These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters whatever hath fins and scales in waters, in seas and in rivers, these shall ye eat;
The rule for water creatures is short: two marks, fins and scales, decided whether a fish could be eaten in Israel. Commentators read it as more than a food list: the two marks picture what a person needs in an element that is not his home.
The test looked at one thing: how the fish was equipped for the water it lived in.
Two things were needed to make a fish clean under the law: "fins and scales." These marks clearly show a fitness for the place and the element in which the creature had to move.
Neither mark works on its own. One believer moves easily through the world but lets it soak in. Another shuts the world out but goes nowhere.
The fin and the scale show us two things we especially need: spiritual energy to move on through the element that surrounds us, and the power to keep that element from acting on us. It is no use having the ability to get on through the world if we are not proof against the world's influence. And though we may seem able to keep the world out, if we have no driving power we are defective. The "fins" would not do without the "scales," nor the "scales" without the "fins."
The two organs answer to two different problems: the pull of the current, and the dirt of the water itself.
The fins let it swim against the stream. On the Columbia River you can stand and watch great fish leap up rapids, or small falls, several feet high. In the same way God has given you and me a power to "swim against the stream." But sometimes a fish must swim through filthy water. To protect it, God has given it scales... And fitted with this armour, the fish can pass in safety through the filth. So God has made a way for His own to pass unharmed through all the filth around us. He also gives the power to go against the stream.
Water is a denser element, and it pushes back against everything that moves through it.
What was clean here had fins and scales — means of movement and defence. But water is a denser element than the ones before it, and its resistance turns movement itself into a fight. Here the "fin" is the weapon of attack, and the "scale" the weapon of defence. So we are reminded that the life of faith is a warfare too, and no one is excused from it. We cannot stay out of the fight and be clean. To go unarmed is to be overcome. Every step forward must be a victory.
The fin steers as much as it drives. Kelly asks what a believer still needs after forgiveness.
The fins were the organs that directed and balanced the fish's movements, and we can readily see what having them, or lacking them, means for us. It is not enough to be born of God, or even to be justified by faith. Beyond question, we must have a new nature from God, and we must be freed from the weight of a conscience burdened by sin. We also need a living and constant power of direction, so that we may know and do His will — moving where He wants us to move, or holding back when He tells us... Only by submitting to His word do we become obedient, as the Lord Jesus was, and the Holy Spirit sanctifies us for that obedience.
The same two marks apply to people who serve God in public, where activity can outrun the inner life.
The lack of balance shows when the worker's communion with God falls behind his public gospel service. Much sail with little ballast capsizes the boat... A creature with no "fins" (the driving power) and no "scales" (the protecting power) was to be an "abomination" (Lev. 11)... I know that this lack of balance between communion with God and public service is a danger. Every servant of Christ has to be on guard against it.
Commentators are clear that the diet law bound Israel, and that the Christian is not under it.
Scripture makes it clear that the ban on certain creatures as unclean applied to Israel only. The vision God gave to Peter shows that this restriction is done away in Christ. Scripture states plainly: "everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer."
- Element — Water resists every movement, so the life of faith is a fight; every step forward must be a victory.
- Fins — Power to drive and steer, the weapon of attack. Without God's word to direct it, energy alone is not enough.
- Scales — Armour that keeps the filth outside, the weapon of defence. To go unarmed is to be overcome.
- Both — Neither mark counts on its own. Drive without protection, or protection without drive, leaves a life defective.
- Freedom — The food rule belonged to Israel and is done away in Christ. The lesson of the two marks remains.
but all that have not fins and scales in seas and in rivers, of all that swarm in the waters, and of every living soul which is in the waters -- they shall be an abomination unto you.
Leviticus 11 sorts animals into what Israel could eat and what they could not. Verse 10 gives the rule for water creatures from the negative side. Two small features settle the case: fins and scales. Why would God rule on a nation's menu at all, and what do these marks teach?
Why would God care what Israel ate? One writer starts with what the food itself stands for.
Here we have to learn about food — what is clean and what is unclean… Spiritually, our food declares our character, as it also forms it. Whoever eats Christ will not only live by Him; his life will in practice grow like His too. So the food God allows His people here pictures the spiritual life of God's people… Health is never the point. The law does not deal with what is wholesome or unwholesome, but with what is clean or unclean.
The marks were easy to check, and such fish were in fact good to eat. But one writer asks who these rules were really written for.
But what believer doubts that a deeper bearing lay under what is written? As the apostle asked in 1 Corinthians 9, Is it for the oxen that God cares, or does He say it altogether for our sakes? Surely for our sakes was it written.
A fish needed both marks. One writer carries the pair over into the believer's life.
A fish needs a "fin" to move through the water and "scales" to resist it. In the same way the believer needs the spiritual power to move on through the world around him and, at the same time, to resist its influence — to keep it out… It is no use having the power to get on through the world, if we are not proof against the world's influence; and though we may seem to be able to keep the world out, yet if we have not the motive power, we are defective.
Fins do more than push; they steer and balance. One writer asks what steers a believer.
The fins were the organs that directed and balanced the fish's movements. So we can easily see what it means spiritually to have what matches them, or to lack it… it is not enough to be born of God, nor even to be justified by faith… We also need a living, constant power of direction so that we may know and do His will, to move where He desires or hold back when He says. Only in subjection to His word can we find ourselves obedient, as the Lord Jesus was… "How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word."
