Leviticus 11
The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 2 “Say to the Israelites: ‘Of all the animals that live on land, these are the ones you may eat: 3 You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud.
4 “‘There are some that only chew the cud or only have a divided hoof, but you must not eat them. The camel, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is ceremonially unclean for you. 5 The hyrax, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. 6 The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. 7 And the pig, though it has a divided hoof, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. 8 You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you.
9 “‘Of all the creatures living in the water of the seas and the streams you may eat any that have fins and scales. 10 But all creatures in the seas or streams that do not have fins and scales—whether among all the swarming things or among all the other living creatures in the water—you are to regard as unclean. 11 And since you are to regard them as unclean, you must not eat their meat; you must regard their carcasses as unclean. 12 Anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales is to be regarded as unclean by you.
13 “‘These are the birds you are to regard as unclean and not eat because they are unclean: the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture, 14 the red kite, any kind of black kite, 15 any kind of raven, 16 the horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, 17 the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, 18 the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey, 19 the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat.
20 “‘All flying insects that walk on all fours are to be regarded as unclean by you. 21 There are, however, some flying insects that walk on all fours that you may eat: those that have jointed legs for hopping on the ground. 22 Of these you may eat any kind of locust, katydid, cricket or grasshopper. 23 But all other flying insects that have four legs you are to regard as unclean.
24 “‘You will make yourselves unclean by these; whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean till evening. 25 Whoever picks up one of their carcasses must wash their clothes, and they will be unclean till evening.
26 “‘Every animal that does not have a divided hoof or that does not chew the cud is unclean for you; whoever touches the carcass of any of them will be unclean. 27 Of all the animals that walk on all fours, those that walk on their paws are unclean for you; whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean till evening. 28 Anyone who picks up their carcasses must wash their clothes, and they will be unclean till evening. These animals are unclean for you.
29 “‘Of the animals that move along the ground, these are unclean for you: the weasel, the rat, any kind of great lizard, 30 the gecko, the monitor lizard, the wall lizard, the skink and the chameleon. 31 Of all those that move along the ground, these are unclean for you. Whoever touches them when they are dead will be unclean till evening. 32 When one of them dies and falls on something, that article, whatever its use, will be unclean, whether it is made of wood, cloth, hide or sackcloth. Put it in water; it will be unclean till evening, and then it will be clean. 33 If one of them falls into a clay pot, everything in it will be unclean, and you must break the pot. 34 Any food you are allowed to eat that has come into contact with water from any such pot is unclean, and any liquid that is drunk from such a pot is unclean. 35 Anything that one of their carcasses falls on becomes unclean; an oven or cooking pot must be broken up. They are unclean, and you are to regard them as unclean. 36 A spring, however, or a cistern for collecting water remains clean, but anyone who touches one of these carcasses is unclean. 37 If a carcass falls on any seeds that are to be planted, they remain clean. 38 But if water has been put on the seed and a carcass falls on it, it is unclean for you.
39 “‘If an animal that you are allowed to eat dies, anyone who touches its carcass will be unclean till evening. 40 Anyone who eats some of its carcass must wash their clothes, and they will be unclean till evening. Anyone who picks up the carcass must wash their clothes, and they will be unclean till evening.
41 “‘Every creature that moves along the ground is to be regarded as unclean; it is not to be eaten. 42 You are not to eat any creature that moves along the ground, whether it moves on its belly or walks on all fours or on many feet; it is unclean. 43 Do not defile yourselves by any of these creatures. Do not make yourselves unclean by means of them or be made unclean by them. 44 I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves along the ground. 45 I am the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.
46 “‘These are the regulations concerning animals, birds, every living thing that moves about in the water and every creature that moves along the ground. 47 You must distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between living creatures that may be eaten and those that may not be eaten.’”
Edward and I argue this one frequently, compared to Acts 10 - The Great Vision Peter was given allowing food to be considered clean and to welcome Cornelius the centurion.
God describes this basically as:
Job 1:21
"Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised."
End of Kosher- which allowed the Jews to flourish in relatively old age and give birth without dying.
God's Plan is His. His Stories written are for us to learn from. Everything is His, in His Season. And the Book of Job teaches us to trust. The end of kosher, probably cleared up some nasty bacteria. God generally, usually, always, Tells the Truth.
God changed what He would accept near Him. He did not make wrong right and right wrong. God welcomed Aaron into His Dwelling knowing Aaron was going to be horrid and messy. Aaron is second billing Exodus - yet hardly forgotten. God loved Aaron so much his staff bloomed. Then God invited Cornelius and the rest clamored to be with Him.
The changing of Heaven because of Jesus' Sacrifice does not do away with the fulfilling of the Old Testament. God has found a way to reveal His more compassionate nature to people who would run more than a mile, with an inch given. God is not an imp or a dog, waiting for us to include Him. The disciples who cared for Jesus to the end and for the disciples at the end - lived a fine old age. Jerusalem was sacked. God doesn't clear the guilty.
The Law kept people safe. And created a show.
In elaborate ritual, there is safety. However, God intended people to do exactly like Jesus and be among people. Being in the world and not of the world requires our hearts to stay right with God. Being fake eventually wears out the good fruit. This is probably why the people in Scripture have real issues and mess. If one becomes a plaster saint, one is frozen in a display which can cool the heart. God created all different types of people and flaws, we have to be glad in our individualism. Staying close to God is doing what He chooses for us.
Why did Jesus call John the Baptist - least in Heaven. One of the reasons would be John's job was to be in Faith - it was John's Job. Don't pick at the threads of what upholds you. And create flap and doubt when the ones you love are depending upon you.
Why all the fuss about Church? Church can be fussy. Jerusalem and Israel are always in a flux, when they don't claim what God would give them. Why not avoid the struggles? The basic need inside of us is to connect to what God creates in our lives and what He gives us to do. God says:
Proverbs 14:10
Each heart knows its own bitterness,
and no one else can share its joy.
God connects to us more than any human being. If we aren't nourishing our souls - we are starving.
God does tell us about starving and disinherited - in the New Testament - Galatians 5
sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
The Fruits of the Spirit, are just vastly more appealing.
Jesus knew people. So He threw in the Salt part.
Life tests us. Psalm 7, 11, 26, Revelation 2, James 1, Hebrews 12, 1 Corinthians 2, 1 Peter 1, Jeremiah 3, Exodus 3. Basically all the heavy hitters of the Bible have weighed in on the opinion our hearts are examined. David, John, James, Paul, Peter, Jeremiah and Moses.
God lives with us.
John 1:4
13 This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
The Holy Spirit is Real. The Body of Christ works together. The coals together create Warmth of Love, Fire of the Holy Spirit, and Light.
Salvation is from God. Jesus would agree. Even in the Old Testament.
Psalm 3
O Lord, how many are my foes!
Many are rising against me;
2 many are saying of my soul,
there is no salvation for him in God. Selah
3 But you, O Lord, are a shield about me,
my glory, and the lifter of my head.
4 I cried aloud to the Lord,
and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah
5 I lay down and slept;
I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.
6 I will not be afraid of many thousands of people
who have set themselves against me all around.
7 Arise, O Lord!
Save me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
you break the teeth of the wicked.
8 Salvation belongs to the Lord;
your blessing be on your people! Selah
Father GOD - Encourage us to be worthy of You! Salvation is Yours and we claim that for our Beloved Ones. With Loving Hearts we pray for the people you give us and ask Your blessings on them. Each day help us to encourage our souls, and bring forth Joy of You. Accepting no less - in Jesus. Amen.
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