King James Daily Bible Study: Wholesome Food
Date: Saturday February 05, 2011
Chapters: Leviticus 11-13
Click Here to Read Them or Go to: http://www.imfollowingjesus.com/bible-february-5
Details of Today's Reading: Clean and unclean animals, purification after child bearing, and the issue of leprosy.

Hello My Friend/Guest,
As Christians, we are to avoid every temptation that would cause us to sin, especially with the flesh, we need to feed our bodies with things that are good and holy and be careful not to defile them. We must be careful not to abuse our freedom given to us by the Lord, Jesus Christ. When Jesus redeems us He cleanses us from all of our sins, we are called His people, children of the living God, meaning that we are to be holy, just as He is holy. In other words we are to separate ourselves from the world, as those who are unclean cause us to be unclean. “And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:” - Colossians 1:21,22.

God gave the Israelites specific instructions on what food they were allowed to eat or even touch. Every creature of God's is made for a purpose, all the way down to fly. While every creature is good and pure in itself, God did not want His people to consume certain animals that would defile their bodies and make them unclean.

“And the LORD spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth. Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat. Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof: as the camel, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you...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. This is the law of the beasts, and of the fowl, and of every living creature that moveth in the waters, and of every creature that creepeth upon the earth: To make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the beast that may be eaten and the beast that may not be eaten.” - Leviticus 11:1-4,45-47.

The key to the Israelites following this law was to make a difference, to set them apart from the rest of the world. Many of these forbidden animals were objects of superstition and idolatry to the heathen. The law forbade, not only the eating of the unclean beasts, but the touching of them as well. The laws, however, were probably primarily for sanitary reasons and necessary to the good of the people. We are no longer subject to this law, the was confirmed when Peter was hungry and looking for something to eat. “Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.” - Acts 10:12-15.

All who are conceived are born into sin, not necessarily by conception, but simply through our human nature, it seems unfair that the second we are brought into this world we are considered sinners, but this all stems from Adam and Eve. When a woman had a child she was considered unclean and had to go through a purification process. It is called the blood of her purifying because by the expulsion of unclean blood, which is done by degrees, she is purified.

“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.” - Leviticus 2-5.

What God is referring to here is not regarding a woman unclean from the conception of a child, she was considered unclean due to her infirmities, which is referred to as menstruation or the expelling of unclean blood, which lasted about seven days. The purifying of her blood refers to the complete purification of a woman's body after she gives birth, which took about forty days if she gave birth to a male and eighty for a female. The reason a woman had to wait twice as long was to keep the female population from getting larger than the male. Today we are cleansed by one thing, and one thing only, and that is the blood of Christ. “...and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” - I John 1:7b.

God did not just point out women, men too were to keep their bodies pure as well, if they weren't they would become leprous. “When a man shall have in the skin of his flesh a rising, a scab, or bright spot, and it be in the skin of his flesh like the plague of leprosy; then he shall be brought unto Aaron the priest, or unto one of his sons the priests: And the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the flesh: and when the hair in the plague is turned white, and the plague in sight be deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is a plague of leprosy: and the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him unclean...And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean.” - Leviticus 13:2,3,45.

Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease that affects and controls the entire body, it starts out as a small white spot then slowly eats through a persons muscle, causing the nervous system to shut down as well as hair loss and even the loss of limbs. If a person had leprosy he had to avoid everyone that was clean and yell out unclean by anyone he passed. Sin is like leprosy, it starts out small and slowly takes control of the person, and it is infectious, it causes others to sin and or be subject to the sin. “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.” - Galatians 5:19-24.

When you accept Christ as your Savior you are no longer plagued by sin, you are cleansed by His blood, the blood that He shed for you when He was crucified. It is important that, as Christians, we cleanse ourselves from the things that make us unclean. Now, we are not going to get rid of everything all at once, but when we allow Christ to live through is we step by step go through the purification process. We will never be spotless until we get to heaven, but we can feed ourselves with good, wholesome food that nourishes the mind, body, and spirit. “Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.” - Psalm 24:3-5.

Jesus Christ Revealed: Today Jesus is revealed through the priest who looked on the plague after it was washed. We are washed white as snow when we ask Jesus to save us. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” - I John 1:9.

Thanks and God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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