Ver. 1. Unto Moses and to Aaron.] Magistrate and minister must jointly see that God’s laws be duly executed. Queen Elizabeth once in her progress visiting the county of Suffolk, all the justices of peace in that county met her majesty; having every one his minister next to his body; which the queen took special notice of, and thereupon uttered this speech, that she had often demanded of her Privy Council why her county of Suffolk was better governed than any other county, and could never understand the reason thereof, but now she herself perceived the reason. It must needs be so, said she, where Moses and Aaron, the word and the sword, go together.
Ver. 2. These are the beasts which ye shall eat.] These, and these only; (1.) That ye may be at mine appointment for your very meat, as who am chief Lord of all; (2.) That there may be a difference betwixt you and all other people; (3.) That ye may be taught to study purity, and know that the very creatures are defiled by man’s sin; (4.) That ye may have these things as “a shadow of things to come.” (Colossians 2:16,17)
Ver. 3. Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and cheweth the cud.] To teach them to think upon God’s commandments to do them, (Psalms 103:18) cleansing themselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit. (2 Corinthians 7:1) Moreover clean Christians, typed by those clean beasts, must rightly part the hoof; that is, rightly divide their time; giving a due share thereof to either of their callings.
Ver. 4. The camel.] The foolish Jews when they saw Mohammed arising in such power, were immediately ready to cry him up for their Messiah. But when they saw him eat of a camel, saith mine author, they were as blank as when they saw the hoped issue of their late Jewish virgin turned to a daughter. Dr Hall’s Peacemaker.
Ver. 5. And the coney.] Which hath his name in Hebrew from hiding himself in holes. A weak, but a wise creature. (Proverbs 30:26) And wisdom is better than strength. (Ecclesiastes 9:15) The hare that trusts to the swiftness of her legs, is at length taken and torn in pieces; when the coney that flees to the rocks, doth easily avoid the dogs that pursue her. See Isaiah 40:30,31.
Ver. 6. Because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not.] Meditation must end in practice: as lessons of music must be practised, and a copy not read only, but written after.
Ver. 7. And the swine.] Anima sui data pro sale, ne carnes putrescant, said Cleanthes. The swine hath his soul for salt only; so hath the drunkard.
Ver. 8. Of their flesh shall ye not eat.] Not above the quantity of an olive, say the Jew doctors, who will needs be mending magnificat, adding to the law.
Ver. 9. Whatsoever hath fins and scales.] The fins of the fish are for steering of their motion, the scales for smoothness of passage, for safeguard, for ornament. Those only are clean in the sight of God, Qui squamas et loricam habent patientiae, et pinnulas hilaritatis, saith Bernard. Sermon I. in Die oct. And.
Ver. 10. Of all that move in the waters.] And yet swim also in the air. Like to these is the temporary believer: for that seeming to mount up in spiritual joys, yet he withal swimmeth, yea, batheth himself in the waters of sensual delights.
Ver. 11. They shall be even an abomination.] To teach us, that nothing is lawful, no not for our common use, unless it be “sanctified by the word of God and prayer.” (1 Timothy 4:5 Acts 10:35)
Ver. 12. Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales.] These are little in motion or action, and so not so wholesome as eels and lampreys, that lie lazily in the mud.
Ver. 13. The eagle.] Which yet is counted and called the king of birds, and delights in high flying. That which is highly “esteemed amongst men is abomination before God.” (Luke 16:15)
Ver. 14. And the vulture, and the kite.] That feed upon carrion and dead carcasses, and are emblems of greedy gripers and oppressors.
Ver. 15. Every raven.] Unnatural to his young, whom God himself heareth and feedeth, (Psalms 147:9) though they cry with a harsh note, and cry to God by implication only; and though the raven be an inauspicate bird, and a sign both of man’s punishment and God’s curse. (Isaiah 34:11)
Ver. 16. And the owl, and the night hawk.] Night birds that hate the light, or fly against it, as bats do, are an abomination. Deeds of darkness are out of date, now in the days of the gospel especially. (Romans 13:12,13)
Ver. 17. And the cormorant.] An unsatisfiable bird, that fitly resembleth the devil, who daily devours souls, and yet enlargeth his desires as hell.
Ver. 18. And the swan.] Whose white feathers, but black skin under them, might serve to set forth the hatefulness of hypocrisy.
