Ye Shall Be Holy; for I am Holy

Day 33 – A Year in the Bible – Leviticus 11-12

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LEVITICUS 11 – HOLINESS

Be Holy For I Am Holy
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. 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. – Leviticus‬ ‭11:44-45‬

The theme of Leviticus is holiness. The word “holy” is in Leviticus more than any other Bible book. God wanted the children of Israel to be clean and holy in every area of their lives. He wants the same from His children today.  In the New Testament, God removed many of the dietary restrictions. However, God did not remove the spiritual principle of  being pure, living a clean life, and being set apart for the Lord. Those principles are as binding today as they were in the days of Moses. We still should distinguish ourselves from the world by eating, drinking, and dressing in ways that honor God. We should not participate in the things of the world that are ungodly and morally impure. But even more than the way we act, we should live with a heart that is pure through and through. That would be a heart of love, a heart that knows Jesus and seeks each day to follow Him and look more and more like Him. Living a life that is holy and pleasing to God is the only way to live in true peace.

Sanctify – to make holy; set apart as sacred; to purify or free from sin

Thirty-three Commands–the Clean and Unclean Things
1. You shall eat whatever divides the hoof, is cloven-footed and chews the cud (Lev. 11:1-3).
2. Others (as described in Lev. 11:4-7) you shall not eat.
3. Do not touch their carcasses (Lev. 11:8).
4. You shall eat whatever has fins and scales of all that are in the waters (Lev. 11:9).
5. Other water creatures you shall not eat (Lev. 11:10-12).
6. These (named in Lev. 11:13-19) are the fowls you shall not eat.
7. All fowls that creep on all four legs shall be an abomination to you (Lev. 11:20).
8. These (described in Lev. 11:21-22) you may eat of flying, creeping things.
9. All other flying, creeping things shall be an abomination to you (Lev. 11:23).
10. Whoever touches any carcass of them shall be unclean (Lev. 11:24).
11. Whoever bears a carcass of them shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening (Lev. 11:25).
12. The carcasses of animals which divide the hoof, are not clovenfooted and do not chew the cud shall be unclean (Lev. 11:26).
13. Whatever goes upon his paws shall be unclean to you (Lev. 11:27).
14. Whoever touches an unclean animal shall be unclean until evening (Lev. 11:26-27).
15. Whoever carries a carcass of one shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening (Lev. 11:28).
16. These (described in Lev. 11:29-30) of the creeping things shall be unclean to you.
17. Whoever touches a carcass of one of them shall be unclean until evening (Lev. 11:31).
18. Anything upon which such a carcass falls shall be unclean (Lev. 11:32).
19. Any non-earthen vessel touched by such a carcass shall be put in water and be unclean until evening (Lev. 11:32).
20. Any earthen vessel that one touches shall be broken (Lev. 11:33).
21. Any meat on which such water falls shall be unclean (Lev. 11:34).
22. All drink that may be in any such vessel shall be unclean (Lev. 11:34).
23. Any oven, range, or pot on which an unclean carcass falls shall be broken down (Lev. 11:35).
24. Any pit or fountain of water that has plenty of water shall not be unclean if such a carcass falls into it (Lev. 11:36).
25. Seeds on which a carcass falls shall be clean, unless water has been put on them (Lev. 11:37-38).
26. If one touches any clean beast that has died of itself he shall be unclean until the evening (Lev. 11:39).
27. One who eats of such shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening (Lev. 11:40).
28. One who carries such a carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening (Lev. 11:40).
29. You shall not eat any creeping thing (as described in Lev. 11:41-42).
30. Every such creeping thing shall be an abomination to you (Lev. 11:41-42).
31. Do not make yourselves abominable or unclean by them (Lev. 11:43-44).
32. Do not defile yourselves with any of them (Lev. 11:44-45).
33. You shall sanctify (set apart) yourselves from them and be holy.

