Leviticus 11

Set apart in the small things

_{For I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy. Neither shall you defile yourselves with any creeping thing that creeps on the earth. ~ Leviticus 11:44}

Have you ever sensed God nudging you to pay attention to the small choices you make every day? The choices no one sees, the decisions that seem insignificant, yet somehow shape the direction of your heart? Leviticus 11 may look like a list of dietary rules, but beneath the instructions is a powerful truth. God uses everyday decisions to train His people to live set apart for His purpose. Even today as a Christian, God still works through the small places in life to shape holiness in me. This chapter reminds me that holiness is not just about big spiritual moments. It is formed in the quiet decisions of my heart, in the habits I choose, and in the environments I allow to influence me.

1. God teaches holiness through daily choices

The Israelites learned holiness by choosing what to eat and what to avoid. Their obedience in ordinary routines shaped their hearts to honor God. In my own life I have seen how small choices affect my spiritual strength. There were times when I hurried into my day without prayer and I noticed how quickly my thoughts drifted toward frustration or overwhelm. I have also had seasons when I reached for unhealthy foods because it felt easier, or skipped exercise because I felt tired, and I could feel the difference in my energy and clarity. When I chose to pause, pray, and honor God with those small choices, I felt my heart and body respond with more peace and stability.

You can implement this truth in your life by paying attention to one daily choice that needs God’s guidance. Choose one part of your routine that you want to dedicate to God. Invite Him to help you make healthy choices for your body. Ask Him to help you choose what nourishes you instead of what drains you. Pay attention to what strengthens your peace and what weakens it.

2. God teaches holiness through what is allowed to influence the heart

Leviticus 11 teaches Israel to separate the clean from the unclean. This separation was not about fear, it was about forming identity and making healthy decisions. In my life I began to recognize that not everything I allow into my body, mind or heart is healthy. There was a time when I spent too much time listening to discouraging voices and scrolling through social media without any boundaries. I didn’t realize how much negativity, comparison, and noise I was taking in until my peace disappeared. When I chose to guard my heart and be intentional about what I engaged with and listened to, I felt my confidence in God growing again.

Applying this principle in your life begins by choosing what you listen to, watch, or let shape your thoughts. Invite God to show you what strengthens your faith and what drains it. Set limits on the social media that steals your joy. Replace unhealthy influences with things that help you grow. Choose conversations and environments that lift you toward God’s purpose and not away from it.

3. God teaches me holiness through His presence in ordinary places

God wanted Israel to remember Him even in the simple act of eating. Holiness was not reserved for the temple, it was meant to touch every part of life. I have experienced God’s nearness in what looked like ordinary moments. Many weeks when I was doing everyday tasks, I suddenly felt God whisper peace into my heart. I have also noticed when I did not spend time with God each day and my thoughts felt scattered. When I made space for Him in small, consistent moments, everything in my day felt more grounded.

You can begin by inviting God into your normal routines. Talk to Him while you work or drive or clean. Thank Him for small blessings as they happen. Ask Him to guide simple decisions with wisdom. Make time with God a priority because it strengthens every part of your life. Learn to expect His presence in the ordinary because He delights in walking with you through every moment.

Today I want to encourage you to live at the higher-level God is calling you to. You were made for a purpose and God is shaping you through the small choices of each day. As you choose Him in your decisions, as you guard what influences your heart, and as you welcome His presence into ordinary moments, He will strengthen your walk and fill your life with peace and confidence. God is building something beautiful in you one choice at a time.

Today’s scripture reading: Leviticus 11

1 Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them, 

2 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘These are the animals which you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth: 

3 Among the animals, whatever divides the hoof, having cloven hooves and chewing the cud—that you may eat. 

4 Nevertheless these you shall not eat among those that chew the cud or those that have cloven hooves: the camel, because it chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves, is unclean to you; 

5 the rock hyrax, because it chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves, is unclean to you; 

6 the hare, because it chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves, is unclean to you; 

7 and the swine, though it divides the hoof, having cloven hooves, yet does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. 

