Applicable Old Testament Laws

Most of the law given by God to the Israelites in Leviticus is no longer applicable, such as anything pertaining to sacrifices or priests. But what things may still be applicable in our new covenant with God?


Firstly in Lev. 11 there are commands regarding food, what to eat and what not to eat. Could there have been a reason for why God told the Israelites not to eat pork for example? If you really think about it, pigs eat basically trash like rotten food etc. Therefore their meat would be not as clean or nourishing as say beef, since cows eat grass all day, so basically salad is their main diet.

Lev. 11......Laws about Animals for Food

11 "The Lord spoke again to Moses and to Aaron, saying to them, ² “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘These are the creatures which you may eat from all the animals that are on the earth. ³ Whatever divides a hoof, thus making split hoofs, and chews the cud, among the animals, that you may eat. ⁴ Nevertheless, you are not to eat of these, among those which chew the cud, or among those which divide the hoof: the camel, for though it chews cud, it does not divide the hoof, it is unclean to you....⁶ the rabbit also, for though it chews cud, it does not divide the hoof, it is unclean to you; ⁷ and the pig, for though it divides the hoof, thus making a split hoof, it does not chew cud, it is unclean to you. ⁸ You shall not eat of their flesh nor touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you."

So rabbits and pig should be off limits. There are most diseases possible in pig meat. You can never eat pig meat raw I know in case you get worms from it.

What got me thinking about all this was when I read part of the book "The Makers Diet." The author noted that we shouldn't eat shrimp still to this day because shrimp are basically the cockroaches of the sea, if you think about it. They have the same hard shells as cockroaches and they are bottom dwellers in the sea, meaning they feed on the trash basically. Perhaps God created them with a hard shell for a purpose, so that we would not eat them. Along with clams etc. There are many people who are almost deathly allergic to shellfish, which has always made me wonder if I should be eating shellfish, even though I'm not allergic.

I had always been a big fan of shrimp before I read this book so needless to say I stopped reading it after this part lol. But the idea of shrimp being bad to eat has somewhat haunted me ever since. :)

Here is more from Lev. 11 regarding food:

^{9 "}These you may eat, whatever is in the water: all that have fins and scales, those in the water, in the seas or in the rivers, you may eat. ¹⁰ But whatever is in the seas and in the rivers that does not have fins and scales among all the teeming life of the water, and among all the living creatures that are in the water, they are detestable things to you, ¹¹ and they shall be abhorrent to you; you may not eat of their flesh, and their carcasses you shall detest. ¹² Whatever in the water does not have fins and scales is ^[abhorrent to you."

This would rule out TONS of seafood that is commonly consumed and thought of as delicacies almost; crab, lobster, shrimp, clams, oysters etc. God wanted his beloved people to stay away from these things. There had to be a reason.

Granted there is the encounter with Peter on the roof top where God lets down a sheet full of "unclean" animals and tells him to eat but Peter refuses. Then God basically says he has made them clean. I think that was mainly to combat his prejudices against people who ate such things. But health wise, I believe God would still want us to stay away from certain foods. He made our bodies. He knows what will help them run best.

On the topic of food I have also always been interested in the fact that Daniel and his friends ate mainly just vegetables when they were in the king's palace. They refused to drink the king's wine or eat his meat. Which has also always made me wonder if meat in general is bad, for the most part. The Bible says Daniel and his friends were the healthiest men as a result of how they ate.

Also, mankind did not start eating meat until after the flood. Did you know that? Up until Noah all man ate was grain, fruits and vegetables. Gen. 9 says, "God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. ² The fear of you and the terror of you will be on every beast of the earth and on every bird of the sky; with everything that creeps on the ground, and all the fish of the sea, into your hand they are given. ³ Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, as I gave the green plant." So before the flood man just ate green plants. Then after the flood man starting eating meat. That is interesting to note for sure.

Here are more applicable laws in Leviticus 18:

"You shall not have intercourse with your neighbor’s wife, to be defiled with her. ²¹ You shall not give any of your offspring to offer them to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God; I am the Lord. ²² You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination. ²³ Also you shall not have intercourse with any animal to be defiled with it."

So don't commit adultery. Don't offer your children as sacrifices, obviously. But God said this because the pagan communities around them actually did that. :( Pretty crazy. Don't profane God's name, such as how today people curse with God's name. That is an example of that. Do not commit a homosexual act. Do not have sex with a animals; this is how AIDS began sadly enough, from a man having sex with a sheep. And apparently all this was done back then or God wouldn't have to say any of it. For most of us these are a no brainer, but God felt he needed to make these things clear to his people.

^{24 "}Do not defile yourselves by any of these things; for by all these the nations which I am casting out before you have become defiled. ²⁵ For the land has become defiled, therefore I have brought its punishment upon it, so the land has spewed out its inhabitants. ²⁶ But as for you, you are to keep My statutes and My judgments and shall not do any of these abominations, neither the native, nor the alien who sojourns among you ²⁷ (for the men of the land who have been before you have done all these abominations, and the land has become defiled); ²⁸ so that the land will not spew you out, should you defile it, as it has spewed out the nation which has been before you. ²⁹ For whoever does any of these abominations, those persons who do so shall be cut off from among their people. ³⁰ Thus you are to keep My charge, that you do not practice any of the abominable customs which have been practiced before you, so as not to defile yourselves with them; I am the Lord your God.’”

