Clean and unclean

"IS CLEANLINESS NEXT TO GODLINESS?"
The Significance of Clean and Unclean Animals
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Dr. Paul Manuel—April 2006

When the church separated from the synagogue, it jettisoned customs considered no longer relevant for Christians. Practicing circumcision, keeping the festivals, observing the Sabbath were all part of the law Jesus supposedly abolished. As a result, most Christians today, unfamiliar with these ordinances, find them puzzling. Why did God give such instructions to His people? What was their purpose? Another example of a custom Christians find confusing is the distinction between clean and unclean. In scripture, these two categories can apply to people, places, and things.¹ We will confine our study, though, to its application to animals, considering what God has revealed at three periods in biblical history. Then we will ask what difference, if any, this distinction means to us. The first mention of clean and unclean in scripture is...

I. At the Time of the Flood

Gen 7:2 "You shall take with you of every clean animal by sevens, a male and his female; and of the animals that are unclean [lit. not clean] two, a male and his female.... 8 Of clean animals and animals that are unclean [lit. not clean] and birds and everything that creeps on the ground, 9 there went into the ark to Noah by twos, male and female, as God had commanded Noah.

Gen 8:20 Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.

A. God instructs gentiles about the distinction.²

B. God accepts only clean animals for sacrifices.

Although this is the first reference in scripture to the distinction between clean and unclean, it may not be Noah's first exposure to the concept. God tells him how many of each animal to take but provides no explanation, as if the need for more of one kind than the other would be obvious. Noah also seems to know which kind of animal to offer God, for he makes the proper sacrifice without further instruction. This is the only explicit application here for the use of clean animals: Noah employs them for sacrifice.³ There is no mention that he also uses them exclusively for food. On the contrary, God seems to advocate no restriction upon what man
may consume after the flood.⁴

Gen 9:3 Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, as [I gave] the green plant.

Nevertheless, the connection to vegetation—"as I gavel the green plant"— and to the earlier restriction of it (only what is "yielding seed" Gen 1:29⁵), may indicate an implicit restriction for meat as well.⁶ That is, only what is acceptable food for the deity is appropriate food for the devotee.⁷ As we will see, God makes this restriction explicit for Israel.⁸ The next mention of clean and unclean in scripture is...

II. At the Time of the Exodus

Lev 11: 1 The LORD spoke again to Moses and to Aaron, saying to them, 2 "Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'These are the creatures which you may eat from all the animals that are on the earth. 3 'Whatever divides a hoof, thus making split hoofs, [and] chews the cud, among the animals, that you may eat. 4 'Nevertheless, you are not to eat of these, among those which chew the cud, or among those which divide the hoof: the camel, for though it chews cud, it does not divide the hoof, it is unclean to you. 5 'Likewise, the shaphan, for though it chews cud, it does not divide the hoof, it is unclean to you; 6 the rabbit also, for though it chews cud, it does not divide the hoof, it is unclean to you; 7 and the pig, for though it divides the hoof, thus making a split hoof, it does not chew cud, it is unclean to you. 8 'You shall not eat of their flesh nor touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you.

Lev 27:9 'Now if it is an animal of the kind which men can present as an offering to the LORD, any such that one gives to the LORD shall be holy. 10 'He shall not replace it or exchange it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good; or if he does exchange animal for animal, then both it and its substitute shall become holy. 11 'If, however, it is any unclean animal of the kind which men do not present as an offering to the LORD, then he shall place the animal before the priest. 12 'The priest shall value it as either good or bad; as you, the priest, value it, so it shall be. 13 'But if he should ever [wish to] redeem it, then he shall add one-fifth of it to your valuation.

A. God instructs Jews about the distinction.

B. God accepts only clean animals for food and sacrifices.⁹

God expected gentiles to distinguish between clean and unclean by offering only clean animals in their sacrifices. While this distinction may implicitly have applied to gentiles' diet as well, here God states explicitly that the exclusive use of clean animals does apply to Israel's diet. He expects His people to eat only clean animals. The reason for this different expectation (if it is, indeed, different; see n. 13) may stem from Israel's different position. God required those closest to the sanctuary, the place His physical presence dwelled, to maintain a higher standard of holiness than those farther away. Hence, He made the strictest demands on the priests, who ministered in the temple itself, somewhat lesser demands on the laity of Israel, who lived near but only visited the temple, and lesser still on the nations, who generally had no contact with the temple. Because Israelites had a closer connection to the locus of the divine presence than did the gentiles, God's people had to adhere to a greater degree of holiness, and that included their diet.¹⁰

What is it about these animals that make some clean and others unclean? Biblical scholars have suggested several possible reasons for this division. God prohibits animals...

• That are a physical threat to man (e.g., shellfish carry disease).¹¹
• That are an ecological threat to man (e.g., pigs compete with man for the same food sources).
• That are a psychological threat to man (e.g., vultures live off the dead).

