Leviticus 11
1The LORD spoke again to Moses and Aaron, telling them, 2“Say to the Israelites, ‘Of all the beasts of the earth, these ones you may eat: 3You may eat any animal that has a split hoof completely divided and that chews the cud. 4But of those that only chew the cud or only have a divided hoof, you are not to eat the following: The camel, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. 5The rock badger, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. 6The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. 7And the pig, though it has a split hoof completely divided, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. 8You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you. 9Of all the creatures that live in the water, whether in the seas or in the streams, you may eat anything with fins and scales. 10But the following among all the teeming life and creatures in the water are detestable to you: everything in the seas or streams that does not have fins and scales. 11They shall be an abomination to you; you must not eat their meat, and you must detest their carcasses. 12Everything in the water that does not have fins and scales shall be detestable to you. 13Additionally, you are to detest the following birds, and they must not be eaten because they are detestable: the eagle, the bearded vulture, the black vulture, 14the kite, any kind of falcon, 15any kind of raven, 16the ostrich, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, 17the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, 18the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey, 19the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe, and the bat. 20All flying insects that walk on all fours are detestable to you. 21However, you may eat the following kinds of flying insects that walk on all fours: those having jointed legs above their feet for hopping on the ground. 22Of these you may eat any kind of locust, katydid, cricket, or grasshopper. 23All other flying insects that have four legs are detestable to you. 24These creatures will make you unclean. Whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean until evening, 25and whoever picks up one of their carcasses must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean until evening. 26Every animal with hooves not completely divided or that does not chew the cud is unclean for you. Whoever touches any of them will be unclean. 27All the four-footed animals that walk on their paws are unclean for you; whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean until evening, 28and anyone who picks up a carcass must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean until evening. They are unclean for you. 29The following creatures that move along the ground are unclean for you: the mole, the mouse, any kind of great lizard, 30the gecko, the monitor lizard, the common lizard, the skink, and the chameleon. 31These animals are unclean for you among all the crawling creatures. Whoever touches them when they are dead shall be unclean until evening. 32When one of them dies and falls on something, that article becomes unclean; any article of wood, clothing, leather, sackcloth, or any implement used for work must be rinsed with water and will remain unclean until evening; then it will be clean. 33If any of them falls into a clay pot, everything in it will be unclean; you must break the pot. 34Any food coming into contact with water from that pot will be unclean, and any drink in such a container will be unclean. 35Anything upon which one of their carcasses falls will be unclean. If it is an oven or cooking pot, it must be smashed; it is unclean and will remain unclean for you. 36Nevertheless, a spring or cistern containing water will remain clean, but one who touches a carcass in it will be unclean. 37If a carcass falls on any seed for sowing, the seed is clean; 38but if water has been put on the seed and a carcass falls on it, it is unclean for you. 39If an animal that you may eat dies, anyone who touches the carcass will be unclean until evening. 40Whoever eats from the carcass must wash his clothes and will be unclean until evening, and anyone who picks up the carcass must wash his clothes and will be unclean until evening. 41Every creature that moves along the ground is detestable; it must not be eaten. 42Do not eat any creature that moves along the ground, whether it crawls on its belly or walks on four or more feet; for such creatures are detestable. 43Do not defile yourselves by any crawling creature; do not become unclean or defiled by them. 44For I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, because I am holy. You must not defile yourselves by any creature that crawls along the ground. 45For I am the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt so that I would be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy. 46This is the law regarding animals, birds, all living creatures that move in the water, and all creatures that crawl along the ground. 47You must distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between animals that may be eaten and those that may not.’”
Life is short. Where are you going?
You just read God’s own words, and one day every one of us will stand before Him. “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (James 4:14). This life will be over sooner than you think — do you know where you are going when it is?
The Bible says, “Man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). If you died today, would you be ready?
Are you a good person?
Most of us think we are. But God doesn’t measure us against other people — He measures us by His Law. Look honestly at the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:3–17):
- You shall have no other gods before Me.
- You shall not make for yourself an idol.
- You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
- Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
- Honor your father and mother.
- You shall not murder.
- You shall not commit adultery.
- You shall not steal.
- You shall not bear false witness.
- You shall not covet.
Have you ever told a lie — even a small one? Have you ever taken something that wasn’t yours? Have you ever used God’s name as a curse word? Have you ever wanted what belongs to someone else? Jesus said that anyone who looks with lust “has already committed adultery … in his heart” (Matthew 5:28), and the Bible says “everyone who hates his brother is a murderer” (1 John 3:15).
If we’re honest, we have all broken God’s Law — and “whoever keeps the whole law but stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it” (James 2:10). “There is no one righteous, not even one … there is no one who does good, not even one” (Romans 3:10–12).
That leaves every one of us guilty before a holy God. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), and “whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36). This is why our world is full of tragedy — and without Christ, every life ends in the greatest tragedy of all.
But God made a way
“God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Jesus lived the perfect life we never could, and on the cross He took the punishment we deserved: “God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Three days later He rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:3–4).
It’s like standing guilty in court when the judge steps down and pays your fine himself. Forgiveness is a free gift — you can’t earn it: “It is by grace you have been saved through faith … it is the gift of God, not by works” (Ephesians 2:8–9). “The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness.” Jesus — John 10:10
What will you do with Jesus?
“Repent and believe in the gospel!” (Mark 1:15). Turn from your sin, and put your trust in Jesus alone — “if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). Don’t put it off — “now is the time of favor; now is the day of salvation!” (2 Corinthians 6:2).
And when you turn to Him, you won’t be met with a frown — you’ll be met with a celebration. Jesus said, “there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10). God says, “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked should turn from their ways and live” (Ezekiel 33:11). He is “mighty to save. He will rejoice over you with gladness … He will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17). Like the father who ran to embrace his lost son, He is waiting with open arms — and heaven throws a party when you come home (Luke 15:20–24).
If you died today, where would you spend eternity? Today you can be forgiven, made new, and have real, abundant life — now and forever.
Scripture quotations are from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), which is in the public domain.