Category Archives: Bible Study

Bible and Science-Yeast, All Bad?

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Bible and Science-Yeast, All Bad?

Leviticus 23: 17 Bring two loaves of bread baked with yeast as a wave offering.

Mark 8:15 “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.”

Most of the time when yeast is mentioned in the Bible it is connected with sin. The references to the loaves of bread at Pentecost (see Happy Birthday Church of Jesus) and the kingdom of heaven (God) is said to be LIKE yeast (Matthew 13:33) are the only positive references. Scripture does not tell us why yeast has gotten this labeling. The Israelites could have it for baking their regular bread but it could not be used for bread connected with any offering or feast (except Pentecost).

yeastS_cerevisiae_under_DIC_microscopyYeast lives by breaking down sugars. Carbon dioxide, which causes bread to rise, is one product and the other is alcohol. Yeast may be found on all kinds of surfaces but they will live on the outside of fruit and grains; this is why they will naturally spoil and ferment. God knew/knows this He made them. But these facts should not have them be connected to sin (my reasoning here). Some yeast is considered “good” and some are termed “wild.” The wrong yeast in a batch of beer or wine and you do not get the specific taste you are wanting. So bread makers and brewers are particular about what they put in their wares.

After reading a lot of literature on the subject here are some ideas as to why yeast may be connected with “bad.”

  1. It works unseen and affects everything it is in.
  2. The smell could be associated with something dead.
  3. It may give a sour taste to the bread.
  4. Egypt had cult worship related to bread and beer.

I am leaning to #4 as the reason because Father God did not want anything Egyptian imported into His worship. The Israelites had enough problems with this so why add another thing like yeast in bread.

∞ Father, let me spread good in Your Kingdom.

http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/bread.htm

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/blog/get-know-nutritional-yeast?sf28652915=1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeast

pic from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeast#mediaviewer/File:S_cerevisiae_under_DIC_microscopy.jpg

What I Learned From Studying Yeast

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What I Learned From Studying Yeast

This study started with Matthew 13:33 and Luke 13:21 and as usual, it spread from there.   The fact that it is paired with the Parable of the Mustard Seed in both of these passages is important. Jesus was showing the importance of small things done in and for His kingdom. Many times we overlook the little things we do as not important. Most of the literature I read about yeast in ancient cultures seemed to agree that they did not know about the yeast cell and that they were infusing something living into the bread dough. In our normal thinking that would be right because microscopes were not around but you have to wonder if Jesus knew!

Depending on the translation you will need to look for the words yeast, leavened, and unleavened if you want to study more on this topic. KJV does not have the word yeast but NIV does.

The amount of flour was interesting as the passages stress it was a large amount. In the NIV that amount is referenced three times: Genesis 18: 6, Judges 6:19, and in 1 Samuel 1:24.   In Genesis, Abraham tells Sarah to make that much bread for the visitors. In Judges, Gideon uses that much flour to make a meal for the angel and in the Book of Samuel Hannah took that much flour with her as an offering when she dedicated her son to God. The amount roughly translates to twenty quarts or forty cups. If you have ever made bread that is enough for at least eight to ten loaves of bread. The regular offering amount with a sacrifice would have been four quarts. I guess Abraham and Gideon were putting their “best foot forward” to impress their guests or to make sure they had extra to take with them.

In 1 Corinthians 5: 6- 8 Paul clearly says to get rid of the “old yeast” (NIV) because Jesus had gone through the Passover. But he names the yeast as “malice and wickedness,” which is also done in other places in the Gospels and the New Testament (the yeast were named Ex. yeast of the Pharisees and Herod). If you have ever used a sourdough starter you may understand the idea of old/bad yeast. If the starter goes bad you WANT to throw it away and start over, as it really smells bad.

At a small home fellowship, we once attended the pastor had an interesting revelation during communion one Sunday. (We used real wine and sometimes yeast bread. I know but that is what happened. We also used saltines if that is all we had.) Anyway for the wine and the bread to become what they were many grapes and grains of wheat were brought together but it required yeast to convert them into that usable form.

