Leviticus 11:1-3 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Say to the Israelites: ‘Of all the animals that live on land, these are the ones you may eat: You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud.
I get that the Israelites were living with the Egyptians for 400 years and have now been led to freedom, that God is showing them–with all these rules and laws–how to live and act as God’s people, that the dietary restrictions serve a similar purpose. I honestly get all of that.
Leviticus 11:4 “ ‘There are some that only chew the cud or only have a divided hoof, but you must not eat them. The camel, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is ceremonially unclean for you.
What I’m struggling with is the modern picking and choosing of what in the Bible is “God’s undeniable law to follow” and what is man’s to pick and choose. We don’t worship like the ancient Israelites nor do we observe the dietary restrictions of the ancient Israelites, yet we don’t get to cherry pick the Bible for the parts we want to follow and the parts we want to skip. Except we do exactly that.
Leviticus 11:5-6 The hyrax, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you.
Precious Savior, I want to live a life that is pleasing to You, to shine Your light, to be Your hands and feet in this world. I want to love You with my whole heart and love others as You love them and me–completely, deeply, fiercely, unreservedly. Help me to use Your word to draw closer to You, not to cherry pick what I want to follow or ignore. Help me, Jesus. Amen.
Leviticus 11:7-8 And the pig, though it has a divided hoof, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you.
Have a blessed day.