Scripture reading: Leviticus 11:9-19
God said that there were those in the waters which you should and should not eat. There are TWO TYPES OF WATERS – sea (worldly) water and pure (rivers and fountains, the church) water.
Leviticus 11:9b, “Whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat.” “Whatsoever has fins and scales” in the world and in the church, “…them shall ye eat.” What does He mean? He is saying that eating makes you one with the person. There are those with whom you should not fellowship. You should not eat from their table, spiritually. You should not take in their doctrine. This will kill you.
Have you ever seen the fish with the fin? It beats the water with the fin. The fin works like wings so powerfully that it propels the fish forward or backward. The fish has total control with his fin. Fins are the means by which the fish move forward or backward or upward or downward. God is saying that if they do not have fins, do not eat them, do not become one with them. If they do not have fins, they are going to move like a serpent by twisting their body back and forth, trapping the water in their coil and propelling themselves forward. God says that we should not eat those. Eat those that “hath fins and scales.”
Scales keep the fish dry in a wet environment. His scales lock one upon the other and keep warmth in. As a matter of fact, the fish can extract warmth out of the coldest water by moving through the water. The little roughage on the scale, the friction with the rough scale and the water, produces heat for his body. The fish, therefore, MUST HAVE SCALES.
Would God write the Bible to tell us about fish? NO. The Bible is basically telling us about Jesus Christ. Therefore, when we read of things like this, we must realize that it has some reference to the Christian. This is why it is in the Bible. God is saying that the Christian lives a holy life in an unholy place. He lives in light while he is actually in a very dark place. He lives in truth while he is surrounded by lies and deception. He lives contrary to his environment. This is what God is saying. He says that the Christian moves on in the world and progresses in the world, not by going along with the grain of the world, but by overcoming the world through the beating of his fins like wings. His whole life is entirely opposite to the environment in which he is.
He said that all the creatures of the water which have “no fins nor scales” would be “an abomination” to the Jew to eat. See Leviticus 11:12. It is an abomination for a Christian to be part of the world, to be worldly, to be like the world. God wants the Christian to be like Jesus Christ. If we eat this world, we will become part of it.
In Leviticus 11:13-15 we are told that we should not eat certain fowls that fly. “The eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray, and the vulture, and the kite…every raven” would be unclean. There are different types of spiritual people. There are spiritual people who are of God and there are spiritual people who are not of God. God is telling us we should not have fellowship with those who are not of God. We must not eat them. They are unclean to us.
A fowl or a creature that flies defies gravity by flapping its wings. The shape of the creature is designed to be able to break away from gravity and soar in the air. This is a type of Christian who is able to overcome its natural forces and fly in the air. This is a type of spiritual person who is of God.
WHY ARE SOME FOWLS UNCLEAN? Why should we not eat them? The truth about these fowls is that they pick their prey. The eagle will fly and pick up live prey off the wing and eat it. The eagle will also eat dead prey, and vultures eat dead things. God is saying that the Christian should not eat dead (spiritually dead) things. We should have life. When we go to hear the Word of God, we should get life. It should not be a dead substance. We should not be taken in by those who do not have the life of God in them. Notice also, it is speaking about some types of ministry. Some types of ministry make a very good living by picking on live people, people who are real Christians. They will get these people to empty their pockets. God calls them vultures, PREDATORS. The person is spiritual, but a predator, and you should not eat at his table (spiritually speaking).
God mentions another type of fowl in Leviticus 11:16 and 17; this type is like an owl. He says you should not eat “the owl…the little owl…and great owl.” Why? This bird can see very clearly in the darkness, but he cannot see in the light. This is the type of people who are always bringing a prophecy of who is going to die, and who is going to have wrong marriages. They are always prophesying about something evil that is going to happen. It does not mean that God’s prophet cannot prophesy something evil. But any time God’s prophet does this, it is intended to bring some glory to God by helping somebody who will need to know this before the time comes. Palm readers who can read into your future are all of the devil. We find some of this activity in the churches. People are actually submitting to certain spirits that God said you should not be having fellowship with. You can mark it, that any time there is a prophecy or a word, IT MUST GLORIFY JESUS CHRIST.
(Excerpt from The Book of Revelation, Volume 1, pg. 199-201)
Thought for today: Christians are to be like Jesus Christ. If we eat this world, we will become part of it.
Sonlight Devotional 