Verse 10 describes a lack. One writer explains what the two marks give, then what a fish without them is like.
"Fins" show that the creature has power to go down, or rise high, or to swim against the stream; and the scales that wrap it completely picture the covering or armour that the true servants of God have… The stream carries a dead fish along, and it only turns with the windings of the river. Not so the way of faith. It looks only to the Lord. It finds direction in His word… A fish with "no fins" enjoys burrowing in the mud and is at home in what is unclean, with the current of circumstances alone to direct it. A fish with "no scales" has no covering, so every influence around it gets at it. So it is with many who call themselves Christians. They are at home in the world — its trade, politics, pleasures, or religion — and they make no stand for Christ's name and honour.
Verse 10 calls these creatures detestable. One writer ties the two marks to daily conflict, and then to the company a believer keeps.
These creatures live where movement is hard, since water is much heavier than air. This speaks of the conflict of believers, who must spend energy to make any progress at all. For this conflict we need fins, the means of movement, which is in effect our weapon of attack, while the scales are for protection or defence. All true Christians are enlisted in God's army, so one who has no spiritual defence and no spiritual energy is not a fit companion for a believer. How can we have spiritual fellowship with one who has no spiritual qualities? These are in fact called an "abomination," so they are to be repulsive to a believer.
- Food forms you. This law is about clean and unclean, not healthy and unhealthy. Your food pictures and shapes who you are.
- Fins move you. They give power and direction to press on against a heavy element. That direction comes from God's word, not from feelings or circumstances.
- Scales guard you. They keep the surrounding element out. Without them, every influence around the creature gets in.
- Both, or neither. Energy without protection fails, and so does protection without energy. Only the two together made the creature clean.
- So the verdict. A life with no drive and no defence drifts with the current — and makes no fit companion for one who has both.
They shall be even an abomination unto you of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase ye shall have in abomination.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
Whatever in the waters hath no fins and scales, that shall be an abomination unto you.
Leviticus 11 sets out which creatures Israel could eat. One test settles every water creature: fins and scales. Verse 12 closes the section by repeating the verdict on everything that lacks them. The ESV calls such creatures "detestable"; the older translation the writers below use says "abomination." Why such a strong word for a rule about fish?
A creature had to carry both marks. Commentators read the pair as a picture of two things a believer cannot do without.
As Israel was not to eat every sea or river fish, the believer is again taught what he ought to avoid. Two marks are specified, and without them he was forbidden to eat. If they had not fins and scales, he must not make them his own. Both divine direction and divine protection are required in all things and at every step.
Fins and scales do two different jobs, and one cannot stand in for the other.
They show us, in ceremonial dress, two things we especially need. One is spiritual energy to move onward through the element around us. The other is the power to keep us safe from its action. The one will not do without the other. It is no use being able to get on through the world if we are not proof against the world's influence. And though we may seem able to keep the world out, if we have not the motive power, we are defective. The "fins" would not do without the "scales," nor the "scales" without the "fins."
Fins let a fish choose its course. Scales cover it against what surrounds it. Take both away, and you have a life steered by circumstances alone.
What many really mean by the guidance of providence is often only the opening up of circumstances, apart from the mind of God. But the principle is "unclean." A dead fish is carried down the stream, and only turns according to the windings of the river. Not so the way of faith. It looks only to the Lord. It finds direction in His word... A fish that has "no fins" finds its pleasure in burrowing in the mud. Its element is what is unclean, and only the current of circumstances directs it. A fish that has "no scales" is naked, and so exposed to every influence around it.
The word is severe because the lesson is about what we take in and make our own.
To feed on anything that leaves Christ out, to do without His direction and preserving care, is and ought to be an abomination to our souls. So the Israelite was to shun the finless and scaleless creatures that moved in the waters. Alive or dead, he must hold them in abomination. If they lacked the normal guidance and protection that these two marks represent, he was not just to leave them uneaten. He was to hold them in horror. But all that had divine direction and protection he could freely use and take without fear.
Water is heavier than air, so a fish must spend energy just to move forward. That effort pictures a real conflict, and each of the two marks has its own part in it.
For this conflict we need fins, the means of movement, which is in effect our offensive weapon. The scales are for protection, or defence. All true Christians are enlisted in God's army (2 Tim. 2:3-4), therefore one who has no spiritual defence and no spiritual energy is not a fit companion for a believer. How can we have spiritual fellowship with one who has no spiritual qualities?
Does any of this still govern what a Christian eats? These rules had a starting point and a purpose.
These distinctions were not made in Noah's day — see Genesis 9:2-3. This fact, we believe, lies behind Paul's statement, "there is nothing unclean of itself" (Rom. 14:14); and again, "all things are lawful for me" (1 Cor. 10:23). In Noah's day all men were in view. In Moses' day reason
- Both marks. A fish needed fins and scales together. One without the other left it unclean. The pair pictures divine direction and divine protection.
- Fins. Direction is power to move against the current, not to turn with the windings of the river. Faith looks to the Lord and finds its course in His word.
- Scales. Protection keeps the surrounding element out. With no covering, a creature lies open to every influence around it.
- Abomination. The strong word marks what a believer should refuse to feed on: anything that leaves Christ out, and any company with no spiritual energy and no spiritual defence.
- Freedom. God gave no such rules to Noah, and Christianity does not carry them on. They kept Israel separate and taught them the holiness of God.