Daily Devotion | Leviticus 11:1–28 | February 3, 2026

Title: Daily Devotion

Scripture: Leviticus 11:1–28

Date: February 3, 2026

Speaker: Rev. John Chen

Transcribed, translated & edited by: Joseph Wang (Yufan)

Dear brothers and sisters, peace to you. We thank God for His grace as we come to a new day to study our daily spiritual nourishment. Today’s passage is Leviticus chapter 11, verses 1 through 28. Let us pray.

O God, You know our weakness. Lord, we often do not understand Your word. We ask that You would lead us, that we may follow You more faithfully within Your will. Remove from us all doubt, all unbelief, and all foolishness. Lord, have mercy on us, and lead us in this early morning to follow You. We pray in the name of Christ. Amen.

Now let us look at the first half of Leviticus chapter 11. We know that Leviticus is a book about holiness. In these passages, God establishes how the people of Israel are to draw near to Him and how they are to follow Him.

In the first ten chapters, God gave regulations concerning sacrifices and priestly purity—what kinds of offerings were acceptable before God and how the priests were to remain clean in order to serve before Him.

When we come to chapter 11, God begins to regulate matters of food. He specifies which things may be eaten and which may not be eaten. He also explains how one is to handle contact with what is unclean.

The latter half of chapter 11 addresses what to do when one encounters uncleanness, and that will be the focus of tomorrow’s devotion. Today, our focus is on how God distinguishes food—what may be eaten and what may not.

Before we enter the text itself, there are two important matters that must be addressed.

First, we must clearly acknowledge that we are New Testament Christians. We are more familiar with the New Testament.

In the New Testament, we know very clearly—from the Apostle Paul’s teaching and from the book of Acts—that God has removed the distinction between clean and unclean foods.

This is something we must firmly understand before studying this passage today: the regulations concerning clean and unclean food are no longer binding.

In the New Testament, particularly in Colossians and Hebrews, there are strong critiques directed at those who insist on observing dietary purity laws. Such practices are described as dishonoring God.

For example, Hebrews chapter 13, verse 9 says: “Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them.”

It is very clear that this verse abolishes reliance on dietary regulations.

The author of Hebrews strongly rebukes those who devote themselves to food laws, making it clear that such practices bring no benefit.

Similarly, Colossians chapter 2, verse 16 says: “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath.”

Verse 17 continues: “These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.”

From this, we know that the apostles of the New Testament took a clear position: dietary restrictions were to be abolished.

There is an even clearer passage in Acts chapter 10, describing the vision given to the Apostle Peter. Beginning in verse 12, Peter sees all kinds of animals, reptiles, and birds, and hears a voice saying, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.”

Peter responds, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.”

The voice replies a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.” This happens three times, and then the object is taken up into heaven.

There are many other New Testament passages that make it clear: the dietary laws have been abolished.

At this point, some people say, “If the New Testament abolishes these laws, then why should we even read these passages? Why not just remove them from Scripture?”

Such statements reflect ignorance. They reveal a serious misunderstanding of Scripture.

These people do not understand why Scripture is written the way it is. They have major interpretive errors in how they read the Bible.

Therefore, the key issue we must address today is this: why did God first establish dietary purity laws, only to abolish them later?

Why does God seem to set something apart, only to later remove it? What is God doing?

When studying this passage, people often focus on why certain foods are clean and others are unclean.

We may briefly mention this later, but that is not the main point.

We must remember that the aspects of sin and obedience we tend to focus on are often not the aspects God intends us to focus on.

The real question for us as New Testament Christians is this: why did God choose to establish dietary laws in the Old Testament and then abolish them in the New Testament?

What is God accomplishing?

This is where we must remind ourselves that Leviticus chapter 11, in the Old Testament context, forms a unified teaching.

God used the distinction between clean and unclean foods as a means of teaching His people holiness and purity.

He taught them to be cautious to such an extent that even what they ate required careful attention.

This was meant to communicate that holiness is a serious and comprehensive matter.

If one became unclean, it required serious and careful handling.

Therefore, the main message God communicates here is this: you are to live a life set apart.

This is precisely the message of Leviticus.

God requires His people to practice separation even in matters of food, so that they would learn to live holy lives in every detail of daily life.

