Moses part 30 You shall not eat unclean meat by Victor Torres

Transcription

1 Moses part 30 You shall not eat unclean meat by Victor Torres Exo 22:31 (KJV) And ye shall be holy men unto me: neither shall ye eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field; ye shall cast it to the dogs. Let's examine this law given to Moses and Israel. There are three parts to this law, and all these parts are connected: a) You shall be holy men to me b) Don't eat the meat of an animal killed by a wild animal c) Instead of eating this animal, feed the meat to the dogs Remember, the Israelites were shepherds, so this law was very applicable to them. It was not unusual for them to lose a sheep or a goat to wild animals such as wolves and lions. We will get back to this law. In the meantime, we'll look at the other laws given to Israel about which kinds of meat they should eat and which kind they should not eat. Lev 11:1 (ERV) The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, Lev 11:2 "Tell the Israelites: These are the animals you can eat: Lev 11:3 If an animal has hooves that are split into two parts, and if that animal also chews the cud, then you may eat the meat from that animal. Lev 11:4 "Some animals chew the cud, but they don't have split hooves. Don't eat these animals. Camels, rock badgers, and rabbits are like that, so they are unclean for you. Lev 11:7 Other animals have hooves that are split into two parts, but they don't chew the cud. Don't eat these animals. Pigs are like that, so they are unclean for you. Lev 11:8 Don't eat the meat from these animals. Don't even touch their dead bodies! They are unclean for you. The laws above are concerning land animals. There are different criteria concerning animals that live on water, those that fly (including birds and bats), and insects. For land animals: 1) An animal has to chew the cud 2) And it must also have hooves split into two parts

2 They need to meet both criteria before Israel can eat it. In Leviticus, we are only given examples of what land animals Israel cannot eat camels, rabbits, pigs, etc. However in Deuteronomy, we are also given examples of what they can eat cows, sheep, and goats. Deu 14:2 (ESV) For you are a people holy to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. Deu 14:3 "You shall not eat any abomination. Deu 14:4 These are the animals you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat, Deu 14:5 the deer, the gazelle, the roebuck, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope, and the mountain sheep. Deu 14:6 Every animal that parts the hoof and has the hoof cloven in two and chews the cud, among the animals, you may eat. Deu 14:7 Yet of those that chew the cud or have the hoof cloven you shall not eat these: the camel, the hare, and the rock badger, because they chew the cud but do not part the hoof, are unclean for you. Deu 14:8 And the pig, because it parts the hoof but does not chew the cud, is unclean for you. Their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch. So Israel was able to eat ox or cows without angering the Lord, because cows both chew the cud and they also have hooves that part in two (cloven-hoofed). To learn what chewing the cud is, let's watch this short video: So the reason that cows chew the cud is to thoroughly digest their food. This thoroughly digested food is then converted into milk that babies and young kids can drink, and into meat that kids and adults alike can eat. Pigs, however, do not chew the cud, so they are unclean to Israel, even though they have cloven-hooves. Cows also have hooves that part in two (cloven-hoof), so they are clean to Israel. Here's a link to a picture of a cow's hoof where it is clearly shown how the hooves are parted in two link

3 Camels and rabbits chew the cud, but they do not have cloven-hooves like cows, so they are unclean to Israel. Let's go back to the first rule that we saw today: Exo 22:31 (KJV) And ye shall be holy men unto me: neither shall ye eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field; ye shall cast it to the dogs. So even if an animal chews the cud and have cloven-hooves, if it was killed by a wolf or a lion, Israel can't eat it. They need to feed the leftover meat to the dogs. Now let's look at which water creatures are clean and unclean to Israel. Lev 11:9 (MKJV) These you shall eat of all that are in the waters: whatever has fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them you shall eat. Lev 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 that is in the waters, they shall be an abomination to you. Lev 11:11 They shall even be an abomination to you. You shall not eat of their flesh, but you shall have their carcasses in abomination. Lev 11:12 Whatever has no fins nor scales in the waters shall be an abomination to you. For animals that live on water: 1) They must have fins 2) They mus have scales Everything that lives on water that don't have fins and scales are an abomination [evil] to Israel. These include shrimp and lobster which have scales but have no fins. Israel cannot eat octopus or squid either because they neither have fins or scales. We have to ask, why were these laws given to Israel? After the flood, Noah was told that he can eat anything that moves. Gen 9:3 (MKJV) Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herb. However, in the time of Moses, the Lord told Israel not to eat certain animals:

4 Lev 11:1 (ERV) The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, Lev 11:2 "Tell the Israelites: These are the animals you can eat: How about Christians today? Are we also forbidden to eat meat of animals that do not chew the cud or those that do not have cloven-hoof? Are we also forbidden to eat sea creatures that do not have fins or scales? If we are, I'm in trouble. I love pork barbecue. I also like shrimp and scallops. Mat 15:10 (CEV) Jesus called the crowd together and said, "Pay attention and try to understand what I mean. Mat 15:11 The food that you put into your mouth doesn't make you unclean and unfit to worship God. The bad words that come out of your mouth are what make you unclean." Mat 15:12 Then his disciples came over to him and asked, "Do you know that you insulted the Pharisees by what you said?" Mat 15:13 Jesus answered, "Every plant that my Father in heaven did not plant will be pulled up by the roots. Mat 15:14 Stay away from those Pharisees! They are like blind people leading other blind people, and all of them will fall into a ditch." Mat 15:15 Peter replied, "What did you mean when you talked about the things that make people unclean?" Mat 15:16 Jesus then said: Don't any of you know what I am talking about by now? Mat 15:17 Don't you know that the food you put into your mouth goes into your stomach and then out of your body? Mat 15:18 But the words that come out of your mouth come from your heart. And they are what make you unfit to worship God. Mat 15:19 Out of your heart come evil thoughts, murder, unfaithfulness in marriage, vulgar deeds, stealing, telling lies, and insulting others. Again, we are reminded by our Lord that He is not concerned with physical things like food. What He is concerned about are spiritual things like the thoughts in our minds. He says out of the heart (mind) comes evil thoughts which really makes us unclean, not from the food we eat.