None of these reasons is entirely convincing. The best explanation may simply be that God prohibits some animals as a test of people's willingness to obey Him even when He does not give them a reason.¹² Consequently, He regards the exclusive use of clean animals as a sign of personal devotion.

Lev 20:22 'You are therefore to keep all My statutes and all My ordinances and do them, so that the land to which I am bringing you to live will not spew you out. 23 'Moreover, you shall not follow the customs of the nation which I will drive out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I have abhorred them. 24 'Hence I have said to you, "You are to possess their land, and I Myself will give it to you to possess it, a land flowing with milk and honey." I am the LORD your God, who has separated you from the peoples. 25 'You are therefore to make a distinction between the clean animal and the unclean, and between the unclean bird and the clean; and you shall not make yourselves detestable by animal or by bird or by anything that creeps on the ground, which I have separated for you as unclean. 26 'Thus you are to be holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy; and I have set you apart from the peoples to be Mine.

In this passage, God expresses His displeasure with the Canaanite residents of the land because they have not lived up to His expectations. He lists their sins, which include various forms of idolatry, necromancy, and immorality, stating that their transgressions are the reason He is expelling them (v. 23). God admonishes the Israelites not to follow the practices of these nations, lest they suffer the same fate. He then indicates how His people can avoid such detestable behavior. What is surprising is that He does not reiterate His instructions prohibiting idolatry, necromancy, and immorality from the previous chapter, but commands them to maintain "a distinction between the clean animal and the unclean" (v. 25).¹³ What has diet to do with morality?

Although we cannot be sure of the reason, God may be indicating that He expects more from Israel than He expects from the gentile nations. As He states in v. 24, "I am the LORD your God, who has separated you from the peoples." As I mentioned before, His standard is higher for His people than it is for others. They must be diligent in keeping all aspects of holiness, including its application to what they eat.¹⁴ ...The final mention of clean and unclean in OT scripture is...

III. At the Time of the End

Isa 65:2 "I have spread out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, Who walk [in] the way which is not good, following their own thoughts... 4b who eat swine's flesh, and the broth of unclean meat is [in] their pots.

Isa 65:9 "I will bring forth offspring from Jacob, And an heir of My mountains from Judah; Even My chosen ones shall inherit it, And My servants will dwell there.... 17 "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind.... 25 "The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox; and dust will be the serpent's food. They will do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain," says the LORD.

Isa 66:17 "Those... who eat swine's flesh, detestable things and mice, will come to an end altogether," declares the LORD.

Isa 66:22 "For just as the new heavens and the new earth Which I make will endure before Me," declares the LORD, "So your offspring and your name will endure. 23 "And it shall be from new moon to new moon And from sabbath to sabbath, All mankind will come to bow down before Me," says the LORD.

A. God reminds Jews about the distinction.

B. God accepts only clean animals for food.

God's displeasure when His people neglect the distinction between clean and unclean will not abate over time. In the same contexts He describes the Messianic Age and eternity, He condemns those who defile themselves. About whom is Isaiah speaking? Who are the "rebellious people" in 65:2? ...In case there is any doubt, the prophet identifies them in v. 9 as the "offspring of Jacob." They are Jews, and He continues to address this same audience in chapter 66. Therefore, God will expect Israel to keep the distinction between clean and unclean, including its application to diet, through the Messianic Age.¹⁵
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Excursus: Some Christians think the NT does away with this distinction and that it no longer matters what a person eats. In the three main passages that allegedly abrogate clean and unclean divisions, a careful reading reveals that so-called NT exceptions are not exceptions at all.

• Jesus declared all foods clean.

Mark 7:1 The Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered around Him when they had come from Jerusalem, 2 and had seen that some of His disciples were eating their bread with impure hands, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, [thus] observing the traditions of the elders; 4 and [when they come] from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots.) 5 The Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, "Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with impure hands?" ... 17 When he had left the crowd [and] entered the house, His disciples questioned Him about the parable. 18 And He said to them, "Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him, 19 because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?" ([Thus He] declared all foods clean.)

• The debate is not about eating unclean food but about eating clean food with unclean hands.

• Can there be contamination from tertiary defilement?

• He declared all foods eaten with unclean hands to be clean.¹⁶

• That is, unclean hands do not transmit their defilement to food and, in turn, do not defile the person who eats it.

• Peter learned what God had cleansed.

Acts 10:9 On the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. 10 But he became hungry and was desiring to eat; but while they were making preparations, he fell into a trance; 11 and he saw the sky opened up, and an object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground, 12 and there were in it all [kinds of] four-footed animals and crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the air. 13 A voice came to him, "Get up, Peter, kill and eat!" 14 But Peter said, "By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean." 15 Again a voice [came] to him a second time, "What God has cleansed, no [longer] consider unholy." 16 This happened three times, and immediately the object was taken up into the sky.... 24 On the following day he entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 When Peter entered, Cornelius met him, and fell at his feet and worshiped [him]. 26 But Peter raised him up, saying, "Stand up; I too am [just] a man." 27 As he talked with him, he entered and found many people assembled. 28 And he said to them, "You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him; and [yet] God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean.

