Leviticus 10:19-11:919And Aaron said unto Moses, Behold, this day have they offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord; and such things have befallen me: and if I had eaten the sin offering to day, should it have been accepted in the sight of the Lord? 20And when Moses heard that, he was content. 1And the Lord spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them, 2Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth. 3Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat. 4Nevertheless 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. 5And the coney, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you. 6And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you. 7And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you. 8Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you. 9These 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. (Leviticus 10:19‑11:9)
ELEAZAR and Ithamar, sons of Aaron, had failed to eat the sin offering in the holy place, and Moses was angry with them. It seems that after the solemn judgment that had fallen on his sons, Aaron was unable to fully rise to his responsibility in connection with the sin offering. But after exclaiming this to Moses, Moses was content.
The Lord would never have us act beyond our state of soul. If we lack spiritual energy, as we often do, instead of pretending to be spiritual, rather let us tell the Lord all about it, as Aaron did to Moses, and then seek grace to go on. The Lord will still use and strengthen us if we walk with Him. Often He allows us to feel our utter weakness so that we might lean more upon Him, and feeling our dependence, draw all our strength from Him.
We now come to a very interesting and instructive chapter, the difference between clean and unclean: 1) animals, 2) fishes, and 3) birds and winged creatures. Not the creatures themselves but the moral end of each is surely what the Lord would have us to learn. Israel was not left to choose for themselves what they could eat, for God would have His people to confide in Him at all times. No doubt He chose what was best for Israel, but He was looking on to His heavenly family who would by His Spirit seek out His mind in these types and shadows.
“Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is cloven-footed, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat.” There must be a clean and firm walk and along with it the ability to digest food well. Otherwise the food was unfit for an Israelite.
The camel, the coney, and the hare might chew the cud, but they did not divide the hoof. The swine divided the hoof, but did not chew the cud; instead it swallowed its food greedily. All were unclean. In its spiritual application, it seems that the divided hoof speaks of a clean walk outwardly, in separation from the evil around, while chewing the cud is a life nourished inwardly by meditation on the word of truth. Both are necessary according to the mind of God.
One might be clear as to truth yet have no conscience as to his walk. The word has no power over his life. In his heart he may be a rector of Christ. All goes for nothing. Another might be clean living, honest, blameless in his walk, yet this does not flow from his having the truth in his heart. Christ is not his object. It may be mere formal outward separation, as was found in the Pharisees of old, but it is not separation to Christ; again it is worth nothing. It is the natural man, fallen through sin, and unclean before God. “Without faith it is impossible to please Him” (Heb. 11:66But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)).
On the other hand to those that believe God gives the power to live of His life by the Spirit, to nourish that new life by inward meditation on His Word, to walk with a firm, careful step the path of Christ, while waiting for Him to take us to His own home, the Father’s house above.
ML-12/19/1971