February 5
Leviticus 11 -- 13
Over 40 times in Leviticus we read: I am the Lord or I am the Lord your God; and more than six times the Lord demands: You shall be Holy; for I am Holy. It is obvious that the reason the Lord's people should be Holy is because the Lord is Holy. Both inwardly and outwardly, morally and spiritually, we must separate ourselves from all that defiles: I am the Lord your God: you shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and you shall be Holy; for I am Holy: neither shall you defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing. . . . For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: therefore you shall be Holy. . . . make a difference between the unclean and the clean (Leviticus 11:44-45,47).
The Israelites were to eat clean food (chapter 11); have clean bodies (chapter 12 -- 13), clean clothes (13:47-59), clean houses (14:33-57), and clean personal hygiene (chapter 15); and be a clean nation (chapter 16).
The word unclean is used about 100 times in chapters 11 through 16, showing us that God required every unclean thing be removed from their lives. God also required that the Israelites separate themselves from heathens, idolatry, immorality, and even their unsanitary habits. The people of God were not to intermarry with gentile unbelievers. The many sacrifices, rules, and regulations concerning what is clean and unclean -- what defiles a person -- lead us to understand how sin separates man from God.
This system of laws was also a daily reminder to every Old Testament (Covenant) Jew, as well as to every New Testament (Covenant) Christian, that, whether therefore you eat, or drink, or whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God (I Corinthians 10:31).
The Holy Spirit led the Apostle Paul to write: Present your bodies a living sacrifice, Holy, acceptable to God (Romans 12:1). And, to the church at Corinth, he wrote: You are the Temple of God, and . . . the Spirit of God dwells in you. If any man defile the Temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the Temple of God is Holy (I Corinthians 3:16-17). To the Ephesians, he wrote: He has chosen us . . . that we should be Holy and without blame (Ephesians 1:4). To the Church in northern Greece, he wrote: God has not called us to uncleanness, but to holiness. And it is also written: Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord. . . . He therefore that despises (disregards this warning), despises not man, but God (Hebrews 12:14; I Thessalonians 4:7-8).
Paul and James were also led to write: Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them (Ephesians 5:11), for friendship of the world is enmity with God (James 4:4).
The Apostle Peter reminds us: You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that you should show forth the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light (I Peter 2:9).
Christ Revealed:
Through the clean food of the believer (Leviticus 11:47). Our Lord is the Bread of Life (John 6:35), supplies living water (4:10,14), and His Father's will was His meat (food) (4:34).
Word Studies:
11:3 clovenfooted means hoof parted into two distinct hooves; 13:2 rising means swelling; 13:4 shut up means isolate; 13:5 be at a stay means has not changed; 13:10 quick raw means ulcer forming; 13:51 fretting means contagious, spreading.
Government Official: Gov. Charles Turnbull (Virgin Islands) · BPM Staff: Rita Guerra · Pray for Bible Pathway Distributors · Pray for the Bible Pathway International Radio broadcast sponsored by Mrs. Vernelle Jenkins · Country: Tajikistan (6 million) southeast central Asia · Major languages: Tajik and Russian · Almost entirely Muslim · 82% Muslim; 4% Russian Orthodox · Prayer Suggestion: Pray for understanding of His will as you read the Word of God (Psalms 25:5).
Optional Reading:
Mark 8
Memory Verse for the Week:
Colossians 3:5