• The vision is not about eating unclean food but about regarding people as unclean (so Peter's interpretation in v. 28).

• He learned not to call "unclean" the gentiles whom God had cleansed.

• Paul said that all meat is clean.

Rom 14:1 Now accept the one who is weak in faith, [but] not for [the purpose of] passing judgment on his opinions. 2 One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables [only]. 3 The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him. 4 Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.... 13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this—not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother's way. 14 I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. 15 For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died.... 20 Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense. 21 It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or [to do anything] by which your brother stumbles.

• The issue is not eating meat that is unclean but that becomes unclean through an idol's defilement.

• His concern is for the influence that eating such meat might have on a weaker brother who once worshiped idols.

• He said that clean meat devoted to idols is still clean but recommended abstaining from it rather than causing a weaker brother to stumble.¹⁷

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In the progress of revelation about the use of clean and unclean animals, God's will for His people becomes increasingly clearer and more specific.

• At the time of the flood, God expected gentiles (those who acknowledged Him) to distinguish between clean and unclean at least in their sacrifices, offering only clean animals to Him.

• At the time of the exodus, God expected Jews to distinguish between clean and unclean in their diet as well as in their sacrifices, offering only clean animals and eating only clean animals.

• At the time of the end, God will expect Jews to maintain the distinction between clean and unclean, especially in their diet.

The difficulty is determining if God expects gentile believers, who now have the fuller revelation of His will, also to apply this distinction to their diet.

Let me state unequivocally that what you eat in life does not determine where you go in death...although it may get you there sooner. God has already decided your destiny by grace through faith. Still, you may want to consider how His instructions to Israel could benefit you. For Jews, the mandate is clear: God expects them to keep the distinction between clean and unclean food that He commanded, even into the Messianic Age. For non-Jews, the application is not clear. God did not give them the same command. As a gentile believer, how shall you then live? There are at least three factors to consider in making this decision.

The first factor is...

• God's invitation to gentile believers

Through the prophet Isaiah, God invites non-Jews to participate with Jews in temple worship.¹⁸

Isa 56:6 "...the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, to minister to Him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be His servants, every one who keeps from profaning the sabbath and holds fast My covenant; 7 even those I will bring to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar; for My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples."

You may not care to offer sacrifices, because you like animals. You may think this is a moot point, because there is no temple and, therefore, can be no sacrifices. God's invitation, though, is really to identify with the people to whom He has given unique privilege and to enjoy the blessings He has promised them. (For example, you have already adopted one command God gave to Israel—to keep the Sabbath.¹⁹ As a result, there are things you appreciate about God because you keep the Sabbath, aspects of God's character and blessing that Christians who do not keep the Sabbath cannot appreciate. They still love God, they still serve Him, and they will still go to heaven, but keeping the Sabbath enriches your relationship with God here and now in ways they lack.) That is the essence of His invitation to gentile believers in this passage: to find spiritual enrichment in physical holiness.

The second factor to consider in making this decision is...

• God's evaluation of unclean food

This point is a bit more blunt. God regards the use of unclean animals for food with acute disdain.

Deut 14:3 You shall not eat any detestable thing.

Such use has a decidedly negative affect on the individual, on how God views him.

Lev 20:25b . . . you shall not make yourselves detestable by animal or by bird or by anything that creeps on the ground, which I have separated for you as unclean.

This is an opinion that does not mellow with time. Through Isaiah, God speaks about...

Isa 65:3a A people who continually [insult] Me to My face... 4b [among whom are those] who eat swine's flesh....

Moreover...

Isa 66:17 "Those ... who eat swine's flesh, detestable things ... will come to an end altogether," declares the LORD.

Although addressing Jews, God's evaluation of unclean food does not make it very appealing.²⁰ The question you must ask yourself is: Do I want to be eating what He considers insulting and detestable?²¹

The third factor to consider in making this decision is...

• God's compensation for careful obedience

This final point appeals to enlightened self-interest. Jesus tells his disciples,

Matt 5:18 "...truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others [to do] the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches [them], he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus links compliance in this life to compensation in the next life. Obedience to God's law does not determine your admission to heaven, but it does influence your position there. If such a simple thing as restricting your diet could increase your reward, if to abstain from temporal things now is to gain eternal things later, it would be prudent to consider the value of such a trade-off.²²

Much as I might like to avoid a controversial subject, I cannot get around this one without ignoring what the Bible says. (I can, however, share the blame for whatever discomfort this study may have caused, because someone else asked the question.) In the end, what you do with what you know is up to you. No one in this church—not the pastor or the elders—is monitoring what you eat. That is your decision. Giving up those crisp strips of bacon, juicy slices of the "other white meat," that steaming bowl of clam chowder, fresh lobster and shrimp—may be too much to relinquish. Nevertheless, you might want to consider that God has defined His people, in part, by what they eat—He has indicated what animals are food for them and what animals are not—and that by following God's instructions, His people demonstrate their devotion to Him.

