The Dietary Law

The Dietary law

[All scripture quotes are KJV]

Dietary law introduction The invisible God, who cannot be seen nor heard, intended to reveal himself through the word, works, life, death, resurrection, and indwelling Spirit of his Son. From the earliest days of the church, the question of what may be eaten by Jews and Christians after the cross has been debated. Those called 'legalists' by their opponents, argue for the most ridged understanding and practice of the Jewish dietary law. Though there are many middle positions, the extreme says that diet doesn't matter at all. They all miss the point. The dietary law has nothing to do with what you eat or drink. The dietary law is 'dinner theater'. You learn while you eat. Though hidden from the Hebrews only to be revealed at the time of the cross, and re-hidden by a Greek church which did not wish to study Hebrew , we can now see the intended purpose of God in the dietary law.
As a little child Mr 10:15 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. What happens if we forget all of our sophisticated training in the Bible and approach it as a little Hebrew child? Let's forget that men wrote the Bible in a far away land in a strange culture and believe that God wrote it for us. Let's forget all the supposed contradictions, scientific errors, and believe it is true. Let's forget that we can't trust the Bible because parts are oral tradition, or lost, or added, and trust that what we have is what God wants us to have. Let's forget that they are just fables, or exaggerations, or stories invented after the fact to strengthen the religious hold on a gullible people, and believe that God does not lie. Let's listen to God in his word as he says the same thing over and over in different ways, like a parent teaching a child. Let's believe that every stroke is so important that God will not let a single one pass away. Let's hear and consider each word as a child does. He searches for the cat in 'catastrophe' and the dog in 'dogmatic'. Though that makes no sense in English, it makes perfect sense in Hebrew. We observe Adam אדם in the ground adamah אדם-ה . We see that Adam אדם is made of blood dam דם and spirit א. And most surprisingly, we see that the blood dam דם hints at the cross meaning: the commandment ד fulfilled by the son ם. It may seem far-fetched that a single letter, as seen in Adam, can mean many words, but we have words in English that are acronyms that lost the periods. There was an early e-mail application called ElM; Electronic Mail. It was replaced by an application called PINE meaning; Pine Is Not Elm. And we use 'Radar' which is 'RAdio Detection and Ranging' In Hebrew the letters are not acronyms (at least I have not observed that phenomenon yet) but metaphor which are used consistently as words derive their meaning from the combination of the letters. Rather than go through tedious proofs for this, we will observe it incidentally as a child might sometimes 'get it' and sometimes not.
The shadow of the law Heb 10:1 ¶ For the law 'having a shadow of good things to come, [and] not the very image of the things... Everyone knows what a shadow is. Paul uses the word very intentionally. Light represents the holiness of God. The light shines on the law revealing that God alone is God, and his justice is divinely correct. As light shines on a thing, the thing casts a darkened shadow. This darkness is seen as the love of God covering us with grace, or from our perspective, we are in sin and not being destroyed; this is his grace. Paul is telling us that though the law reveals God's holiness, there is a hidden revelation of his grace within it. The message of grace is attached to the law. It is not the law. It accompanies it. The law says: Don't murder . But Christ fulfills the law by killing without violating the law. He said he laid down his own life. Don't think the fact that the Jewish leaders railroaded him, or the Romans nailing him to the cross were the cause of his death. He GAVE his life for us. The law says: Don't steal. But Paul and Peter, speaking of the shadow of the law said that he would come as a thief in the night. In writing to the Hebrew (above), Paul says that the law has a shadow of the good things coming. Paul was explaining that when the law was given, the message of grace hidden in the law was given at the same time, but could not be understood until after the cross. At the time it was given, the 'good things coming' was speaking of Christ. The shadow speaks of the grace of God through the cross.
Dinner theater analogy It is not just being clever to call the dietary law 'dinner theater'. Here we have small theaters where you can see a play while you eat your dinner as if at a restaurant. The play is both entertaining (hopefully) and usually has a message from the playwright. Sometimes the messages are political or moral. The dietary law was given to Israel as a script for a dinner theater to be performed by them for the audience of the rest of the world. They would follow the law, and the rest of the world would observe them doing so. Neither group could understand the message until it was revealed through Christ. The revelation through Christ was not immediate, nor was it what we would consider miraculous. They had been taught the revelation while they lived with Jesus before the cross. They did not understand it, nor remember it, so they were distraught when Jesus died, rather than being joyful and anticipating his resurrection. Finally Jesus had to send the Holy Spirit to remind them of his teaching. They studied the scriptures, remembering what Jesus taught them. When Mark wrote his book, they thought the beginning started with the teaching of John the Baptist. A decade or so later Matthew captured the teaching which had matured with time, and they then understood that the beginning started with Abraham. They had learned to see Christ in the history of Israel. When Luke wrote, the beginning had been pushed back to Adam as they now saw Christ in the story of the Garden and the flood. John was the last to write. By that time, he had learned that the very strokes of the Hebrew alphabet spoke of Christ. He uses these meaning to derive the teaching of 1Jo 5:7,8. He used Hebrew word play to derive the doctrine of John 1:1-4. From the tools the New Testament authors teach us, we too can read the hidden message of the dinner theater in the dietary law, as well as the rest of scripture.
Eating as a metaphor Eating is a metaphor for learning. Eating as a metaphor for learning (or knowing) is replete in scripture. Psalm 23:8 reads:"O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him" (KJV). And Proverbs 30:8 reads: "Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me" (KJV). We know eating is a metaphor for learning because the Apostle Paul uses eating as metaphor for learning when he says to the Corinthians: "And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able" (1 Corinthians 1-2, KJV). And again in the book of Hebrews declaring: "For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe” (5:12-13, KJV). Now consider that the author is God. When he uses a symbol, it is the same everywhere. So every instance of eating is a metaphor for learning. Many teachers will tell you this is impossible. Now who are you going to believe? There are some pictures that look like a bunch of random dots, but if you cross your eyes just right, you can see a picture pop out in three dimensions. Now who are you going to believe? The one who says there is nothing there, or the one who can teach you to see it? Heb 11:6 But without faith [it is] impossible to please [him]: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and [that] he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. We will have to learn to think in metaphor. It is more difficult for Westerners than those in the east, but we can learn to do it. Try to define a chair. It has four legs... well not all, and horses have four legs as well but are not chairs. Something you sit on... but you can sit on your hands, or a horse or a wall. Though we cannot define a chair, we all know what one is. Eating is a metaphor for learning in many languages. Ruminating is a kind of learning where you meditate on what you learned. We will speak of primary and secondary metaphor later.
Naming of the animals Ge 2:19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought [them] unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that [was] the name thereof. Adam records that God brought all the animals to him to name. Archeologists found clay tablets which suggest that the phrase "these are the generations of" is actually an author's signature on a clay tablet. The first instance of this after Adam naming the animals is here: Ge 5:1 ¶ This [is] the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him; This suggests that Adam recorded the event. It is exciting to consider that Genesis was written by eyewitnesses to the events rather than being generated by oral tradition and not recorded until Moses. The tablets would have been passed from father to son, surviving the flood, and the scrambling of languages at Babel, all the way to Jacob who carried them into Egypt and handed them to Joseph. Joseph would have put them in the great library of Pharaoh, where they got transcribed onto papyrus; retaining the signature lines of the authors as the tablets were copied end to end. Later Moses, raised in Pharaoh's home would have had access to them, and likely carried a papyrus copy to the desert with him. Adam records that he named the animals. What can we learn from this? Adam had language, it was Hebrew. God spoke to Adam in Hebrew. The words in Hebrew had intrinsic meaing. He called them by their 'reputation'. In Hebrew 'reputation' and 'name' are the same word. How could he have made a name which has no intrinsic meaning and assigned it to an animal saying that the word represents the animal's behavior? Being called a Christian does not make you one unless you also have the reputation of Christ. Adam called them by their reputations. This took more than a day to observe them and come up with a name. Fortunately he was likely in a state of timelessness. Oh I know there were six days of creation and one of rest. But read Genesis 2:4 carefully. Ge 2:4 ¶ These [are] the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, God created the heavens and the earth in a day and all seven days were in one day. This is only possible if there was no time. Adam observed the darting fish and called him dag דג which in Hebrew, by the letters means 'commanded ד to pursue ג. He observed the massive sides of an ox and called him showr שׁור which also means 'wall' Being able to interpret the names of the animals is just one evidence of the metaphoric meaning assigned to the letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

