Leviticus 11: Cleanliness Dietary Rules - Be Holy like God

Leviticus 11

New International Version (NIV)

 Clean and Unclean Food

¹ 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:

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.

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.

⁴⁷ You must distinguish between the unclean and the clean,

between living creatures that may be eaten and those that may not be eaten.’”

Daniel's Thoughts:

One amazing aspect of Leviticus and much of the early books in the bible God the Lord was speaking directly to Moses or Aaron and the Israelite people through them. God is so present and he is moving in amazing ways before these people. God has revealed himself and proved faithful. God provides manna and water in their wanderings. Yet the people constantly turn away.

What does cleanliness mean and what makes something unclean?

Why is cleanliness so important in this culture and in the law? 

Why is cleanliness so important to God? 

Here the Lord speaks to Moses and Aaron about the foods that the Israelite people are supposed to eat and not eat. God made all things and they are good. But that does not mean all things are good for us. We are not meant to eat some things and some animals. Maybe to us now in modern society where food is safe to eat we can't understand why this would be in the law or that important to God. Why would God care that much about what his people eat? Also in a post-Christ era with the words of Jesus and Paul in mind we are free from the constraints of the law with regards to commands such as dietary restrictions. But we have to keep in mind the culture, time period and significance of cleanliness to the Jewish people before Christ. 

New Testament Post-Christ Understanding


Matthew 15:17-20

¹⁷ “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? ¹⁸ But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. ¹⁹ For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.²⁰ These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.”

Romans 14:14

¹⁴ I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. 

So why then did cleanliness matter so much to God and to the Israelite people? Cleanliness was necessary to enter the Temple and necessary for the priests to offer sacrifices. People who were unclean could not come to the tent of meeting and could not come close to God. Verses 44 and 45 really summarize the significance. The Lord God is holy and therefore his people should be holy. For the Israelite people this meant following the law and command of God about food. For us as Christians this may look different, but the same is true God is Holy and we ought to be holy!

⁴⁵ I am the LORD, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.

Daniel's Prayers:

Father God

I don't always understand you or your commands,

but I do love and trust you.

Please help me to understand and come closer to you.

Help me to understand your will for my life and to follow it. 

God you are holy and I am not,

but God you are making all things new and making me holy

Thank you! 

I want to be holy and righteous and follow your heart.

Create in me a pure heart God

Amen