«　WEEK 5　DAY 4　»

　　Phil. 1:9 …This I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in full knowledge and all discernment.

　　Lev. 11:3 Whatever has a divided hoof, that is, has its hoof split in two, and chews the cud among the beasts, that you may eat.

　　To eat is not merely to contact something but also to receive something into us. Once a thing is received into us, that thing can be digested inside to become our constituent, that is, our being, our constitution… If we intend to live a holy life as required by the holy God, we need to be careful about our contact with people. Our contact with certain kinds of people can cause us to be reconstituted and thus make us another kind of person. (Life-study of Leviticus, p. 314)

　　Discernment in diet is a matter of discernment in food-stuffs, of discernment in what we eat… The animals mentioned in Leviticus 11…typify persons; they are figures that describe different kinds of persons. This is proved by Acts 10:9b-14, 27-29. Peter “beheld heaven opened, and a certain vessel like a great sheet descending, being let down by four corners onto the earth, in which were all the four-footed animals and reptiles of the earth and birds of heaven” (vv. 11-12). At first, Peter did not understand that these animals, reptiles, and birds were figures of people. Eventually he came to understand this, for in the house of Cornelius there were people, not beasts (vv. 27-28).

　　When we eat, we contact something that is outside of us, something that has nothing to do with us. However, if we eat that thing, it can affect us inside. In Leviticus 11 the things we eat signify people, and eating signifies our contacting of people.

　　In chapter 11 of Leviticus five categories of animals are covered: first, the beasts, including cattle; second, the aquatic animals, the animals in the water; third, the birds, the animals in the air; fourth, the insects; and finally, the creeping things.

　　Beasts that divide the hoof and chew the cud (vv. 2-3) signify persons who have discernment in their activities and who receive the word of God with much reconsideration. A divided hoof signifies discernment. A horse has whole hooves, not divided hooves. Hence, a horse signifies a person who does not have the power, the strength, to discern things. Such a person cannot discern what things are of God and what things are of Satan, what things are heavenly and what things are earthly, what things are spiritual and what things are fleshly. We need to discern not only what is good and what is bad but also what is of our spirit and what is of our flesh, as well as what things are of the new man and what things are of the old man.

　　To go to a theater is to do something earthly, but to go to a church meeting is to do something heavenly. However, to a person, even a Christian, who does not have divided hooves, there is little difference between going to a theater and going to a church meeting. Such a person lacks discernment in his activities…We should be careful in contacting this kind of person, for contact with him may defile us. We need to have divided hooves, the ability and strength to discern what is of God and what is not of God, what we should do and what we should not do.

　　Chewing the cud signifies receiving the word of God with much consideration and reconsideration. Just as a cow chews its cud, we should consider and reconsider the word of God. We may do this while we pray-read early in the morning. As we are pray-reading, we may consider and reconsider the word. This is to chew the cud to receive nourishment by reconsidering what we receive from God’s word.

　　However, many people today do not have divided hooves, and they do not chew the cud. They never even touch the word of God. We should not contact those who do not have divided hooves or chew the cud. We need to avoid such people, lest they affect us and influence us. (Life-study of Leviticus, pp. 313-315)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Leviticus, msg. 36; CWWL, 1958, vol. 1, “The Perfecting of the Saints and the Building Up of the House of God,” chs. 2, 9