Clean Me Up

Clean Me Up

Leviticus 11-13

By Pastor Fernando Cabrera

1. What makes an animal clean or unclean?

The animal world is divided into three spheres:

• Fly in the air

“…let the birds fly above the earth in the

open expanse of the heavens” (Genesis 1:20)

• Walk in land

“God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind…” (Genesis 1:25)

• Swim in the seas

“God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind…” (Genesis 1:21)

Three Form of Moving and motion:

• Birds – two wings to fly and two feet to walk

• Fish – fins and scales to swim

• Land animals – hoofs to run with

Clean animals are those…

Which are pure to their type

Unclean animals are those…

Which are not pure to their type

Principle #1: Cleanness is the normal condition of most things and persons

Clean means normal

Mixed crops, mixed clothing, and mixed marriages are incompatible with holiness (18:23; 19:19)

Priests had to be free from physical deformity ( 21:5-6, 17ff.)

Principle #2: Holiness means wholeness and completeness (Lev. 21:17-21)

Holiness is exemplified by completeness

Principle #3: Unclean and holy must never come in contact

Principle #4: when the unclean met the holy, it merits death.

When a sinner mets a holy God, he merits hell

Principle #5: Sanctification can elevate the clean to the holy

Principle #6: Holy things may be defiled and become common, and even polluted and making them unclean

Principle #7: There are two aspects of sanctification: Divine act and human action

“I am the Lord your sanctifier” (Lev. 21:8)

“You must sanctify him…for I the Lord sanctify you” (Lev. 21:8, Ex. 20:8, 11)

2. Why make the distinction between unclean, clean and holy?

Reason #1: There were three types of animals: unclean, clean and sacrificial

Corresponding to those excluded from the camp, majority of Israel and the priest

Reason #2: Their diet was limited to certain meats in imitation of their God, who had restricted his choice among nations to Israel

Election and clean animals are mentioned together (Deut. 14:1-2)

Reason #3: They were to be a holy nation

Clean animals: how righteous ought to behave

Unclean animals: unrighteous

3. Creatures which the Israelites may or may not eat

Land Creatures (v. 1-8)

Edible (v.2-3)

Chew the cud and divide hoof

Different from the modern meaning – it meant to chew their food very thoroughly like true ruminants

Inedible (v. 4-8)

Water Creatures (v. 9-12)

Edible (v. 9)

Fins and scales (swim normally)

Inedible (v.10-12)

Flying Creatures (v. 13-23)

Inedible birds (v. 13-19)

Clean: Two wings and two feet

Unclean: These (v. 13-19) typified man’s sinfulness, destructive and murderous instincts – taking what does not belong to them

Preying on other animals – blood drinkers, thus they break the law

Insects (v. 20-23): detestable (v.20), edible (v. 21-22), detestable (v.23)

Clean – those which are more like a bird with its wings and two feet

They have motion appropriate to their sphere, they are clean

Swarming – move in an unpredictable fashion, thus moving in chaos, out of order