The Message of Leviticus 11:12

(Continued from the previous post...)
I read something out of Huffington Post a few years ago which condemned Christians for eating shellfish.  They quoted this verse, "Everything in the waters that does not have fins and scales is detestable to you," Leviticus 11:12.  And then the author went on to make the argument that anyone who eats shrimp, oysters, etc. is sinning.  But if we ask ourselves six questions about the verse, we can understand God's message better.

1) Who is the author of Leviticus 11:12?  Most likely, it was Moses.

2) To whom was the passage being written?  The Israelites

3) When was Leviticus written?  After the completion of the building of the Tabernacle and before the Israelites left Mt. Sinai

4) How would the original audience apply that message to their lives?  The Israelites were receiving numerous commands and instructions differentiating between what was holy and what was common - often the Bible uses the descriptive words clean versus what was unclean.  Chapter 11 of Leviticus dealt with dietary law.  God did not give a reason for the Israelites' dietary law.  It could have been that certain animals were more likely to carry diseases and should have been avoided for consumption or it could have simply been because the Israelites were to be set apart as God's holy people and were told to eat differently.  But whatever the case, these laws were specific to the Israelites and God expected them to follow His commands.   If we read a few sentences beyond Lev. 11:12, at the end of the chapter we see this command within context.  Leviticus 11:46-47 reads, "These are the regulations concerning animals, birds, every living thing that moves about in the water and every creature that moves along the ground. You must distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between living creatures that may be eaten and those that may not be eaten."

5) Can we apply that same message to our lives in a way that the original audience applied it to their lives? In part, we can.  The dietary laws do not apply to us because we are not the nation of Israel living before the Messiah's coming.  However, we are God's children, and at the end of the chapter where God calls his children to obey his commands and discern between clean and unclean, we too are called to obey God's commands and distinguish between what he has called us to do and to avoid.

6) Can this passage stand alone?  Or does it need to be understood within the broader context of the Bible?  There is absolutely no way we can take this one verse out of Leviticus and make a general statement that all Christians should avoid eating shellfish as the Huffington Post attempted to do.  We are not the intended audience of the message.  The dietary laws do not apply to us.  If we want to find a direct message that applies to our lives today in the same way that it applied to the Israelites back then, we have to jump to the end of Leviticus 11.  Furthermore, we have to consider the Bible as a whole.  When Jesus came, he fulfilled the Law, and we understood God's commands more fully.  It clearly states in Mark 7:19 that all foods were declared clean.  However, Romans 14:1-23 explains that everyone is at a different place in their walk with Christ.  There may be messianic Jews who believe that a kosher diet is very important in their walk with the Lord because they still identify closely with the nation of Israel.  That dietary choice, though not commanded, is absolutely fine.  After Jesus came and Gentiles were welcomed into the body of Christ, their affiliation with Jesus is what set people apart.  His sacrifice was and is the only way to make people holy, set apart, clean (Hebrews 10:10).  So you see, there is danger in taking any one verse out of context and not understanding it within its historical context and the entirety of the Bible.

When you read your Bible, it is important not to simply read through the words and consider what they mean to you.  Instead, with the help of the Holy Spirit, we should try to discern the context of the passage and ask God to help us apply it appropriately to our lives.