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The distinction between “clean” and “unclean” animals in Leviticus 11 and Acts 10 echoes the choice between the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Bad/Evil in Genesis 2–3. By eating from the Tree of Knowledge, Adam and Eve sought to determine good and bad for themselves, instead of trusting in God’s provision and boundaries.
In this study of Torah reading שְׁמִינִי Shemini (“eighth,” Leviticus 9–11), we’ll see that learning the underlying lesson of distinguishing clean from unclean teaches the commonwealth of Israel to accept God’s designations rather than relying on their own understanding. Those who “eat” what God deems “unclean” place themselves outside of His blessing and life, just as Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden. But by obeying God’s instructions on diet and ritual purity, Israel can enjoy communion with the holy God and partake continually of His life-giving presence, prefigured by the Tree of Life.
Peter’s vision in Acts 10 teaches this fundamental lesson of how “cleaned” believers in Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus) are elevated/separated from the “unclean” way of the world.
Jerusalem in Solomon’s day and the New Jerusalem with Ezekiel’s temple have totally different layouts. The tabernacle, from the days of Moses, to Samuel and then to Solomon’s temple, all of these only had one way in or out, but Ezekiel’s temple, which be established in the Messianic age, will have three entrances.
Ezekiel’s three gates are:
East Gate: the gate for the Prince/Messiah where he will enter and exit
North Gate/South Gate: the gate for the people. Those who enter from the north, will exit from the south and those who enter from the south will exit from the north.
Ezekiel 40 says that the holy place in the new temple will be greatly expanded when compared with the previous temple. The altar, rather than being at the back of the temple, is the epicenter of the temple footprint. God tells Ezekiel the entire temple, the entire mountain that it rests upon will be a holy place in the Day of the Lord and thereafter.
God also shows Ezekiel that there will still be concentric circles or squares of holiness emanating from the temple in the center. The Levites surrounded the temple and then the Israelites surrounded the Levites. These formations were established so that not just anyone could come into the temple anytime without invitation or appointment. God wants to live in the midst of His people but His people have to be transformed to make it safe for the people to live near Him.
Nadab and Abihu, Aaron’s two oldest sons, had previously been blessed to be among the elders who met with God on the mountain in Exodus 24:3-8 and ate a meal with Him, but as we read here in Leviticus 10, Nadab and Abihu tried to meet with Him uninvited and it did not go well for them.
“Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them. And fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD.” (Leviticus 10:1–2 NAS95)
As you recall, the incense made for the temple was a special recipe that was nt to be franchised or mass produced for the community. God set that incense recipe aside as special and holy so that when when congregants would inhale that smell, it would bring to mind only one place, one function.
The separation of God from the people and God’s longing to dwell with His people is a paradox. There’s this weird tension between separateness and inclusion.
This reading has several lessons for us to consider:
We need to watch out for the things Heaven says make one “fit” and “unfit” to be in the presence of Adonai. Some of these things that make us “unfit” to be in the presence of God are out of our control because we are living in a world that is under the curse since Eden. These things that make us temporarily unfit to enter related to blood, death and decay. These things cannot be in the presence of the One who embodies purity and life.
But there are things in our control that can make us clean or unclean as well, such as the kinds of foods we chose to eat. We can’t control all our bodily functions but we can control how we deal with them to make ourselves clean.
There is always a tension between separation and inclusion.
“And David was dancing before the LORD with all his might, and David was wearing a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the LORD with shouting and the sound of the trumpet. Then it happened as the ark of the LORD came into the city of David that Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart….But when David returned to bless his household, Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, “How the king of Israel distinguished himself today! He uncovered himself today in the eyes of his servants’ maids as one of the foolish ones shamelessly uncovers himself!” So David said to Michal, “It was before the LORD, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel; therefore I will celebrate before the LORD. “I will be more lightly esteemed than this and will be humble in my own eyes, but with the maids of whom you have spoken, with them I will be distinguished.”” (2 Samuel 6:14–16, 20-22 NAS95)
When the Ark was properly returned to Jerusalem, David was ecstatic and overjoyed and he expressed his joy. He did not put on a vulgar display of nudity, Michal disdainfully accused him of doing. He simply took off all his kingly robes and stripped down to a simple linen tunic with the ephod, wearing the garments of a simple priest. His attire helped him blend in with the other priests and even the common people who were watching the parade. He was simply acting as a herald announcing the entrance of the true King of Israel. David was humbly and happily accompanying the Ark of the Covenant to its rightful home in the capital of the kingdom.
