YEAST
Today, as of this writing, April 02, 2020, yeast is not found in most of the grocery stores in the United States. In fact, I had a pastor tell me that he has searched everywhere in his
town and cannot find yeast. A friend in Ohio has written that yeast is non-existent in their town.
Why is there suddenly no commercial yeast to be found? I would guess, yeast is a very scarce item in the grocery store because of the panic of the people who are afraid that they might not be able to buy food in the days to come, because of the Coronavirus COVID-19. The subsequent request/order to “Shelter in place” by the
local and state governments as of this writing has caused many people to purchase supplies out of fear. In their panic, they bought food and baking supplies in large quantities to store in their homes.
The store supply chain could not keep up with panic buying. Food, groceries and other supplies are mostly trucked into various locations for distribution warehouses. Most of these supplies are set up on a delivery
on demand basis, depending on the store and it's location.
The first thing that the people did at the mention of a pandemic is to buy outrageous supplies of toilet paper! When people panic, they do and say things that they would not ordinarily
say and do! I do understand that at this time, toilet paper and other paper goods are quite hard to locate. And, flour is in short supply, but there is still a lot of wheat in storage in America, so probably that will help
this problem as it is trucked to the flour mills in the coming days.
Did you know that yeast can be captured in your own kitchen by just mixing flour and water? Although, it takes a few days to make sour dough bread starter, it is quite easy to keep going
indefinitely. I will post a website at the end of this article that will aid in helping to make this bread starter.
Yeast is, according to Wikipedia:
"Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of
years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized."
https://oureverydaylife.com/does-heat-kill-lactobacillus-bacteria-in-sourdough-12630864.html
"Lactobacillus bacteria are the stars behind sourdough, but once they have done their job to end flavor and height, these hearty bacteria are killed in the baking process. Lactobacillus Basics Lactobacillus bacteria are cultivated in a starter culture
for making sourdough and provide the leavening action for bread in the absence of commercial yeast."
In order for bread to rise, it must have leaven or yeast in some form. It could be purchased yeast from the grocery store, in the form of dry, cake and instant, fast rising yeast,
or it could be in the form of sourdough as in the explanation found in the above website.
Matthew 13...So, what does Matthew 13 have to do with yeast?
Yeast is mentioned in Matthew chapter 13 verse 33... "Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, (yeast), which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole batch was leavened.”
(The yeast caused the mixture to rise.)
Now, we shall discover what this meant to the disciples and maybe what it might mean to us.
In Matthew chapter 13, We read that Jesus went out of the house to sit by the lake. However, such a crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat away from the shore and spoke to those
on the shore from the boat. He told them many things in parables.
Definition of a parable; I am using two references here, the first is the world view and the second is a Biblical view:
"1. a short allegorical story designed to illustrate or teach some truth, religious principle, or moral lesson. 2. a statement or comment that conveys a meaning indirectly by the use of comparison, analogy, or the like. parable. A story told by Jesus to convey his religious message."
Excerpt from above website, paragraph 4:
"Jesus' narrative parables are probably best understood as extended metaphors. The story (the image) is a window through which a larger reality (the referent) is depicted. Understanding
the message of a parable is more than identifying its ‘point’ though many parables do have a focal point that is reinforced by the parable as a whole. thus it is crucial both to understand the story as it would
have been understood by Jesus’ original hearers, and to understand the referent, the wider reality about which it gives insight. Typically the referent is some aspect of the kingdom of God, the reign of God in people’s
hearts, or the realm of God’s sovereignty. In order to let the parable have it’s full impact, we need to see the referent in a new way through the parable story."
We will take a closer look at Matthew chapter 13. There are Five parables in the first 35 verses of Matthew 13. The first parable that Jesus spoke about was the parable of the seed:
Jesus told them many things in parables: Matthew 13:4-11
(Parable 1)
"A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some seed fell alongside the path; and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky patches
where there was not much soil. It sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow; but when the sun had risen, the young plants were scorched; and since their roots were not deep, they dried up. Other seed fell among thorns,
which grew up and choked the plants. But others fell into rich soil and produced grain, a hundred or sixty or thirty times as much as had been sown. Those who have ears, let them hear!" And, the disciples came to him
and asked him, why do you speak in parables? He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given."
(The seed here is probably barley or wheat (in the natural, physical form) and also is understood to be the Word of God. ( in the spiritual sense)
This sounds quite harsh...why was it not given to the others to understand?
We will find out why in Verse 12:
"12 For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him."
Jesus was talking about the knowledge of God that was known to the people. Many of the people did not want to know anything about God,
but they did want the healings and to see the miracles.
