Leviticus 11:2 Cross References

Leviticus 11:2

2: "Give the following instructions to the Israelites: The animals you may use for food

and they will always be forbidden to you. You must never eat their meat or even touch their dead bodies.

For that old system deals only with food and drink and ritual washing--external regulations that are in effect only until their limitations can be corrected.

For instance, one person believes it is all right to eat anything. But another believer who has a sensitive conscience will eat only vegetables.
Those who think it is all right to eat anything must not look down on those who won't. And those who won't eat certain foods must not condemn those who do, for God has accepted them.

"As for marine animals, you may eat whatever has both fins and scales, whether taken from fresh water or salt water.

"If an animal that is permitted for eating dies and you touch its carcass, you will be defiled until evening.

"Of the small animals that scurry or creep on the ground, these are unclean for you: the mole, the mouse, the great lizard of all varieties,

But Daniel made up his mind not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king. He asked the chief official for permission to eat other things instead.

"These are the birds you must never eat because they are detestable for you: the eagle, the vulture, the osprey,

"Consider detestable any animal that scurries along the ground; such animals may never be eaten.
This includes all animals that slither along on their bellies, as well as those with four legs and those with many feet. All such animals are to be considered detestable.
Never defile yourselves by touching such animals.
After all, I, the LORD, am your God. You must be holy because I am holy. So do not defile yourselves by touching any of these animals that scurry along the ground.

So do not be attracted by strange, new ideas. Your spiritual strength comes from God's special favor, not from ceremonial rules about food, which don't help those who follow them.

Then I said, "O Sovereign LORD, must I be defiled by using human dung? For I have never been defiled before. From the time I was a child until now I have never eaten any animal that died of sickness or that I found dead. And I have never eaten any of the animals that our laws forbid."

In the sheet were all sorts of animals, reptiles, and birds.
Then a voice said to him, "Get up, Peter; kill and eat them."
"Never, Lord," Peter declared. "I have never in all my life eaten anything forbidden by our Jewish laws. "

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.

You are not defiled by what you eat; you are defiled by what you say and do! "
See Footnote
Then Jesus went into a house to get away from the crowds, and his disciples asked him what he meant by the statement he had made.
"Don't you understand either?" he asked. "Can't you see that what you eat won't defile you?
Food doesn't come in contact with your heart, but only passes through the stomach and then comes out again." (By saying this, he showed that every kind of food is acceptable.)

However, there are some exceptions that you may eat. These include insects that jump with their hind legs:

I know and am perfectly sure on the authority of the Lord Jesus that no food, in and of itself, is wrong to eat. But if someone believes it is wrong, then for that person it is wrong.
And if another Christian is distressed by what you eat, you are not acting in love if you eat it. Don't let your eating ruin someone for whom Christ died.

You may not, however, eat the animals named here because they either have split hooves or chew the cud, but not both. The camel may not be eaten, for though it chews the cud, it does not have split hooves.

Since everything God created is good, we should not reject any of it. We may receive it gladly, with thankful hearts.
For we know it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.
If you explain this to the brothers and sisters, you will be doing your duty as a worthy servant of Christ Jesus, one who is fed by the message of faith and the true teaching you have followed.

"You must not eat animals that are ceremonially unclean.
These are the animals you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat,
the deer, the gazelle, the roebuck, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope, and the mountain sheep.
"Any animal that has split hooves and chews the cud may be eaten,
but if the animal doesn't have both, it may not be eaten. So you may not eat the camel, the hare, or the rock badger. They chew the cud but do not have split hooves.

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