What David did was similar to what we see in Revelation 4:10-11.
“And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”” (Revelation 4:9–11 NAS95)
These elders, who were given their crowns and status by God, humble themselves before the One who gave their their authority and King David does the same thing, by taking off the robes of his office as king and humbling himself before God and the people. David knew that God is the one who gave him his crown, and God reminds him of this later.
“Now therefore, thus you shall say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people Israel. “I have been with you wherever you have gone and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make you a great name, like the names of the great men who are on the earth.”
(2 Samuel 7:8–9 NAS95)
Messiah Yeshua did the same thing at the Last Supper, taking off his outer garments and just wearing a simple tunic, washed His disciples feet. He did that to teach them that He came to earth, not to be served and waited upon hand and foot but to serve others. So just as the Son of Man comes to serve, thus, those who follow and who are part of the kingdom, they all show also should have the attitude of a servant, because no student is greater than his master.
We are not to be like those who look to sit at the best seat at the dining table. If God promotes you, that is His prerogative, if He demotes you, that is also His prerogative. So should be ready to be promoted and ready to be demoted. And take a lesson in both of those situations as they happen.
In Leviticus 11, as we read this list of foods and situations that make one clean or unclean, our focus is on what we can control. We can’t control all of our bodily functions but we should take notice of those things that are in our control. We do have control over our impulses and passions, and bringing them into subjection to Christ is a life long process. We should fill ourselves with those things that are good, to push out those things that are bad.
Eastern mysticism teaches that there has to be a balance of good and evil, of yin and yang and one has to keep the other in check and that neither should dominate the other but this is NOT the revelation of the Creator of Heaven and Earth. God tells us there is no such thing as too much holiness, too much righteousness. He also doesn’t teach us that we need to accept and tolerate evil in ourselves either.
Yeshua told the parable of the person cleansed of demon possession. One demon was cast out and because the liberated person didn’t replace that demon with the Holy Spirit, the demon was able to bring in others worse than himself and fill the vacuum and the person was worse off than before.
We also see this lived out in the Exodus. The Pharaoh thought he was above the suffering of his people, but God slowly but surely humbled him right to the plague of the death of the first born, where the Pharaoh was not immune from that plague, with the Angel of Death taking the life of the crown prince just as the rest of the people of Egypt lost their first born sons, too. He thought he was a god but he was no different from his people.
Even this didn’t teach Pharaoh a lesson in humility as he ignored the pillar of fire and the cloud, and ran right into the sea.
Heaven is taking each of us on a journey to a new beginning: from bondage (Egypt) to rest (the Land). We would think it to be ludicrous that the territory of Guam could dominate and subjugate the mighty United States, but the Pharaoh who did not know Yosef, was in a similar position, believing it was impossible that the people of Israel could dominate Egypt and overthrow their entire political and economic system. We have a choice, we can either stay in bondage to the way of the world, which leads to death or we can choose life and receive God’s rest for our souls.
What is the purpose of distinguishing clean and unclean? The lesson of the sheet in Acts 10 is that what was unclean and common has been lifted up and made holy. When the Apostle Peter reflected on it, he told God that he had followed God’s rules regarding what to eat and what not to eat from infancy but then when Cornelius’ messengers arrived he realized that God was teaching him that those gentiles who are moving away from idolatry and moving towards God are holy, not profane. God is telling Peter that he should fully extend the hand of fellowship to those gentiles. When God put His holy spirit on Cornelius and his family in exactly the same way that He had done to Peter and the rest of the Apostles at Pentecost, God is teaching Peter that Jews who believe in the Messiah and Gentiles who believe in the Messiah are all part of Israel.
We need to distinguished those things in our lives that are good and bad. There are other faith traditions that have stumbled upon what is right and wrong, but for us, rather than going to second hand or third hand sources, we can go to the true source of what is right and what is wrong through the teachings of Messiah Yeshua.
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