Bibliography

Manuel, Paul, 2000, "The Fate of Animals." (http://paulwmanuel.blogspot.com)
Ramban (Nachmanides), 1971, Ramban: Commentary on the Torah. 5 vols. Translated by Charles B. Chavel. New York: Shilo Publishing House, Inc.

Endnotes

[1] Other applications include: (All biblical passages are from the NASB updated edition.)

• People

Lev 12:2 "Speak to the sons of Israel, saying: 'When a woman gives birth and bears a male [child], then she shall be unclean for seven days, as in the days of her menstruation she shall be unclean... .5 'But if she bears a female [child], then she shall be unclean for two weeks, as in her menstruation; and she shall remain in the blood of [her] purification for sixty-six days.... 7 'Then he shall offer it before the LORD and make atonement for her, and she shall be cleansed from the flow of her blood. This is the law for her who bears [a child, whether] a male or a female. 8 'But if she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves or two young pigeons, the one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement for her, and she will be clean."

Lev 13:45 "As for the leper who has the infection, his clothes shall be torn, and the hair of his head shall be uncovered, and he shall cover his mustache and cry, 'Unclean! Unclean!' 46 "He shall remain unclean all the days during which he has the infection; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.

• Places

Lev 4:12 that is, all [the rest of] the bull, he is to bring out to a clean place outside the camp where the ashes are poured out, and burn it on wood with fire; where the ashes are poured out it shall be burned.

Lev 6:11 'Then he shall take off his garments and put on other garments, and carry the ashes [of the burnt offering] outside the camp to a clean place.

Lev 10:14 "The breast of the wave offering, however, and the thigh of the offering you may eat in a clean place, you and your sons and your daughters with you; for they have been given as your due and your sons' due out of the sacrifices of the peace offerings of the sons of Israel.

Lev 14:40 then the priest shall order them to tear out the stones with the mark in them and throw them away at an unclean place outside the city. 41 "He shall have the house scraped all around inside, and they shall dump the plaster that they scrape off at an unclean place outside the city.... 45 "He shall therefore tear down the house, its stones, and its timbers, and all the plaster of the house, and he shall take [them] outside the city to an unclean place.

Num 19:9 'Now a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and deposit them outside the camp in a clean place, and the congregation of the sons of Israel shall keep it as water to remove impurity; it is purification from sin.

Amos 7:17 "Therefore, thus says the LORD, 'Your wife will become a harlot in the city, your sons and your daughters will fall by the sword, your land will be parceled up by a [measuring] line and you yourself will die upon unclean soil. Moreover, Israel will certainly go from its land into exile."

• Things

Lev 13:51 "He shall then look at the mark on the seventh day; if the mark has spread in the garment, whether in the warp or in the woof, or in the leather, whatever the purpose for which the leather is used, the mark is a leprous malignancy, it is unclean... .55 "After the article with the mark has been washed, the priest shall again look, and if the mark has not changed its appearance, even though the mark has not spread, it is unclean; you shall burn it in the fire, whether an eating away has produced bareness on the top or on the front of it.... 58 "The garment, whether the warp or the woof, or any article of leather from which the mark has departed when you washed it, it shall then be washed a second time and will be clean." 59 This is the law for the mark of leprosy in a garment of wool or linen, whether in the warp or in the woof, or in any article of leather, for pronouncing it clean or unclean.

[2] Job also knew about this distinction.

Job 14:4 "Who can make the clean out of the unclean? No one!

[3] While the later explication of this division includes fish "that have fins and scales" (Lev 11:9), they were not offered in sacrifice, perhaps because there is no blood.

Lev 17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.

[4] 1n the beginning, man was a vegetarian.

Gen 1:29 Then God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; 30 and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, [I have given] every green plant for food"; and it was so.

The depravity that led to the flood may have included a violation of this initial restriction, and man, having developed a taste for meat, might be reluctant to return to his original diet. Realizing that it would be futile to prohibit meat to man, God permits it with the exception of blood.

Gen 9:4 Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, [that is], its blood.

God makes a similar concession for divorce, perhaps for the same reason (see also Manuel 2007a).

Matt 19:8 He said to them, "Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way.

[5] This stipulation includes the fruit of trees but excludes the tree itself (Ramban 1971 1:58).

[6] I owe this observation to Matthew Fedoriw, a teenager in the Snow Hill congregation. Indeed, what dietary information exists for the patriarchs refers only to clean animals.

• Abraham

Gen 18:7 Abraham also ran to the herd, and took a tender and choice calf and gave I iii to the servant, and he hurried to prepare it. 8 He took curds and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and placed [it] before them; and he was standing by them under the tree as they ate.

NB: Abraham does not observe the rabbinic separation of meat and dairy.

