Bible Study on Matthew 16, verses 1 to 12, leaven as doctrine

 

Matthew 16:1 ¶  The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven. 2  He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. 3  And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? 4  A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.

 

Here, Jesus really mocks the religious elite’s sarcastic questioning. They wanted a magic trick but He gave them wisdom. Notice how He refers to Jonah (Jonas from Greek) and his three days in the whale’s belly. Remember back in chapter 12 in His encounter with the scribes and Pharisees. He’s already been over this ground with them.

 

Matthew 12:40  For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

 

Matthew 16:5 ¶  And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. 6  Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. 7  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread. 8  Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread? 9  Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? 10  Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? 11  How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? 12  Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

 

Here is an example of how Jesus and the Bible use typology to describe something. Jesus has likened the leaven of bread to the doctrine of the religious elite. What does leaven do? Yeast, as a biological leavening agent eats sugar and secretes carbon dioxide, important for bread makers, and alcohol, important for beermakers. But this leaven makes the flour something different from what it was. It is a pollutant, a necessary pollutant, for us to enjoy bread. But when comparing leavened to unleavened bread God has used the typology of corruption previously.

 

Matthew 13:33  Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

 

Paul will use a similar point about corruption using a Greek word for adulterated wine, kap-ale-yoo-o.

 

2 Corinthians 2:17  For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.

 

Another issue is presented here regarding the numbers of food before and the baskets leftover. Jesus is pointing to this as having some deeper significance. This is worth considering as I have previously talked about the possible meaning of the numbers regarding the leftover food.

Bible Study on Genesis 46, verses 28 to 34, ye may dwell in the land of Goshen

 

Genesis 46:28 ¶  And he sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to direct his face unto Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen. 29  And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and presented himself unto him; and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while. 30  And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive. 31  And Joseph said unto his brethren, and unto his father’s house, I will go up, and shew Pharaoh, and say unto him, My brethren, and my father’s house, which were in the land of Canaan, are come unto me; 32  And the men are shepherds, for their trade hath been to feed cattle; and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have. 33  And it shall come to pass, when Pharaoh shall call you, and shall say, What is your occupation? 34  That ye shall say, Thy servants’ trade hath been about cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and also our fathers: that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians.

Chapter 45, verse 10 told us that Goshen was close to where Joseph ruled from. It is commonly understood that the New Kingdom period of ancient Egypt, the period of the Egyptian Empire was from around the 16^th century BC to the 11^th century BC. This marked the peak of Egypt’s power. It includes the time that Egypt had hegemony over the land of Canaan which is important to understanding Numbers 14:9 and various extra-Biblical documents from Canaan pleading for help from the Egyptians. It was preceded by the Hyksos invasion and rule. I believe that Joseph’s Pharaoh was from this time, that he was a Hyksos, and that is why he was favorable to Joseph and his family. This is called Egypt’s Second Intermediate Period. Of course, much of this is educated guesswork as the Egyptians did not refer to any of their eras the way we refer to them and no one ever called themselves, “the Hyksos.” These are all made-up terms by scholars.

In any event, Judah went first to meet Joseph and Jacob and the rest followed. Christ is the first to rise from the dead never to physically die again, to be resurrected. Judah is Christ’s physical ancestor. Here is more typology that is great subject material for sermons. Joseph prepared himself to greet his father in Goshen.

Joseph promised to introduce them to Pharaoh. Here is more evidence for my view that the Pharaoh of Joseph’s time was a Hyksos, of the so-called Shepherd-kings. To the leadership Joseph’s family of herders would be welcome but to the Egyptians they were an abomination. The land of Goshen separates their living from the rest of Egypt.

The word cattle includes all herd animals not just beef cows as we use the word today.

Genesis 13:7  And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.

Genesis 30:32  I will pass through all thy flock to day, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: and of such shall be my hire.

Bible Study on Matthew 15, verses 10 to 39, if the blind lead the blind

 

Matthew 15:10 ¶  And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand: 11  Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man. 12  Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying? 13  But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. 14  Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch. 15  Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable. 16  And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding? 17  Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? 18  But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. 19  For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: 20  These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.

 

This passage begs a comparison with the wheat and the tares. The religious elite, it is explained, are not from God and will be rooted out at the end. In this we have one of our common sayings in English about the blind leading the blind.

 

Look at the contrast with other statements the Holy Spirit and Christ make about words and thoughts.

 

Matthew 9:4  And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?

 

Matthew 12:37  For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

 

We know so much devastation from sin has started in the thoughts and hearts, the mind of man and woman. Fussing about a petty rule regarding ritual hand washing is relatively trivial to Christ.