Four Unclean Animals
– Camel (Dt. 14:7)
– Coney (possibly the hyrax, Lev. 11:5; Dt. 14:7; note, Prov. 30:24)
– Hare (Lev. 11:6; Dt. 14:7). After nibbling and partially chewing its food the hare stores it in its cheeks to be chewed more fully a second time before swallowing (Lev. 11:6). This is chewing the cud.
– Swine (Lev. 11:7; Dt. 14:8)

Twenty Unclean Fowls
1. The eagle. Hebrew: nesher (H5404), from nashar, “to lacerate, cut, tear to pieces.” The eagle tears the flesh of its victims (Dt. 14:12).
2. The ossifrage, the lammergeier, or bearded vulture (Lev. 11:13; Dt. 14:12).
3. The ospray (or osprey), often called the fish hawk (Lev. 11:13; Dt. 14:12)
4. The vulture, the black kite (Lev. 11:14; Dt. 14:13)
5. The kite, the red kite, remarkable for its piercing eyesight (Lev. 11:14; Dt. 14:13; cp. Job 28:7)
6. The raven, including the crow, rook, jackdaw, and magpie (Lev. 11:15; Dt. 14:14)
7. The owl (the ostrich, according to some interpreters) (Lev. 11:16; Dt. 14:15)
8. The night hawk, common owl (Lev. 11:16; Dt. 14:15)
9. The cuckow, sea gull (Lev. 11:16; Dt. 14:15)
10. The hawk, common hawk (Lev. 11:16; Dt. 14:15)
11. The little owl, bittern, night raven (Lev. 11:17; Dt. 14:16)
12. The cormorant, a sea fowl that dives underwater for its prey (Lev. 11:17; Dt. 14:17)
13. The great owl, the ibis, the sacred bird of Egypt (Lev. 11:17; Dt. 14:16)
14. The swan, perhaps the flamingo of that country (Lev. 11:18; Dt. 14:16)
15. The pelican (Lev. 11:18; Dt. 14:17; note, Ps. 102:6)
16. The gier eagle, Egyptian vulture (Lev. 11:18; Dt. 14:17)
17. The stork (Lev. 11:19; Dt. 14:18)
18. The heron, plover, crane (Lev. 11:19; Dt. 14:18)
19. The lapwing, a member of the plover family (Lev. 11:19; Dt. 14:18)
20. The bat (Lev. 11:19; Dt. 14:18)

Four Clean Flying Creeping Things
– Locust, the food of John (Mt. 3:4)
– Bald locust, now unknown
– Beetle, thought to be a species of grasshopper
– Grasshopper

Eight unclean creeping things (Lev. 11:29-30):
1. Weasel
2. Mouse
3. Tortoise
4. Ferret
5. Chameleon
6. Lizard
7. Snail
8. Mole

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LEVITICUS 12 – THE LAW FOR HER THAT HATH BORN A MALE OR FEMALE

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days; according to the days of the separation for her infirmity shall she be unclean. And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying three and thirty days; she shall touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying be fulfilled. But if she bear a maid child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her separation: and she shall continue in the blood of her purifying threescore and six days. And when the days of her purifying are fulfilled, for a son, or for a daughter, she shall bring a lamb of the first year for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon, or a turtledove, for a sin offering, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest: who shall offer it before the LORD, and make an atonement for her; and she shall be cleansed from the issue of her blood. This is the law for her that hath born a male or a female. And if she be not able to bring a lamb, then she shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons; the one for the burnt offering, and the other for a sin offering: and the priest shall make an atonement for her, and she shall be clean. – Leviticus‬ ‭12‬:‭1‬-‭8‬ ‭

Seven Commands–the Purification of Women
1. If a woman gives birth to a male, she shall be unclean seven days.
2. On the eighth day the child shall be circumcised (Lev. 12:3).
3. She shall continue in purification for 33 more days (40 days total, Lev. 12:4).
4. She shall not touch any hallowed thing or come into the sanctuary until her purification ends.
5. If she gives birth to a female, she shall be unclean for two weeks, then continue in purification for 66 more days (80 days total, Lev. 12:5).
6. When the days of purification are over, the woman shall bring a lamb ($80) and a young pigeon or turtledove ($4) to the priest at the door of the tabernacle which he shall offer before God to make atonement for her; and she shall be cleansed from her issue of blood (Lev. 12:6-7).
7. If she is unable to bring a lamb and a turtledove, she shall bring two pigeons ($8), one for a burnt offering, and the other for a sin offering; the priest shall make an atonement for her, and she shall be pronounced clean (Lev. 12:8).
(Lists from Dake Bible Notes)