“DO NOT USE YEAST IN ANY OF THE GRAIN OFFERINGS you present to the LORD, because NO YEAST OR HONEY may be burned as an offering to the Lord by fire.” (Leviticus 2:11; New Living Translation)
The passing verse makes it absolutely clear that God hates yeast and honey, because of what they symbolize in Scripture. In several Bible passages, ‘yeast’ or ‘leaven’ is used to symbolize evil or uncleanness. Consider the following passages;
“Watch out!” Jesus warned them. “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that he wasn‘t speaking about yeast or bread but about the false teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” (Matthew 16:6,12; NLT).
“Meanwhile, the crowds grew until thousands were milling about and crushing each other. Jesus turned first to his disciples and warned them to, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees- beware of their hypocrisy.” (Luke 12:1; NLT).
“…Don’t you realize that if even one person is allowed to go on sinning, soon all will be affected? Remove this wicked person from among you so that you can stay pure. Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us. So let us celebrate the festival, not by eating the old bread of wickedness and evil, but by eating the new bread of purity and truth.” (1 Corinthians 5: 6-8; NLT).
No one ever explained yeast or leaven like Jesus did. In the first two verses above, He warned His disciples to not only be aware of the false teachings of the religious leaders of the day, but also to be wary of their false practices. Of course, practice is a reflection of teaching or theory. Jesus summed it all up in one word – hypocrisy – feigning to be what one is not. Against this background therefore, we need to understand the import of yeast.
Yeast is what makes bread rise or swell. It doesn’t take a whole lot of it to accomplish that; it takes just a little to affect a whole bunch of dough. Jesus clearly used the analogy of yeast to present the example of how a small amount of evil can affect a group of people. Ditto for the Corinthian church, where the sin of fornication was rampant, hence the apostle called their attention to the fact that “a little leaven leavens the whole lump”
The passing verse makes it absolutely clear that God hates yeast and honey, because of what they symbolize in Scripture. In several Bible passages, ‘yeast’ or ‘leaven’ is used to symbolize evil or uncleanness. Consider the following passages;
“Watch out!” Jesus warned them. “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that he wasn‘t speaking about yeast or bread but about the false teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” (Matthew 16:6,12; NLT).
“Meanwhile, the crowds grew until thousands were milling about and crushing each other. Jesus turned first to his disciples and warned them to, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees- beware of their hypocrisy.” (Luke 12:1; NLT).
“…Don’t you realize that if even one person is allowed to go on sinning, soon all will be affected? Remove this wicked person from among you so that you can stay pure. Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us. So let us celebrate the festival, not by eating the old bread of wickedness and evil, but by eating the new bread of purity and truth.” (1 Corinthians 5: 6-8; NLT).
No one ever explained yeast or leaven like Jesus did. In the first two verses above, He warned His disciples to not only be aware of the false teachings of the religious leaders of the day, but also to be wary of their false practices. Of course, practice is a reflection of teaching or theory. Jesus summed it all up in one word – hypocrisy – feigning to be what one is not. Against this background therefore, we need to understand the import of yeast.
Yeast is what makes bread rise or swell. It doesn’t take a whole lot of it to accomplish that; it takes just a little to affect a whole bunch of dough. Jesus clearly used the analogy of yeast to present the example of how a small amount of evil can affect a group of people. Ditto for the Corinthian church, where the sin of fornication was rampant, hence the apostle called their attention to the fact that “a little leaven leavens the whole lump”
The New Living Translation makes Paul’s intention so clear, when he advised them to put away “this wicked person” (obviously, the fornicator); otherwise just like yeast makes bread rise, so the sin of fornication would spread in that local assembly. As believers and especially worshippers, we must not play with the yeast of sin. It causss the flesh to rise above the flesh and makes the spirit subject to the influence of carnality. No worship can rise up from a life puffed up by the pride of sin.
Honey does not enjoy as much coverage in the Bible as yeast. However, it carries the same weight for it being rejected by God for inclusion in the grain offering, symbolic of our worship. Honey, like yeast needs just a little for whatever purpose it is used for. Apart from the fact that it is too sweet, lots of it upset the stomach. I have a honey-tale to share with you. The year in question I believe was 1981 over 33 years ago. We were invited to perform at the Lagos City Hall. My group's name was Gladd Tidings. It was the launching of Dr. Tunde Joda's Christ Chapel International Church (CICC). Cut a long story short, somebody told us honey was good for the voice and I especially went to town downing bottles of honey into my rather fragile stomach. My entrails were so upset that I caught dysentery right away. I was shuttling between our waiting section and the toilets. It wass awful. I don't even know how I mangaged to minister with my group that unforgettable day. I did but I displayed all kinds of dance moves that were spurred on more by honey than the Holy Ghost. You get the gist. That's why to this day I hate honey!
Honey does not enjoy as much coverage in the Bible as yeast. However, it carries the same weight for it being rejected by God for inclusion in the grain offering, symbolic of our worship. Honey, like yeast needs just a little for whatever purpose it is used for. Apart from the fact that it is too sweet, lots of it upset the stomach. I have a honey-tale to share with you. The year in question I believe was 1981 over 33 years ago. We were invited to perform at the Lagos City Hall. My group's name was Gladd Tidings. It was the launching of Dr. Tunde Joda's Christ Chapel International Church (CICC). Cut a long story short, somebody told us honey was good for the voice and I especially went to town downing bottles of honey into my rather fragile stomach. My entrails were so upset that I caught dysentery right away. I was shuttling between our waiting section and the toilets. It wass awful. I don't even know how I mangaged to minister with my group that unforgettable day. I did but I displayed all kinds of dance moves that were spurred on more by honey than the Holy Ghost. You get the gist. That's why to this day I hate honey!
Honey is sweet but theorin lies the danger. Sin is "sweet" but it is destructive. Proverbs 25:16 says "If you find honey, eat only what you need; otherwise, you'll get sick from it and vomit." The New Living Trabsaltion says: "Do you like honey? Don't eat too much, or it will make you sick." The similarities with sin are very striking. Sin is "sweet" to the flesh but it is destructive to the spirit. Sin is the cause of many spiritual illnesses--prayerlessness, lack of passion for the word, lack of desire for spiritual hugs generally etc.
Honey is symbolic of the sweetness of the words of our mouth without any lack of commitment. We say whatever it is we want to say without meaning it, especially during times of worship. We are warned to approach God with very few words, as a result. Our sugarcoated words are nothing but sacrifices of fools.
“Keep thy foot when thou goest go the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil. “Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon the earth: therefore let thy words be few.”(Ecclesiastes 5:1-2).
We are commanded to be few of words in God’s presence. We are to listen more than we speak. The reason why we are full of words is made very clear in this passage. We are of a hasty heart, impatient to wait upon God to overwhelm us with His great presence. Peter, like many of us, was guilty of this folly. Up on top of the mountain of transfiguration with the Lord Jesus Christ with Moses and Elijah in attendance, the “iron and steel” disciple “ran” his mouth by promising to build three tabernacles, suggesting that it was good for them to be transfixed by that experience.
Yeast and honey are far from God's idea of the divine ingredients of worship. We must hate what God hates with every fiber of our being. Worship is about pleasing God. If you are going to worship acceptably you must remove yeast and honey form your worship.
"... NO YEAST OR HONEY may be burned as an offering to the Lord by fire.” (Leviticus 2:11).
See next blog for conclusion.
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