Leviticus 11:1 says, And the LORD spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them, God spoke to both Moses and Aaron this time. God is not limited in how He speaks to people, nor in the number of people that He speaks to about the same thing. Verse two adds, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth. God moved from sacrifices to dietary requirements. Moses and Aaron were to tell the people what these were. Of course, we know that after the coming of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, that God told Peter these rules no longer applied. We should also notice that there was never a time when the people of God were prohibited from eating meat, either before Christ came or after, so to attempt to make this a requirement for Christians is Biblically incorrect. Verse three continues, Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat. Animals with divided hooves that chewed cud could be eaten. This would mean cattle, for example. Verse four states, 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. Then, the exclusion was given. God said the camel for example could not be eaten, because it did not have a divided hoof. Verse five adds, And the coney, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you. The coney, or rabbit, could not be eaten for the same reason. Then verse six continues, And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you. We tend to think of the rabbit as a hare, but there was a distinction made here. Still, they were both excluded as sources of food. Verse seven says, And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you. Swine were likewise excluded, but for a different reason, that being that they did not chew the cud. Animals had to meet all the specifications in order to be considered clean. When it comes to God's laws, meeting part of them is never enough, which is why salvation is available through Christ alone. Just as meeting part of the requirements did not make an animal clean to eat, meeting part of the requirements of God's law does not make us spiritually clean. Verse eight adds, Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you. Not only were the people of Israel not to eat of these animals that God proclaimed unclean, but they were not to even touch them if they were dead. The best way to stay spiritually clean is to avoid contact with unclean things. This doesn't mean that we are to avoid all contact with the world but means that we are to never allow the unclean things of the world to touch us spiritually. Verse nine continues, 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. God now specified what fish could be eaten, and that was fish with fins and scales. Verse ten adds, 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: The fish without fins and scales were to be considered an abomination to the people of Israel, and I assume still are to the Jewish people today. Verse eleven continues, They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomination. Verse twelve concludes, Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you. All fish without fins and scales were to not only not be eaten but were to be considered an abomination to the people of Israel. Again, God through His command to Peter did away with these dietary laws, I believe because through Christ we have been given freedom from attempting to justify ourselves through the law.
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