The law

The dietary law As we study the dietary law, we will use all the tools that the New Testament authors have taught us, and the names of the animals that Adam gave; since they represent the reputation of those animals. The dietary law is not about eating . There are parts which concern rules for uncleaness. The teaching about the things which are unclean for eating are telling us who we should, and should not learn from. There is a section about maintaining your own testimony and suffering pure. The hidden teachings will be familiar to us from the revealed teaching in the New Testament. All of the doctrine in the New Testament has Old Testament sources. Though some modern theologians think Paul has a different teaching than Jesus; his doctrine was tested against the Old Testament.
Children of Israel Le 11:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These [are] the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that [are] on the earth. Are you a child of Israel? Most of us are not descended from the man Jacob, who was given the name Israel, so literally, the dietary law never applied to us. This is one reason we don't hear much preaching on it i some circles. People have taken various positions on the law, discussed below, because they don't know how to understand it. Some believe since it was God's will for Israel, it is God's will for anyone who loves God. In light of God's command to Peter, that now all foods were clean, it is suggested that the law has nothing to do with morality. God does not change his position on morality. Some suggest that the diet proposed is healthier for one reason or another. But does God love the ancient Hebrews more than Christians? Doesn't he care if we get sick from eating bacon? The only way to make sense of the law is to see it in the genre of the dinner theater; or prophetic riddle. The Hebrews of the day understood a little about the law being a lesson in a play. Are you a child of Israel? Let me suggest that you are, and we know so by using the tools John taught us to parse out the meaning of 'Israel'. Israel Yisra’el ישׂראל - man יש joined by revelation ר to God אל . If you are spiritual Israel; joined to God by revelation, then you recognize 'eating' as a metaphor for 'learning'. The name Israel is one source for Paul's teaching that the wife (church) shall learn from her husband (Christ) Congratulations, you are a child of Israel. We know that the literal law no longer applies, because God changed it with Peter. But since God is speaking to us now, as the true children bonded to him by revelation, as per the meaning of the name 'Israel', we need to understand the revelation. The literal children had to obey the law, his spiritual children need to understand the teaching learned from their performance in the dinner theater. Notice that there was no penalty for not eating the clean animals. They could have chosen to be vegetarians. But then they would not have been actors in the play.
On the hoof Le 11:3 Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, [and] cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat. This verse teaches that we should learn from people who not only study the Bible, but who then meditate on it and allow the teaching to change their lives. One of the primary symbols for holiness is separation. The split hoof represents a holy/separated walk/life. When an animal chews the cud, he eats the food a second time to get more out of it. It is an appropriate symbol for meditation, where you meditate again on a truth that you learned to see if there is more to be learned. Some skeptics complain that the New Testament authors use the same verse in different ways. They ignore the teaching that says all scripture has four purposes: to teach doctrine, to confront your sin, to correct your sin, and to train you in righteousness. The additional meaning is discerned through meditation and using the tools taught by the New Testament authors. The additional meaning is not added to the text, as some would suggest, but discerned from the text. parteth perac פרס - divide in two Separation is a metaphor for 'Holy'. clovenfooted shaca‘ שׁסע - split cheweth ‘alah עלה - ascend, burnt offering cud garah גרה - contend, strive chewing the cud or 'ruminating' is a metaphor for meditating on the things you have learned The animal is clean animal because it is a picture of Christ. He meditated on the word of God, and it guided his every step. He said he did not do anything unless he saw the Father doing it. He became the fulfillment of the burnt offering as he was totally devoted to the will of the Father even unto death.
Camel/judge Le 11:4 Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof: [as] the camel, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he [is] unclean unto you. Mt 7:1 ¶ Judge not, that ye be not judged. The camel 'ruminates', or meditates on the word of God, but it does not produce a holy walk/life. This is like the scribes who knew the law, because they copied it all day long, but they did not take it to heart. The camel represents the judge. Jesus is the righteous judge, but the law still applies to him. If you judge, you will be judged. we must solve a riddle: Why did Jesus say he did not come to judge and yet we say he did judge? Consider Paul's saying to the Hebrews: Heb 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as [we are, yet] without sin. Jesus was tempted in every way that we are but he did not sin. He removed all our excuses. We can't stand before God and give reasons why we chose to sin.. There is no excuse. In this way Jesus judged the world. There are none righteous, no not one. By being perfect he was made unclean by judging us. He died for it. camel gamal גמל - recompense. The metaphor of the camel representing a judge comes from the word 'recompense'. The judge can give you a reward, or a penalty, if you deserve it. The camel is unclean by the rules of the law. It does not have a Holy walk. This is a riddle: The judge must die as a symbol of judgement ending. Likewise the prophet dies in symbol meaning all prophecy is fulfilled. We do not become judges among men. As kings we rule the flesh (our own). As priests we intercede for others. In Jewish tradition, letter gimel ג means 'a rich man pursuing a poor man' . It is the same word as camel. Luke tells the account of when a rich man chased after the poor man, Jesus . He called Jesus "Good Teacher" and ask what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus said that only God was good, but if he kept the commandments he would do well. Now the rich man (camel) made a mistaken judgement. He said that he had kept all the commandments. Though Jesus said only God was good, the man said he too was good. He made himself equal to God. Jesus told him that if he was equal to God, Jesus himself, he should do what God has done. He should give up all he has, since Jesus gave up his divinity and possession of the universe, to be the poor man standing before him. If you have ever threaded a needle, you spit on the thread and make it stand out, and try to run it through the eye. It is difficult because as your hand with the thread shakes, the thread bends down. To do it more easily, you hold the thread hand against your cheek near your eye and bring the needle to it. This is what the rich man had done. He brought the law to him, interpreting the law in such a way that he did not see his own sin. It is easier for a real camel to go through the eye of a real needle than for the rich-man camel to justify himself by the law. He was a poor judge facing the true judge.