So the focus is not the food itself, as though one item may be eaten and another may not. The focus is how we discern.

In the Old Testament era, the emphasis was placed on these distinctions. In the New Testament era, the emphasis shifts.

What Leviticus is fundamentally teaching us is this: you are to live a holy life. You are to live a life set apart in the midst of an ordinary, earthly world.

God required His people to exercise restraint even in matters of food, so that they would learn to be careful in every aspect of life, and thereby demonstrate that they were a people chosen by Him.

This is the original intent of the dietary laws. And, of course, this points to a spiritual reality for us today: we must live lives that are set apart.

We must live holy and clean lives in the midst of a polluted world.

You cannot simply follow whatever others do. If others chase celebrities, you chase celebrities. If others binge-watch dramas, you do the same. If others pursue luxury goods, you also pursue them.

These are precisely the kinds of things you must restrain yourself from.

This is what the dietary laws are truly pointing toward: a life set apart.

For brothers and sisters, the meaning of Leviticus chapter 11 is still relevant for us today.

The question we must ask is whether we are truly living set-apart lives in our daily routines, whether we are sincerely obeying God’s statutes and ordinances.

This is a serious reminder for us. Many times, because we live in the world and among worldly people, we do not sense anything wrong.

We travel, we drink coffee, we buy clothes we like with our money.

From one perspective, it is difficult to say that these actions are outright sins.

However, when you place them under the scrutiny of the Ten Commandments, the picture changes.

The Ten Commandments do not merely tell us what we must not do; they also tell us what we ought to do.

So the question becomes: how do we live lives that are pleasing to God in our everyday circumstances?

How do we obey God’s law in every aspect of our practical lives?

How do we devote our time to glorifying God and worshiping Him, honoring Him in every dimension of life?

This is precisely what was preached this past Lord’s Day: a holy life.

This passage teaches us that we must intentionally live lives that are set apart.

We must think carefully about how we live.

Rising early for Scripture reading and prayer, obeying God’s law, loving God and loving others—these must fill our lives.

This is exactly what Leviticus chapter 11 is pointing toward.

Its purpose is to teach us to live lives set apart.

Now someone may ask: if this is so good, why does the New Testament abolish the dietary laws?

Why remove these food restrictions?

The answer is that what the dietary laws pointed to has already been fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

When we imitate Christ, we naturally become separated from the world.

Therefore, we no longer need to observe dietary regulations in order to appear devout.

The reality to which they pointed has already been accomplished.

We must not return to the dietary laws, because that would miss the point of the New Testament’s teaching.

The problem with Israel was this: they took pride in observing dietary restrictions.

They believed that by keeping these food laws, they became holy and could earn the kingdom of heaven.

This is precisely what provoked God’s anger.

This reveals an important theological pattern in the Old Testament.

God first establishes shadows—sacrificial systems, dietary laws—intended to point toward Christ.

The goal is holiness, moral purity, and faithfulness before God.

But humanity’s problem is that we love the shadows.

We love visible systems, tangible rules, concrete practices.

We do not like to follow Christ Himself.

We do not like to practice holiness in daily life.

This is our problem.

Therefore, in the New Testament era, God abolishes the dietary laws and says, “Do not continue with these things.”

They are of no benefit to you.

Sacrifices are also abolished.

But one thing becomes more important: you must follow the One to whom these laws pointed.

You must look to Jesus Christ—how He shed His blood, how He offered the true sin offering.

You must ask how to live holy lives in both moral and faith dimensions.

At that point, the ceremonial regulations must be set aside.

If you continue to observe them, you are implying that Christ’s work was incomplete.

You are suggesting that something must be added by human effort.

Secondly, you are turning these practices into idols.

You assume that performing them satisfies God.

But this is the opposite of God’s intent.

What God truly requires is faith in Christ and salvation in Him.

This theological flow is often misunderstood.

As a result, some people conclude that Scripture is full of contradictions.

They lack the ability to interpret Scripture properly.

They read a command and insist on practicing it without understanding the broader redemptive context.

Scripture must be interpreted.

The Old Testament must be read in the light of the New Testament.

This also explains why Scripture does not simply remove these passages.

The meaning they point to remains deeply relevant today.

That meaning is this: live a holy life.

