Message 37
Scripture Reading: 2, Lev. 11:24-25b-28, 31-35, 39-40, 36-37, 3, 9, 21, 44-45
We have seen that chapter eleven of Leviticus is concerned with the matter of diet, with the matter of eating. Now we need to see that this chapter is also very much concerned with death. In Leviticus 11 the word “carcass” is used at least thirteen times, and the word “dead” is used twice. Without death, there could not be any carcasses. A carcass actually denotes death. As long as there is a carcass, there is death.
The fact that this chapter speaks of death in relation to diet indicates that our diet, our eating, is a matter of life or death. If we contact clean things, we get life. But if we contact unclean things, we get death.
In this chapter the words “abomination” and “detestable” also refer to uncleanness. We should detest uncleanness, hate it to the uttermost, because it brings us death. Whenever we touch something that is unclean, we touch death. In Leviticus 11 uncleanness is synonymous with death. Where there is uncleanness, there is death. Moreover, death consummates in a carcass. The carcasses even of the clean living creatures are unclean (vv. 39-40).
Death is an ugly, abominable thing. Therefore, we need to abstain from death. Apparently chapter eleven speaks of abstaining from uncleanness; actually this chapter tells us to abstain from death. The death from which we should abstain is not mainly physical death but spiritual death. Spiritual death is more prevailing on earth than physical death. Spiritual death is everywhere. Not only sinful, worldly places but even the most moral, ethical places are full of spiritual death. Chapter eleven of Leviticus warns us to abstain from spiritual death.
As a help to understanding what spiritual death is, let us consider the significance of the two trees in the garden of Eden — the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
After God created man, He placed him before these two trees (Gen. 2:8-9). The tree of life is simply, singly, purely, and absolutely of life. With this tree there are no complications. Instead, there is only one thing — life. The man created by God was thus in a situation where he was facing the tree of life.
In the Bible, God is signified, or illustrated, by a tree (e.g. Hosea 14:8). When God became incarnated and lived on earth, He said of Himself, “I am the vine” (John 15:5a). A vine grows by spreading and for this reason it is available to us. A pine, on the contrary, grows upward. We cannot reach the top of a fully-grown pine tree, but we easily have access to a vine. I am glad that the Lord said not that He was a pine but that He was a vine. Our God is high, yet He lowered Himself to become a vine, spreading Himself to reach the four corners of the earth.
This vine is the tree of life. We can prove this by putting John 15:5a together with John 14:6a, where the Lord says, “I am the life.” On the one hand, He is the vine, a tree; on the other hand, He is life. Therefore, He is the tree of life. Christ, the embodiment of the Triune God, is the tree of life.
The Bible not only begins with the tree of life in Genesis but also consummates with the tree of life in Revelation. Revelation 22:2a says, “On this side and on that side of the river was the tree of life.” Verse 14 of that chapter goes on to say, “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have right to the tree of life.” These verses speak of the tree of life in the New Jerusalem. What about today? In the church life today we may enjoy Christ as the tree of life. According to Revelation 2:7, the Lord has promised Himself to us as the tree of life for our enjoyment. “To him who overcomes, to him I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” Today’s church life is a prefigure, a miniature, of the New Jerusalem, which is the paradise of God. In a very real sense, therefore, in the church life we are in the paradise of God enjoying Christ as our tree of life.
In Hosea 14:8 the Lord likens Himself to an evergreen tree. He is not only the tree of life — He is also the evergreen. As the tree of life, He is ever green.
In the garden of Eden there was not only the tree of life but also the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The tree of life signifies God Himself as the totality and source of life. When God placed Adam in the garden, He knew that in this universe there was also another source — God’s enemy, Satan. There is not only one source — God as the source of life; there is also a second source — Satan as the source of death. Just as God is the totality and source of life, Satan is the totality and source of death. Therefore, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil signifies death.
