Holiness - Pertaining To The People Series

May 17, 2025

Leviticus is all about how Yahweh’s people are to live. They were to be a separate people - different from the nations that surrounded them. Why?

God is holy. His people were called to represent him and in order for them to be successful, they must also be holy – set apart – different.

Understanding the answer to that question is important – not only because of what God asked of Israel but also because of what He asks of us.

The 1st 10 chapters of Leviticus were devoted to things connected to the Tabernacle.

We learned that blood is the foundation of holiness. Being Justified and Set Apart begins with substitutionary sacrifice.

We also learned, through the consecration of the priests, that it is God who sets us apart for his service. He does the calling. He does the cleansing. He does the work of transformation.

Chapter 11 introduces a new section. What we will discover is that holiness did not end in the spiritual realm, i.e., the priesthood or things directly related to the Tabernacle. Holiness also had to do with how people related to God in their daily lives - beginning with what they put in their mouths (Also see Deut. 14:3-21 and the Jewish Kosher Food List):

Land:

Clean/Permitted

V 3 - You may eat any animal that has a split hoof completely divided and that chews the cud:

Ox --- Sheep --- Goat --- Deer --- Gazelle --- Roe Deer --- Wild Goat --- Mountain Goat --- Antelope --- Mountain Sheep

Unclean/Forbidden

V 4 & 27 - There are some that only chew the cud or only have a split hoof, but you must not eat them…. Of all the animals that walk on all fours, those that walk on their paws are unclean for you;

Camel ---- Horse ---- Rock Hyrax ---- Rabbit ---- Pig ---- Dogs ---- Cats ---- Wolves ---- Lions ---- Hyenas ---- Bears

Water:

Clean/Permitted

V 9 – Of all the creatures living in the water of the seas and the streams, you may eat any that have fins and scales:

Flounder ---- Cod ---- Haddock ---- Salmon

Unclean/Forbidden

V 10-11 – But all creatures in the seas or streams that do not have fins and scales-- whether among all the swarming things or among all the other living creatures in the water-- you are to detest. And since you are to detest them, you must not eat their meat and you must detest their carcasses.

Catfish ---- Sharks ---- Eels ---- Shrimp ---- Oysters ---- Lobster

Sky:

Clean/Permitted

Chicken ---- Duck ---- Geese ---- Turkey ---- Pigeon

Unclean/Forbidden

V 13 – These are the birds you are to detest and not eat because they are detestable:

Eagle ---- Vulture ---- Buzzard ---- Kite ---- Falcon (any kind) ---- Bat ---- Raven (any kind) ---- Ostrich ---- Owls (6 listed) Gull ---- Hawk (any kind) ---- Cormorant ---- Pelican ---- Osprey ---- Stork ---- Heron (any kind) ---- Hoopoe

Insects:

Clean/Permitted

V 21 – There are, however, some winged creatures that walk on all fours that you may eat: those that have jointed legs for hopping on the ground.

Locust ---- Katydid ---- Cricket ---- Grasshopper

Unclean/Forbidden

V 20 – All flying insects that walk on all fours are to be detestable to you.

Creeping Things:

Unclean/Forbidden

V 29, 41-42, 44 – Of the animals that move about on the ground, these are unclean for you…. Every creature that moves about on the ground is detestable; it is not to be eaten. You are not to eat any creature that moves about on the ground, whether it moves on its belly or walks on all fours or on many feet; it is detestable…. 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 about on the ground.

Weasel --- Rat --- Mouse --- Great Lizard (any kind) --- Gecko --- Monitor Lizard --- Wall Lizard --- Skink --- Chameleon.

We could spend a lot of time discussing whether or not these dietary restrictions apply to us. Many people argue “no” because we understand germs, we cook our food more thoroughly and refrigeration keeps our food fresher longer.

However, these restrictions are not primarily about what you put in your mouth, so much as they are about holiness.

Leviticus 11:45-47 - I am the LORD who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy. "'These are the regulations concerning animals, birds, every living thing that moves in the water and every creature that moves about on the ground. You must distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between living creatures that may be eaten and those that may not be eaten.'"