Leviticus 11:43 - Meaning and Application

Here is the meaning of this law. It was not meant only as a list of foods, or as a doctor’s advice about diet. God was using it to teach Israel to set themselves apart and be holy (Leviticus 11:44). They were to learn to tell good from evil, and to see that it mattered what they did, just as it mattered what they ate.

They also had to live by God’s law in all their actions, even in ordinary things that should still be done in a godly way (3 John 1:6). Even eating and drinking were to be guided by God’s rule and done for his glory (1 Corinthians 10:31). And they were to be different from the nations around them, as a people set apart for God and not meant to live like the Gentiles. In this way, these early rules trained them, like a child’s tutor, to lead them toward holiness, which is the revival of our first state in Adam and the sign of our best state with Christ, because without holiness no one will see the Lord (Galatians 4:2-3; Hebrews 12:14).

This is really the aim of all God’s ordinances, that through them we would set ourselves apart and learn holiness. Even this law about food, which seems so small and low, aimed at something very high. Under the Old Testament as well as the New, heaven’s law is that without holiness no one will see the Lord. So the warning in Leviticus 11:43 is, “Do not make yourselves detestable.” By joining ourselves to sin, which is detestable, we make ourselves detestable too.

A person is truly miserable when he is detestable in God’s sight, and no one becomes that way except by his own choice. Jewish writers have even suggested that this law also warned Israel against joining with the heathen, whether through marriage or in other close ties (Deuteronomy 7:2-3). Its moral lesson still applies to us: we must not share in the unfruitful works of darkness. Without real holiness in heart and life, the one who offers a sacrifice is like one who brings a pig’s blood before God, and if it was so offensive to eat pig’s flesh, it would be even more offensive to offer pig’s blood at God’s altar (Isaiah 66:3; Proverbs 15:8).

The reasons for this law all come from the Lawgiver himself, and we should keep him in mind in every act of obedience. “I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 11:44) means, “Obey me simply because I am your Lord.” God’s authority over us, and his right to claim us, require us to do whatever he commands, even when it goes against what we want.

“I am holy” (Leviticus 11:44-45). If God is holy, then we must be holy too, or we cannot expect his acceptance. His holiness is his glory (Exodus 15:11), and that is why it fits his house forever (Psalm 93:5). This great command, given here among laws that would later pass away, is quoted as a gospel command in 1 Peter 1:16. It shows that these ceremonial rules were meant to teach us not to shape our lives by the desires we had when we lived in ignorance (Leviticus 11:14).

“I am the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt” (Leviticus 11:45). That was a strong reason for them to obey gladly, since God had already shown them such special favor. He had done more for them than for any other people, so he could rightly expect more from them.

The chapter closes with this summary: “This is the law of the beasts, and of the birds, and of every living creature” (Leviticus 11:46-47). This law was to stand forever, as long as that covenant order lasted. But under the gospel it was clearly set aside by a voice from heaven to Peter (Acts 10:15), and it had already been made obsolete by Christ’s death, along with the other rules that were only temporary, “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle” (Colossians 2:21-22).

Now we can be thankful that we are not under this burden, and that every creature of God is allowed to us as good food, and nothing is to be rejected simply because it is food (1 Corinthians 8:8; Romans 14:14). What goes into a person’s mouth does not defile him; what comes out of the heart does (Matthew 15:11). So let us give thanks for our liberty, stand firm in the freedom Christ has given us, and beware of teachings that forbid foods and try to bring Moses back again (1 Timothy 4:3-4).

At the same time, we must use God’s gifts with care and self-control. If God has given us freedom, we should still set limits on ourselves and never eat carelessly, as if the table could not become a trap. “Put a knife to your throat if you are a man given to appetite,” and do not crave rich foods or too many varieties (Proverbs 23:2-3). Nature is satisfied with little, grace with less, but sinful desire is never satisfied.