Restrictions against eating “unclean meats/animals with a cloven hoof" is one of those subjects that Christians often think they can skip over because “it’s just an Old Testament dietary law." But since every word of Scripture is “God-breathed," we do well to understand why God created specific restrictions like these. Was this just an indiscriminate rule to keep the Israelites in line, or was there a spiritual or physical reason? Let’s take a closer look at both the Old and New Testaments to gain a better understanding of God’s intention.
What Animals Are Considered Clean and Unclean in the Old Testament?
How did the people of Israel know what animals were considered by God to be clean and unclean? After the Lord freed the Israelites from bondage in Egypt and instituted His covenant with the people at Mt. Sinai, the Israelites were meant to be a people “set apart” or “holy” unto the Lord. God wanted them to be different from the pagan nations around them and to be glorified by providing all of the rules they needed for healthy, holy living. That’s how the laws about unclean meats/animals with a cloven hoof came into being. These and other laws are found in the Book of Leviticus, so named because the Levite priests were to be in control of how these were followed.
In chapter 11, the Lord told Moses and Aaron, “Say to the Israelites: Of all the animals that live on land, these are the ones you may eat: You may eat any animal that has a split hoof completely divided and that chews the cud” (Leviticus 11:2-3). Matthew Henry, in his Commentary, states, “Most of the meats forbidden as unclean are such as were really unwholesome, and not fit to be eaten; and those of them that we think wholesome enough, and use accordingly, as the rabbit, the hare, and the swine, perhaps in those countries, and to their bodies, might be hurtful. And then God in this law did by them but as a wise and loving father does by his children, whom he restrains from eating that which he knows will make them sick.” He also states that unclean animals were those that were used for pagan sacrifice in other nations.
Besides the rabbit and swine, the following were also considered unclean meats:
camels
anything living in the water without fins or scales (no shellfish)
birds of prey like the eagle, vulture, owl, raven, heron and more
insects that walk on all fours
weasels, rats, lizards
any creature that moves about on the ground
animals that walk on four paws like dogs or cats
What was left for them to eat that God called “clean”?
sheep, cattle, goats, deer, buffalo, gazelles, antelope
salt and freshwater fish
chicken, turkey, and pheasant
locusts, crickets, grasshoppers
There were even laws about touching the carcass of an unclean animal (it would make the person unclean for a period of time).
Why Are Cloven Hoofs Mentioned in the Bible?
Henry has an interesting explanation of why animals with cloven hooves that chew cud are considered clean, which goes far afield from simply considering meats that are healthier. He states, “Meditation, and other acts of devotion done by the hidden man of the heart, may be signified by the chewing of the cud, digesting our spiritual food; justice and charity towards men, and the acts of a good conversation, may be signified by the dividing of the hoof. Now either of these without the other will not serve to recommend us to God, but both must go together, good affections in the heart and good works in the life: if either be wanting, we are not clean, surely we are not clean.” Some believe that the cloven hoof, in which the toes are separated, represents being separated from the world of non-believers.
Why Did God Give Dietary Laws about Clean and Unclean Animals?
In Leviticus 11:44, God tells His people, “I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy.” Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Bible Theology comments on this verse: "Israel's existence was marked indelibly by the nature of its deity, 'I am holy' was the basis for their worldview, history, spirituality, and purpose.” And while the people would be far from perfect, they were called to follow Him and follow what He called them to do in being set apart.
Even in matters of the food that God gave His people to eat, He wanted them and their enemies to know that they were a people who belonged to the One True God. While it may not make sense to us today, if we were living amongst people who were conducting ritualistic animal sacrifices to a pagan god, we would understand God’s edicts. By following even rules about eating, the Israelites were showing reverence to the God who brought them out of slavery in Egypt and would be their God despite their continued disobedience over the centuries.
As mentioned, God cared about the health of His people. Who knows better than the Creator of the Universe what is healthy and what is not healthy to eat? He knows what will make His people stronger and even gave instructions about how to prepare these meats. God wanted not just their belief but their complete dependence on Him in everything, even the mundane things of their every day.
Do Christians Need to Follow Old Testament Dietary Laws?
Before we rush into responding, “No, because we are not bound by the law," let’s look at some verses in the New Testament that speak of “clean” and “unclean” and how Jesus put a different spin on dietary restrictions. When he said to his disciples in the gospel of Mark, “Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them” (Mark 7:18-19), he was speaking of something other than food. This statement came after the religious elites were criticizing the disciples for not doing a ritual washing before eating. Jesus was talking about what comes out of a man’s heart is what defiles him–what he says and what his attitude is toward God and his fellow man. He wasn’t rejecting what His Father designed for His people; He was calling out the hypocrisy that separates us from God. Jesus came to fulfill the Mosaic Law by dying on the cross for the sins of the world, including those who couldn’t keep the law.
Later, Paul writes to the Romans that there are no longer dietary restrictions, but one should be cognizant of insulting someone with what one is eating. “I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died” (Romans 14:14-17).
Lessons for Christians Today from Biblical Dietary Laws
While God won’t reject you as His child today if you have a BLT sandwich, Leviticus reminds us of the fact that God wants His people to be set apart. Those who are believers in Christ are set apart not only by actions, but by attitudes. Jesus said that the two greatest commandments were to love God and love your neighbor (Matthew 22:37-39) and that people would know His disciples by their love for one another (John 13:35). God is love and that’s what He wants us to pour out of our hearts toward others. That includes respecting others and not exacting judgment because we may not agree.
Levitical laws remind us to examine our lives and see if there are any things missing in our walk with God. Are we obeying how He would want us to live? Are we honoring Him with our words and deeds? Are we doing things for God out of love or obligation? Are we spending time in His word so that we will know what it means to be set apart and holy as a Christian?
Perhaps right now God is calling you away from or out of a situation so that you can walk more closely with Him. If so, you will know what it was like to be Moses and the Israelites when they were called out of Egypt. While we may grumble about the sacrifices we have to make to live the life of a Christian (like the Israelites did when learning to be chosen people in the wilderness), we need only to look to the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross to put our desires and “needs” in perspective. And the amazing grace of it all is that God will help us even as we struggle with living perfectly for His glory.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Bruno Guerreiro
Mary Oelerich-Meyer is a Chicago-area freelance writer and copy editor who prayed for years for a way to write about and for the Lord. She spent 20 years writing for area healthcare organizations, interviewing doctors and clinical professionals and writing more than 1,500 articles in addition to marketing collateral materials. Important work, but not what she felt called to do. She is grateful for any opportunity to share the Lord in her writing and editing, believing that life is too short to write about anything else. Previously she served as Marketing Communications Director for a large healthcare system. She holds a B.A. in International Business and Marketing from Cornell College (the original Cornell!) When not researching or writing, she loves to spend time with her writer daughter, granddaughter, rescue doggie and husband (not always in that order).