Coney/legalist Le 11:5 And the coney, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he [is] unclean unto you. When Adam named the coney, he observed the the behavior of taking his treasures underground. There is a meaning derived from from the letters within the name. It means the mystery of the biting teeth. Eating is a metaphor for learning, which we will see played out wherever it occurs. The mouth is a metaphor for teaching which contains law and grace. When God revealed himself, he used two main ideas; love or grace and holiness or law. The word of God contains both. The biting teeth represent the law. In proper allegory, the metaphor is related to the words. Teeth, like Elisha's axe head refer are the 'business end' of the word of God. In the account of Elisha removing an axe head from a stream, it represents Jesus removing judgement from the Word. This is the Gospel message! Christ took our judgement for us. The same thing is taught when Jesus turned water into wine. Jesus removed judgement from the Word, represented by water, leaving grace, represented by wine. The coney represents the legalist because he hides the treasure of grace and bears his sharp teeth of the law. He has no grace/wine, just like the rulers of the banquet coney shaphan שׁפן - hide the treasure coney shaphan שׁפן - the mystery פ of the biting teeth שן . The mouth speaks the word of God, the teeth are biting, they are the law within the word. We should not learn from the legalist. The gospel is a gospel of grace and they misrepresent God and the gospel by only teaching the law. Even the symbols of grace, like baptism and communion become hideous legalisms with many rules as to who, how, and when they can be celebrated. Celebrating the symbols is preaching the cross through those symbols. The preaching of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. Consider a person who is perishing who goes through baptism. The baptism itself is the preaching of the cross through a symbol. Though the baptism means nothing and has no effect on the unbeliever who was baptized, to us, the symbol is still the very power of God.
Hare/drunk Le 11:6 And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he [is] unclean unto you. The hare is called out by the rules above, he is not a clean animal since he does not have a separated hoof, indicating that he meditates but has no changed life. It also had hidden meanings, like the other animals, based on the behaviors Adam observed. When you look at a warren of rabbits, it sometimes looks like popcorn; rabbits bouncing all over. Sometimes they jump because the are afraid or in a fight, sometimes because they are playing. Adam didn't have a word for popcorn, so he called the warren a 'house of divided jubilation'. I'm not certain, but it may be because they looked like they were celebrating or partying everything. I am penciling in that the rabbit represents the drunk, since Paul tells us that our leaders should not be drunkards. hare ‘arnebeth ארנבת - house בת of divided א jubilation רנ. If you celebrate good and bad things, it is a sign of poor judgement. Skeptics love to point out that rabbits do not technically chew the cud. They actually pass their food through a second time by eating their night droppings; they re-ingest. But the Bible does not say they chew the cud, but that they chew the gerah גרה which means 'pursue ג the revelation ר which was not understood ה'. The word means to pass through again to get more out of it, not to regurgitate. Some chew the gerah by regurgitation and some by re-ingestion. The rabbit or hare re-ingests. Strong's concordance and Gill's commentary, because they are apparently intimidated by 'science', make excuses for apparent differences with scientific claims without investigating what the Bible actually says. They say the arnebeth or hare must be an extinct species because they don't know how to interpret gerah, and yet they want to hold on to their beliefs the Bible is infallible. When we understand what is actually said, we see there is no contradiction.
Swine/self-righteous Le 11:7 And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he [is] unclean to you. The swine is called out for the opposite reason as the animals above: though it has a divided hoof it does not chew the cud. The metaphor is that it does not meditate on the word. In fact, the proverb makes it more clear by associating a pig with a gold jewel in it's snout with a woman without judgement . The pig will eat anything, and the woman will learn anything. Self-righteousness is an abominable practice because one puts himself in the position of being God, to declare himself righteous. He has no discernment concerning the things he learns. You have met people whose favorite verse of the Bible is "God helps those who help themselves." Of course that verse isn't in the Bible, but they don't know that. They heard it somewhere and think it is a good teaching. The word 'swine' means to 'perceive a new revelation'. They think their own ideas are true and they become their own standard of truth. Swine is pronounced chaziyr which sounds a lot like Kaiser or Caesar. The dictators epitomize the metaphor of the swine, declaring their own words to be truth. swine chaziyr חזיר - perceive חז a new י revelation ר. When God said that Adm had become like one of them to know good and evil , the word for 'to know' is yada‘ ידע, which also means 'to declare' . By declaring good and evil for himself; the same as we do when we take decisions without conferring with God, he has usurped God's position as the one who defines good and evil. He has become a swine; hearing his own new revelation. We should not learn from the self-righteous. Their folly is a contagion. Their claims of truth encourage others to make up their own truth and try to outdo one another. A famous American religious leader was once asked if he could heal a man's leg which was amputated. He said that he could, but when his other leg was restored in the resurrection, that he would then have three legs for eternity. Others do the same, speculating that the New Jerusalem is a Borg-like cube? Or that we can buy hankies sneezed on by a preacher and be healed of almost any ailment? These are not in scripture, but are 'new revelation' to the proponent. As long as I am stepping on toes, lets offend everyone. Who is the standard of truth when we choose this church or that church? Is it not ourselves who define the truth we choose to believe? What is the measure of truth? We all say it is the word of God, but we are the arbiter of it. We hear different teaching and we choose what to believe. We all have a bit of swine in us. We should not be learning from each other's swine, but from the clean animal when we can find it.
Not joined or plagued Le 11:8 Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch; they [are] unclean to you. The self-righteousness of the swine is so contagious that we are warned not to be joined to, or plagued by their folly. If you join with a self-righteous person you will be tempted to compete with them in your claims of righteousness. You can almost hear the debate:  : "I didn't steal anything today" "Well, I haven't stolen, nor have I murdered". "I didn't drink anything blue." But neither should you be plagued by their folly. Sometimes they use their own self-righteousness to be an accuser of you. Implied in their claims of righteousness is the insinuation that you are not righteous. carcasse nᵉbelah נבלה - folly touch naga‘ נגע - joined, plagued Have nothing to do with the swine or you may get caught up in their folly. Perhaps this is a source for Paul's teaching: 2Co 6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? This first section of the dietary law was not about eating, but about those we should choose to be our mentors and teachers of scripture. We have used the tools taught by the New Testament authors to interpret the meaning of the Hebrew letters and words, which gave us an insight into why Adam named the animals the way he did, and how God used those names to hide a teaching about Christ within. He is the ultimate clean animal from whom we should learn.

