For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy....For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. Leviticus 11:44-45
This morning, I continued my study of Leviticus using the Christ-Centered Exposition series commentary for this book - starting chapter eleven - Eating for God's Glory - covering Leviticus 11:1-47, looking specifically at the first theme - We Submit to God and His Word. Here, the commentary unpacks the dietary laws specified by God here in Leviticus 11, and it starts to explore for believers the application we can takeaway from these instructions from God. Although Biblical scholars have various theories about why God gave the Israelites dietary laws, the commentary briefly looks at a few of such theories, including one theory that posits such laws were motivated by encouraging better health. The commentary is not definitive, but largely dismisses the theory that looks at health reasons, and instead encourages us to see a "two-fold explanation" that covers this chapter of the commentary. The first commentary theme - We Submit to God and His Word - is our starting point. Point blank - the Israelites were given these dietary laws and they were to follow these laws because God said so. God does not need to give an explanation for His commands - He reigns and we must obey. Although these dietary laws don't apply for believers (see John Piper post on this), the application remains the same - believers in Jesus that fall under the New/Second Covenant with Christ must obey every thing God says - because God says so. The commentary uses the first unexplained command in the Bible (Genesis 2:16-17) and points out that although God did not explain the command, the serpent did in Genesis 3:5 and then of course Eve (and Adam) fell for the lie and trusted Satan more than trusting God. Satan tempts us with lies all the time, every single day - and we must not fall for the trap like Adam and Eve did - we must trust God and fully submit to Him, even though we may not know why He asks us to do something, we are to obey. This obedience to God is brought about by an ever increasing sanctification process as we mature in our relationship with Him. The more we know about Him, the more we seek to please and glorify Him.
Comment and discuss this post here.
My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an incredible God who loves me and who I can trust as You provide for all of my needs, physical, emotional, and spiritual. You guide me, protect me and You sealed me for eternity! Thank You Jesus! I am not deserving of such blessings...not by a long shot. I sin...harshness towards others, worry, gossip, etc. Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You. Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me. Help me grow in my faith. Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength. Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo. Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior. Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.
