41'Now every swarming thing that swarms on the earth is detestable, not to be eaten. 42'Whatever crawls on its belly, and whatever walks on all fours, whatever has many feet, in respect to every swarming thing that swarms on the earth, you shall not eat them, for they are detestable. 43'Do not render yourselves detestable through any of the swarming things that swarm; and you shall not make yourselves unclean with them so that you become unclean.
44'For I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. And you shall not make yourselves unclean with any of the swarming things that swarm on the earth. 45'For I am the LORD who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus you shall be holy, for I am holy.'"
46This is the law regarding the animal and the bird, and every living thing that moves in the waters and everything that swarms on the earth, 47to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean, and between the edible creature and the creature which is not to be eaten.
God even cared about what His people ate. Once again, He gave very specific instructions so that His people could follow the food code for holiness without being confused. He made it clear what was clean and what was unclean. The God who created all animals knew what would be best for His people and that was included in what would make them holy and clean. I am reminded again this morning how much God cares about the whole person. He knew what was best for them and He gave it as a clear guideline. Modern science confirms that without refrigeration the meats that God declared unclean for His people would have spoiled more quickly than the other "clean" foods. But more importantly, God said it was because, "For I am the LORD who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus you shall be holy, for I am holy."
What about His people on this side of the cross? He has made it clear that we are a holy people, not because of following rules and food codes but because "He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed." (1 Peter 2:24). What is the difference? God called the people of Israel out of Egypt to live holy so that they could be holy. For us who have Jesus' blood that cleanses us from all unrighteousness, He has made us holy so that we can live holy.
Meditate on this today. Personalize it by replacing the you with I.
1 Peter 2:9-12 - "But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.
Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation."
We praise You God that we have received Your mercy. You have made us holy so that we might live in that holiness. You have given us Your power and Your Spirit to live to righteousness. You are holy. We want to proclaim Your excellencies today. You called us out of darkness into Your marvelous light.