Whereas life is pure and single, death is complicated. The tree that signifies death is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Here we have three things which make death a complicated matter: knowledge, good, and evil. Since knowledge is related to death, the more knowledge we have, the more we are involved with death. Likewise, good is involved not with life but with death. Evil, of course, is an element of death. We all count evil with death, but we may count knowledge and good with life. In the Bible, however, life stands by itself, but both knowledge and good go with death. Eventually, knowledge, good, and evil all consummate in death.
In order to live a holy life, we need to abstain from anything that belongs to death. In particular, we need to abstain from the common practice of gossiping. Those who have the habit of gossiping may pretend to be concerned about others and their situation. Actually, due to their habit of gossiping, they are merely seeking more knowledge for the purpose of gossiping. The source of the habit of gossiping is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Through Adam’s fall this tree has been implanted into us. Even though we have been saved and have had God as the tree of life planted into our being, we still have the tree of the knowledge of good and evil within us. This means that each of us is a miniature garden of Eden. We have God within us as the tree of life and also Satan as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Gossiping has nothing to do with the tree of life, for gossiping never imparts life to the listeners. To gossip is to be involved with death; it is to spread death, which is of God’s enemy, to others. To abstain from gossip is to abstain from death. If we would live a holy life, a life that abstains from anything related to death, we must stay away from the source of death; that is, we must stay away from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
All dead things are unclean. Uncleanness, therefore, equals death.
Death is more defiling and abominable than sin. But according to our concept, sin is more serious than death. If we do not have the right concept concerning death, it will not be easy for us to realize that death is more defiling than sin. Because of our ethical and moral concepts, we know that lying is sinful. If someone lies to us, we shall condemn that lie as sinful. However, we may not realize that talk which is ethical may nevertheless be filled with death. For example, we may not realize talking with a brother about his family may involve death. Such talk may be ethical but still be filled with death.
Using another illustration, I would point out that even giving a book to a brother may involve death. Suppose a brother gives a book to another brother with the intention of pleasing him. Even such a good thing may be filled with death. We should give something to a brother not with the purpose of pleasing him but simply because we are following the Lord’s leading. It is political to have a purpose, an intention, when we give something to a brother.
Suppose one’s intention in giving a book to a brother is to please the brother so that he will then stand with the one who gave him the book. This kind of intention is filled with death, and those who have spiritual understanding, spiritual discernment, will recognize it. The issue of giving a book with this intention is the forming of a party, and such a party will spread death. First, the one who receives the book will be defiled by death. Then between these two brothers who have formed a party, there will be nothing but death. The giving of the book was apparently good, but it involved death.
From this illustration we can see that death is more hidden than sin. It is not easy for us to see through a thing and discern that it is filled with death. A deed like the giving of a book may have a very good appearance but may actually be filled with the uncleanness of death. Death surely is more defiling and abominable than sin.
Leviticus 5 reveals that through the trespass offering any sin shall be forgiven immediately (vv. 2, 17-18). From this we see that to deal with sin, to have sin forgiven, is easy. We simply offer the trespass offering, and then we are forgiven.
According to Leviticus 11, a person touching the carcass of any animal shall be unclean until the evening (vv. 24-25, 27b-28a, 31b, 39-40). “Until the evening” means until the end of one’s daily life. This indicates that it takes time for us to be cleansed from the defilement of death. Our experience proves this. If we commit a trespass and then confess it to the Lord, we shall be forgiven immediately, and the matter is settled. But if we are defiled by death, we cannot be cleansed “until the evening.” This means that a certain period of time must pass before we can be cleansed from the defilement of death.
Time is not a factor in being forgiven of our sins, but it is a factor in being cleansed from the defilement of death. We Christians deal with sins simply by confessing them and applying the Lord’s precious blood to our case. As soon as we do this, we are forgiven and cleansed. However, if we touch a “carcass” and are thereby defiled by death, this defilement will remain with us for quite a period of time. Although it does not take time for us to be cleansed from sin, it does take time for us to be cleansed from the defilement of death. This proves that death defiles us more and longer than sin does.
Whereas a person who touches the carcass of an animal shall be unclean until the evening, a person who touches the carcass of a man shall be unclean seven days (Num. 19:11,13). This indicates not only that death is more serious than sin, but also that the carcass of a man is more defiling than the carcass of an animal. In the sight of God, human beings are the most defiling element.
