Dinner Theater in the Dietary Law

1. The dietary law is not about eating

The Hebrews were given the dietary law as a script for a play. They would act out the play, and the audience; everyone else, would learn from it. They play is written in symbols and riddle. The dietary law says nothing about what we can eat. Eating is a symbol for learning. It tells us who we should learn from, and who we should not learn from.

When we eat clean animals which ruminate and have a split hoof, we remember that our teachers should meditate on the Word of God, and it should produce a Holy life or walk in them.

The swine are those who have no discernment in what they learn. A swine shouldn't be a teacher.

The camel is a symbol for a judge. Jesus said that we should not judge others. Judges aren't good teachers.

The coney hides the gospel and only teaches the law. The rabbit appears to celebrate at inappropriate times.

These animals represent the behaviors of some people. We will need to understand what symbols are, then we can examine how the symbols are used to represent various kinds of people.

2. From the beginning

Before God created anything, there was just God.

He looked for a place to put a universe. There was nothing larger than God. There was no place outside of him to create. He could only put the new things inside of himself.

He opened a pocket within himself and spoke into it. When the heavens and earth were finished; he created his friend.

"Hi Adam, I am God, let me teach holiness and love. I will give you a tree as a symbol of holiness. It is separate and different from other trees. You should not eat from it, just because I am God. I am Holy. I am Love."

Adam not understanding God would 'declare' his own rules as God had done. He ate the fruit from the tree.

God's name tells us that Adam did not understand God. God's name is Elohim. 'El' means 'God', 'im' means 'his people'. The 'H' sound means they don't understand. God is separated from his people because they don't understand. Each of the letters are symbols with meaning.

Everything... absolutely everything after this is to teach who God is. Through the dietary law, he reveals his nature by showing how to select good teachers.

3. God wants everyone to know him

Everything God made is designed to teach about him. However, it is difficult to learn from the stars and rocks. We learn easier through words and actions.

God chose some people; the Hebrews, to teach everyone else about him, but they didn't know him very well themselves.

God wrote a play and chose the Hebrews to be the actors. He gave them some commandments, a tabernacle, and some feasts to live by. These things were the script for the play. Everyone else would watch the play and learn about God.

God used their lives to write another story. When they did what he asked, and when they didn't; God wrote about himself, Jesus, and the cross using the things in their history as symbols.

This is hard to understand. Imagine if you played hopscotch, and every jump you took, I used to tell the story of Jesus. As the people lived their lives, God used every jump to tell his story.

In this book, we will look at the script; the rules God gave them about things they could eat. Through the symbols, good and bad teachers will be revealed by their behaviors.

4. Symbols

In order to hide a second story in the history of his people, God had to use symbols.

When you look at a picture of an apple, you know that it isn't an apple but just a symbol of an apple. It is something to make you think about apples.

Words are also symbols. The word 'dog' is not a dog. It is just a symbol to make you think of dogs. Words can be used to be symbols of other words.

When you are told to 'hop in the car', do you really hop all the way to the car and jump in? I don't think you do that. The word 'hop' is used as s symbol to mean 'get in'. Why would we use 'hop' instead of 'get in'?

"Get in" sounds bossy. Parents really don't like to boss you around. To be just a little playful, they would say 'hop in'. We also use symbols in jokes and riddles.

I will tell you a secret riddle: Why did the chicken cross the road? The real answer is not "To get to the other side" but "To get to the other side". "The other side" is a symbol for going to heaven. If you saw a dead chicken in the road, you would ask the riddle.

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The dietary law was written for Israel. 'Ish' means 'man'. 'El' means God, just as it did in 'Elohim'. The 'R' sound means 'revelation'. Israel means 'man joined to God by revelation'.

Jacob was called 'Israel' because God revealed himself through a dream, and by wrestling with him. The Hebrews were called Israel because God revealed himself at the mountain. You are called Israel because God has revealed himself to you through the death and resurrection of Jesus.

The Hebrews did not understand the riddles. They just acted them out. The answers to the riddles come from Jesus and the cross. We can understand the message of the play by the cross. The law tells us about God by showing us the teachers that he wants for us. We don't need to act it out too.

In Tic-Tac-Toe you learned that you never have to lose. You could always force the game to a draw. Now when someone asks you to play you can say "Thanks. Draw" without having to play the game.

As we sit down to breakfast, we can eat the tasty bacon and be reminded that we should not learn (eat) from people who cannot tell if their own learning is good or bad.

6. Meditate on the word of God

Since eating is a symbol for learning, each animal is a symbol of someone who teaches. Some people we should learn from, and some we should not learn from. Benjamin Franklin said, "He who lies down with dogs, gets up with fleas." He used dogs as a symbol for people who behave poorly, and fleas as bad behaviors we might learn from them.

The clean animals of the Bible are described as having two toes, like the cow and the deer. They also 'chew the cud'. The actual word means to 'pass through again'. The cow will eat something and regurgitate it up to three times to chew it again and again.

The cow has several stomachs, but you have only one. Please chew your food well before swallowing so that you only have to swallow once.

The split hoof or two toes symbolize a 'separated walk' or life. 'Walk' is a symbol for 'life'. If you have a separated life, you are living a life for God. If you are a clean animal, you learn from God's word, then you 'chew the cud', you think about it over and over again.

You learn to walk with God by meditating on his word. A good teacher is like this.

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The camel is a symbol of a judge. We hope our judges are good people. But God is using the judge to teach about him through the nature of his teachers.

Jesus said that we should not judge, or we too will be judged.