Fish

Fish/living in the word The Hebrew word for 'fish' is dag דג meaning 'commanded ד to pursue ג. When Adam watched the fish darting around the water, it seemed like an appropriate name. With water representing the word of God, it would appear that the fish is one who has been commanded to pursue, or search, the scriptures . The word 'fish' is not used in the dietary law. But types of animals in the water are mentioned. When 'fish' is spelled as dagah דגה it means 'to grow' or 'multiply' which it does in the water (word).
Fins and scales/motivation and armor Le 11:9 ¶ These shall ye eat of all that [are] in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat. When you have three things, without even looking deeper you can say 'of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost'. Since water is the word, the Waters, seas and rivers represent the Word of God from the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. We must bear in mind that there are not three words of God, but that all three representations are one. Of the people we find in the word of God, we should learn from those who are motivated by the love of God demonstrated on the cross, and who wear the armor of God. fins cᵉnappiyr סנפיר - 'horned, thorned סנ bull פיר. The fish moves through the water by it's fins. It lives in the word. What propels it? The bull, the sacrifice of Christ as the burnt offering, which was caught by it's horns in the thorns. Since the thorns represent the 'cares of the world' , the thorned bull represents the love of God toward us. The clean fish lives in the word by the love of God. scales qasqeseth קשׂקשׂת - mail (as in armor) . The one who lives in the word wears the full armor of God. Paul's source for his doctrine came from the dietary law. waters mayim מים - creation י surrounded by the Father מ and the Son ם. Creation was declared by the Father and finished by the Son. seas yam ים - creation י finished by the Son ם. A 'distinct' ו sea is yom יום or 'day'. . This is the last two letters of 'waters' and focuses on the work of the Son to finish creation. rivers nachal נחל - inheritance As Jesus ascended, he gave us the Holy Spirit as our inheritance. Whether it be in the testimony of creation , or by understanding the works of Christ , or the truth revealed by the Spirit we should learn from those who are motivated by the love of Christ to study the word in order to put on the full armor of God.
No fins and scales Le 11:10 And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which [is] in the waters, they [shall be] an abomination [detestable] unto you: Le 11:11 They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomination. Le 11:12 Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that [shall be] an abomination unto you.] You can figure this one out. Even if people are in the word, but are not living by his love or wearing his armor, their teaching is detestable. This is a similar teaching to those land animals who chew the cud, but do not have a holy walk. fins cᵉnappiyr סנפיר - 'horned, thorned סנ bull פיר . The fish moves through the water by it's fins. It lives in the word. What propels it? The bull, the sacrifice of Christ as the burnt offering, which was caught by it's horns in the thorns. Since the thorns represent the 'cares of the world' , the thorned bull represents the love of God toward us. The clean fish lives in the word by the love of God. scales qasqeseth קשׂקשׂת - mail (as in armor) . The one who lives in the word wears the full armor of God. Paul's source for his doctrine came from the dietary law. waters mayim מים - creation י surrounded by the Father מ and the Son ם. Creation was declared by the Father and finished by the Son. seas yam ים - creation י finished by the Son ם. A 'distinct' ו sea is yom יום or 'day'. . This is the last two letters of 'waters' and focuses on the work of the Son to finish creation. rivers nachal נחל - inheritance As Jesus ascended, he gave us the Holy Spirit as our inheritance.

