key verse: 45b
YOU WILL BE HOLY, AS I AM HOLY
Chapters 11 through 15 include laws on purity. God already told Aaron not to drink wine or liquor, so that he could discern what is holy and pure or not (10:10). Jesus said that it is not what enters and exits a body which makes it impure, but rather what comes out of a man's heart. Yet, through this list of food, we glimpse what is God's will for his people.
1. Clean and unclean animals (1-8)
Whatever parts the hoof, is cloven-footed and chews the cud is clean. But those that part the hoof yet do not chew the cud, such as the pig, are unclean, and those that chew the cud yet do not part the hoof, like the camel, are unclean.
2. Clean and unclean fish and birds (9-23)
Those with fins and scales are clean and eatable. Animals without these are unclean. Winged beasts that go on all fours are unclean. Those that have jointed legs above their feet, like the locust, are clean.
3. Laws concerning clean and unclean animals (24-47)
God doesn't describe what happens after eating unclean animals. However, if by necessity, one has to carry a carcass, one becomes unclean by touching it. That person must wash his clothes and is unclean until evening. It is the same for objects. A vessel must be broken. Food with water becomes unclean, though the water cistern remains clean in spite of contact with a carcass. Verses 44-45 indicate the divine will behind these laws: God wants to consecrate his people according to his own holy image.
Prayer: Lord, make me holy as you are holy, in all my ways
Bottom line: You are holy, for I am holy
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