It’s possible that I’m reading too much into this whole “chew the cud” and “divide the hoof” kinda thing, but when I read Deuteronomy 14:8, it made me do a double take.
In the verses leading up to this rule, God tells the people that clean animals must meet two specific requirements: They must have a divided hoof, and they must chew the cud (Deuteronomy 14:6). If they don’t have both of these qualities, they are unclean.
Then, God gives two examples of things that look clean, but aren’t. Verse 7 talks about camels, who chew the cud but don’t have a divided hoof, while verse 8 talks about pigs, who have a divided hoof but don’t chew the cud.
In both circumstances, the animals only meet one of the two qualities. In both circumstances, the animals are unclean as a result.
We could focus on the symbology of both of these animals, but think about the pig for just a moment. It has a divided hoof (external sign) but doesn’t chew the cud (less obvious sign).
Does that not sound a bit like hypocrisy?
The Pharisees were lambasted because they “appeared to be righteous” (Matthew 23:27), but were really just whitewashed tombs. On the outside, they looked spectacular; on the inside, they were filled with all sorts of uncleanness.
Ironically, the pig then can be a symbol of the Pharisees. These were people who appeared to be righteous (had split hooves), but they were hiding traits that made them unclean (chewed the cud).
I have no doubt that God’s instructions on this matter were designed to be taken literally. God did want these people to actively avoid these animals.
But like so many other things in Scripture, there are sometimes deeper meanings than just what appears on the surface. If someone was unfamiliar with the specific animals that are restricted, it would be easy to assume a pig was clean because it had a split hoof. Only once you got closer could you see that it didn’t chew the cud,
Hypocrites are built like that. They appear great, but when you get to know them, you see that there’s quite a bit of uncleanness.
Now, let’s ask the difficult question: Is that how God sees me?