Every animal that parts the hoof and has the hoof cloven in two and chews the cud, among the animals, you may eat. Yet of those that chew the cud or have the hoof cloven you shall not eat these: the camel, the hare, and the rock badger, because they chew the cud but do not part the hoof, are unclean for you.
In the above verse we begin a section on Deuteronomy that Moses writes to explain the Israelite people and priest what they can eat and what they can’t eat. During that time the “rules” had to do with food safety, as much as person holiness. As is a lot of material in the Old Testament, the dietary laws were written for more than what the practical aspect of the law presented. In this case the dietary law above was written to demonstrate that God has a disntinction between things. There were some animals (based upon their created characteristics) were permissible to eat and others were not. God created them with distinction. That is God’s way. Note the use of the word “kind” in this passage from the creation story:
And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
Now notice the use of the same thought in this creation of God:
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
Do you notice the “distinction?” God does not mix and match by His design. Do we see the practical point for today? God has designed what He has designed. He creates with distinction. He does not make a mistake, making one thing way, when it was supposed to be the other way. You can’t have two things that are created with definite distinction, suddenly switch and be the same. That is the issue facing us in our society today with gender identity. God does not make mistakes. To say that He does is to say God is not perfect. To say that God suddenly does a change in distinction is to say that distinction does not matter to God. The dietary law above would show us how serious God is about distinction. He even goes to lengths to use the doctrine for the nation of Israel to be safe and healthy, but to also be pure and holy. Distinction is one aspect of God’s holiness and character. We ought to remember that when we are facing this current challenge from the world that wants to smear God’s distinction and try to make everything the same. They are not because they were NOT created to be the same.
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