CLEAN AND UNCLEAN CREATURES
Leviticus 11: 1 - 31
11:1 And The Lord spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them,
11:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth.
11:3 Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat.
11:4 Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof: as the camel, unclean unto you.
11:5 And the coney,because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.
11:6 And the hare,because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.
11:7 And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be cloven-footed, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you.
11:8 Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you.
11:9 These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat.
11:10 And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you:
11:11 They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomination.
11:12 Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you.”
11:13 And these are they which ye shall have in abomination among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the ossifrage,
and the osprey,
11:14 And the vulture,
and the kite
11:15 Every raven after his kind;
11:16 And the owl,
and the night hawk,
and the
cuckoo,
and the hawk after his kind,
11:17 And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl,
11:18 And the swan, and the pelican, and the gier eagle,
11:19 And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.
11:20 All fowls that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination unto you.
11:21 Yet these may ye eat of every flying creeping thing that goeth upon all four, which have legs above their feet, to leap withal upon the earth;
11:22 Even these of them ye may eat; the locust after his kind, and the bald locust after his kind,
and the beetle after his kind, and the
grasshopper after his kind.
11:23 But all other flying creeping things, which have four feet, shall be an abomination unto you.
11:24 And for these ye shall be unclean: whosoever toucheth the carcase of them shall be unclean until the even.
11:25 And whosoever beareth ought of the carcase of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even.
11:27 And whatsoever goeth upon his paws, among all manner of beasts that go on all four, those are unclean unto you: whoso toucheth their carcase shall be unclean until the even.
11:28 And he that beareth the carcase of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: they are unclean unto you.
11:29 These also shall be unclean unto you among the creeping things that creep upon the earth; the weasel, and the mouse, and the tortoise after his kind,
11:30 And the ferret, and the chameleon, and the lizard, and the snail, and the mole.
11:43 Ye shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creepeth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled thereby.
11:44 For I Am The LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy ; for I Am Holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
11:45 For I Am The LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I Am Holy.”
So we see that it matters very much to God what we take into our body as food.
Why are these creatures classed as “unclean” and an “abomination” to God ? These creatures are scavengers, they are especially created by God to rid the earth of the dead creatures which would pollute the land and the air because of the curse of sin.
Matthew 15: 11 “Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.
15:12 Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?
15:13 “But he answered and said, Every plant, which My Heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.
15:14 “Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
15:15 “Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable.
15:16 “And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding?
15:17 “Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?
15:18 “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
15:19 For out of the heart (the mind) proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
15:20 These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.”
The Scribes and Pharisees had carried God’s instruction on clean and unclean to an extreme. The Words of Jesus in one text of Scripture is not made void by another text of Scripture. The question was not of the clean and unclean creatures, but one of eating with unwashed hands.