Sermon #29
Leviticus Sermons
Title: A
Possessed People
Text: Leviticus 11:1-47
Subject: Things Clean and Unclean
Date: Sunday Morning – March 10, 2002
Tape # W-90a
Reading: Titus 1:15-2:15
Introduction:
God’s elect are his own,
peculiar people, a divinely possessed people. We see this throughout the
Scriptures. We are not our own. We have been bought with the price of our
Savior’s precious blood.
(Titus
2:14) "Who gave himself for us,
that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar
people, zealous of good works."
The word “peculiar”
does not mean “odd” or “strange.” Rather, it has the idea of “ownership.” It
would be better translated “possessed.” Yet, the word “possessed” does not
fully translate this adjective by which God’s elect are described. The word
translated “peculiar” in Titus 2:14 is one of those words rich words
that cannot really be simply translated into English accurately. It must be
defined. The word means “owned, held in possession, possessed lawfully,
possessed powerfully, encompassed, surrounded, protected.”
This is what God the Holy
Spirit teaches us about all who are born of God. This is true concerning all
God’s elect. All who believe own the Son of God are God’s peculiarly and
distinctly possessed people, purchased by the sin-atoning sacrifice of Christ,
called by omnipotent grace, surrounded and encompassed by the incomprehensible
God, under his constant protection and care.
(Psalms
34:7) "The angel of the LORD encampeth
round about them that fear him, and delivereth them."
This fact, the fact that
God’s people are a possessed people, his own peculiarly and distinctly
possessed people is set before us throughout the Book of God. Today, we will
see this fact as it is set before us in Leviticus 11.
(Leviticus
11:1-3) "And the LORD spake unto
Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them, (2) Speak unto the children of
Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the
beasts that are on the earth. (3) Whatsoever parteth the hoof,
and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall
ye eat."
In verses 4-42 the Lord God
divides the clean from the unclean of all the animals in the skies, in the
earth, and in the seas, giving very specific dietary laws to the nation of
Israel. Then, in verses 43-47, he tells us the reason for these laws.
(Leviticus
11:43-47) "Ye shall not make
yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creepeth, neither shall ye
make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled thereby. (44) For
I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye
shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with
any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. (45) 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. (46) 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: (47) 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."
I am sure that you have,
like me, read these and similar passages many times and thought to yourself—“Why?
What does all this mean? How does it apply to me?” Before I am done, you will
have the answer.
The
Setting
Let’s get the setting. Up to
this point the Book of Leviticus has been about one thing. The first 10
chapters of the Book are about one subject—Atonement. Throughout those
chapters the Lord God shows fallen men that he is a God willing to save and
that he has made a way for fallen sinners to return to him. What great,
glorious good news for our cursed race! The God of glory, against whom we have
sinned, has made a way whereby he can bring sinners into union with himself!
And the way is Christ!—Atonement by the sacrifice o0f his own dear
Son!—Atonement by his precious blood!
Now, beginning in
chapter 11, as if he would compel us to come to him by the blood of
Christ, the Holy Spirit begins to describe our great need of grace, our great
need of atonement, our great need of an effectual Sacrifice and Substitute.
Here he begins to show us our utter sinfulness. The design is to shut us up to
Christ and God’s free grace in him.
To create in our minds a
sense of our corruption and sin, a sense of the corruption and sin of our race,
the Lord gives us these Levitical dietary laws, laws that were binding upon the
nation of Israel throughout the Mosaic economy[1].
In this chapter the Lord God
laid before the nation of Israel distinctions between things clean and unclean
that must be carefully attended to every day, things that would be unavoidably
and constantly before their minds throughout every day, requiring them to
constantly put a “difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean
and clean” things (Lev. 10:10.
Atonement
Needed
Obviously, there were no
moral distinctions found in the creatures themselves. A hog is not morally or
spiritually inferior to a cow. Yet, by making these ceremonial distinctions,
the Lord put huge billboards throughout creation to remind the chosen nation
that they were a fallen, sinful people in a fallen, sinful world—A people in
need of atonement!
This is the theme of
chapters 11-15—We need atonement! Chapter 11 shows us the existence of sin, the
universality of corruption. Chapter 12 portrays the transmission of sin from
one generation to another. The woman who brought a child into the world was
ceremonially defiled by the very act of giving birth, because she gave birth to
a sinner. Chapters 13 and 14 display the vileness of sin in leprosy. Chapter 15
gives us a picture of original sin in all its deformity.
Shut
Up To Christ
Thus we are shut up to
Christ. If we would be righteous, if we would come to God and be accepted of
him, we are shut up to Christ. There is no righteousness for guilty sinners to
be had except the righteousness of God in Christ, the righteousness of God
given and imputed by grace through the sin-atoning death of the Lord Jesus
Christ. But, blessed be God, in Christ there is righteousness of infinite merit
for guilty sinners!
Proposition: These laws regarding
things clean and unclean, holy and unholy were intended by God to show us
spiritual things. They were given to point us to Christ and the grace of God in
him. They are pictures of gospel truths.
Let me show you the
significance of these things by pointing out four things.
