Topic: Clean And Unclean Food [Thursday March 8th, 2018]
Text: Leviticus 11:13-28 (KJV)
Key Verse: “And these are they which ye shall have in abomination among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, they are abomination: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray, And the vulture, and the kite after his kind” (Leviticus 11:13,14)
MESSAGE:
One aspect of scriptures that has generated controversy is the subject of clean and unclean meats. The balanced teaching of the Scriptures is that one should not be condemned based on eating or not eating any particular food.
Chapter eleven of Leviticus deals specifically with the subject of clean and unclean foods. God listed some of the creatures on the land, some clean and some unclean – the clean ones they could eat, the unclean ones they were to avoid. The categories of those that are in the water were referred to as being abhorrent. The flying birds and insects are described; some birds are classified unclean. All flying insects are called unclean, with the exception of those that have a set of jumper legs with which they can leap through the air and thus propel themselves through the air. While jumping, flying insects are edible, the rest are not.
The dietary laws about “clean” and “unclean” meats are among the most unique yet puzzling instructions found in the Bible. For long, these laws have been a striking mark of identity separating God’s people from the world (Leviticus 20:25,26). Consequently, for centuries, these same instructions have been a source of controversy and confusion among various religious groups who claim to get their beliefs from the same book – the Bible.
The balanced teaching of Scriptures is that we should not judge one another on the basis of meat, observance of special days and the likes. We should not allow our personal views about what is clean or unclean to destroy, especially the weak believers whom Christ has redeemed (1 Corinthians 8). The credo for God’s saints is simply this: in essentials of Scriptures, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; and in all things, charity.
Thought For The Day: Christ commands to preach the Word, not teach about food.
Bible Reading in a Year: Numbers 31-32
DCLM Daily Manna was written by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.
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