I find it interesting that homosexuality is as much of an abomination in God's eyes as having sex with an animal or child sacrifices.

Lev. 19: Idolatry Forbidden

19 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

² “Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. ³ Every one of you shall reverence his mother and his father, and you shall keep My Sabbaths; I am the Lord your God. ⁴ Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves molten gods; I am the Lord your God."

It was a common practice of the pagan religions to make molten idols and worship them. If you think about it this still happen in the catholic church with statues of Mary. I have been to a few masses and seen people bow down to these statues of Mary. That is the same thing and that is what God is talking about here. So this still happens in our day as well.

Also it says to "reverence" your mother and father. Why? Because they made countless sacrifices to raise you so the debt you owe them is huge.

Also keep the sabbath. The Pharisees got very legalistic about this and had a list of about 500 rules and things one couldn't do on the sabbath, which was ridiculous. My rule of thumb is that I just take at least one day a week to just chill, to watch movies or read books and just relax. On one day I try to not go anywhere or do anything stressful. The ideal would be to spend all of the Sabbath reading the Word, as that may have been what God intended by keeping the day "holy." At least we are to think about God on that day, spend a day just with Him, as much as we can, without distractions. He deserves our full attention for at least one day. He did create us and give us life, after all. :)

Sundry Laws

^{9 "}Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. ¹⁰ Nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger. I am the Lord your God."

This was how God provided for the needy in this time. Every landowner was to leave some food for the poor to have if they wanted it.

¹¹ ‘You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another. ¹² You shall not swear falsely by My name, so as to profane the name of your God; I am the Lord.

So be honest. :) And do not steal from anyone.

^{13 "}You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of a hired man are not to remain with you all night until morning. ¹⁴ You shall not curse a deaf man, nor place a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall revere your God; I am the Lord."

How sad to think someone might do this to a poor blind person. :( And this is saying also pay a worker his wages at the end of his shift.

^{15 "}You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly. ¹⁶ You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people, and you are not to act against the life of your neighbor; I am the Lord."

Do not show favoritism as James also talks about. Don't spread gossip about people. And don't try to harm your neighbor.

^{17 "}You shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you may surely reprove your neighbor, but shall not incur sin because of him. ¹⁸ You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord."

This is saying, if you have an issue with someone, bring it up, but do not sin. Do not hold onto bitterness and don't let anger take over in inter-personal relationships.

^{19 "} You are to keep My statutes. You shall not breed together two kinds of your cattle; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor wear a garment upon you of two kinds of material mixed together."

I am not sure what the purpose is here of not wearing clothes with two kinds of material, except that I know anything that is 100% cotton feels the most comfortable to wear.


^{23 "}When you enter the land and plant all kinds of trees for food, then you shall count their fruit as forbidden. Three years it shall be forbidden to you; it shall not be eaten. ²⁴ But in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord. ²⁵ In the fifth year you are to eat of its fruit, that its yield may increase for you; I am the Lord your God."

There was a good reason I heard for this, but I don't remember what it was. :)

^{26 "}You shall not eat anything with the blood, nor practice divination or soothsaying. ²⁷ You shall not round off the side-growth of your heads nor harm the edges of your beard. ²⁸ You shall not make any cuts in your body for the dead nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves: I am the Lord."

This is a good passage. So do not eat anything raw, which has good health reasons. Cooking meat purifies it. If there is any disease in the meat, cooking it thoroughly will kill it. God says to not practice divination which is fortune telling or tarot cards or horoscopes. We are not to attempt to for tell the future. I don't know why the commands are here about hair, perhaps just so that they would look different than the other cultures around them. He commands to not cut themselves. Perhaps this was a custom for some to do at funerals to show grief. God also talks about tattoos here. He does not say why; He just says don't do it. There are health reasons for this as well though. Tattoos can become infected. It is damaging to the body and our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Tattoos can be seen as grafting on God's art work.

^{32 "}You shall rise up before the gray headed and honor the aged, and you shall revere your God; I am the Lord."

So respect any elderly people. Why? Because they have survived this life longer than you have. That alone makes them deserve more respect.

^{33 "}When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. ³⁴ The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God."

So be hospitable.

More laws in Leviticus 26:Blessings of Obedience

26 "You shall not make for yourselves idols, nor shall you set up for yourselves an image or a sacred pillar, nor shall you place a figured stone in your land to bow down to it; for I am the Lord your God. ² You shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary; I am the Lord. ³ If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments so as to carry them out, ⁴ then I shall give you rains in their season, so that the land will yield its produce and the trees of the field will bear their fruit. ⁵ Indeed, your threshing will last for you until grape gathering, and grape gathering will last until sowing time. You will thus eat your food to the full and live securely in your land.

