The Sanctity of Kinds: Leviticus 19:19
Introduction: That's in the Bible?
We live in an age of rampant confusion, an era where the lines are not just blurred but gleefully erased with a thick, black marker. And when Christians, attempting to bring a word of clarity into this mess, appeal to the law of God, the world has a ready retort. The scoffer, thinking he is terribly clever, will say, "Oh, so you believe what Leviticus says about homosexuality? Well, do you also avoid wearing polyester-cotton blends? Do you have separate fields for your corn and your beans?" The implication is that if we are not consistent in a flat, wooden, and frankly idiotic way, then we are nothing more than hypocrites, picking and choosing which archaic rules to follow based on our personal prejudices.
This is a playground taunt, not a serious argument, but it is one that many Christians are flustered by. They know something is wrong with the comparison, but they cannot quite articulate what it is. And the reason for this is that we have, for too long, neglected the foundational grammar of God's law. We have treated the Old Testament law as a grab bag of disconnected rules instead of as a coherent, pedagogical system designed to teach us about the nature of God and the nature of holiness.
The laws in Leviticus are not arbitrary. They are not divine busywork. They are picture-lessons, object lessons for a people being trained in the ways of holiness. God is teaching them, and us, that He is a God of order, a God of distinctions. He created the world by separating things, light from darkness, land from sea. And He called His people to be separate, to be holy, as He is holy. These laws, which can seem so strange to us, are all part of this grand lesson in separation and the sanctity of the created order.
So when we come to a verse like this one in Leviticus 19, we must not approach it with the chronological snobbery of our age. We must not dismiss it as irrelevant. Rather, we must ask the right questions. What is the underlying principle? What was God teaching Israel? And how does that principle, fulfilled and transformed in Christ, apply to us today? Because I assure you, it does apply. The lesson here is about as relevant as it gets.
The Text
‘You are to keep My statutes. You shall not breed together two kinds of your cattle; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed nor wear a garment upon you of two kinds of material mixed together.’
(Leviticus 19:19 LSB)
God's Created Categories
The verse begins with a general command that frames the three specific prohibitions that follow: "You are to keep My statutes." This is not a suggestion. It is a royal summons to covenant fidelity. What follows is not a series of helpful household tips from the Almighty, but rather a matter of loyalty to the King. God is establishing the terms by which His people will live in His land as His representatives. Their entire lives, down to their livestock, their farms, and their clothes, were to be a testimony to the kind of God they served.
The principle that unites these three prohibitions is the principle of separation or distinction. In the creation account, God brought order out of the formless and void by separating and defining. He made things according to their "kinds" (Genesis 1:11-12, 21, 24-25). This was a fundamental aspect of His good, creative work. These laws in Leviticus are a practical, daily reminder to the Israelites not to undo God's work. They were to honor the distinctions that God Himself had woven into the fabric of creation. To mix what God had separated was an act of rebellion against the created order, and therefore, against the Creator Himself.
No Hybrid Livestock (v. 19a)
The first prohibition is specific.
"You shall not breed together two kinds of your cattle..." (Leviticus 19:19a LSB)
This is a prohibition against creating hybrids, like a mule, which is a cross between a donkey and a horse. Now, we must be careful here. The Bible is not anti-mule. Mules are mentioned throughout Scripture as useful beasts of burden, even used by King David (1 Kings 1:33). The law does not forbid using a mule, but rather the act of creating one. The Israelites were not to be the ones intentionally crossing the boundary between two distinct kinds that God had made.
What is the lesson? It is a lesson in humility and submission to God's design. God made the horse kind and He made the donkey kind. He established the boundaries of their natures. For man to come along and say, "I think I can improve on this. I will blend what God has made distinct," is an act of subtle hubris. It is an attempt to play God on a small scale. The Israelites were to be stewards of God's creation, not re-creators. They were to work within the grain of the universe God made, not against it. This law trained them to respect the "givenness" of the world and to find their fruitfulness within God's established order, not by trying to circumvent it.
No Mixed Seed (v. 19b)
The second prohibition moves from the animal kingdom to the vegetable kingdom.