Flying things

Eat [Learn] This Book – Bad Birds

Le 11:13 And these are they which ye shall have in abomination among the fowls [flying things]; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray, 14 And the vulture, and the kite after his kind; 15 Every raven after his kind; 16 And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind, 17 And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl, 18 And the swan, and the pelican, and the gier eagle, 19 And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.

Just as in “Eat [Learn] This Book' where animals represented good and bad teachers, or things we wished to learn or not learn, these 'flying things' represent things we don't want to learn.

Adam named the birds because of the behaviors he saw them do. When Jesus gives you a new name, he gives it to you based on the new way you live after learning about him.

We know that the air where these things fly represents the spirit, because the Hebrew word is the same for both. These birds will teach us about bad attitudes that we should not learn.

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Eagle

Sometimes people look down on others to make themselves feel important,

   Perhaps Adam saw the lone eagle on high, looking down on all and thought to himself, "That bird thinks he is very important and has forgotten God". 

   eagle nesher נשׁר - forget נש the revelation ר.

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Ossifrage

This bird is known as the 'bone-breaker'. It is a ferocious predator. It represents those people who tear down others and make them feel bad. Adam called it the bird that tears apart the pure.

   ossifrage perec פרס - divide [8], pure [9]. It is a symbol of tearing apart the pure.

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Osprey The Hebrew word for 'osprey' has the word 'goat' within it. The goat, representing the flesh, is not of the spirit, and so should be avoided.

The osprey leaves the air/spirit in order to pluck fish from the water/word. He uses the Word of God to destroy people.

  ospray ‘ozniyah עזניה - the goat עז hears זנ God's will י and doesn't understand ה. The goat represents the flesh. [10]

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Vulture Beside the behavior of eating dead things, the vulture represents those who cause others to wander in ignorance. Perhaps Adam observed the movement of the wings that looked like they were shrugging their shoulders to say, "I dunno." Jesus confronted some religious leaders who would not accept his teaching, and they also would not allow others to learn from Jesus as they tried to disrupt him while teaching. [11] vulture da’ah דאה - cause to wander אד in ignorance ה.

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Kites Maybe Adam saw the kites riding the wind almost endlessly looking like they were searching. He named them,"Where?" This is a question of the heathen [12] and the flesh [13]. The kite represents the doubters. kite ‘ayah איה - rhetorical 'Where?' [14] One who doubts?

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Raven The word 'oreb' ערב has many meanings: blind, naked, mix. When ravens are hatched "They are 'altricial'; blind, featherless and helpless" . They play with other animals. [15] Perhaps this is the 'mixing' that Adam saw. Blind is a metaphor for not understanding. Naked (featherless) is a metaphor for the flesh or sin being exposed. Mixing is a symbol for confusing Holiness and Love. God is Holy [16] and he is Love [17]. Since no man has seen the Father except the Son [18], no one can adequately explain God but the Son. The laws prohibiting mixing, are part of the play to teach that we cannot mix law and grace, holiness and love, but must wait until we see it properly mixed on the cross. raven ‘oreb ערב - mix [19] Mixing is a metaphor for improperly representing holiness and love together. We confuse them. Only Christ on the cross perfectly represents the nature of the Father.

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Owl The owl is a riddle as well. The name sounds like 'daughter pay attention' or 'daughter of Jonah'. The owl has very wide eyes as if it is studying you closely. Jonah was one who had to be told to pay attention. God had a large fish swallow him just to get his attention He did not want to obey God. owl bath ya‘anah בת יענה - daughter בת of pay attention יענ not understanding ה.