⁶ I shall also grant peace in the land, so that you may lie down with no one making you tremble. I shall also eliminate harmful beasts from the land, and no sword will pass through your land. ⁷ But you will chase your enemies and they will fall before you by the sword; ⁸ five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall before you by the sword. ⁹ So I will turn toward you and make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will confirm My covenant with you. ¹⁰ You will eat the old supply and clear out the old because of the new. ¹¹

Moreover, I will make My dwelling among you, and My soul will not reject you. ¹² I will also walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. ¹³ I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so that you would not be their slaves, and I broke the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect.

Penalties of Disobedience

¹⁴ ‘But if you do not obey Me and do not carry out all these commandments, ¹⁵ if, instead, you reject My statutes, and if your soul abhors My ordinances so as not to carry out all My commandments, and so break My covenant, ¹⁶ I, in turn, will do this to you: I will appoint over you a sudden terror, consumption and fever that will waste away the eyes and cause the soul to pine away; also, you will sow your seed uselessly, for your enemies will eat it up. ¹⁷ I will set My face against you so that you will be struck down before your enemies; and those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee when no one is pursuing you. ¹⁸ If also after these things you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. ¹⁹ I will also break down your pride of power; I will also make your sky like iron and your earth like bronze. ²⁰ Your strength will be spent uselessly, for your land will not yield its produce and the trees of the land will not yield their fruit.

²¹ ‘If then, you act with hostility against Me and are unwilling to obey Me, I will increase the plague on you seven times according to your sins. ²² I will let loose among you the beasts of the field, which will bereave you of your children and destroy your cattle and reduce your number so that your roads lie deserted.

²³ ‘And if by these things you are not turned to Me, but act with hostility against Me, ²⁴ then I will act with hostility against you; and I, even I, will strike you seven times for your sins. ²⁵ I will also bring upon you a sword which will execute vengeance for the covenant; and when you gather together into your cities, I will send pestilence among you, so that you shall be delivered into enemy hands. ²⁶ When I break your staff of bread, ten women will bake your bread in one oven, and they will bring back your bread in rationed amounts, so that you will eat and not be satisfied.

²⁷ ‘Yet if in spite of this you do not obey Me, but act with hostility against Me, ²⁸ then I will act with wrathful hostility against you, and I, even I, will punish you seven times for your sins. ²⁹ Further, you will eat the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters you will eat. ³⁰ I then will destroy your high places, and cut down your incense altars, and heap your remains on the remains of your idols, for My soul shall abhor you. ³¹ I will lay waste your cities as well and will make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will not smell your soothing aromas. ³² I will make the land desolate so that your enemies who settle in it will be appalled over it. ³³ You, however, I will scatter among the nations and will draw out a sword after you, as your land becomes desolate and your cities become waste.

³⁴ ‘Then the land will enjoy its Sabbaths all the days of the desolation, while you are in your enemies’ land; then the land will rest and enjoy its Sabbaths. ³⁵ All the days of its desolation it will observe the rest which it did not observe on your Sabbaths, while you were living on it. ³⁶ As for those of you who may be left, I will also bring weakness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies. And the sound of a driven leaf will chase them, and even when no one is pursuing they will flee as though from the sword, and they will fall. ³⁷ They will therefore stumble over each other as if running from the sword, although no one is pursuing; and you will have no strength to stand up before your enemies. ³⁸ But you will perish among the nations, and your enemies’ land will consume you. ³⁹ So those of you who may be left will rot away because of their iniquity in the lands of your enemies; and also because of the iniquities of their forefathers they will rot away with them.

⁴⁰ ‘If they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their forefathers, in their unfaithfulness which they committed against Me, and also in their acting with hostility against Me— ⁴¹ I also was acting with hostility against them, to bring them into the land of their enemies—or if their uncircumcised heart becomes humbled so that they then make amends for their iniquity, ⁴² then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and I will remember also My covenant with Isaac, and My covenant with Abraham as well, and I will remember the land. ⁴³ For the land will be abandoned by them, and will make up for its Sabbaths while it is made desolate without them. They, meanwhile, will be making amends for their iniquity, because they rejected My ordinances and their soul abhorred My statutes. ⁴⁴ Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, nor will I so abhor them as to destroy them, breaking My covenant with them; for I am the Lord their God. ⁴⁵ But I will remember for them the covenant with their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God. I am the Lord.’”

⁴⁶ These are the statutes and ordinances and laws which the Lord established between Himself and the sons of Israel through Moses at Mount Sinai."

Wow, there were a lot of threats in there for what would happen if the people did not obey.

Does God still act with such cause and effect now? Perhaps sometimes. But overall we are now in a covenant of grace. This is why America's morals seem to be quickly declining but God seems to be doing nothing about it. This is because we are mainly under grace now.

But one day He will punish us and it won't be pretty. I think that day is coming sooner rather than later but we shall see.

May God be with you and increase your wisdom daily. May he pour out his grace and peace on you! Amen. :)