"...you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed..." (Leviticus 19:19b LSB)
Again, the principle is the same. God made wheat "after its kind" and barley "after its kind." The Israelite farmer was to honor this distinction in his planting. Sowing a field with a mixture of seeds was a picture of confusion. It was a failure to distinguish. It would result in a chaotic harvest, difficult to reap and sort. It was an agricultural picture of what paganism was doing spiritually, blending all the gods and all the moralities into one syncretistic mess.
This law was a tangible, yearly reminder that God is not the author of confusion. His kingdom is one of order and clear distinctions. Just as the farmer was to keep his seeds separate, so the people were to keep their worship pure. They were not to sow the seed of God's Word alongside the seeds of Baal worship. They were not to mix true religion with the idolatrous practices of the Canaanites. The field of the heart and the field of the nation were to be sown with one kind of seed only: the pure seed of God's truth.
No Mixed Fabrics (v. 19c)
The final prohibition brings the principle right home, to the clothes on their backs.
"...nor wear a garment upon you of two kinds of material mixed together." (Leviticus 19:19c LSB)
The Hebrew word here is shaatnez, and it specifically refers to a blend of wool (from an animal) and linen (from a plant). This was not a general prohibition against all blended fabrics. It was about this specific mixture. Why? Because it represented the blurring of two fundamentally distinct categories of creation. Wool comes from the animal kingdom, and linen from the vegetable kingdom. To weave them together into one garment was to create a symbol of unlawful mixture.
This was a constant, tactile reminder of their calling to be a separate people. Every time they got dressed, they were to be reminded that they were not to be a hybrid people. They were not to be spiritual shaatnez. They were to be wholly devoted to the Lord. Their identity was not to be a blend of Israelite and Canaanite, of Yahweh-worshipper and idolater. This law, like the tassels on their garments, was a sensory trigger for covenant remembrance. It taught them that holiness extends to the most mundane aspects of life. It is not just for the temple; it is for the closet and the field.
Christ, the End of Mixtures
So, what do we do with this? Do we get rid of our mules and our cotton-poly shirts? No, and to think so is to miss the whole point. These laws were part of the ceremonial and civil code given to the nation of Israel. They were the tutors, the object lessons, designed to point to Christ. As the Westminster Confession rightly teaches, these laws have expired now that the reality to which they pointed has come. But the general equity of them, the underlying moral principle, remains.
The principle is the sanctity of God's created distinctions. And where do we see the ultimate attack on this principle today? We see it everywhere. We see it in the attempt to erase the distinction between man and woman, a distinction that is foundational to creation (Genesis 1:27). When a society decides it can mix and match genders, it is sowing its fields with two kinds of seed and weaving shaatnez into the very fabric of its culture. It is a profound rebellion against the Creator.
We see it in religious syncretism, the attempt to blend Christianity with other religions, creating a spiritual mule that is sterile and can produce no life. We are not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14). This is the New Testament application of the same principle. We are not to mix the worship of the true God with the ideologies of this fallen world.
But the ultimate fulfillment is in Christ Himself. In one sense, Jesus was the ultimate lawful "mixture." In Him, two distinct natures, divine and human, were joined in one person without confusion, without change, without division, without separation. He is the great exception that proves the rule. But in another, more profound sense, Christ is the one who purifies and re-establishes all distinctions. He is the pure seed, the Word of God, sown into the field of the world. He is the Lamb of God, from whom we get the pure wool of His righteousness. He is the one who cleanses us and makes us a holy, separate people.
Because of Christ, the wall of separation between Jew and Gentile has been torn down (Ephesians 2:14). The ceremonial laws that distinguished them are no longer in effect. But the call to holiness, the call to be a separate and distinct people, remains. "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9).
Therefore, we are not to be spiritual hybrids. We are not to have a heart that is half for God and half for the world. We are not to sow the seed of God's truth in our families and then send our children off to be catechized by the state in the blended falsehoods of secularism. We are not to wear the garment of righteousness on Sunday and the shaatnez of compromise and worldliness the rest of the week. This ancient law from Leviticus, far from being irrelevant, is a sharp and pointed word for our confused and compromised generation. God is a God of distinctions. He has made us distinct. Let us live like it.