8 Their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch. They are unclean to you.

9 ‘These you may eat of all that are in the water: whatever in the water has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the rivers—that you may eat. 

10 But all in the seas or in the rivers that do not have fins and scales, all that move in the water or any living thing which is in the water, they are an abomination to you. 

11 They shall be an abomination to you; you shall not eat their flesh, but you shall regard their carcasses as an abomination. 

12 Whatever in the water does not have fins or scales—that shall be an abomination to you.

13 ‘And these you shall regard as an abomination among the birds; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, the vulture, the buzzard, 

14 the kite, and the falcon after its kind; 

15 every raven after its kind, 

16 the ostrich, the short-eared owl, the sea gull, and the hawk after its kind; 

17 the little owl, the fisher owl, and the screech owl; 

18 the white owl, the jackdaw, and the carrion vulture; 

19 the stork, the heron after its kind, the hoopoe, and the bat.

20 ‘All flying insects that creep on all fours shall be an abomination to you. 

21 Yet these you may eat of every flying insect that creeps on all fours: those which have jointed legs above their feet with which to leap on the earth. 

22 These you may eat: the locust after its kind, the destroying locust after its kind, the cricket after its kind, and the grasshopper after its kind. 

23 But all other flying insects which have four feet shall be an abomination to you.

24 ‘By these you shall become unclean; whoever touches the carcass of any of them shall be unclean until evening; 

25 whoever carries part of the carcass of any of them shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening: 

26 The carcass of any animal which divides the foot, but is not cloven-hoofed or does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. Everyone who touches it shall be unclean. 

27 And whatever goes on its paws, among all kinds of animals that go on all fours, those are unclean to you. Whoever touches any such carcass shall be unclean until evening. 

28 Whoever carries any such carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening. It is unclean to you.

29 ‘These also shall be unclean to you among the creeping things that creep on the earth: the mole, the mouse, and the large lizard after its kind; 

30 the gecko, the monitor lizard, the sand reptile, the sand lizard, and the chameleon. 

31 These are unclean to you among all that creep. Whoever touches them when they are dead shall be unclean until evening. 

32 Anything on which any of them falls, when they are dead shall be unclean, whether it is any item of wood or clothing or skin or sack, whatever item it is, in which any work is done, it must be put in water. And it shall be unclean until evening; then it shall be clean. 

33 Any earthen vessel into which any of them falls you shall break; and whatever is in it shall be unclean: 

34 in such a vessel, any edible food upon which water falls becomes unclean, and any drink that may be drunk from it becomes unclean. 

35 And everything on which a part of any such carcass falls shall be unclean; whether it is an oven or cooking stove, it shall be broken down; for they are unclean, and shall be unclean to you. 

36 Nevertheless a spring or a cistern, in which there is plenty of water, shall be clean, but whatever touches any such carcass becomes unclean. 

37 And if a part of any such carcass falls on any planting seed which is to be sown, it remains clean. 

38 But if water is put on the seed, and if a part of any such carcass falls on it, it becomes unclean to you.

39 ‘And if any animal which you may eat dies, he who touches its carcass shall be unclean until evening. 

40 He who eats of its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening. He also who carries its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening.

41 ‘And every creeping thing that creeps on the earth shall be an abomination. It shall not be eaten. 

42Whatever crawls on its belly, whatever goes on all fours, or whatever has many feet among all creeping things that creep on the earth—these you shall not eat, for they are an abomination. 

43 You shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creeps; nor shall you make yourselves unclean with them, lest you be defiled by them. 

44 For I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy. Neither shall you defile yourselves with any creeping thing that creeps on the earth. 

45 For I am the Lord who brings you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.

46 ‘This is the law of the animals and the birds and every living creature that moves in the waters, and of every creature that creeps on the earth, 

47 to distinguish between the unclean and the clean, and between the animal that may be eaten and the animal that may not be eaten.’ ”

Journal:

• What daily choices is God asking me to bring before Him?
• What influences help me grow spiritually and what influences weaken my peace?
• Where in my everyday life can I invite God to be more present this week?