace?
5.  What 2 things sanctify our food?
6.  Who did God tell to kill and eat things that were forbidden in the
    Mosaic law?
7.  What God hath cleansed, call not thou _______.
8.  What does clovenfooted mean?
9.  In these ordinances, God was telling His people what about
    animals?
10. What was the camel obviously made for?
11. What, about the camel, tells us that was its purpose?
12. What were animals made for?
13. How did God prepare the earth for man?
14. What does coney mean?
15. What disease caused the people to become cautious about what time
    of the year they ate wild rabbit?
16. If pork is eaten, not thoroughly cooked, what can happen to you?
17. Why should you not touch the dead carcase of an animal?
18. Which fish are scavengers?
19. What is the ossifrage?
20. What do the eagle, ossifrage, and the ospray have in common?
21. All of the fowls mentioned in verses 14 through 19 could be
    classed as vulture in their choice of _____.
22. God wants His people to abstain from what?
23. What is true faith in Jesus Christ?
24. What is the main lesson, for the believer, to be learned in
    studying these dietary laws?
25. We are not our own, we have been _______ ____ _ _____.
26. Know ye not that your body is the _______ __ ___ ____ _____.