Ministers of the New Covenant - A Closer Look at the Dietary Laws

A Closer Look at the Dietary Laws

by Matthew Janzen

As students of Yahweh’s word, many individuals have decided to be obedient to the dietary laws of Yahweh found most specifically and forthrightly in the books of Leviticus 11, and Deuteronomy 14. However, have those persuaded towards these commandments really taken a look at what Yahweh has to say concerning this matter. Are we really keeping Yahweh’s dietary laws?

Still Binding Today?

Although many Christian believers today understand that the dietary laws need to be obeyed, there are a number of Christians today who do not. They base there claim primarily on a few select passages in the New Testament Scriptures. To them, the passages indicate that these laws have definitely been abolished or “done away” at the death of Yashua the Messiah. Although we will not delve into an exegesis of each proof text used by the opponents of the dietary law, we do have time to give ear to one such popular passage.

One of the most popular passages used to promote this teaching is found in the book of Acts chapter ten, where the Apostle Peter receives a vision from Yahweh which tells him to:

Rise, Peter; kill, and eat… [Acts 10:13]

What is extremely interesting about the words Peter heard is that he was being commanded to kill and eat animals consisting of various kinds of four-footed animals, wild animals, creeping things, and fowls of the air. Peter objected, but then the voice came to him a second time. The book of Acts records the account like this:

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 the Almighty hath cleansed, that call not thou common. This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven. [Acts 10:14-16]

Obviously, under a very minute investigation of this passage, it seems as though Yahweh has cleansed all manner of animals… right? If you answered yes to this question, then would you object to my having you over for a fellowship dinner consisting of roasted rat? How about fried snake? Or better yet… pelican ears? Your face is probably either squinting or smiling now, as you know that such an invite from me to you would not be accepted, or at the very least you would not want to accept!

Secondly we must point out, that if we are to take the technical side of this supposed correct interpretation of Yahweh cleansing every living animal, we must limit our interpretation to everything except aquatic life. Yahweh made no mention that any aquatic life was in the sheet let down to Peter. Thus, clams, lobster, shrimp, etc. would still fall under the category of unclean.

Lastly, and probably most importantly, people are misinterpreting the entire context of the passage. Please notice that after the dream took place, a total of three times, the very next thing the author of Acts tells us is that…

…Peter doubted in himself what this vision he had seen should mean… [Acts 10:17]

A good question would be, “Why would he doubt?” The passage seems “oh so clear” to most believers in the Bible today. They’ve never had doubts as to what this vision might mean. They proclaim with eagerness, “The Bible says that what the Lord has cleansed, do not call unclean!” One excellent illustration I read one time said that what if you as a believer had a dream where your neighbor’s wife appeared and a voice came from heaven and said “Rise, up and commit adultery!” Would you not doubt in yourself what the dream meant? Would you not immediately either think that you had too much ice cream the night before, or either Yahweh is trying to get your attention in another area?

When we continue to read the entire passage we find that as Peter doubted about what this vision actually meant, three men approached the house where Peter was lodging. Before Peter even saw the men, the Spirit showed him that there were indeed three men awaiting Peter and that Yahweh had sent them. Be sure to notice the parallel of the three times of the vision, and the three men that came inquiring of Peter. This is the beginning of exactly what Peter was being told in his dream. Peter then, after talking to the men about how Cornelius had been told by the Almighty to seek for Peter, went with the men to visit the man Cornelius.

As Peter finally met Cornelius upon his arrival to Caesarea, he began to talk to him and discover what exactly was taking place. Upon his discovery, Peter proclaims:

…Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but the Almighty hath showed that I should not call any man common or unclean. [Acts 10:28]

This, my friends, is the correct interpretation of Peter’s vision. Peter understood it in that day, yet so many people in this day want to reinterpret Peter’s dream. Do you think that you have a better interpretation than the Apostle Peter? Is our understanding better than the inspired writer of scripture in the book of Acts? No. Some people simply do not want to admit to the fact that Yahweh has laid out a menu in scripture for us to obey.

I should also point out the fact that scripture does not tell us that Peter relayed to the men what actually happened in the vision… why? The answer is that Yahweh used something different to attract the attention of Peter. At the time Peter was given this vision, it was definitely after the death of the Messiah, and he had not eaten anything unclean. Peter obviously understood the implication of the dream, and regarded the specifics of the dream simply an analogy to the real problem.

There are other passages that are used to abolish Yahweh’s dietary laws, but hopefully you can see from this widely used passage that people have a tendency to take things out of context. Let us now delve into what this article’s greatest concern is.

Dissecting Leviticus 11:32-35

Most individuals, who strongly believe in the perpetual-ness of Yahweh’s dietary laws, turn to the eleventh chapter of Leviticus when introducing someone to just what exactly is, and is not, on the menu of Almighty Yahweh. We say that we are not allowed to eat pork or swine. We cannot have a “rabbit stew” or “camel chops”. Although this is absolutely a very fine beginning at obeying Yahweh’s laws concerning diet, we must ask ourselves, “Are we going to go half-way, or all the way with Yahweh?”

In Leviticus 11:32, we find the following written in the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Bible:

Anything on which any of them falls, when they are dead shall be unclean, whether it is any item of wood or clothing or skin or sack, whatever item it is, in which any work is done, it must be put in water. And it shall be unclean until evening; then it shall be clean.

This clearly shows that if any unclean animal which has died, falls on any certain object listed in the passage, that object is considered unclean. The object must be placed into water, and obviously washed, and is considered unclean until the following evening. After that it is once again considered to be clean. There is one exception which we will deal with a little later, and that is the earthen or clay vessels. Seeing that a vessel of earth or clay “soaks in” the flesh of a dead, unclean animal, it is not to be washed in water; it is to be completely broken, and no more to be used again.

