Be Holy as I Am Holy (Lev. 11)

Deuteronomy 14 speaks of clean and unclean animals. Leviticus 11 provides the basic principles, which Deuteronomy expands on.--What is the reason for these prohibitions- The rabbis argued that it was especially for reasons of health- but if that is the case, then God was most cruel to the NT church, because he has set this law aside most explicitly, as we will see later.--There are other reasons that are more compelling.--1- Some of these animals were used in pagan religion. The pig, for instance, was a sacrificial animal for the Babylonians and ancient Canaanites. In Egypt and Iran many believed the dog to be sacred, while field mice were offered as sacrifices in Haran.--But this doesn't provide an adequate explanation. Virtually every animal had some use in pagan religions.- -The cow, the sheep and the goat were commonly used in Ancient religious rites. So we need to find a better explanation.--2- We come closer to an explanation when we consider the relationship -between -clean- and -holy-. In order to be set apart for the Lord's worship and service, in order to participate in the covenant blessings, a person had to be clean. Your proper function as a member of the covenant community was to serve the living God.---Clean- animals were those that fulfilled their proper function. Leviticus 11 sets forth the -proper function- of the various sorts of animals.--To be clean means to be fit for the presence of God. To be holy means that one belongs to God.--What is clean is closer to the life of God. What is unclean is closer to death - closer to chaos and misery...