I. A difference Made -- As the
Lord God ceremonially made a difference in the creatures, mentioned in these 47
verses, declaring some clean and others unclean,, he has graciously made a
difference between men, declaring some holy and others unholy.
The only difference there is
between men in this world is the difference grace has made. We are all unclean
and unholy by nature. We all deserve the everlasting wrath of God. But he has
made some holy and clean by his free grace in Christ.
(1 Corinthians 4:7) "For who maketh thee to differ from
another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst
receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?”
The Lord God looks upon his
people in Christ and says, “Ye are clean!”
·
By
Blood Atonement—Righteousness Imputed!
·
By
Regenerating Grace—Righteousness Imparted!
I trust Christ as my
Substitute.
Upon Another’s worth I fall!
His blood and righteousness
alone
Can satisfy God’s holy law.
He is my Wisdom,
Righteousness,
My Holiness, my Life, my
All!
Christ died for me—I’m
justified,
In Him before God’s holy
law!
Upon a life I did not live,
Upon a death I did not die,
Upon Another’s life and
death
For life eternal I rely!
Now, in my Surety I’m free;
And with His spotless
garments on,
Who died at Calvary for me,
I’m holy as God’s darling
Son!
II. A Distinction Maintained—The
Lord God has made a distinction between his people and all other people (By
Election – By Redemption – By Calling); but it is a distinction to be
maintained by us.
The Lord gave these dietary laws to Israel and to Israel alone because he had made them to be a distinct people in the world. By this means, they were maintained as a distinct and separate people from all other nations in the world. Because their diet was so strict, the Jews could never enter into any sort of close association with any other people.
· The Canaanites ate anything. They would even eat an animal that had been killed by a dog, or even the dog itself, without any scruple.
·
They
could not eat at the same table with the Arabs, their nearest kinsmen, because
the Arabs thought nothing of eating a camel, a hare, or a coney.
·
By
ceremonially preventing their social intercourse with other people, the Lord
arranged and secured a distinction between his people and all other people.
·
The
obedient Israelite would, by his obedience, be kept from close association with
his pagan neighbors, worshipping with them, and intermarrying with them.
Perhaps you are
thinking—“Bro. Don, what does that have to do with us?” I’m glad you asked. The
Lord God would have us live in this world as his own peculiar people, as a
people belonging to him, maintaining a distinction between the clean and the
unclean.
(Titus
2:11-14) "For the grace of God
that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, (12) Teaching us that,
denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and
godly, in this present world; (13) Looking for that blessed hope, and
the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; (14) Who
gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto
himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works."
(2
Corinthians 6:14-18) "Be ye not
unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath
righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with
darkness? (15) And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part
hath he that believeth with an infidel? (16) And what agreement hath the
temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath
said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people. (17) Wherefore come out from among them,
and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and
I will receive you, (18) And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be
my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty."
(2
Corinthians 7:1) "Having therefore
these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of
the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God."
·
Not
by Peculiar Dress
·
Not
by Pious Sounding Speech
·
Not
by Outward Show—Inward realities do not need outward labels!
·
But
by The Great Object of Our Lives!
(1
Corinthians 10:31) "Whether
therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of
God."
Look at the rule of law
given in Leviticus 11:3.—Here is a pretty good picture of the believer, one who has been made
clean before God by the grace of God.
(Leviticus
11:3) "Whatsoever parteth the
hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall
ye eat."
·
The
believer both chews the cud and is cloven footed.
·
He
feeds upon Christ and the gospel of his grace in his heart and soul.—He does
not merely hear the gospel, he relishes it!—Christ is to him the Bread of Life
and the Water of Life!
·
He
is also cloven footed.—He walks on the earth, but walks toward heaven.—He walks
as a man, but walks with God.—He lives in a body of flesh, but walks in the
Spirit.
In Leviticus 11:4-8 the Lord
identified four unclean animals that might have been mistaken for clean ones.—The camel, the coney, the
hare, and the swine.
The camel, the coney, and
the hare all chew the cud, but do not divide the hoof. They were all unclean.
So, too, are those represented by them.
·
The
doctrinal purist, who has no interest in godliness, devotion, and consecration
to Christ, is like the camel, plodding along in sensuality, but still chewing
the cud.
·
The
coney, digging in the earth and hiding in the rocks, might well represent the
self-serving religionists, the cowardly person who talks a good talk in the
right company but refuses to confess Christ openly.
·
The
hare flying across the land in leaps and bounds, chewing the cud, but parting
not the hoof, is a pretty good picture of the feel good religionist, the
emotionalist.—Though he chews the cud, he, too, is but an earthling. His
religion is all emotion, show, and feeling.
·
But why did the Lord put hogs in this list at this place?
(Leviticus
11:7-8) "And the swine, though he
divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean
to you. (8) Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye
not touch; they are unclean to you."
The hog is set before us on
purpose. It is an emblem of those who act right outwardly. They have
profession. They are outwardly upright, devout, and zealous. But they are
inwardly unclean.