Someone thus far may be saying, “Okay, I do not fall under this category… I do not have any unclean animals dying around my home!” And to this I say, wonderful! This is great seeing that we who believe in Yah’s dietary laws are already obeying this particular part of those laws. However, you may just want to take “A Closer Look at the Dietary Laws”

As we continue to read in the eleventh chapter of Leviticus we find that when the objects listed in verse thirty-two are cleansed with water, we must be very careful, so as not to allow this water to come into contact with anything else edible in our homes.

If the water used to cleanse an unclean object touches any food, all of that food will be defiled. And any beverage that is in such an unclean container will be defiled. [Leviticus 11:34 New Living Translation (NLT)]

We find here that if this cleansing water comes into contact with any other edible object, that object too is considered contaminated. Also a beverage that is being stored in one of these containers upon which a dead, unclean animal might fall is considered an abomination.

Once again, you may be thinking that you have absolutely nothing to worry about, seeing that (as I stated before) you haven’t had any unclean animals die around your house, and touch any particular cooking utensil or beverage for that matter. However, I would like you to center in on the key words I have used; they are “around your house”. In other words, have any unclean animals died any where else you have been…such as a restaurant?

One might say that these verses do not pertain to animals that have been killed, but rather just to animals that have died of themselves. However, the context of the remaining verses in question, teach us otherwise; consider Leviticus 11:35.

Any object on which the dead body of such an animal falls will be defiled. If it is a clay oven or cooking pot, it must be smashed to pieces. It has become defiled, and it will remain that way.

Yahweh’s Word thus teaches that any unclean animal that touches a clay oven or a cooking pot, makes the clay oven or the cooking pot defiled. It must be destroyed and never used for cooking on again.

Now we must comment on this verse before everyone goes and destroys any oven they or a family member may have because it has been used to prepare certain unclean animals. The ovens or ranges for pots (KJV) in question here should be understood as earthen, or clay ovens. The same material mentioned in verse thirty-three of this chapter. The reason these ovens are to be destroyed is because they soak in the flesh of the unclean animal, making it impossible (according to Yahweh) to remove this unclean flesh from the oven. Ovens of clay were primarily used during the days that Leviticus was written, thus Yahweh addresses the ovens in such a way as to let Israel know that they must be broken down. The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible tells us that:

The use of metallic stoves was not begun in antiquity because of the difficulty in tempering the metal sufficiently to withstand the heat. Many types of structures were built with the lower openings facing in such a manner to take advantage of the prevailing winds… and were probably the ones referred to in the prophetic context. [The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, General Editor Merril C. Tenney, 1976 Zondervan, Grand Rapids Michigan 49530, pg. 554.]

The pots used in cooking were also, for the majority, clay or earthen pots. There were other materials used for making jars or pots, but pottery was the item that remained the most used.

These facts, do not however take away from the potency of what Yahweh here teaches. Even if a stove is metallic in structure, or maybe built with some other type of material which does not require the breaking down process. It must still be thoroughly washed with water, and remain unclean until the evening. Thus the clear implication of this is that to partake of food from any place which prepares unclean food on there stoves or range, and then to have your food cooked directly on the same stove is considered a violation of Yahweh’s dietary laws. For us, as obedient free men of Yahweh, to be able to eat at such a place, would require someone to stop the cooking, thoroughly wash the oven or range, and then and only then, would it be lawful to eat something cooked on that object the up-coming night. That’s right, the object is considered unclean until evening which is the beginning of a new biblical day. Do not take this lightly. To proclaim that we observe Yahweh’s dietary laws, but ignore these specifics outlined in Leviticus, is a rejection of what the word of Yahweh plainly teaches.

Leviticus 11:36

Before we end this short article, I would like to examine one other verse in regards to the topic at hand. This very thing happened once to me, and because of my ignorance of what Yahweh taught, I acted incorrectly.

However, if the dead body of such an animal falls into a spring or a cistern, the water will still be clean. But anyone who removes the dead body will be defiled. [Leviticus 11:36 NLT]

Someone once found a dead rat in the well that I and my family was using. Not to mention a few other families as well; we were all faced with this problem! Because of this I began to think he water would be considered unclean until the time of the following evening. However, my thinking here was unscriptural. As the passage in Leviticus 11:36 informs us, a spring or cisterns (well) water, remains clean even when an unclean animal may by happenstance fall into it. Only the person who removes this animal becomes defiled.

The King James Version of the Bible might let us know exactly why this is. We learned earlier that water used to clean an unclean vessel must not be allowed to touch any other edible thing in our homes, or else it to would be become defiled. There is however a difference between the water in our sinks, or dishwashers, and the water existing in a spring, or cistern. That is, there is a difference in the mind of Yahweh.

Nevertheless a fountain or pit, wherein there is plenty of water, shall be clean: but that which toucheth their carcase shall be unclean. [Leviticus 11:36]

Yahweh considers the amount of water a determining factor in whether or not the unclean animal makes the accompanying water unclean as well.

Conclusion

As we strive to obey Yahweh to the fullest extent we should be open to knowledge from the scriptures that we may not have previously been aware of. This topic would fall under that category.

When I first began to observe Yahweh’s dietary laws, I was not aware of what I have written in this article. There are probably other things I may not be aware of at the present time in regards to other specifics of the dietary laws. I would be overjoyed to learn these specifics so that I may obey Yahweh to the fullest extent possible. Yahweh is the author of eternal salvation, unto all that obey Him (Hebrews 5:9). Each of us should examine our selves to see whether or not we are fully being obedient to Yahweh in every part of our lives; including the dietary laws.

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