Many people see God as a great and terrible judge. But he judged all of our sins on the cross of Jesus and forgave us to show that he is also love. When you are forgiven, there is no more judgement.

God teachers teach his love, the Gospel, by showing his forgiveness through the cross. He doesn't want us to become judges. He wants us to forgive as he has forgiven.

Jesus told a story about a man who owed a lot of money to a king. He could never pay it back. When the king forgave him his debt, he put his neighbor in prison for owing him just a little money.

The man was shown great love through forgiveness, but then became a judge who had none. The king threw the man in prison for not also forgiving.

We should not learn to be a judge, because if we judge, we will be judged.

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When Adam named the coney he must have seen the coney take a treasure into his den, then return to the opening to defend it with bared teeth. His name means 'hide the treasure' but it also means 'mystery of the biting teeth'. The coney is a symbol of a teacher who hides the Gospel.

God is Holy and he is also Love. Holiness is expressed by separation, the law, and judgement. His love is expressed by patience, long-suffering, and self-sacrifice.

Judgement in the Old Testament was required to teach that he is holy. Now through the play which was finished on the cross, His holiness is understood. When his holiness is learned through the cross, God is free to teach of his love.

Consider when Elisha removed an ax head from the stream. With an ax as a symbol of judgement, and the water a symbol of his word, he removed judgement from the Word.

The same story is told when Jesus turned water; the word, into wine; a symbol of grace.

The coney-like teacher hides the treasure, or message of love, and only presents the teeth; the law. He uses the Bible to threaten people with the anger of God.

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When looking at a warren of rabbits, one might think of popcorn popping. They jump when happy; they jump when scared; they just jump sometimes. The name means 'divided jubilation'.

The rabbit is s symbol of those who just mix all kinds of religions together. This week it is Christmas, Hanukkah, Quanza, next they are celebrating Hindu dust. to them all religions are good. They have no discernment about what to celebrate.

Some people say we can't trust the Bible because it says the rabbit 'chews the cud' and rabbits don't chew the cud. But the Bible says that only in English. In Hebrew it does not say that. In Hebrew is says they chew the 'gerah' which is a thing pursued again because it was not understood. The rabbit actually passes it's food through a second time by eating it's night droppings. The Bible knows more about rabbits than the people who say you can't trust the Bible.

But the rabbit or hare is not a clean animal because it does not have a separated hoof, or life. Without discernment of what to celebrate, the rabbit cannot dedicate his life to God. He is not a good teacher.

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Perhaps you have heard people say their favorite verse of the Bible is "God helps those who help themselves". That isn't in the Bible. The swine hears something and thinks that if he thinks it is good, it must be good.

The swine is a symbol of the self-righteous; people who think they are good just because they think they are good. The name means 'perceive a new revelation'. They think their own ideas are true.

Naturally they think that they are good people. And to ensure that you know, they often use their own revelation to tell you how bad you are. They may tell you that it is bad to wear certain clothes or listen to certain music all based on their on opinion.

OK. Let's be fair. We all do this from time to time. We have a bit of swine in us all. We decide things based on our opinion, rather than on what God says. In Bible study, when asked "What does this mean to you?" We should respond by asking what it says, since our opinion is not important.

The one who cannot understand the word of God is not a good teacher.

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The attitude of the swine is so contagious it is dangerous. God says we should not even touch their dead bodies. The word 'touch' also means 'join, plagued' and 'carcass' also means 'folly'. We should not be joined to their foolishness, nor plagued by it.

The swine may brag that he gave an apple to a homeless guy. The next swine brags he gave two apples. The first responds that his was the only apple he had and he gave it while the other still had more apples.

This bragging of works is contagious.

But the swine will also make you feel bad for not having given any apples. Your old stale noodles are not nearly as good, though they are the only thing you had to give.

Swine attitudes are contagious because they appeal to our flesh. We want to be noticed and appreciated. We want to look good to others.

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?

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The Hebrew word for 'fish' means 'commanded to pursue. 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.

A clean fish has scales, and is propelled by fins.

'Scales' also means 'mail' as in armor. The fish wears the armor of God. It is propelled or living in the water (word) by it's fins. Fins also means 'thorned bull.

Jesus said that thorns are a symbol of 'the cares of the world. God so 'cared for the world' that he gave his son.... The bull, like the ram that replaced Isaac, is nailed to the cross with thorns; his love.

The fish live in three kinds of water or word. The word of God comes from the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The one who wears the armor of God as he searches the scriptures and is motivated by the love of God is a good teacher.

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The dietary law says nothing about what we can eat. Eating is a symbol for learning. It tells us who we should learn from, and who we should not learn from.

As we eat bacon, we can remember that the swine are those who have no discernment in what they learn, so they are self-righteous and compete for attention.

The camel is a symbol for a judge. The difficult teaching was that Jesus broke every law even though he didn't break every law. We like to think that Jesus is just the clean animal.

But the unclean animals also speak of Jesus. Everything is given to tell us about God.

Was Jesus a coney? Yes. He preached repentance and hid the gospel in parables.

Was Jesus a rabbit? Yes. He and his disciples broke the Sabbath to eat and drink.

Was Jesus a swine? Yes. Though everything he thought and said was true; his righteousness was by his own standard (like the swine).

In a similar way that he broke every law without breaking one; all the animals represent him in some way.

We should learn from Jesus those things represented by the clean animals, but the things represented by the unclean animals are things he could do without sinning, but we cannot.

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Appendix

Alphabet meaning.

Hebrew dictionary of animal names

Scripture footnotes on each page as appropriate.