A final thought on wine and yeast. Wine/beer was/is made with the action of yeast. The wine was allowed/required to be presented as part of the offering at a sacrifice (Leviticus 23:13). The yeast in wine makes enough alcohol to kill itself and when the bread is baked that normally kills off the yeast. One was required and the other was forbidden! The Biology teacher in me still will wonder if it has something to do with the living organism? NOTE: From my reading, the Egyptians apparently made their beer from baked bread.

A Name Is Important

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I recently had a comment that said I was not calling the children of Abraham by the correct terms. Basically I was misusing the words Israelite, Hebrew, and Jew. The reference source was the 1980 Jewish Almanac and it said, “Strictly speaking it is incorrect to call an Ancient Israelite a ‘Jew’ or to call a contemporary Jew an Israelite or a Hebrew.” The commenter, I feel, had another reason for informing me of my error (enough said).

In Sid Roth’s book They Thought For Themselves one testimony quoted a rabbis as saying, “You cannot understand the Bible without the Jewish Commentaries” (p 102). So staying in that line of thinking I found in http://judaism.about.com/library/3_askrabbi_o/bl_simmons_hebrews.htm that in the Book of Exodus they were called Israelites (1:1) and Hebrews (1:15). While in Jeremiah 32:12 they were referred to as Jews. Israelite comes from the words Bnei Yisroel or Children of Israel, Hebrew is from Ivri, and Jew is Yehudim because the kings of Israel were from the Tribe of Judah.

A Look at the Biblical Calendar

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A Look at the Biblical Calendar

In Mark 14: 5 some disciples were complaining about Jesus being anointed with a “bottle” of pure nard.  The complaint was it could be sold for a year’s wage or three hundred denarii.  According to Matthew 20, a denarius was a day’s wage.  The year in the Bible was twelve months or lunar cycles (29 ½ days). (Some years had thirteen months to make up the eleven-day difference and that would keep the season in line with the calendar.)  So why only 300 denarii?

They were to rest on the Sabbath, so there are forty-eight days (four weeks times 12 months).  For the missing days, we need to look to the feast days, I will use Leviticus 23.  These had a “no work” or “no regular work” day associated with them, which means they would not be paid on these days.

  • Unleavened Bread – one at the beginning and the end
  • Pentecost – one day
  • Feast of Trumpets – one day
  • Day of Atonement – one day
  • Feast of Tabernacles – one at the beginning and the end
  • This is seven no work days.

That totals to 299 days – I guess we can round off one day or it is more than a year’s worth of wages.

The Number Fifteen in the Bible – Cleaning Up to Celebrate

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The number Fifteen -15 in the Bible.

FYI – Depending on the translation and the concordance you use some of these numbers may appear different.  For this study, I just wanted the number fifteen (15).  The NIV and KJV handle numbers differently.  The KJV will spell them out like eight hundred and fifteen while the NIV will write 815 (Genesis 5:10).  Also, the NIV translates some numbers in standard units (what Americans will understand) like 15 feet while the KJV would say 10 cubits (Zechariah 5:2).

  • The first number fifteen (cubits – this is twenty feet) is in Genesis 7:20 and is the depth of water covering the mountains with the Flood.
  • The second usage is with the walls of the courtyard of the Tabernacle.  There were two fifteen cubit walls forming the east side leaving a twenty cubit gap that had an offset hanging acting as the gate (Exodus 27:14).
  • The third usage is in Exodus 16:1 (see 10 Test and Timeline).  This marked the second month of the Israelites marching out of slavery.
  • The most references are with Feasts (Leviticus 23).

As I thought about the fifteen cubits in Genesis I realized it was not the depth of water but the fifteen.  God used the water to “clean” the earth of corrupt humanity.  Several source listed below will tell you that if you added the letter yod (10) and the letter hey (5) you would get 15 which happens to spell out a name of God.  In Hebrew, however, it is written with the 9th (teth) letter and the 6th (waw) letter out of respect for God. (Sorry, Hebrew letters are also used as numbers.)

The total width of the courtyard for the Tabernacle was 50 cubits, that was the west and east side (the one that faces the sun).  So as you entered on the east side to worship there was a 15 cubit wall on your left and your right. (See Camp and Marching Order) The bases holding up the curtains/walls also had a fifteen associated with them. (Think about that for a minute!)