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Night hawk I'm not sure what Adam saw a Night Hawk doing. It is a nighttime predator, so he gave him the name 'must do violence'. God hates those who love to do violence [20]. The night hawk is a symbol of those. night hawk tachmac תחמס - imperative ת of violence חמס

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Cuckows Some cuckows nest on the ground in shrubs. Their name can mean 'shrub death'. Adam may have named them because of that. But the word also means emaciated, or wasted away. By word play, the cuckow could be called 'emaciated'. Those who are spiritually dying are not a good source for spiritual teaching. Jesus used the word 'dead' to refer to those who are spiritually dead [21] cuckow shachaph שחף - emaciate, waste away, shrub death [22]

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Hawk There are many instances in the riddles where referring to the death of Christ is a 'bad' thing, where referring to his resurrection is the 'good' thing. An example is that of the 'shibboleth' [23] The pronunciation of the word was used to tell enemies from friends. Those who referred to a single grain [24] by saying 'sibboleth', were enemies, but those who referred to a whole ear or stream [25], were friends. The sibboleth refers to a singe grain or ear of corn that gets buried in the ground to be planted. It speaks of Christ's death.. Shibboleth refers to many ears, or a flowing stream. In his resurrection, he is fruitful, and he teaches the word (symb9olized by the water).

We should teach about the resurrection of Jesus, not just his death.

The word 'hawk' refers to his death. hawk nets נץ - the son of man נ killed on the cross ץ

Little owl Perhaps Adam saw an owl nesting in hole in a tree and named him 'cup' since it looked like he was siting in a cup. This is a difficult riddle because the symbol of the cup has not been understood. Here are the clues: It is full of wrath and blessings. Jesus didn't want his cup but took it It is the opposite of 'hedge' [26] cup כוס - Son of God כ made clear ו by his finished work ס The cup is the cross. The hedge protects and hides something. The opposite cup is the exposure of wrath as it is poured out or the display of blessing as it overflows. The cross is both. This is important because the little owl is called the cup כןס. But since the cup is a mixture of judgement and love, it is unclean as other mixtures. We are not to mix them. Only Christ could express them in unity.

little owl kowc כוס - cup [27]

Cormorant The cormorant is an aquatic bird. It has webbed feet and swims under the water. It eats the fish which are swimming in the water. This is like the lobster that preys on the fish. When it dives into the water it looks as it been cast out of the heavens. Adam named the cormorant 'cast out'. Those who have been cast out are not a good source for teaching. [28] The cormorant represents those under such judgement. cormorant shalak שלך - cast out [29]

Great owl 'Darkness' is a difficult riddle because we usually use a secondary metaphor which appears to be opposite the primary metaphor. It's not, when properly explained. It is complicated by the false teaching within the church that the great duality on earth is between good and evil. It's not. Evil is not equal but opposite of good. Here are the clues: God lived in darkness before he created light When he created the universe, it was dark Light is opposite darkness If your eye is evil your body is filled with darkness Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness. Evaluating the clues: God never lived in evil. Before creation there was love between the Father and Son and Holy Spirit. When he created the universe it was good, not evil. Love is the opposite of Holiness If you are evil you are presuming upon God's love. When you have been made holy, do not presume upon grace. When God created, he covered his creation in love. [30] [31] Darkness is a metaphor that can be expressed in a positive from God's perspective, or a negative from our perspective. It expresses God's love and mercy. If we are in sin, and haven't been destroyed, we are receiving his mercy. So we may also say that being in darkness is being in sin and presuming upon God's mercy. The Great Owl represents those in the dark who should not be our teachers [32]. great owl yanshuwph ינשׁוף - I י in the dark נשׁוף. The one who is in the dark is sinning and presuming upon the grace of God.

Swan The swan, as a large bird, is not subject to being killed in large numbers by natural predators. Their numbers can swell until they are destructive to an environment. Those who are destructive should not be a source for our learning [33]. swan tanshemeth תנשׁמת - from beginning to end תת it destroys נשׁמ [34]

Pelican Perhaps Adam watched a pelican scoop up his meal, and then vomit up the shell and rocks. He named it 'vomit after' Vomit, like spit is a symbol of rejection. Those who reject the word should not be teachers of the word. pelican qa’ath קאת - vomit קא after ת.

Gier eagle Some commentators notice the Hebrew root 'to love' in the name of this bird. They surmise it comes from the fact that the birds are mated and seldom separated. This maybe part of what he saw, but if this was all, we would have difficulty understanding why it is an unclean bird. The gier eagle eats almost nothing but carrion. The name actually means 'not understanding love'. Though they are together in the appearance of love, they eat nothing but dead things. Paul teaches that if we don't have love, our faith, generosity, and sacrifices mean nothing [35] [36]. gier eagle haracham הרחם - not understanding ה love רחם.

Stork Storks are primarily carnivorous eating reptiles, small mammals, insects, fish, amphibians and other small invertebrates. It is perhaps this devouring of living things that Adam observed when he named the stork "not understanding holiness and mercy". These are the attributes of God, so he named it "Not understanding God". The main purpose of God is to teach us that He is Holy [37]; He alone is God. He also teaches that He is Love [38]. The Hebrew word for 'stork' means not understanding either 'holy' or 'mercy'. stork chaciydah החסידה - not understanding ה*ה holiness , mercy חסיד [39]

Heron When the heron hunts, it stand very still in the water looking for it's prey. When it sees something, it moves it's head back and forth to get the targeting range through the water. Perhaps Adam named it 'yearning undulation' for this behavior. Once it had that name, by word-play it became 'her anger'. Jesus said that if we were angry, we were guilty of murder [40] . Perhaps the wild headdress of the heron made it look angry to Adam. heron ‘anaphah אנפה - anger [41] of her ה.

Lapwing The lapwing is known for the irregular pattern of beating it's wings. God commanded Moses to strike the rock for water the first time. The second time he told him to speak to it, but Moses struck it (an irregular beating?) and forfeited the privilege of entering into the promised land. [42] lapwing duwkiyphath דוכיפת - beat דוכ [43] the mystery פ plan י which was finished ת.

