The Deeper Meaning of a Rule

Leviticus 11:44-47  - For I am the Lord your God; sanctify yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming creature that moves on the earth.  For I am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt, to be your God; you shall be holy, for I am holy.  This is the law pertaining to land animal and bird and every living creature that moves through the waters and every creature that swarms upon the earth,  to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean, and between the living creature that may be eaten and the living creature that may not be eaten.

 

God laid out a pretty lengthy list of rules concerning what was considered acceptable food.  He also gave them a list of what not to eat…even said not to touch them. Then he wraps up his lengthy list with the reason …we are to sanctify ourselves…set ourselves apart…make legitimate our relationship with a binding covenant.

 

I have to be really honest this morning…I took few notes on this chapter…less that 6 lines of thoughts from my reading last night stare back at me. I really have no clue what part of this is still viable for today. Matthew Henry’s commentary said that God gave them these rules for 4 reasons.  It was partly a test of obedience for them…just as Adam had been forbidden to eat the tree of knowledge in the garden. God also wanted them to realize that they were different…distinct from other nations. Then God tweaked that thought in their brains just a bit as he showed them the difference in holy to God….and the holiness of God. Then he wrapped up his orders with a charge not to even touch the forbidden things.

 

So as I process this strange chapter…which many religions still cling to today….I think maybe the idea God is planting in our brains is not totally about food…but that he wants us to have this mind set when it comes to sin.  Instead of considering the rule as still viable for us today….maybe we should consider the deeper reasons God gave them the rules. Jesus even said as much in Luke 11 when he was speaking to the Pharisees!

 

God still calls us all to obedience…to read his word and build a relationship with him in prayer.  This foundation gives us the wisdom and the knowledge that we need to discern what is right for us in this season of our lives. We all need a lesson in self-denial …and I know a lesson in portion control will do nothing but assist me in getting this temple of his in better shape.

 

God still calls us to be a distinct people.  He calls each one of us by name…and expects us to put away the objects in our lives that interrupt our time with him…that allow us to justify what we know deep in our hearts to be wrong. That includes anything that will defile our relationship with him…keep us from building a stronger bond to his true will for us. Think of what God can do with all that money you save on the items of luxury you deny yourself.

 

God still wants to realize that we could never be holy in ourselves…that only he can cleanse our sinful lives with the blood of that cross his son Jesus gave his life on.  We are to constantly keep our thoughts on him…and pray for him to help us work toward a true understanding of just how holy the pure presence of God is! We need to worship ad praise him for all that we have…and remember who gave it to us.

 

God still calls for us to separate ourselves from temptations…to avoid the things we know will cause us to fall. Only when he calls us to do a specific task will he equip us to withstand Satan’s whisper in our ear.  Those whispers sound pretty’ un’ sinful when we first hear them….especially when we are in a room loud with people that have already succumbed to his sweeter  lies.  Just say no…doesn’t have to be a catch phrase just for drugs.

 

Father….thank you once again for helping me to understand the deeper meaning of the dietary laws you gave you people so many years ago.  I thank you for showing up once again to explain to me the wisdom embedded in your Bible…and making sure I have a relevant way to apply it to my life ‘today.’  Help me father to be more obedient…to separate myself from the world with my attitude and faith…make me more holy in thy sight….and put some serious red flags in my brain the next time I get too close to those dangerous whispers of Satan.   Amen.