The most references with fifteen belong to 15th of the month because several Feasts (celebrations) start on that day – Unleavened Bread, Booths/Tabernacles, Purim, and several you may not find in a Christian Bible.  Passover is on the 14th of the first month and the 15th is the start of Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is also when Pharaoh let Israel go because the firstborn all died (another cleaning/judgment).  The Feast of Tabernacles celebrates the exodus when Israel lived in booths waiting for everyone over twenty to die.  A “silent/hidden” fifteen is associated with the Feast of Pentecost (Leviticus 23: 17 – 21) it is the number of offerings:

Why the fifteenth of the month?  If you do not know it the Hebrew calendar is set on a 30-day month (lunar cycle) with the month being the actual unit of time.  The first day is the new moon so the fifteenth day would be the full moon of each month.  Here are some thoughts about this: the Feast was a reminder of the “best” of Egypt dying and them leaving; full moon is a reflection of sunlight at its best; it still could add up to be a name of God. (Something to think about.)  To be fair to one source I read which said 15 represented “rest.”  The Feast do start (and end) with a day of rest but the first one, the day after the first Passover, was them leaving in a hurry. These Feasts (Day of Atonement/Yom Kippur and Feast of Tabernacle) were so important that Jeroboam set up a false holiday on the 15th of the 8th month to act as a distractor for the Ten Tribes (1 Kings 12:33).  In Ezekiel 31:17 it is talking about Egypt, the time frame the 15th day of the first month (Passover/ Unleavened Bread).  Purim is the holiday from the Book of Esther and is still celebrated today (enemies got cleaned out).

Another notable story that has fifteen wrapped in it is the healing of Hezekiah where God added fifteen years to his life (2 Kings 20:6, Isaiah 38:5).  One resource concluded that fifteen must deal with “addition” because fifteen years were added to his life.  His reign was twenty-nine years long so this extra fifteen years started in the fifteenth year of his reign.

Some other non-holiday references with fifteen being a part of the story are (You will find these scriptures in a King James Version.):

  • Hosea 3:2 where the prophet bought his wife back for fifteen pieces of money (a picture of Jesus redeeming His Bride)
  • Solomon had columns in rows of fifteen holding his house up (1 Kings 7)
  • Ziba in 2 Samuel 9 had fifteen sons
  • 2 Kings Amaziah king of Judah lived 15 years then he was killed (cleaned out)
  • Asa king of Judah threw a party in the 15 years of his reign to renew the seeking of God – 2 Chronicles 15:10
  • Bethany was fifteen furlongs from Jerusalem
  • Paul spent fifteen days with Peter (Galatians 1:18)
  • Acts 27:28 finds Paul in a boat over fifteen fathoms of water.  Chronologically this would be the last listing of fifteen in the Bible.  The first reference (Genesis 7:20) had fifteen units of water and a boat also. (Just saying.)
  • Luke 3:1 is where John the Baptist starts to preach and that was the 15th year of Tiberius.  (Another party was starting.)

God “cleaning things” and “parties starting” seem to happen, a lot when the number fifteen is involved.  The feast were times to enjoy God and His goodness by drawing close to Him so they are cathartic in themselves.

Screen Shot 2014-05-17 at 8.07.29 PMThe fifteenth letter in the Hebrew alphabet is Samech.  I will list some things associated with it but follow the links to the various sources for a better study (Please note that some are Messianic Jew/Christian and others are strictly Jewish).

  • Numerically it represents the number sixty.
  • The priestly blessing has fifteen words and sixty letters.
  • It means “to support” or “to protect.”  This is all forms of support: spiritual, financial, physical, moral, etc.
  • Samech (15) and Mem (13) surround/support Nun (14).  Samech and Mem are the only fully enclosed Hebrew letters. (See studies on Thirteen and Fourteen).  Nun may represent someone who is “bent down.”
  • Because it is circular it represents the wedding ring.

There are still other references with the number fifteen (15) in the Bible but I hope you will continue to study as this number/letter has a lot associated with it.

References/Resources