• Isaac

Gen 25:28 Now Isaac loved Esau, because he had a taste for game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Gen 27:9 "Go now to the flock and bring me two choice young goats from there, that I may prepare them [as] a savory dish for your father, such as he loves.

• Jacob

Gen 31:54 Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain, and called his kinsmen to the meal; and they ate the meal and spent the night on the mountain.

There are no references to swine until the prohibition in Sinaitic legislation.

[7] In a later passage, God says this division does apply to food.

Lev 11:47 . . . make a distinction between the unclean and the clean, and between the edible creature and the creature which is not to be eaten.

The assumed existence of an oral tradition, here, one that distinguishes between clean and unclean meat, is also evident in parts of the Sinaitic code.

[8] Whatever God's intention may have been for Noah and his descendants, by the time of the exodus, the diet of many peoples probably included unclean animals, as is certainly the case later in history.

Matt 8:30 Now there was a herd of many swine feeding at a distance from them. 31 The demons [began] to entreat Him, saying, "If You [are] [going to] cast us out, send us into the herd of swine." 32 And He said to them, "Go!" And they came out and went into the swine, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the waters. 33 The herdsmen ran away, and went to the city and reported everything, including what had happened to the demoniacs. [= Mark 5:11-14; Luke 8:32-341

Luke 15:15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.

By restricting Israel's diet, God indicates that He expects more from His people than what the nations practice. He may also be curbing man's consumption of meat in anticipation of the eventual restoration of an Edenic diet.

Isa 11:6 And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them. 7 Also the cow and the bear will graze, Their young will lie down together, And the lion will eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper's den. 9 They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea.

Even in the Messianic Age, though, clean animals will still be used for sacrifice (Manuel 2000).

Ezek 43:18b These are the statutes for the altar on the day it is built, to offer burnt offerings on it and to sprinkle blood on it.

Ezek 44:15 "But the Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok... shall stand before Me to offer Me the fat and the blood," declares the Lord GOD.

Ezek 46:24b "These are the boiling places where the ministers of the house shall boil the sacrifices of the people."

Isa 32:20 How blessed will you be... who let out freely the ox and the donkey.

Isa 56:7b Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar....

Jer 33:18 and the Levitical priests shall never lack a man before Me to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to prepare sacrifices continually."

[9] The whole of chapter 11 addresses this issue.

Lev 11:24 'By these, moreover, you will be made unclean: whoever touches their carcasses becomes unclean until evening, 25 and whoever picks up any of their carcasses shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening. 26 'Concerning all the animals which divide the hoof but do not make a split [hoof], or which do not chew cud, they are unclean to you: whoever touches them becomes unclean. 27 'Also whatever walks on its paws, among all the creatures that walk on [all] fours, are unclean to you; whoever touches their carcasses becomes unclean until evening, 28 and the one who picks up their carcasses shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening; they are unclean to you.... 29 'Now these are to you the unclean among the swarming things which swarm on the earth: the mole, and the mouse, and the great lizard in its kinds.... 31 'These are to you the unclean among all the swarming things; whoever touches them when they are dead becomes unclean until evening. 32 'Also anything on which one of them may fall when they are dead becomes unclean, including any wooden article, or clothing, or a skin, or a sack—any article of which use is made—it shall be put in the water and be unclean until evening, then it becomes clean. 33 'As for any earthenware vessel into which one of them may fall, whatever is in it becomes unclean and you shall break the vessel. 34 'Any of the food which may be eaten, on which water comes, shall become unclean, and any liquid which may be drunk in every vessel shall become unclean. 35 'Everything, moreover, on which part of their carcass may fall becomes unclean; an oven or a stove shall be smashed; they are unclean and shall continue as unclean to you. 36 'Nevertheless a spring or a cistern collecting water shall be clean, though the one who touches their carcass shall be unclean. 37 'If a part of their carcass falls on any seed for sowing which is to be sown, it is clean. 38 'Though if water is put on the seed and a part of their carcass falls on it, it is unclean to you. 39 'Also if one of the animals dies which you have for food, the one who touches its carcass becomes unclean until evening. 40 'He too, who eats some of its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening, and the one who picks up its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening.... 43 'Do not render yourselves detestable through any of the swarming things that swarm; and you shall not make yourselves unclean with them so that you become unclean. 44 'For I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. And you shall not make yourselves unclean with any of the swarming things that swarm on the earth.... 47 to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean, and between the edible creature and the creature which is not to be eaten.

Cf. Deut 14:7 "Nevertheless, you are not to eat of these among those which chew the cud, or among those that divide the hoof in two: the camel and the rabbit and the shaphan, for though they chew the cud, they do not divide the hoof; they are unclean for you. 8 "The pig, because it divides the hoof but [does] not [chew I the cud, it is unclean for you. You shall not eat any of their flesh nor touch their carcasses.... 10 but anything that does not have fins and scales you shall not eat; it is unclean for you. 11 "You may eat any clean bird.... 19 "And all the teeming life with wings are unclean to you; they shall not be eaten. 20 "You may eat any clean bird.