Ver. 19. And the stork.] Which builds high, (Psalms 104:17) but feeds low on fishes, frogs, and snakes; and so might be the rather rejected as unfit for food. And the lapwing.] Which is worthily made a hieroglyphic of infelicity; because it hath as a coronet upon the head, and yet feeds upon the worst of excrements. It is pity that the saints, that are brought up in scarlet, should embrace the dunghill; (Lamentations 4:5) that any one that is washed in Christ’s blood, should bedabble his robe in the stinking puddle of the world. And the bat.] Cast away either thy wings or thy teeth, saith one to a neuter, and loathing this batlike nature, be what thou art, either a bird or a beast. Dr Hall, Epist. to W. L.
Ver. 20. All fowls that creep.] So all mongrels in religion, that, like the planet Mercury, can he good in conjunction with good, and bad with bad; that have religionem ephemeram, fidem menstruam. Hilar.
Ver. 21. Which have legs above their feet,] i.e., Which have the hinder feet longer, whereby they may leap. Whereas those that have all four feet equal, as Leviticus 11:23, may not be eaten.
Ver. 22. The locust, &c.] All creeping fowls that go upon all four might not be beaten, except Arbe, Soleam, Chargol, and Chargah, names to us unknown.
Ver. 23. Which have four feet.] See on Leviticus 11:21.
Ver. 24. Whosoever toucheth the carcass.] This and the like signified that all, even the least sins, are to be purged through Christ, and carefully cast away.
Ver. 25. Beareth aught, &c.] In his clothes, though he do not touch them with his flesh. Shall wash his clothes.] This was a type of the defiling property of sin: as also of our cleansing by repentance, and faith in Christ’s blood.
Ver. 26. Not cloven footed.] See on Leviticus 11:5.
Ver. 27. Paws.] As wolves, lions, bears, dogs, cats, apes, &c.
Ver. 28. Shall wash his clothes.] As having committed a greater sin than he that toucheth a carcass only. All sin defileth not alike.
Ver. 29. And the tortoise.] Which hath its name in Hebrew of a coach or wagon. The thick shell wherewith it is covered is said to be so hard, that a loaded wagon may go over it and not break it. And such is a hard heart, that cannot repent, or relent never so little.
Ver. 30. The chameleon.] A very fearful creature, and therefore easily turning himself into sundry colours. Carnal fear puts men upon unwarrantable shifts. See Zephaniah 3:13.
Ver. 31. Touch them, when they be dead.] There is no kind of living creature that is defiled while it is alive, or that defileth while it is alive, save man only, saith Maimony. Others note that there were more remarkable expressions of God’s anger upon man’s sin in the dead body of a man than of a beast. The one made unclean but till evening: the other seven days.
Ver. 32. It shall be unclean.] With a ceremonial uncleanness only, and not moral: howbeit, the disobedience, even in such a small matter, brought a guilt upon the soul, which did defile, while the prohibition was in force; as one well observeth.
Ver. 33. Ye shall break it.] So shall reprobates be broken in pieces, like a potter’s vessel. (Psalms 2:9, Jeremiah 9:11)
Ver. 34. Such water.] Coming out of such an unclean place, or vessel.
Ver. 35. Whether it be oven, or ranges for pots.] All this, to teach them how strict they were to be, in avoiding the least pollution of sin.
Ver. 36. Nevertheless a fountain.] Because it would cleanse itself, and work out the uncleanness. So will faith.
Ver. 37. It shall be clean.] Because of necessity.
Ver. 38. It shall be unclean.] And therefore not to be eaten, but given to beasts.
Ver. 39. Of which ye may.] Compare Psalms 49:12, pecoribus morticinis. -Tremel.
Ver. 40. Shall wash his clothes.] To teach them to “hate even the garment spotted by the flesh,” (Jude 1:23) all provocations and instruments of sin.
Ver. 41,42. And every creeping thing.] Whether it goeth upon the belly, as snakes, worms; or crawls upon all fours, as toads, scorpions; or hath any feet to creep withal, as caterpillars, Millepedae, & c.
Ver. 42. [See Trapp on “Le 11:41”]
Ver. 43. Ye shall not make yourselves.] Heb., Your souls. See on Leviticus 11:32.
Ver. 44. Ye shall be holy; for I am holy.] Great men look to be served like themselves: so the great God.
Ver. 45. That bringeth you up.] This is often inculcated. God’s blessings are binders; and every new deliverance calls for new obedience.
Ver. 46. This is the law of the beasts.] Grounded upon right reason, however it may seem otherwise, as is also every other law of God.
Ver. 47. To make a difference.] Ministers also in their discourses should put a difference, and take out “the precious from the vile,” (Jeremiah 15:19) as did Zuinglius; who, when he inveighed most vehemently against sin, would usually come in with this clause, Probe vir, haec nihil ad te, This is not intended to thee, thou godly man.