Daniel 1:8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: there-fore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.
So vital was the importance of these health precepts, and so great was his love for God’s law, that Daniel was willing to risk the king’s displeasure and nobly asked to be exempted from eating foods that would defile him.
Leviticus 11:44, 47 For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves …To make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the beast that may be eaten and the beast that may not be eaten.
Some suppose that these statutes, which inspired the prophet Daniel to risk his life, were given only to the Jews. But if the purpose of the health laws was to preserve health and spirituality, this cannot be true; for God’s interests are bound up with all of His creatures, and He cares for the wellbeing and happiness of all mankind. Notice the following:
Leviticus 18:24-25 Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: and the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.
Why would God say that the heathen nations of Canaan defiled themselves, unless it were possible for them to discern His principles of health? It is evident that the Canaanites de-filed themselves through defiance of every right precept of Jehovah, even in their polluted diet.
Therefore it is clear that God intended for the entire world to abstain from filth and impurity, and not only the Jews. God is no respector of persons. How-ever, these laws were committed to Israel so that purity might be preserved in the earth, and so that Israel would be able to administer the divine remedy. This very fact testifies of the great value and necessity of God’s instructions, and His desire to save the disobedient from complete ignorance and destruction.
Perhaps God has given the divine remedy to His children to administer to the sick and dying in the world today. Does the designer have the remedy? Does He understand His design?
Exodus 15:26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.
We are told that God has the answers to disease. And it involves diligently hearkening to keep all his statutes, including the health laws. In the New Testament we are told not to defile ourselves.
1 Corinthians 3:16-17 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
Here we are told that if any man defiles the temple, he will be destroyed. The law teaches cause and effect. God wants us to glorify Him in our body. And we were told how to do this in the book of Leviticus. In the same sense that “Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself.” So also will God’s people of these last days have some of the same tests in the modern Babylon of today. Paul the apostle speaking of the unclean and clean laws wrote the following:
Touch not the UNCLEAN
2 Corinthians 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
Again, how do we know what “the unclean thing” is? In the New Testament we read of Modern Babylon and we are told the following:
Revelation 18:2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
Unclean birds. Yes, this is spiritual. It is referring to spirits. Yet it implies that there are still unclean birds and unclean laws. Also, the same call is given “Come out of her my people.” (Revelation 18:4) When we go back to 2 Corinthians and read a couple verses later, we read more about this “cleansing” from the “unclean”.
2 Corinthians 7:1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
We definitely want our bodies to be cleansed of the unclean spirits. But is it possible that we not only want a clean spirit, but also as Paul put it, to “cleanse…the flesh”. Paul again speaking of the temple of God say’s in 1 Corinthians that we are to use the body to “glorify God”.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
Not only “in your spirit” but also “in your body”. The message of cleansing the temple is a deep message. And there are several aspects to it. We are told that “the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7) The temple in heaven was to be cleansed by blood in the same manner, which is a symbol of how Christ has redeemed His people.
Hebrews 9:21-23 Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry… It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. (See also Daniel 8:14)
Your health is dependent on this cleansing. If we fail to be cleansed, we will fail to enter heaven. Our God is looking out for us and does not want any to be destroyed. But if we break the natural laws, disease is bound to follow. Cancer, Diabetes…etc.
1 Corinthians 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
The message of glorifying God involves what we put into our bodies. The temples in Babylon are filled with unclean things. Let us be cleansed and shine as He uses us to fulfill the message to lighten the earth with the glory of God. (Revelation 18:1)
This message of cleansing the temple correlates to the following verse:
Revelation 14:7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
Glorify God in your temple. As on the Day of Atonement, the priest went in before the judge, and he placed the cleansing blood before the judge. So today Christ is in the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary, and his blood is being applied to his temple, his people, his church. And he has given with it a most precious message of cleansing the temple from the defilements of the flesh. May our Father give us a true understanding of how to use this health message to open hearts, so that the high priest might enter in to apply his blood to the mercy seat in the temple and cleanse that sanctuary of all defilement.
This was written by David Barron and published in the January 2017 Newsletter from Bible Explorations. To subscribe click here:
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Also, if you would like a copy of the booklet “Temple of God” which deals with many issues concerning this topic including health, identity, the law, the covenants and how you can have healing in your life please contact us with your address and I will mail you a copy.