Whereas other purity laws include some provision to rectify their violation, there is no such prescribed remedy for violating this prohibition.

Optimally, the animal must be slaughtered. If it dies by some others means (e.g., age, predator), the meat thereof is in a marginally acceptable class: permissible to eat but personally defiling (vv. 39-40).

Lev 11:39 Also if one of the animals die which you have for food, the one who touches its carcass becomes unclean until evening. 40 He too, who eats some of its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening, and the one who picks up its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening.

Lev 17:15 "When any person eats [an animal] which dies or is torn [by beasts], whether he is a native or an alien, he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and remain unclean until evening; then he will become clean. 16 "But if he does not wash Ithem] or bathe his body, then he shall bear his guilt."

Unclean meat, on the other hand, is simply defiling (i.e., the mere contact with it, not the consumption of it).

Lev 11:24 By these, moreover, you will be made unclean: whoever touches their carcasses becomes unclean until evening, 25 and whoever picks up any of their carcasses shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening.

In addition to ritual ablution, the purification requires sacrifice.

Lev 5:2 Or if a person touches any unclean thing, whether a carcass of an unclean beast or the carcass of unclean cattle or a carcass of unclean swarming things, though it is hidden from him and he is unclean, then he will be guilty.... 5 So it shall be when he becomes guilty in one of these, that he shall confess that in which he has sinned. 6 'He shall also bring his guilt offering to the LORD for his sin which he has committed, a female from the flock, a lamb or a goat as a sin offering. So the priest shall make atonement on his behalf for his sin.

Redemption of firstborn animals is similar to that of sacrifices.

Lev 27:26 'However, a firstborn among animals, which as a firstborn belongs to the LORD, no man may consecrate it; whether ox or sheep, it is the LORD'S. 27 'But if [it is] among the unclean animals, then he shall redeem it according to your valuation and add to it one-fifth of it; and if it is not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to your valuation.

Num 18:15 "Every first issue of the womb of all flesh, whether man or animal, which they offer to the LORD, shall be yours; nevertheless the firstborn of man you shall surely redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem.

Deut 15:19 "You shall consecrate to the LORD your God all the firstborn males that are born of your herd and of your flock; you shall not work with the firstborn of your herd, nor shear the firstborn of your flock. 20 "You and your household shall eat it every year before the LORD your God in the place which the LORD chooses. 21 "But if it has any defect, [such as] lameness or blindness, [or] any serious defect, you shall not sacrifice it to the LORD your God. 22 "You shall eat it within your gates; the unclean and the clean alike [may eat it], as a gazelle or a deer. 23 "Only you shall not eat its blood; you are to pour it out on the ground like water.

[10] Participation in worship that entails eating an offering is only for the clean.

Num 18:11 "This also is yours, the offering of their gift, even all the wave offerings of the sons of Israel; I have given them to you and to your sons and daughters with you as a perpetual allotment. Everyone of your household who is clean may eat it.... 13 "The first ripe fruits of all that is in their land, which they bring to the LORD, shall be yours; everyone of your household who is clean may eat it.

The penalty for eating while unclean is severe.

Lev 7:19 'Also the flesh that touches anything unclean shall not be eaten; it shall be burned with fire. As for [other] flesh, anyone who is clean may eat [such] flesh. 20 'But the person who eats the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings which belong to the LORD, in his uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from his people. 21 'When anyone touches anything unclean, whether human uncleanness, or an unclean animal, or any unclean detestable thing, and eats of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings which belong to the LORD, that person shall be cut off from his people."

Personal purity is not necessary to eat outside the sanctuary.

Deut 12:15 "However, you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your gates, whatever you desire, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you; the unclean and the clean may eat of it, as of the gazelle and the deer. 16 "Only you shall not eat the blood; you are to pour it out on the ground like water.... 20 "When the LORD your God extends your border as He has promised you, and you say, 'I will eat meat,' because you desire to eat meat, [then] you may eat meat, whatever you desire. 21 "If the place which the LORD your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, then you may slaughter of your herd and flock which the LORD has given you, as I have commanded you; and you may eat within your gates whatever you desire. 22 "Just as a gazelle or a deer is eaten, so you will eat it; the unclean and the clean alike may eat of it. 23 "Only be sure not to eat the blood, for the blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the flesh. 24 "You shall not eat it; you shall pour it out on the ground like water. 25 "You shall not eat it, so that it may be well with you and your sons after you, for you will be doing what is right in the sight of the LORD. 26 "Only your holy things which you may have and your votive offerings, you shall take and go to the place which the LORD chooses.

Priests and Nazirites have to be especially careful in this regard.

