Leviticus Is More Than Just Do's And Dont's

The book of Leviticus comprises divine speeches that are mediated through Moses and communicated to the Israelites. The central theme of the book of Leviticus is God’s concern that individuals that make up the nation of Israel are a holy people. I’d like to discuss how God wanted a distinction between the way certain types of food were eaten and the applicant that can be taken from it.

 The breakdown of clean and unclean animals starts with land animals. Only the cloven-hoofed, and cud-chewing animals are clean, while all other mammals are unclean. Only fish with scales are clean when the subjects are fish, while all other fish are unclean. Birds of prey and flying insects that walk rather than hop are unclean, while all other birds and insects are clean. The rationale behind God’s separation between the animals is due to the correlation between their behavior, and human behavior. The animal that chews the cud symbolizes a human who meditates on God’s law day and night, as in Psalm 1. We see a similar example of the sheep being considered clean God is portrayed as our heavenly shepherd as we see in Psalm 23 and John 10. The pig is unclean because of its behavior of wallowing in mud and feeding on undesirables given to it by its human master.

God’s people should feed on heavenly bread and trust in God for their needs.  One of the most agreeable and accepted factors of clean and unclean animals among scholars is that unclean animals depend on death and that death brings uncleanliness, which is the opposite of life and holiness. When it comes to how the animals are cooked and eaten, the main issue is that killing and death began after the fall of Adam and Eve, therefore, blood represents life, and that life is sacred to God. In Leviticus 17, eating blood is prohibited, and anyone who disobeys this should be cut off, according to verse 14 in chapter 17.

The chapters in Leviticus about clean and unclean animals challenged me to think about how what we are surrounded with and influenced by is incredibly important to God, even in the smallest detail. God did not want His people even to eat something emulated in behavior, something that is an affront to Him. I think about consuming not just food but what I am watching, listening to, and reading about. We understand that there is no food unclean to eat because it does not defile someone, but our minds are easily corrupted. The book of Leviticus is rich and is much more than just do's and dont’s.