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Previously
saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and
offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in
them” (which are offered according to the law) . . .
He takes away the first that He may establish the second
. . . we have been sanctified through the offering of
the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands
ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices,
which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had
offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right
hand of God . . . (NKJV) Hebrews 10:8-12
. . . to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant . . .(NKJV)
Hebrews 12:24
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But God "brought back" some of those rules from the Old
Covenant. Both the Old and New Covenants told us that we should love
God with all our hearts (Deut. 6:5 and Matt. 22:37). Both covenants
repeat the Ten Commandments except for
keeping the Sabbath.
Eating Foods. The Old Testament
dietary laws were given by God to the nation of Israel for two reasons.
Those who are interested the Mosaic dietary laws are listed in Leviticus
11 and Deuteronomy 14. The only reason given in the Old Testament
for the dietary laws was to separate the Israelites from the nations
around them.
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You
are therefore to make a distinction between the clean animal
and the unclean, and between the unclean bird and the clean;
and you shall not make yourselves detestable by animal or by
bird or by anything that creeps on the ground, which I have
separated for you as unclean. Thus you are to be holy to Me,
for I the LORD am holy; and I have set you apart from the peoples
to be Mine. (NASB) Leviticus 20:25-26 |
But there is also another important reason. The laws
helped to minimize the spread of disease. There is a fascinating book
written about the benefits of these dietary laws entitled "None
of These Diseases." Here is a quote from this book.
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When
God led the Israelites out of afflicted Egypt, He promised them
that if they would obey His statues, He would put "None
of these diseases" upon them. God guaranteed a freedom
from disease . . . |
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McMillen,
S. I. M.D., None of These Diseases. Spire Books. 1973. |
The Mosaic dietary laws provided that great freedom. The Israelites
did not see the level of disease the Egyptians had experienced. After
Jesus death, return to physical life, and return to heaven the Mosaic
dietary laws were revoked. They were no longer needed because
1) God was putting both Jews and Gentiles together into something
we call the church, and 2) the sanitary practices were now personal
choice. |
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