Lev 22:3 "Say to them, 'If any man among all your descendants throughout your generations approaches the holy [gifts] which the sons of Israel dedicate to the LORD, while he has an uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from before Me; I am the LORD. 4 'No man of the descendants of Aaron, who is a leper or who has a discharge, may eat of the holy [gifts] until he is clean. And if one touches anything made unclean by a corpse or if a man has a seminal emission, 5 or if a man touches any teeming things by which he is made unclean, or any man by whom he is made unclean, whatever his uncleanness; 6 a person who touches any such shall be unclean until evening, and shall not eat of the holy [gifts] unless he has bathed his body in water. 7 But when the sun sets, he will be clean, and afterward he shall eat of the holy [gifts], for it is his food. 8 'He shall not eat [an animal] which dies or is torn [by beasts], becoming unclean by it; I am the LORD.

Judg 13:4 "Now therefore, be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing.... 7 "But he said to me, 'Behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and now you shall not drink wine or strong drink nor eat any unclean thing, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death." ... 14 "She should not eat anything that comes from the vine nor drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing; let her observe all that I commanded."

The prohibition against consuming blood remained in effect.

Lev 7:26 'You are not to eat any blood, either of bird or animal, in any of your dwellings. 27 'Any person who eats any blood, even that person shall be cut off from his people."

Lev 17:10 'And any man from the house of Israel, or from the aliens who sojourn among them, who eats any blood, I will set My face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from among his people. 11 'For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.' 12 "Therefore I said to the sons of Israel, 'No person among you may eat blood, nor may any alien who sojourns among you eat blood.' 13 "So when any man from the sons of Israel, or from the aliens who sojourn among them, in hunting catches a beast or a bird which may be eaten, he shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth. 14 "For [as for the] life of all flesh, its blood is [identified] with its life. Therefore I said to the sons of Israel, 'You are not to eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood; whoever eats it shall be cut off.'

Lev 19:26a 'You shall not eat [anything] with the blood....

Deut 12:16 "Only you shall not eat the blood; you are to pour it out on the ground like water.... 23 "Only be sure not to eat the blood, for the blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the flesh.

Deut 15:23 "Only you shall not eat its blood; you are to Pour it out on the ground like water.

Acts 15:20 but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood.... 29 that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication; if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Farewell."

[11] Some Christians view certain laws as pre-scientific means of preventing disease, which advances in medicine and hygiene have made unnecessary. For example, the dietary prohibition against eating pork was to prevent the contraction of trichinosis. We now know that cooking at a sufficiently high temperature can solve that problem, thereby rendering pork safe. Following this line of reasoning, the prohibition against sexual promiscuity was to prevent the transmission of STDs. We now know that protected sex can solve that problem, thereby making promiscuity safe. Just because something is now possible, though, does not make it necessarily proper. While God does care about His people's safety, He is more concerned about their sanctity.

[12] Abraham and, later, his descendants experienced that kind of examination.

Gen 22:1 Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." 2 He said, "Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you."

Exod 16:4 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My instruction.

Cf. Deut 8:16 "In the wilderness He fed you manna which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do good for you in the end.

Deut 8:1 "All the commandments that I am commanding you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD swore [to give] to your forefathers. 2 "You shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.

[13] 1f this distinction was God's intention for men's diet from the time of the flood, then He may be identifying yet another sin of the Canaanites.

[14] Attention to the distinction between clean and unclean distinguishes those who are God's people from those who are not.

Ezra 9:11 which You have commanded by Your servants the prophets, saying, 'The land which you are entering to possess is an unclean land with the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations which have filled it from end to end [and] with their impurity.

It is the responsibility of their spiritual leaders to teach the importance of this distinction. The priests' failure in this duty made them partially responsible for the Babylonian exile.

Ezek 22:26 "Her priests have done violence to My law and have profaned My holy things; they have made no distinction between the holy and the profane, and they have not taught the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they hide their eyes from My sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.

They will resume this responsibility in the Messianic Age.

Ezek 44:23 "Moreover, they shall teach My people [the difference] between the holy and the profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.

When God's people fail to eat what is clean, God judges them by forcing them to eat what is unclean. Such was the case in the Assyrian and Babylonian exiles.

Hos 9:3 They will not remain in the LORD'S land, But Ephraim will return to Egypt, And in Assyria they will eat unclean [food].

Ezek 4:13 Then the LORD said, "Thus will the sons of Israel eat their bread unclean among the nations where I will banish them." 14 But I said, "Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I have never been defiled; for from my youth until now I have never eaten what died of itself or was torn by beasts, nor has any unclean meat ever entered my mouth.

[15] This distinction will also remain after the Messianic Age, although not in regard to sacrifice, as there will be no temple.

Rev 21:22a I did not see a temple in the city.... 27 and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into [the new Jerusalem], but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.

[16] To suggest otherwise would violate the context and contradict Jesus' earlier declaration.

Matt 5:17 "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18 "For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 "Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others Ito do] the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches [them], he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

[17] This is the same discussion and conclusion Paul writes to the Corinthians.