Bat The Bible does not say the bat is a bird. It says that it is a 'flying thing'. 'Bird' is a poor translation. Bats are known for their irregular flight patterns. The name of the bat suggests one who wanders from the path or deviates from God's will. These should not be our teachers. bat ‘atalleph עטלף - turn aside עטף from the teaching ל.

Bugs and stuff

Discussion

Flying things on all fours These can be discerned from symbols we know from other places. Hands represent works. Feet represent your life. Air is the spirit Earth is the flesh. A flying thing is something intended for the air, or spirit. A crawling thing is in the flesh. It would appear that the general classification was referring to those who should be living in the spirit but who have chosen to live and work in the flesh.
Swarming and reproducing Le 11:20 ¶ All fowls that creep [swarm], going upon [all] four, [shall be] an abomination unto you. When the hands (works) and feet (life) are in the flesh, it is an abomination. Flying things are supposed to be living in the spirit. It is worse when they reproduce or multiply children of the flesh. Christians who choose to live in the flesh and raise children in the flesh, should not be our teachers creep sherets שׁרץ - multiply
Leaping Le 11:21 Yet these may ye eat of every flying creeping thing that goeth upon [all] four, which have legs above their feet, to leap withal upon the earth; Allegorically, this critter is clean because although it flies and creeps on all fours, it is distinguished by 'prayer' and leaping into the air, or striving to live in the spirit, 'stripping off the flesh' and 'working out it's salvation with fear and trembling'. The word for leg is also that for kneel, as if in prayer. And leaping is also 'stripping off' or 'tremble'. leg kara‘ כרע - kneel in reverence leap nathar נתר - tremble, strip
Good examples Le 11:22 [Even] these of them ye may eat; the locust after his kind, and the bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the grasshopper after his kind. The specific creatures mentioned represent those who are positive influences for us.
Locust Light is a symbol of holiness. locust ‘arbeh ארבה - light אר in her בה. The daughter or family which is holy is a good influence. Even though they still have works and life which are in the flesh, they have been made holy and God is working on them
Bald locust Jesus finished the work of the Father, and he was also known as the rock . bald locust col‘am סלעם - rock סלע completed the promise of the Father ם. The bald locust is a reminder of the completed work of Christ. This is the primary lesson of the good teacher.
Beetle Perfect love casts out fear . The beetle suggests that love accomplishes this by teaching. As we learn who God is and that he is in control we can trust him and not fear in the midst of any circumstance. beetle chargol חרגל - fear חרג ended by teaching ל.
Grasshopper The 'great and terrible day of the Lord' was the day of the cross. It was a terrible day because the wrath of God was poured out on the sin of mankind born by the flesh of Christ Jesus. But it was a great day as the source of eternal life. grasshopper chagab חגב - life ח though the pit [grave] גב. The grasshopper reminds us of those people who preach the gospel of life through the resurrection of Christ.
The exchange Le 11:23 But all [other] flying creeping things, which have four feet, [shall be] an abomination unto you. Le 11:24 And for these ye shall be unclean: whosoever toucheth the carcase of them shall be unclean until the even. . even ‘ereb ערב - mix even ‘arab ערב - exchange The evening is the symbol of mixing of grace and judgement. The sins of man are covered by the works of the Son. Only the Son can mix them. Whoever works their folly will be unclean until the exchange
Carrying the carcase Le 11:25 And whosoever beareth [ought] of the carcase of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even. Le 11:26 [The carcases] of every beast which divideth the hoof, and [is] not clovenfooted, nor cheweth the cud, [are] unclean unto you: every one that toucheth them shall be unclean. Le 11:27 And whatsoever goeth upon his paws, among all manner of beasts that go on [all] four, those [are] unclean unto you: whoso toucheth their carcase shall be unclean until the even. Le 11:28 And he that beareth the carcase of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: they [are] unclean unto you. beareth nasa’ נשׂא - exalts Whoever exalts the folly of them shall tread his works with the word and be unclean until the mixing.

Creeping things

Discussion

Creeping things are those things which reproduce quickly. The things listed will all be things that God does not want to spread. }}
creeping things... on the earth sharats שרץ::[[Def_{{{dv}}}|*]] {{:Def_{{{dv}}}}} [[{{{dv}}}]] - increase abundantly [in the flesh] , the ox shur שר death ץ.
The weasel represents the teaching of this age, or this world. weasel choled חלד - age, world, time Understanding ח the teaching ל of the word ד of this age חלד.
The mouse is a symbol of the abounding flesh. mouse ‘akbar עכבר - flesh ע made to abound כבר ::[[Def_{{{dv}}}|*]] {{:Def_{{{dv}}}}} [[{{{dv}}}]]
Some shield themselves from God, such as refusing to read the New Testament, or refusing to read the Bible. tortoise? tsab צב - covered righteousness צ revealed to man ב. The one shields himself from the righteousness of God is actively resisting God.
The whole of creation groans as a result of it's own sin The ferret reminds us. ferret ‘anaqah אנקה - groaning
Might and power are the opposite of the spirit . chameleon koach כח - might, force
The lizard represents those whose desire for God has become dead. lizard לטאה ' 03911 - myrrh [death] of yearning אה [separated א hearing ה].
The mole represents those who have died desolate. Suggestive of ded authors who were not alive in the spirit. mole tanshemeth תנשׁמת ::[[Def_{{{dv}}}|*]] {{:Def_{{{dv}}}}} [[{{{dv}}}]]- final ת breath נשׁמת or the desolate ones

Utensils

Le 11:32 And upon whatsoever [any] of them, when they are dead, doth fall, it shall be unclean; whether [it be] any vessel of wood, or raiment, or skin, or sack, whatsoever vessel [it be], wherein [any] work is done, it must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the even; so it shall be cleansed.

