"Clean" and "Unclean"; "Righteous" and "Profane" - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Deut 14: 3,

"Do not eat any detestable thing."

The Lord prescribed the diet he wanted his people to eat. In this chapter he summarizes which things to eat and which things to not eat.

There are those who find in these dietary laws the singular purpose of health and hygiene. I am not of that persuasion. Possibly there were those considerations when God determined these laws, but I think something far more important is found here. It is the concept of "clean" and "unclean". As the Israelites prepared and consumed their food on a daily basis, they were constantly reminded of a binary reality, "clean" and "unclean". This would have the effect of solidifying their understanding of life, that there was the righteous as opposed to the profane, the good and the bad, that which is consistent with God and that which is not.

The premise of God's plan of redemption hinges on the notion that we have all sinned and need to be saved. The "unrighteous" need to become the "righteous". God has designed life in that binary frame of reference and the dietary laws of clean and unclean help in furthering that understanding.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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