1 Cor 8:4 Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one.... 7 However not all men have this knowledge; but some, being accustomed to the idol until now, eat [food] as if it were sacrificed to an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled.... 10 For if someone sees you, who have knowledge, dining in an idol's temple, will not his conscience, if he is weak, be strengthened to eat things sacrificed to idols? ... 13 Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble.

Later, Paul acknowledges the defilement of idolatry and advises his readers to avoid it.

1 Cor 10:14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.... 18 Look at the nation Israel; are not those who eat the sacrifices sharers in the altar? 19 What do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 [No], but [I say] that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 22 Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? We are not stronger than He, are we?

The Jerusalem council issues the same instruction.

Acts 15:19 "Therefore it is my judgment that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles, 20 but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood.

As was the case with Jesus (in n. 16), to suggest that Paul set aside the distinction between clean and unclean meat would contradict his statements elsewhere in the book as well as his example.

Rom 3:31 Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law.

Rom 7:12 So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.... 14a For we know that the Law is spiritual....

Acts 21:24 take them and purify yourself along with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads; and all will know that there is nothing to the things which they have been told about you, but that you yourself also walk orderly, keeping the Law.... 26 Then Paul took the men, and the next day, purifying himself along with them, went into the temple giving notice of the completion of the days of purification, until the sacrifice was offered for each one of them.

[18] There are degrees of (ceremonial) holiness that decrease as distance from the sanctuary increases. These degrees are evident is the differing regulations concerning marriage and meat.

• The priests and Levites, because of their access to central parts of the temple, closest to where God dwells, must maintain the strictest sanctity.

• Marriage: A priest may marry but not a divorcee.

Lev 21:7 [He] shall not take a woman who is...divorced from her husband; for he is holy to his God.

• Meat: A priest may eat the sin and guilt offerings but not the burnt offering.

Exod 29:33 Thus they shall eat those things by which atonement was made at their ordination [and] consecration; but a layman shall not eat [them], because they are holy.

 Cf. Lev 22: 1 O No layman, however, is to eat the holy [gift]....

Lev 1:9b And the priest shall offer up in smoke all of it on the altar for a burnt offering, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the LORD.

• The Israelite laity, because of their access to the peripheral areas of the temple, must maintain sanctity but to a lessor degree.

• Marriage: A layman may marry a divorcee but not a gentile.

Deut 24:1 When a man ... writes her a certificate of divorce... 2 and she. ..becomes another man's [wife],

Deut 7:3a Furthermore, you shall not intermarry with them....

• Meat: A layman may eat what is clean but not what dies naturally.

Lev 11:47 . . make a distinction between the unclean and the clean, and between the edible creature and the creature which is not to be eaten.

Deut 14:21a-b You shall not eat anything which dies [of itself] ... .for you are a holy people to the LORD your God.

Cf. Exod 22:31a-b You shall be holy men to Me, therefore you shall not eat lanyl flesh torn to pieces in the field....

• The gentiles, because of their exclusion from the temple, need not maintain ceremonial sanctity but must maintain moral sanctity.

• Marriage: A gentile may marry another gentile, but a believer may not marry an unbeliever.

Gen 2:24a ... a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife....

2 Cor 6:14a Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for... 15b what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?

• Meat: A gentile may eat what dies naturally, but a believer may not eat what is devoted to an idol.

Dept 14:21b You may give it to the alien who is in your town, so that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner....

Acts 15:20 . . . we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols....

Cf. 1 Cor 10:14 ...flee from idolatry.... 18b ...are not those who eat the sacrifices sharers in the altar? ... 20b I do not want you to become sharers in demons.

Even given these differences, the question remains whether or not a believing gentile can eat what is unclean. It may be God's invitation to the temple and its sanctity that makes Israel's dietary laws applicable to believing gentiles. If they wish to enter the sanctuary, believing gentiles must maintain the same degree of holiness that He expects from Israelites. Nevertheless, is that same degree of holiness appropriate today, when there is no temple? For a possible answer, see the ensuing discussion in the body of this paper.

[19] Relevant passages include:

Exod 16:29 "See, the LORD has given you the sabbath; therefore He gives you bread for two days on the sixth day. Remain every man in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day."

Neh 9:14 So You made known to them Your holy sabbath ... through Your servant Moses.

Ezek 20:12 Also I gave them My sabbaths to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them.

b Shabb lOb (= b Betsa 16a) The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses, I have a precious gift in my treasure house, called the Sabbath, and desire to give it to Israel; go and inform them.

[20] God will eventually purge them of this sin.

Zech 9:7 . . .1 will remove their blood from their mouth and their detestable things from between their teeth.

[21] Paul's admonition is apropos.

2 Cor 7:1 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Cf. 1 Pet 1:15 but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all [your] behavior;

[22] Some might insist that because Jesus is speaking to Jews, these terms of reward apply only to them, that God has a different standard for rewarding gentiles. In his final admonition, however, Jesus makes his instructions applicable to gentiles.

Matt 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."