ON THE VANGUARD

TEMPLE BODIES
“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”
I Corinthians 6:19-20

The book of Leviticus is considered the most boring book within the Bible. It is in this book, however, that God gives to Moses the Laws in which the Israelites are to follow. As we read through this book, we read the details of the offerings that should be brought to the LORD, the details concerning purification after birth or illness, the punishments of broken Laws, and the outlines for the ceremonies and High Holy Days. Now while we will not find the word Chanukah anywhere in this book, we will find key scriptures that relate to our study of Chanukah today.
In reading Leviticus 11:3, we find that God gave instructions for which animals should be eaten. “You may eat any animal that has a split hoof completely divided and that chews the cud.” As one who has been embracing his Jewish roots more so this year, I have been more attentive to the foods I eat. Now I am not saying that I eat turkey without the cheese on a sandwich, or eat only veggie pizza, but one meat I have worked hard to stray from over the past months is pork. The problem is pork is everywhere. When I go to McDonald’s with my kids for breakfast, almost every item has either sausage or bacon in it. But the pig is not kosher. “And the pig, though it has a split hoof completely divided, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you” (Lev 11:7). Recent studies have shown that even when cooking the pig into burnt bacon it does not kill all the bacteria. Pork is also thought by some to be the second leading cause in cancer. There is a reason why God told us to stay away from it.
Now my purpose in the above information is not to guilt or scare you into eating kosher, but rather to explain another significant detail of Chanukah. The Syrian army, led by Antiochus Epiphanes, invaded Jewish communities with the intent of stripping them of the Laws and cultures that made them unique. It was his law that he felt should override God’s, and the customs of circumcision, observing the Sabbath, and keeping kosher should no longer be obeyed. It was in this rampage that the temple was invaded and turned into a shine for Zeus. Knowing that a pig was not kosher, he order a pig be sacrificed in the temple, its blood be smeared on the walls, and its broth poured on the holy Torah scrolls.
Our bodies are the temple of God and should be used to bring Him glory, though. This truth was tested by one of the rabbis in the ‘silent years’ between the Old and New Testament. In the company of many Jews, they placed a feast of pork before him with the instruction to eat. The rabbi denied. It was then suggested by the Syrians to fake that he was eating the pork by placing it next to his lips for all to see. But again he denied. The rabbi chose not to forsake his faith and not to save his life from death while his people sinned in their diet. Angered, the Syrians killed him in front of all those watching.
There are two points that we can walk away with from this story. The first point, again, is the word dedication. Who are you dedicated to? The rabbi was dedicated to God. He probably knew, based on the history of what was happening to the people, that death was to be the end result if he denied the pork. Yet still he honored God by saying no. The second point is that our bodies are the temple of God. How are you honoring God with your body? I am not talking only about your physical diet, but your spiritual diet as well. Are you living spiritually kosher in choosing not to partake in the food of immorality, gossip, or deceit? And when these sins are served before you on a platter for you to feast on, are you willing to risk your life and pass? If you feel as though I am pointing a finger at you, know that I have four more pointing back at me. I will admit that I do not always pass this plate, but as I am learning to pass on pork physically, so I am challenged to pass on sin as well. Let us go forth together with the desire to take a stand against sin and say no, whatever the end result.