Leviticus 19:19 Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with
a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a
garment mingled of linen and woolen come upon thee.
1) Context- Scripture is from the Torah.
a. The speakers are God and Moses. Also, the audience is the Israelite
race.
b. Throughout the chapter, God spoke in absolutes.
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V2- Be holy, for I Am holy
V4- Idolatry = bad
V9-10 Don’t be greedy, even if it’s yours. Support the less fortunate
V11 Don’t steal, lie, or trade unfairly
V14 Don’t be cruel to those with disabilities
V15 Treat everyone righteously, ignoring stature
V18 Don’t be vengeful, but instead choose to pursue Love
c. Then there’s verse 19. Seemingly irrelevant to anything it is
proceeded by, at first glance, it appears as if it were thrown in
haphazardly.
Why this sudden shift in tone, and why these 3 statutes?
2) Principle- The Trend
a. Based on all former verses, there is a strong trend taking place.
i. “This is morally right”
ii. “That is morally wrong”
iii. “I am God”
b. Then there’s the cattle, the seed, and the cloth.
i. Each of these have their own Biblical principle that they go
over, but even deeper they all share a thematic principle.
ii. We will be taking a look at these all individually.
c. Cattlei. In custom, Jewish people did not mix dairy cows with bison, or
horses with donkeys. Simply put, if God wanted Zonkeys in the
world, He’d have created them.
ii. Given the scientific understanding that humans are animals,
and that bestiality is also considered an abominable sin, it
seems natural that the intermingling of other animals is also a
taboo.
iii. Delving further into scientific explanations, it is remarkable
that in many cases the offspring of crossbreeding cannot
reproduce.
d. Seedi. It is important to note that this writ uproots a superstitious
practice among cultists who performed magic rites by mixing
seeds. Wizards, spellcasters, necromancers. The like were all
addressed in later chapters of Leviticus as well.
ii. Scientifically speaking, crossbred crops are often of inferior
quality to either of the parent species in size, flavor, nutrition,
etc. It serves as an excellent contrast for how potent God’s
ways are, and how anemic our own efforts are by comparison.
e. Clothsi. In all likelihood, this precept also dispels some form of
superstition.
ii. Notice that this passage does NOT include “many different
types of fabrics,” but rather specifies two: linen and wool.
iii. Due to the advances of modern science, we see that when
wool is mixed with linen, it increases the tendency to pass off
electricity. This means that in hot climates, such as the Holy
Land, it can induce malignant fevers and physically exhaust
one’s strength. In extreme cases, it can inflame the skin when
meeting with hot air.
iv. I assert that God, in His signature fashion, was safeguarding
the Israelites from a threat they did not yet perceive. (Like He
did when they tried erecting the tower at Babel)
v. Evidence to this practice, Ezekiel in Chapter 44 calls out the
apparel of the inner courts as those that will not make the
wearer sweat, a symptom of feverish conditions. Here, he
explicitly calls out linen and wool. God did not then, nor has He
ever, want to put His followers at undue risk.
Taking a close look, the individual commandments do seem to hold nuggets
of wisdom. However, let’s zoom out and examine the bigger picture, and
how it applies today.
3) Application- The Forest We Could Have Missed
a. Even given what we’ve looked at so far, the overall text seems
somewhat out of place considering everything else God was telling
Moses.
b. Examining the chapter as a whole, I conclude that this verse was very
much intentional. I believe this excerpt on not mixing is thematically
referring to one’s faith.
c. As if to say, “Regardless whether you like these rules, I am your God;
they are my rules, and I don’t want you mixing your faith in me with
the beliefs, practices, and superstitions of other gods.”
d. Parable of the Mustard Seed- (Matt 13, Mark 4, Luke 13)
i. Mustard as retold in all 3 synoptic gospels is likened unto the
kingdom of God.
ii. Mustard is an herb with an interesting property: it is incredibly
resistant to the process of crossbreeding. While the plant
kingdom is rife with an endless series of crossbred flora, there
are none to my immediate knowledge that have ever
successfully influenced mustard. If you would, consider it a
seed that refuses to mix.
iii. Such is the kingdom of God: a kingdom unwilling to
compromise.
iv. Matthew and Luke both record in their respective 17th
chapters that such is also the fate of our faith.
Were our faith as pure and unmixing as a grain of mustard seed, our
potential with God would be unfathomable.
4) Conclusion- To Mix or Not To Mix
a. Ultimately, it is not up to us WHAT God’s laws are. After all, He is the
almighty, and we are the finite.
b. This verse teaches us that the best course of action is to put all our
faith in God, uncompromisingly. It doesn’t necessarily matter
whether or not we understand why, and while that may seem like a
stark contrast against what this series aims to do, it sets the stage for
the series rather nicely.
c. I as a lowly 4th dimensional being cannot possibly have all the
answers, especially from the outset. We are made to GROW in God,
and by keeping our faith pure, and not compromising, we may very
well find those answers out along the way.