Bible Reading:

Leviticus Chapter 11.

Scripture:

"This is a law for animals and birds and for everything that moves in the water and for everything that creeps on the ground. You are to eat what is clean and what is unclean and any living thing that cannot be eaten.” (Leviticus 11:46-47)

Keywords:

Separate everything.

Thoughts:

In real life, how would you feel if you found someone who never eats pork? Do you think the other person is a Hui or a fellow Muslim? Or if you find that someone never eats meat, would you think that the person might be practicing Buddhism? This is the religious connotation that food carries, often making people associate it with a specific faith.

Many of the verses in this chapter discuss food regulations and teach Jews what they can and cannot eat. The overall idea is to differentiate God's people from the pagans (especially the Canaanite aborigines who were already quite corrupt at that time) through food taboos. Let eating or not eating become an obvious external sign (circumcision is too private after all to be shown directly to others), so that people can see at a glance that this is a group of people who belong to Jehovah God and have been sanctified. .

In the era of the New Testament, with the arrival of the Lord Jesus, the requirements for food have undergone a revolutionary update. As the Lord Jesus said, “All kinds of food are clean.” (Mark 7:19). Because “what goes into the mouth does not defile a man, but what comes out of his mouth defileth.” (Matthew 15:11) After that, the Holy Spirit Counselor emphasized this truth again, declaring to the apostle Peter, “You must not accept what God has cleansed.” To make common things.” (Acts 10:15) This also allows the gospel to break through the limitations of food and reach the Gentiles.

Although the food taboos were broken, God's requirement for the sanctification of His people remained unchanged. As the apostle Paul said, “I am convinced by the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in nature; but whatever is unclean to a man is unclean to him… For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness Righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:14,17) It follows that the kingdom of God is not shown in what His people eat or do not eat, but in righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. .

Righteousness means that we do not follow the crowd in the world. Peace means that we treat others with gentleness and humility, and we are not aggressive. Joy in the Holy Spirit also means that we are not aggressive in dealing with others. Despite setbacks and sufferings, we can still smile! Reflect on ourselves, can I meet the standards of the new era?

Prayer:

Holy Lord, thank you no more. Require us with food standards so that we can enjoy the various delicacies you give us. I hope that when we enjoy all kinds of food, we can remember that your requirements for our sanctification have not changed.

Amen!