If the teaching of the new creation through the Son of God, or of the cross gets tainted with folly, or if you folly leads you into treachery or blindness (not understanding) then the washing in water, or immersion in the word of God will cleanse it. These errors are corrected by teaching from the Word of God.

vessel kᵉliy כלי - Son of God's כ teaching ל of new creation י

wood ‘ets עץ - tree a metaphor for the cross.

raiment beged בגד - treachery [works of the flesh]

skin ‘owr עור - blindness . This is also a pun to 'light' ‘owr אור which is a metaphor for holiness. God gave Adam a covering of skin, which is something like his holiness [declared him to be holy], while at the same time declaring Adam to be blind and perhaps indicating his own blindness to Adam's sin. If the transaction of Christ being made to be sin while we are made the righteousness of God is polluted, the whole message is polluted.

sack saq שׂק - legs [metaphor for your 'walk' or 'life']

All these are cleansed by the word (water).

Break the silence of sin

Le 11:33 And every earthen vessel, whereinto [any] of them falleth, whatsoever [is] in it shall be unclean; and ye shall break it.

earthen cheres חרשׂ - silent

break shabar שׁבר - hope

If a person sins secretly, the silence should be broken in order to give hope.

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Le 11:34 Of all meat which may be eaten, [that] on which [such] water cometh shall be unclean: and all drink that may be drunk in every [such] vessel shall be unclean.

Everything taught by such a one is unclean.

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Le 11:35 And every [thing] whereupon [any part] of their carcase falleth shall be unclean; [whether it be] oven, or ranges for pots, they shall be broken down: [for] they [are] unclean, and shall be unclean unto you.

oven tannuwr תנור - final ת lamp נור. Last testimony.

ranges kiyr כיר - pierce [sufferings]

If your testimony or sufferings are tainted they remain unclean. If you suffer for your own sin, there is not merit. But if you endure grief wrongfully, it is a testimony.

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Le 11:36 Nevertheless a fountain or pit, [wherein there is] plenty of water, shall be clean: but that which toucheth their carcase shall be unclean.

Where there is much teaching it covers folly.

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Le 11:37 And if [any part] of their carcase fall upon any sowing seed which is to be sown, it [shall be] clean.

sowing zeruwa‘ זרוע - forearm a metaphor for works.

seed - Christ is the 'seed' of the woman.

Christ bore our sin, no additional unlcean thing can add to his shame. When he rose from the dead, sin had been conquered.

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Le 11:38 But if [any] water be put upon the seed, and [any part] of their carcase fall thereon, it [shall be] unclean unto you.

If there is teaching of Christ which is polluted, it is polluted. This speaks of mixing the Word with that which is unclean.

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Le 11:39 And if any beast, of which ye may eat, die; he that toucheth the carcase thereof shall be unclean until the even.

beast he-bᵉhemah הבהמה - completely not understanding ה_ה in ב the spirit המ (hot).

Touching is an extension of the hand representing works. Don't do the works of those who don't understand being in the spirit.

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Le 11:40 And he that eateth of the carcase of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: he also that beareth the carcase of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even.

He who learns from their folly shall correct his works and remain unclean until he receives grace. He that glorifies the folly shall do the same.

Abominations

Le 11:41 And every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth [shall be] an abomination; it shall not be eaten.

abominable shaqats שׁקץ - idol . In all of these the one is making himself equal to God by deciding his own path.

Those who multiply in the flesh abundantly shall not be learned from.

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Le 11:42 Whatsoever goeth upon the belly, and whatsoever goeth upon [all] four, or whatsoever hath more feet among all creeping things that creep upon the earth, them ye shall not eat; for they [are] an abomination. Le 11:43 ¶ Ye shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creepeth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled thereby.

belly gachown גחון - pursue ג understanding ח separate ו from the cross ן.

goeth halak הלך - pays tribute (bribes God)

on all four: the one whose life and works are of the earth. God told Cain: If you do right, won't you be lifted up? Even if our lives are still in the flesh, our works should be striving to 'do right'.

more feet - a multiplicity of lives, hypocrisy.

Don't learn from those who rationalize things apart from the cross, who try to work their way to God, or are hypocrites.

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Be separate

Le 11:44 For I [am] the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I [am] holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

Le 11:45 For I [am] the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I [am] holy.

Le 11:46 This [is] the law of the beasts, and of the fowl, and of every living creature that moveth in the waters, and of every creature that creepeth upon the earth:

Le 11:47 To make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the beast that may be eaten and the beast that may not be eaten.

The purpose of the law was to set Israel apart from the rest of the nations as a dinner theater. We would not learn the message of the play until the time of the cross. At the time,it preserved Israel as a people so that the rest of the play could finish and be revealed at the cross.

The play was done in three Acts, where each act had two sections and many scenes.

In Act I , The Father declares his purpose for the Son:It is not good that the man should be alone . From the beginning, the bride (or church) was a gift to the Son from the Father. You are a gift from God, the Father to God the Son.

The Father showcases his Son: See my Son; yes there is trouble, but he has it covered. In the second section we see three Fathers who testify in the earth. We say that because of their tie to the land through the promise made to Abraham The bulk of the book is dedicated to the Son who is portrayed as the King of Kings second only to the Father.

In Act II , The son tells about his love for his bride, but how she breaks his heart because she is a prostitute.

Act III Is the declaration by the Spirit as the best man: "The bridegroom cometh" and his report how Christ and his bride are fruitful and multiplying .

Through the lens of the cross, the mystery is now revealed.

References

Five digit numbers like 04536 are Strong's reference numbers for Hebrew. Without the leading zero, they are Greek references."