Title: Rules of purity and injustice
Contents
Rules of chastity and injustice
Leviticus 11: 1 - 23
Last time, we looked at that one of the important duties of a priest is to discern between the holy and the common, and to distinguish between the unclean and the clean (10:10). He also said that teaching the Israelites all the ordinances that God commanded through Moses was also an important duty of the priest. That's right. The priest's job was not just to offer sacrifices. The priest had to live with the people and teach and guide them as to what kind of life they should lead.
Along with this expansion of priestly ministry, the content and direction of Leviticus also changed. Before chapter 10, we talked about how to offer various sacrifices, but from now on, we are talking about how to lead the people.
Chapter 11 is the starting point for how to distinguish between clean and unclean animals and how to deal with them when they become unclean. These were the things that I needed to know as a priest to teach the people.
Today, we will look at what background the rules of purity and uncleanness come from, and what they mean.
■ First, the rules of purity and uncleanness are in line with the threefold division of the nation of Israel.
The lives of the people of Israel are divided into three categories related to God. What is closest to God is called holiness, what is inferior to holiness but separated from the world is called purity, and what is far from God is called uncleanness. Israeli society, which had been placed in the center of the tabernacle for nearly 40 years in the wilderness, and moved and settled repeatedly according to the change of the tabernacle, was a relatively holy society centered on God. Therefore, it would not be an exaggeration to say that Israeli society is made up of the threefold structure of ‘holiness, purity, and uncleanness’.
How were the camps of Israel said to be arranged? The tabernacle was surrounded by three tribes of 12 tribes each. In its form it was understood that the tabernacle was a holy place, the Israelite camp was a clean place, and the outside of the camp was an unclean place.
If you suffer from leprosy, which is a typical uncleanness, you can't go to the tabernacle, of course, and you can't live in the Israelite camp, which is a clean place. Their dwelling place was outside the camp of Israel, an unclean place.
The triple structure is not only found in the layout of the camp, but also among the people. The priests are holy, the common people of Israel are the pure, and the Gentiles are the unclean. This distinction is also indicated by the distinction between the high priest and the common priests and the Levites, as well as the division between the Most Holy and the Holy of Holies and the Courtyard of the Tabernacle.
Because society has such divisions, the animal world has no choice but to see the same division.
Of course, the animal world is divided into a double structure, that is, clean and unclean, rather than a triple structure. What is the reason for this distinction? It is to distinguish between what the holy people can eat and what they must not eat. It is very important to know what to eat because if you eat unclean animals, people will become unclean. Because if you eat unclean animals or unclean food and become unclean, you are no different from the Gentiles. Therefore, Moses and Aaron, especially the priests, had to inform the Israelites of this fact and teach them to eat only clean animals and not to eat unclean animals.
■ Second, the purity and uncleanness of animals were divided on the basis of wholeness.
The text divides living things into beasts, fish, birds, and insects, and then divides them into clean and unclean. For example, among animals, a cow was a clean animal and a pig was an unclean animal. Among the fish, crucian carp was clean and loach was unclean. Among the birds, the dove was clean, and the eagle and crow were unclean. Likewise, among insects, locusts were clean, and various crawling insects were unclean.
So, what is the criterion for classifying living things like this? The reason for that distinction cannot be clearly explained. It is difficult to just say that it is ordained by God, it is difficult to confirm that it is related to pagan sacrifices, and it is not appropriate to associate it with hygiene issues.
Also, it is difficult to say clearly because the symbolic reason often referred to is only partial and cannot explain all living things. If so, how do you see it being divided?
One of the easiest explanations to accept is the criterion of integrity. For example, an intact beast must have a hoof to run and must be vegan in order to obey the laws of creation that do not bleed. From this point of view, it is perfectly possible for fish to live in water with fins and scales. Insects have wings and jumping legs so that their means of transportation are not ambiguous to be a complete insect. How about a bird? A bird of prey that eats the carcass of a dead animal or feeds on blood, even with wings, is not intact.
Of course, the standard of wholeness doesn't explain everything. And the criteria for what is perfect are also vague. However, even if you do not know the clear criteria, the important thing is that you should not come close to any unclean thing, even more so, you should not eat it. And even if you don't know the standard, God has said so, so for now, you will follow it, and any other questions you need to check through the priest.
Today, animals are not treated according to this distinction. However, we must not forget the heart of God who wanted us to live a pure life. So we must be clean. A pure life is another life that reveals that you are a child of a holy God. - Amen -