So I want to teach you how to interpret Leviticus chapter 11 correctly.

In Peter’s vision, when God removed the dietary distinctions, what was He actually teaching Israel?

He was teaching them that the Gentiles are clean.

What God has cleansed, you must not call common.

They had assumed that holiness and uncleanness were primarily matters of food.

They believed that eating certain foods made a person unclean, and that failing to observe ceremonial laws made someone impure.

But God says that this is not the case.

Once these regulations have fulfilled their purpose, they are no longer necessary.

What you must understand is this: I am holy, and I call you to obey My law.

Then how should you live out your faith in every aspect of life?

You must follow moral and spiritual principles—specifically, the moral law, the Ten Commandments.

As expounded in the Westminster Larger Catechism, questions 90 through 150, this is what God truly requires of us.

This is His real purpose.

Therefore, do not devote yourselves to endless debates about dietary regulations.

What food is clean, what food is unclean—there is no need for this.

The New Testament authors have already refuted such thinking.

First, these distinctions are no longer required.

Second, you cannot achieve true holiness through dietary observance.

Ultimately, these laws pointed to Jesus Christ.

When you interpret Scripture this way, your thinking becomes clear.

You understand why the Old Testament established dietary laws.

You understand why the New Testament abolished them.

You also understand how New Testament believers should live in light of these laws.

This forms the framework for interpreting Leviticus chapter 11.

Now let us briefly look at the passage itself.

Although we do not need to focus excessively on the reasons behind each classification, we should still see what the text is doing.

Among land animals, those that divide the hoof and chew the cud are considered clean.

In the waters, creatures with fins and scales are considered clean.

Among birds, birds of prey are considered unclean.

Among winged insects that walk on all fours, these are unclean.

Animals that walk on their paws are unclean.

Dead bodies are unclean.

This is the general pattern of the classifications.

Some attempt to explain why animals that divide the hoof and chew the cud are clean.

They suggest that dividing the hoof represents walking separately on God’s path, and chewing the cud represents repeatedly meditating on God’s word.

We cannot say this interpretation is entirely wrong, because the theology itself is sound.

We are indeed called to meditate on God’s word and live lives set apart.

However, methodologically, this approach is what we call allegorical interpretation.

Even if the theology is correct, the interpretive method may be questionable.

This is something we must caution against.

Similarly, some interpret fins and scales symbolically—scales as protection, separation from the world, fins as movement.

These interpretations may be interesting, but we should not pursue them too deeply.

Instead, we should focus on the broader principle.

The text appears to classify animals based on what is considered normal or fitting within creation.

Land animals that divide the hoof and chew the cud represent a normative pattern.

Water creatures with fins and scales are similarly normative.

Creatures that lack these characteristics appear abnormal.

For example, insects that both crawl and fly seem to cross categories.

This kind of boundary-crossing is not favored.

This principle aligns with Genesis, where God created creatures according to their kinds.

When something deviates from its kind or crosses boundaries, it is treated as unclean.

This interpretation is more consistent with the text than allegorical speculation.

However, we must remember that all of these explanations are human attempts to understand.

Because the New Testament has already abolished these laws, we do not need to overanalyze them.

Many people become fixated on these details and engage in endless allegorical readings.

But this misses the point.

The true teaching is spiritual.

We are called to live lives set apart.

This calling is fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

Only Jesus truly lived a completely set-apart life.

He fulfilled the meaning of the dietary laws.

Through faith in Christ and union with Him, we are cleansed.

Our cleansing does not come through food, but through Christ Himself.

Having been cleansed by Christ, we must now live lives set apart from the world.

This is what the dietary laws were truly teaching.

Dead bodies represent death.

Christ is life.

We are not to cling to things associated with death.

This includes worldly pursuits—greed for power, love of money.

These things carry the scent of death.

Instead, we are to pursue eternal life.

Only in eternal life do we gain true, lasting benefit.

When we understand Leviticus chapter 11 in this way, it is sufficient.

We do not need to obsess over details.

We ask God to have mercy on us.

May He help us live truly set-apart lives on this earth.

May we not be stained by the world.

May we not conform to worldly patterns.

May we place ourselves fully in Christ.

May we follow Him in all things and imitate Him.

This concludes today’s sharing.

Thank you, everyone.