 

Matthew 15:21 ¶  Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. 22  And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. 23  But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. 24  But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 25  Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. 26  But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. 27  And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. 28  Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

 

Here is a point to note. Jesus is the Jewish Messiah in one aspect but as the Messiah Gentiles will flock to Him and faith in Him will become a world religion because God has ordained it so. Gentiles demand, cry out for, and plead for salvation. Jesus acknowledges the woman’s faith after challenging, or so it seems, her very right to seek His help. Notice these verses, too;

 

Matthew 8:11  And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.

 

Luke 13:29  And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.

 

The kind of humility that this woman expresses is fundamental to faith in Christ and God. Remember the Sermon on the Mount. We must come to Christ in humbleness of heart and brokenness of spirit to truly seek His mercy. Christianity is not a religion for the proud. Christ responded not to her ethnicity but to her faith.

 

Matthew 15:29 ¶  And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there. 30  And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus’ feet; and he healed them: 31  Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel. 32  Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way. 33  And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude? 34  And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes. 35  And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. 36  And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. 37  And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full. 38  And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children. 39  And he sent away the multitude, and took ship, and came into the coasts of Magdala.

 

In Matthew 14 five thousand were fed after Jesus learned of John the Baptist’s murder. Here is another task for those of the mystical mind set who look at numbers. This time there are seven baskets left, the traditional number of completion in the Bible.

A Psalm for Sunday, Psalm 69, verses 1 to 12, I sink in deep mire

 

Psalm 69:1 ¶  «To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim, A Psalm of David.» Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul. 2  I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. 3  I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God. 4  They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away. 5  O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee. 6  Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord GOD of hosts, be ashamed for my sake: let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel. 7  Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face. 8  I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother’s children. 9  For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me. 10  When I wept, and chastened my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach. 11  I made sackcloth also my garment; and I became a proverb to them. 12  They that sit in the gate speak against me; and I was the song of the drunkards.

 

This is a Psalm, a prayer for deliverance in one of the times that David was in great peril. We can imagine King Saul pursuing him or even his son Absalom’s rebellion. This is a cry of desperation and despair, of someone who knows their only hope is in God.

 

It is also a prophecy of Christ. See how verse 4 is referred to in John 15:25.

 

John 15:25  But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.

 

For verse 8 consider this;

 

John 1:11  He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

 

John 7:5  For neither did his brethren believe in him.

 

And see how verse 9 is used in John 2:17.

 

John 2:17  And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.

 

Christ’s ordeal by His rejection by His Jewish brethren and His betrayal by them is evident in this passage. But, of course, verses like 5 bring us back to the context of David himself.

 

I would also refer this passage to our own predicament if we are being accused of something in our innocence. A claim made against you by someone can often have no way of being refuted as just an accusation carries enough weight to drag you down and even if a person who accuses you announces they were wrong or lied you have still been accused and that is what most people will remember. In times where a Christian is assaulted and has no defensible means of support against an accusation they can only trust in God to straighten it out. This part of the Psalm lays out the plea and the distress.

Bible Study on Isaiah 1, verses 2 to 9, Ah sinful nation

 

Isaiah 1:2 ¶  Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. 3  The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. 4  Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. 5  Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. 6  From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment. 7  Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. 8  And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city. 9  Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.

Compare Isaiah 1:2 with Genesis in the creation of heaven and earth and the establishment of the children of Israel, who will rebel against God. Think of Adam and Eve as God’s children as mankind rebels against God. There are other connections between Isaiah, chapter 1 and Genesis if you will look for them.

Isaiah is speaking for God, from God, and what is to follow is an important pronouncement.

Deuteronomy 32:1 ¶  Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.

The Jews were specifically God’s children and they rebelled against Him in their idolatry. Remember what He had said under the Law given to Moses.

Deuteronomy 21:18 ¶  If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them: 19  Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; 20  And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. 21  And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.

John Gill quotes a Targum, the Jewish understanding and paraphrase of what the Old Testament, their Bible, meant, in saying that specifically the Jews rebelled against the Word of God, that part of the Godhead by which everything was created, who Christians acknowledge as the Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah.

And so, Israel, unlike even a domestic animal, doesn’t know their place or their owner, their master. Israel was a sinful nation, doing what it was not called to do, rebelling against God.

Deuteronomy 7:6  For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.

The indictment against Israel is terrible. They are full of sin, corrupters of others, and have turned their backs on the God who created them, provoking Him to anger.

From verse 5 on Isaiah pleads with them to see how low their apostasy has brought them and to realize why they are suffering so horribly. Do you not see what you’ve done and why you are suffering?

In verse 8 references are made to a cottage in a vineyard or a lodge in a garden of cucumbers. These were small booths where the farmer would stay to keep others from stealing his produce according to John Gill, quoting Jewish sources. They were lonely sentinels and there was no one around them to talk to or to help them keep intruders away. Jerusalem was cut off from other besieged cities, many of them destroyed, and like the lonely farmer had no one to go to for help because they had denied their only help, the Lord God.

