How we bear the name of the Lord your God is closely related to how we eat. Ye are the children of the LORD your God: ye shall not cut yourselves . . . (Deuteronomy 14:1-21a).
This passage begins the commentary in Deuteronomy on the third commandment, which prohibits bearing the name of the Lord God in vanity. The chapter begins by noting the fact that Israel does in fact bear His name—they are His children (v. 1). Because of this, their behavior must differ from that of the surrounding pagans. They must not mourn for the dead the way the pagans do (v. 1). They are a holy people (v. 2). Their separation includes what they may and may not eat—they may not eat any abominable thing (v. 3). The list of foods follows the order of creation—land, water, air. Specifically, they may eat certain animals (vv. 4-5), but the rule is then given. The animal must have a cloven hoof and chew the cud (v. 6 ). One criterion by itself is insufficient (vv. 7-8). As far as the creatures in water are concerned, the food must have fins and scales (vv. 9-10). Of the birds, a specific rule is not given but rather several lists (vv. 11-20). One principle might be that carrion fowl are prohibited—birds that eat unclean food are themselves unclean.
The people are called God’s children, and includes both sons and daughters. “. . . because of the provoking of his sons, and of his daughters” (Dt. 32:19). The same thing is true in the New Testament. “And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty” (2 Cor. 6:18). We may place this passage as an exposition of the third commandment because of the emphasis of vv. 1-2. The people of Israel are God’s children, and children carry the name of their Father. But we see in the second verse that they are to bear the holiness and glory of the name, and not just the fact of it.
But there is always a tug toward paganism; we must always deal with that pagan bent . . . Those without hope and without God in the world gravitate to certain predictable manifestations of their despair. Certain believers, clueless as always, are tempted to imitate them. Even though it was not always obeyed (Jer. 16:6), this law forbids it. But for the pagan, self-mutilation has a strong attraction. “And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them” (1 Kings 18:28). Piercings and self-mutilations — expressions of disgust in the image of God — are a cultural expression of fundamental unbelief. But more is involved in this — with what goes into the mouth — than just that tongue stud.
The dietary regulations of the Old Testament are clear enough in themselves, but how this relates to us in the New Testament has not always been so clear. We need to consider two aspects of the question—the symbolism of the required behavior in the Old Testament, and the nature of this fulfilled symbolism in the New.
The fact of a change is clear. “The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation” (Heb. 9:8-10). And of course, we have the famous passage from Acts: “And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common” (Acts 10:13-15; cf. Mark 7:15-19).
The dietary regulations of the Old Testament were part of what we call the holiness code. The code taught the importance of making distinctions in the light of God’s Word. “This, not that.” The apostle Paul plainly teaches us about this code. “That at that time ye [Gentiles] were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise . . . now in Christ Jesus ye . . . are made nigh by the blood of Christ . . . who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man” (Eph. 2:11-17; cf. Col. 2:16-17).
How are we to put these requirements from Deuteronomy into practice? How will this make a difference in our lives? First, with regard to self-mutilation—paganism begins in the heart but it never ends there. We reject unbelief in the heart, of course, but we also reject it in its tattooed, glued, and screwed manifestations. We also look to be obedient to this text in our approach to the dinner table. How then shall we eat?—we are Gentiles, and are therefore invited to have ham for Easter.