The swine represents the
religious Pharisee. No animal could be found that more accurately represents the
self-righteous Pharisee than a hog. The Pharisee makes the cup and platter
clean. His hoof is thoroughly divided; but inside, there is nothing but
vileness and corruption. And all his outward religious show is but as a hog
wallowing in the mire of its own excrement.
Let us walk before our God
in this world as men and women who are distinctly his, for Christ’s sake.
·
With
a heart of faith in and love for Christ.
·
Acknowledging
our sin.
·
In
the Spirit, trusting Christ.
·
Ever
separating ourselves from the world.
I do not mean that we should
become hermits, or that we should cease to be responsible citizens in this
world. I do mean that we must deliberately and conscientiously come out of the
world, maintaining the distinction our God has made by his grace. The world is
always trying to get the Church to marry it. How sad that the Church seems so
anxious for the hellish wedding! It was when the Church married the world in
Genesis 6 that God sent the flood!
(John
15:19) "If ye were of the world,
the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have
chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you."
(1
John 2:15-17) "Love not the world,
neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the
love of the Father is not in him. (16) For all that is in the
world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life,
is not of the Father, but is of the world. (17) And the world passeth
away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for
ever."
(1
John 3:1-3) "Behold, what manner
of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of
God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. (2) Beloved,
now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we
know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as
he is. (3) And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself,
even as he is pure."
III. A Defilement Manifest—These
dietary laws were so thorough, so detailed that the Lord seems to have intended
them to be a constant manifestation of the fact that so long as we live in this
world we are defiled with sin and need the cleansing of his blood.
Try to get the picture of a
Jew living in those days with these words of God’s law fixed in his heart and
mind.—He walks out of his dwelling into the fields, or goes over to a
neighbor’s, or works in the hot sun, or walks to the tabernacle to offer
sacrifice to God, everywhere he goes, he sees uncleanness, defilement, sin!
·
A
Caravan of Camels
·
A
Dragon Fly
·
A
Field Mouse
·
A
Catfish
·
A
Dog
·
A
House Cat
·
A
Bald Eagle
·
An
Ostrich
·
A
Bat
·
Insects
in His Flowers
All these unclean things
were outward; but they were so numerous, so universal, so inclusive that the
well instructed Jew might think to himself, “So long as I walk on this sin
cursed earth in the body of this flesh, I cannot escape defilement and sin. I
cannot even breath without inhaling some corruption of the earth and exhaling
some corruption from within. Thank God for the atonement! Thank God for the
mercy-seat! Thank God for the Sacrifice!”
(1
John 1:8-10) "If we say that we
have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (9) If we
confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (10) If we say that we have not
sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."
(1
John 2:1-2) "My little children,
these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an
advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: (2) And he is the
propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the
whole world."
(Romans
7:14-25) "For we know that the law
is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. (15) For that which I do
I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
(16) If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it
is good. (17) Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that
dwelleth in me. (18) For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,)
dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to
perform that which is good I find not. (19) For the good that I would I
do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. (20) Now if I do that
I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. (21) I
find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. (22) For
I delight in the law of God after the inward man: (23) But I see another
law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into
captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. (24) O wretched man
that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? (25) I
thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve
the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin."
(Romans
8:1) "There is therefore
now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the
flesh, but after the Spirit."
IV. A Discipline Motivated—The laws
given in these 47 verses required strict, constant discipline. The life of
faith, consecration to Christ, devotion to the will and glory of God requires
the same strict, constant discipline. How can such discipline be motivated?
(Leviticus
11:43-45) "Ye shall not make
yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creepeth, neither shall ye
make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled thereby. (44) For
I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye
shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with
any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. (45) 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."
Here are four great,
powerful arguments of mercy, grace and love by which the Lord our God calls for
and claims our hearts’ devotion.
A. His
Sovereign Lordship—“I
am the Lord your God.”
B. His
Saving Operations—“I
am the Lord your God that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt!” – Redemption! – Regeneration!
– Preservation! – Resurrection!
C. His
Immaculate Holiness—“Ye shall be holy, for I am holy!”
D. His
Special, Covenant Relationship—“I am the Lord, YOUR GOD!”
(Romans
12:1-2) "I beseech you therefore,
brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living
sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
(2) And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the
renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and
acceptable, and perfect, will of God."
(2
Corinthians 5:14-21) "For the love
of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all,
then were all dead: (15) And that he died for all, that they
which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died
for them, and rose again. (16) Wherefore henceforth know we no man after
the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth
know we him no more. (17) Therefore if any man be in
Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all
things are become new. (18) And all things are of God, who hath
reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of
reconciliation; (19) To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the
world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed
unto us the word of reconciliation. (20) Now then we are ambassadors for
Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in
Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. (21) For he hath made him to
be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of
God in him."
AMEN.
[1] Let it be clearly understood by all that these laws (Indeed, all the law!) were for the Jews only. Peter learned in Acts 10 not to call anything God has made common or unclean. The creatures here pronounced “unclean” were so only ceremonially and only during the Old Testament dispensation. As the Holy Spirit declares in Romans 14:14, “There is nothing unclean of itself.” In this gospel age we are totally free to eat anything we wish.