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“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” (Leviticus 11:9).
Here we have more instructions to the nation of Israel, as to what they should eat. To be edible, a fish had to have both fins and scales. What does this mean?
Most fish have six fins, and these allow it to have energy and direction in its movements. The fins keep it from flipping over on its back, and they allow it to propel itself through the water. They also allow it to move through the water easily. This is a picture of what we ought to do as Christians. We need spiritual energy to move forward through this world, and energy from the Lord to do so in a right way.
But scales were also needed, and they speak of protection. The scales on a fish protect it from attacks by other fish, from injury, and also from things like parasites that can attach to the fish. They are a picture to us of protection from the things of this world that can spoil our Christian walk. As we “swim” through this world, there are many things that can attack us, or injure us. Satan is out there, and unless we have on “the whole armor of God,” we may be attacked.
So, like the fish that the Israelites were permitted to eat, we need both fins and scales, in a spiritual sense.
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