A person defiled by the carcass of an animal shall wash his clothes (Lev. 11:25, 28a, 40). This signifies that the defilement of death should be cleansed from our conduct in our daily life. Clothes signify our daily walk, our daily life. Our daily life should be washed from the defilement of death.
Anything upon which the carcass of any animal falls is unclean, and anything thus defiled shall be washed in water (v. 32). This signifies that the defilement of death should be cleansed away by the cleansing of the Spirit of life. The water in 11:32 signifies the Spirit of life. When we are defiled by touching death, we need to confess our sins and then pray ourselves into the Spirit. It is in the Spirit that our daily life, our daily walk, which has been defiled by death, will be cleansed.
The carcass of any animal falling into an earthen vessel or upon an oven or stove makes it unclean, and that vessel or oven or stove shall be broken (vv. 33, 35). This signifies that, like the vessel, our natural man, being defiled by death in our daily life, should be broken. The vessel in verse 33 signifies our natural man, our being, our self. Our natural man is a vessel. Once the vessel of our natural man has been defiled by death in our daily life, this vessel should be broken. Our natural man, our being, our self, which has been defiled by death, needs to be broken by the cross of Christ.
Any food in the earthen vessel upon which water comes and any drink in the vessel shall be made unclean by the fallen carcass (v. 34). This signifies that a person who is touched by the earthly flow or mixed with it in his daily life is easily affected by the defilement of death. If we are worldly, it is easy for us to be defiled by anything of death.
A spring or a cistern holding water shall remain clean (v. 36a). This signifies that anything that has the flow of the living water, which washes away the defilement of death at any time, remains clean. The spring of living water signifies the Spirit, and the cistern of the living water signifies Christ, who holds the living water. As long as we have the spring and the cistern, the Spirit and Christ, in our daily life, we shall remain clean.
If any part of the carcass of an animal falls on any seed for sowing, the seed is clean (v. 37). This signifies that anything that is living and possesses life that has the strength to resist defilement remains clean. The seed that has the life with the strength to resist defilement is a type of Christ.
I would now like to add a conclusion to what we have covered in these two messages on chapter eleven of Leviticus.
The matter of eating involves cleanness. This cleanness typifies the very Christ who is our content, life supply, and spiritual food. Christ is the real cleanness. He is the reality of cleanness.
Only Christ and that which is out of Christ are clean for our food supply. This only is what we should contact, eat, and receive.
Christ divides the hoof and chews the cud (v. 3). When Christ walked on earth, His hooves were fully divided, and He chewed the cud. He was full of discernment, and He received the word of God with much reconsideration.
Christ has fins (v. 9). When He was on earth, He could move freely without being caught by worldly things. Christ also has scales (v. 9). Because of these scales, He could withstand the influence of the corrupted world.
Christ has jointed legs above the feet and leaps on the ground (v. 21). Therefore, when He was on earth, He could live and move in a life that was above the world, and He could keep Himself from the world.
Christ is a spring or cistern that holds living water (v. 36). He is the spring of the living Spirit of God, and He is also the holder of this living Spirit.
Christ is a seed for sowing (v. 37). This is clearly revealed in the New Testament.
Even such a chapter as Leviticus 11 is full of Christ. He is the supply in our daily life in every aspect. As the reality of all the positive things in the whole universe (Col. 2:17), He is all the clean living creatures. The clean living creatures that walk on earth, live in the water, and fly in the air are all types of Christ. Christ is the One who can soar in the air and live in salt water. Furthermore, all the offerings in chapters one through seven also typify Christ. In the sight of God, He is all the offerings. As long as we have Christ, we have the proper thing to contact, to eat, and to digest. In every way, He is our life supply. He is even our cleanness.
“I am Jehovah your God; you shall therefore sanctify yourselves and be holy, for I am holy.…For I am Jehovah, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God; you shall therefore be holy, for I am holy” (vv. 44-45). Only Christ is able to keep us holy, as God is holy.