Bible Study on Matthew 15, verses 1 to 9, the tradition of the elders

 

Matthew 15:1 ¶  Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, 2  Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. 3  But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? 4  For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. 5  But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; 6  And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. 7  Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, 8  This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. 9  But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

 

It is Jesus’ way to answer a question with a question and rabbinical tradition of the time had to be dealt with here. I don’t often quote other gospels as I am not trying to harmonize them but in this case I think this might be helpful;

 

Mark 7:1 ¶  Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem. 2  And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault. 3  For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders. 4  And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables. 5  Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands? 6  He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. 7  Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. 8  For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. 9  And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. 10  For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: 11  But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. 12  And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; 13  Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.

 

Jesus alludes to verses in Isaiah, Esias from the Greek language. Here is a larger part of the passage He is alluding to;

 

Isaiah 29:13  Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: 14  Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.

Bible Study on Genesis 46, verses 5 to 27, Jacob and his family go to Egypt

 

Genesis 46:5 ¶  And Jacob rose up from Beersheba: and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, and their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. 6  And they took their cattle, and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob, and all his seed with him: 7  His sons, and his sons’ sons with him, his daughters, and his sons’ daughters, and all his seed brought he with him into Egypt. 8  And these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn. 9  And the sons of Reuben; Hanoch, and Phallu, and Hezron, and Carmi. 10  And the sons of Simeon; Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman. 11  And the sons of Levi; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 12  And the sons of Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah, and Pharez, and Zerah: but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. And the sons of Pharez were Hezron and Hamul. 13  And the sons of Issachar; Tola, and Phuvah, and Job, and Shimron. 14  And the sons of Zebulun; Sered, and Elon, and Jahleel. 15  These be the sons of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob in Padanaram, with his daughter Dinah: all the souls of his sons and his daughters were thirty and three. 16  And the sons of Gad; Ziphion, and Haggi, Shuni, and Ezbon, Eri, and Arodi, and Areli. 17  And the sons of Asher; Jimnah, and Ishuah, and Isui, and Beriah, and Serah their sister: and the sons of Beriah; Heber, and Malchiel. 18  These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and these she bare unto Jacob, even sixteen souls. 19  The sons of Rachel Jacob’s wife; Joseph, and Benjamin. 20  And unto Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, which Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On bare unto him. 21  And the sons of Benjamin were Belah, and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and Rosh, Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard. 22  These are the sons of Rachel, which were born to Jacob: all the souls were fourteen. 23  And the sons of Dan; Hushim. 24  And the sons of Naphtali; Jahzeel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shillem. 25  These are the sons of Bilhah, which Laban gave unto Rachel his daughter, and she bare these unto Jacob: all the souls were seven. 26  All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loins, besides Jacob’s sons’ wives, all the souls were threescore and six; 27  And the sons of Joseph, which were born him in Egypt, were two souls: all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten.

Verse 15 tells us for that either Dinah wasn’t Jacob’s only daughter or, as said earlier, the daughters could logically include daughters-in-law. Arguing about the count becomes nonsensical when we know everyone wasn’t included in the count of those that mattered to God’s ministry of reconciliation. There are obviously servants to consider, as well, which are not mentioned.

We also come to differences in the count given for different reasons at different times.

Exodus 1:5  And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: for Joseph was in Egypt already.

Deuteronomy 10:22  Thy fathers went down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons; and now the LORD thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude.

Acts 7:14  Then sent Joseph, and called his father Jacob to him, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls.

Some argue about these differences with fundamentalists trying to gloss over what they fear naggingly in the back of their minds is an error in the text. However, the problem is with the modern reader who is infected with a mental problem I call modernism. You read the Bible like you would read the owner’s manual for your car rather than as you would read a letter sent to you from afar, in this case a distant time, a personal account of something dear to the writer. The Holy Ghost, through the wisdom and understanding, the meaning of Biblical inspiration which is not word-for-word dictation, given to Moses, refers to events from the perspective of their importance to the point He is trying to get across (see Job 32:8; 2Peter 3:15). In one reference He may include wives who are not included in another or He may be referring to an event from another angle and only include specific others. The modern fundamentalist who claims to believe the Bible literally, which they don’t really, in their attempts to explain by juggling numbers what the Bible says, is really expressing their own disbelief and lack of faith by trying to explain a contradiction that isn’t there.

I went over this kind of thinking when I was discussing years, back in my comments on 15:12-16, regarding the length of years that the Hebrews were to be persecuted. The point is all of the number references are correct and any differences can be explained by the Holy Ghost counting people in one who are not counted in another. We will find this again in the numbers who will die in a plague later in another book. Verses 26 and 27 warn us that our calculations may not be based on God’s calculations which will keep the doubter or the skeptic spinning his or her wheels trying to find an equation that will make him or her feel better.