Act 10:11-15 MKJV
(11) And he saw the heaven opened and a certain vessel like a sheet coming down to him, being bound at the four corners and let down to the earth;
(12) in which were all the four-footed animals of the earth, and the wild beasts, and the reptiles, and the birds of the heaven.
(13) And a voice came to him, saying, Rise, Peter! Kill and eat!
(14) But Peter said, Not so, Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.
(15) And the voice spoke to him again the second time, What God has made clean, you do not call common.
This is a confusing passage. God is teaching Peter a lesson about love and avoiding prejudice. The Torah is very specific about clean versus unclean (Greek akathartos), but what exactly is 'common' (Greek koinos)?
That which was unclean in a Levitical sense was to be abstained from; avoided altogether. Lepers were unclean. Those things which were common were things 'unhallowed' or ordinary. To the Jewish mind of that period, anything 'heathen' or Gentile was common, but not necessarily unclean.
God is telling Peter not to call cleansed things common. He is not saying that He has cleansed unclean things. The disconnect was that the Jews had placed Gentiles in the common category, despite the fact that the Torah never classified Gentiles as either unclean or common. In fact, Paul wrote "there is nothing common of itself" (Rom 14:14). Torah specifically says:
Lev 19:34 MKJV
(34) The stranger that dwells with you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself. For you were strangers in the land of Egypt. I am Jehovah your God.
The Jews relied on an oral law - one passed along from generation to generation. This was not written down and many had their own 'takes' on this law. Peter said this:
Act 10:28 MKJV
(28) And he said to them, You know that it is an unlawful thing for a man, a Jew to keep company with or to come near to one of another nation. But God has shown me not to call any man common or unclean.
By 'unlawful', Peter referred to the oral law, as Torah said no such thing. The mingling of seeds was forbidden according to Torah, and so was the mixing of nations (intermarriage with heathen nations), as Israel was a Holy Nation. Oral law, however, took this further than God did.
Act 10:34-35 MKJV
(34) Then Peter opened his mouth and said, Truly I see that God is no respecter of persons;
(35) but in every nation he who fears Him and works righteousness is accepted with Him.
Showing posts with label unclean. Show all posts
Showing posts with label unclean. Show all posts
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Monday, September 21, 2009
If The Frog Croaks
Leviticus 11:29-36 LITV
(29) And these shall be unclean to you among the swarming things which swarm on the earth: the weasel, and the mouse, and the great lizard according to its kind,
(30) and the gecko, and the monitor, and the lizard, and the sand lizard, and the barn owl.
(31) These are unclean to you among all which swarm; anyone who touches them in their death is unclean until the evening.
(32) And anything on which any one of them falls in their death is unclean, whether of any vessel of wood, or garment, or skin, or sack; any vessel in which work is done shall be caused to go into water, and shall be unclean until the evening; then it shall be cleaned.
(33) And any earthen vessel into the midst of which any one of them falls, whatever is in it shall be unclean, and you shall break it.
(34) And of all the food which may be eaten, that on which such water falls shall be unclean, and all drink that may be drunk in any such vessel shall be unclean.
(35) And anything on which any part of their dead body falls shall be unclean; an oven or hearth shall be broken down; they are unclean; yes, they are unclean to you.
(36) But a fountain or a well, a collection of water, shall be clean; only that touching the dead body is unclean.
Our pastor commonly tells us that we are to be rivers, not lakes. Water has to keep moving in order to keep the dead flushed out of it. The scripture above describes just that. If something dies in a clay pot, you must destroy the pot. If it dies in a fountain, the fountain is still clean.
This also describes our spiritual condition. There is a difference between stumbling and being lame (always stumbling). If we are spiritually dead, we are headed for destruction. Our earthen vessel bodies cannot - on their own accord - make themselves clean again. But with the Living Water of Jesus within us, even sin cannot make us unclean. Yes, we may stumble, but we get back up without pulling up 'lame'.
The devil uses guilt as a great weapon against the Christian trying to walk in Christ. He would have every Christian believe they are simply lame. Remember, guilt is always from the devil if you are in Christ. By the way, the last thing he wants to do to a lost person is make them feel guilty. If guilt has plagued your walk, realize that you've been a target. Move on in victory!
(29) And these shall be unclean to you among the swarming things which swarm on the earth: the weasel, and the mouse, and the great lizard according to its kind,
(30) and the gecko, and the monitor, and the lizard, and the sand lizard, and the barn owl.
(31) These are unclean to you among all which swarm; anyone who touches them in their death is unclean until the evening.
(32) And anything on which any one of them falls in their death is unclean, whether of any vessel of wood, or garment, or skin, or sack; any vessel in which work is done shall be caused to go into water, and shall be unclean until the evening; then it shall be cleaned.
(33) And any earthen vessel into the midst of which any one of them falls, whatever is in it shall be unclean, and you shall break it.
(34) And of all the food which may be eaten, that on which such water falls shall be unclean, and all drink that may be drunk in any such vessel shall be unclean.
(35) And anything on which any part of their dead body falls shall be unclean; an oven or hearth shall be broken down; they are unclean; yes, they are unclean to you.
(36) But a fountain or a well, a collection of water, shall be clean; only that touching the dead body is unclean.
Our pastor commonly tells us that we are to be rivers, not lakes. Water has to keep moving in order to keep the dead flushed out of it. The scripture above describes just that. If something dies in a clay pot, you must destroy the pot. If it dies in a fountain, the fountain is still clean.
This also describes our spiritual condition. There is a difference between stumbling and being lame (always stumbling). If we are spiritually dead, we are headed for destruction. Our earthen vessel bodies cannot - on their own accord - make themselves clean again. But with the Living Water of Jesus within us, even sin cannot make us unclean. Yes, we may stumble, but we get back up without pulling up 'lame'.
The devil uses guilt as a great weapon against the Christian trying to walk in Christ. He would have every Christian believe they are simply lame. Remember, guilt is always from the devil if you are in Christ. By the way, the last thing he wants to do to a lost person is make them feel guilty. If guilt has plagued your walk, realize that you've been a target. Move on in victory!
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