5 The apostle Paul taught this truth to the Lord's followers: Rom 14:14 (CEV) The Lord Jesus has made it clear to me that God considers all foods fit to eat. But if you think some foods are unfit to eat, then for you they are not fit. So if God considers all physical foods fit to eat, what is the point of learning all those clean and unclean foods in the law of Moses? Our Lord said His words are spirit, so there must be a spiritual meaning to these clean and unclean animals. Act 20:28 (ESV) Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. Act 20:29 (CEV) I know that after I am gone, others will come like fierce wolves to attack you. Act 20:30 Some of your own people will tell lies to win over the Lord's followers. Act 20:31 Be on your guard! Remember how day and night for three years I kept warning you with tears in my eyes. At first glance, it might be hard for you to see the connection, but I want you to look at the words I have emboldened above: others will come like fierce wolves to attack you. Some of your own people will tell lies to win over the Lord's followers. Now let's look at the verse in Exodus we are focusing on today: Exo 22:31 (KJV) And ye shall be holy men unto me: neither shall ye eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field; ye shall cast it to the dogs. There it is! The fierce wolves are the people who tell lies to win over the Lord's followers. The animal that was torn by these fierce wolves are the Lord's followers who believed their lies. Eating an animal torn by fierce wolves is the same as believing the lies of false teachers. Here's what this verse in Exodus mean in the New Testament: 2Co 6:14 (CEV) Stay away from people who are not followers of the Lord! Can someone who is good get along with someone who is evil? Are light and darkness the same? 2Co 6:15 Is Christ a friend of Satan? Can people who follow the Lord have anything in common with those who don't? [ you shall cast it to the dogs ]

6 2Co 6:16 Do idols belong in the temple of God? We are the temple of the living God, as God himself says, "I will live with these people and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people [ and you shall holy men unto me ]." 2Co 6:17 The Lord also says, "Leave them and stay away! Don't touch anything that isn't clean [ neither shall ye eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field ] Then I will welcome you 2Co 6:18 and be your Father. You will be my sons and my daughters, as surely as I am God, the All-Powerful." We are told by Paul to stay away from people who are not followers of the Lord. This does not mean we can't have lunch with them or we can't talk to them. What this means is we should not discuss spiritual things with them. That's the same message the Lord is telling us when He said this: Mat 7:6 (ESV) "Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you. What should we believe or spiritually eat then? Remember, clean animals chews the cud. Chewing the cud is a symbol of meditating on God's words. When we chew the cud or digest God's words thoroughly, we will see the deep spiritual meaning hidden behind His words. 1Co 2:10 (MKJV) But God has revealed them to us by His Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, yea, the deep things of God. Isn't that what we are doing in these studies? We show you the spiritual meaning of God's words. Not all who teach the Bible see these spiritual meanings. Let me give you an example: Mat 24:6 (MKJV) And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled, for all these things must occur; but the end is not yet. Mat 24:7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in different places. Mat 24:29 And immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from the heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. My former church teaches that the wars in those verses are literal wars. They say they are referring to the first and second world wars. They teach that the sun

7 shall be darkened and the moon shall not give her light are referring to a literal solar eclipse and a literal lunar eclipse that happened in the past. Of course they are blind to the spiritual meaning of God's words. To those who chew the cud or meditate on God's words, they know our Lord is clearly referring to spiritual wars, because He says: Mat 24:34 (MKJV) Truly I say to you, This generation shall not pass until all these things are fulfilled. Well, all those people the Lord was talking to at that time died hundreds of years before the first and second world war. So either the Lord was lying when He said this generation shall not pass until all these things be fulfilled or those ministers of my former church are the ones lying. Don't believe teachers who can't see the spiritual meaning of God's words. Clean animals also have cloven-hoof. When the Bible is talking about feet, or in this case, hooves, it is referring to our walk, or the way we live. 1Ti 4:12 You are young, but don't let anyone treat you as if you are not important. Be an example to show the believers how they should live. Show them by what you say, by the way you live, by your love, by your faith, and by your pure life. Don't believe teachers who are not good examples in the way they talk and in the way they live. What spiritual lessons can we learn from creatures in the waters? Lev 11:9 (MKJV) These you shall eat of all that are in the waters: whatever has fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them you shall eat. Fins give fishes direction. They enable them to go in the right direction. The words of God should give us the right direction in our life: Psa 119:105 (ERV) Your word is like a lamp that guides my steps, a light that shows the path I should take. Don't believe people who are not guided by the Bible, but are guided by the wisdom of this world instead. Scales provide protection to fishes from predators as the words of God protect His people from the lies of the devil.

8 Eph 6:10 (CEV) Finally, let the mighty strength of the Lord make you strong. Eph 6:11 Put on all the armor that God gives, so you can defend yourself against the devil's tricks. The armor of God consists of truth, righteousness, the word of God, the gospel of peace, faith and the hope of salvation. Don't believe people who don't even believe the Bible [faith]. Don't believe those who teach things contrary to the Bible [truth/the word of God]. Don't believe those whose righteousness is based on their own rules instead of the rules of God [righteousness]. Don't believe people who teach you only a few men will be saved [gospel of peace/the hope of salvation]. You shall not eat unclean meat. Next time, Lord willing, we will see the spiritual lessons behind unclean birds and