Even many of the Hebrew children did not want to obey the laws of God that Moses had brought down from the mountain of God in the form of two tablets of the law, which we know as
the Ten Commandments. They preferred to do the desires of their hearts including sacrificing their children to other gods such as Baal. They did not want anybody to tell them what to do!
Continuing with Verse 13:
"Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
14 And in them the prophecy of Isaiah (see Isaiah 6:9) is fulfilled, which says: 'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive;
15 For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have
closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them."
Another words, if they would take to heart their sins, their transgressions from the laws of God and Repent of their sins, God would heal their hearts and give them His promises...love, peace, hope of future and many more things.
These things, the blessings and the cursings can be found listed, in detail, in Deuteronomy chapters 26-29.
But, to the disciples, Jesus said this:
Verses 16,17:
"But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear;
for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it."
I believe Jesus is telling his disciples that those righteous people that lived before them, wanted to see Him... to see Jesus... Himself. Those saints desired to be in the position
that the disciples were in, but it was not meant for them to be alive at that time of the Messiah. It was those 12 disciples, who were given the privilege to actually be with the promised Messiah, to be in His presence to
actually learn from the promised Messiah! Those who had lived in generations past had believed in this prophecy of the Messiah coming to pass and had hoped to be alive when it did come to pass, but this was not God’s
plan for them to be alive when these things came to pass. So, because it was God’s plan for the disciples to know and understand their purpose in God’s plan, the Messiah, Jesus, Himself would teach them what God’s
plan was and what their part would be in this plan and for what purpose He, Jesus, had been born.
On to verse 18; "Therefore hear the parable of the sower:"
(Parable 2)
Verses 19-23 "When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. But he who received
the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately
he stumbles. Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. But he who received seed on the good ground
is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."
(Parable 3)
Verse 24-30 "Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.
But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?' He
said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, 'Do you want us then to go and gather them up?' But he said, 'No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.
Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn."
I am not sure exactly what tares are. I have read that they look like wheat plants until the harvest, but their seed is black and poisonous. As the wife of a farmer, I do know what a nuisance wild rye is in a wheat field! Although the days of rye pulling are long gone for me, my grandchildren understand that pulling the taller rye plants out of a wheat field a few weeks before harvest is no fun at all!
Wild rye is always taller than wheat or barley and they have large upright heads of grain. They are very bitter to the taste and not fit to eat. The barley or wheat are fairly
uniform in the field and the rye is easily seen even before time for the harvest. Also, it is interesting to note, that when the wheat and barley plants are ready for harvest, they actually to start to bow their heads of grain, but the rye heads stand up proudly bowing to no one!
(Parable 4)
Verse 31-32
"Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field,
32 which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes
a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches."
(Parable 5)
Verses 33-35
"Another parable He spoke to them: "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven (leaven is yeast), which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal (flour) till it was all leavened."
34 All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them,
35 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: "I will open My mouth in parables;
I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world."
36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, "Explain
to us the parable of the tares of the field."
Starting at verse 37... the crowd was gone at this point of the story. The disciples still could not understand what the parables meant and so the story continues:
Verses 37-43
"37 He answered, "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the
good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. Therefore as the tares are gathered
and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them
into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"
To further clarify this, Jesus said:
44 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for
joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one
pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
47 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every
kind, which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away.
49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth."
51 Jesus said to them, "Have you understood all these things?"
They said to Him, "Yes, Lord."
It seems clear at this point, that the disciples understood they were to be obedient to do all that Jesus was teaching them. Also, they were to remember the things that he said, even
if they did not fully understand them or when these things would all come to pass.
Verses 52-58
"Then He said to them, "Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old."
Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there. And when He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, "Where did
this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is this not the carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did
this Man get all these things?" So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house." Now He did not do many mighty works there
because of their unbelief."
Yeast is used as an example of a good thing in Matthew 13. Today, if you had yeast it would be a very good thing... especially if you had flour, too! These things are in the natural.
Many people would have no idea what to do with the yeast and the flour, even if they had it in their possession! If, one compared the physical yeast to the WORD of GOD in the spiritual sense, this could be another reason
why people are in a panic.
I saw a photo online, in which at that particular Walmart store, the Bible section was completely empty except for a few NIV Bibles! Many people have Bibles... some even have several Bibles. But,
many have no idea what the WORD actually says. Now, they are rushing out to buy the Bible and hopefully read it.
I have given you some things to think about. Do not take my word for anything. Do your own research. Ask God to help you. He always answers a sincere heart-cry. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Yesterday is gone. We only have today. We do not know what may come tomorrow. Things
can and do change overnight.
Love and Blessings to all,
Karen
Scriptures are mostly taken from NKJV at the following website:
https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/31/21199708/yeast-diy-baking-covid-19-shortage-make-it-yourself-bread
