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BIBLE STUDY LESSON 17

SERIES R --- THE GOOD SHEPHERD

READING SIGNS

WEATHER FORECASTS

From Matthew 15:31-16:4

When Yeshua had sent the crowd home, He got into a boat and crossed the Sea of Galilee to Magadan, sometimes called Magdala. There some Pharisees and Sadducees came to see Yeshua, asking Him to show some great miracle in the skies so they would know that YHVH approved of Him. [You know how to read the weather forecast in the skies,] Yeshua told them. [When you see a red sky in the evening, you predict fair weather tomorrow, or a red sky in the morning and you predict stormy weather that day. You hypocrites! If you can read these signs in the skies, why can’t you read signs of the times that are clearer? You want Me to give you a miracle? No, I will not. The only miracle to be given you is the miracle of Jonah.] When Yeshua had said these things, He left the Pharisees and Sadducees and went away.

A WARNING ABOUT YEAST

From Mark 8:13-26

When Yeshua had finished talking with the Pharisees and Sadducees, He got into a boat and started toward the other side of the Sea of Galilee. But the disciples had forgotten to take enough bread to eat, bringing only one loaf for the trip. [You must be careful about the yeast of King Herod and the yeast of the Pharisees,] Yeshua warned them. The disciples did not understand what Yeshua meant, so they started to discuss it among themselves. [He is saying this because we forgot the bread,] they thought. But Yeshua knew what they were thinking. [Why are you talking about not having bread?] Yeshua asked them. [Don’t you understand what I mean when it should be so clear? Why don’t you open your hearts to understand this? And why don’t you open your eyes and your ears to the things I do? Don’t you remember when I fed the five thousand people? How many baskets of leftovers did you gather?] [Twelve,] the disciples answered. [And when I fed the four thousand people, how many baskets of leftovers did you gather then?] [Seven,] they said. [Should I be concerned, then, because you forgot to bring bread?] Yeshua asked.

COMMENTARY

WEATHER IN THE LAND

Throughout the Bible lands, there is a great variety of temperature and climate. Before the snow has melted on the peak of Mount Hermon, the ground in the Rift Valley has been baked dry by the hot sun. In the northern regions that once belonged to the tribe of Dan, plants grow in tropical richness while the land south, below the Dead Sea, is a parched desert. In the time of Moshiach, people looked to the sky for their weather forecasts. They could tell many things from the kinds of clouds and light they saw. A farmer knew that a red sky in the evening meant a good day was coming, and sailors knew that a red sky in the morning meant a storm was on the way. Yeshua mentioned this kind of weather forecasting, and many people today still trust it as much as they do any weatherman. Some seasons of the year are more predictable than others in Palestine. During the summer months from June to September, there is almost no rain. Hot winds blowing in from the desert raise stinging clouds of dust from the dry earth. The bright hot sun beats down without mercy, drying up the many small streams and leaving dusty ruts where water once flowed. By early October, the first rains are anxiously watched for. Without them, the earth remains too hard to plough or plant. Throughout the winter months, storm clouds often darken the sky. The welcome rain makes the fields green and the streams rush with water once again. The people collect rainwater in large jars and cisterns or tanks, saving it for use during the seasons that are dry. By March and sometimes April, the rains begin to slow down and finally stop. That’s usually too soon for the farmers, they can only hope that enough rain has fallen to guarantee a rich and plentiful crop. May is the month of the harvest, a time of hard work, great happiness and celebration. The weather is usually beautiful then. The sun shines almost daily, but not yet with the fierce heat of summer. Spring flowers grow wherever the eye can see in the open places, and the full-grown crops are brought in from the fields. The land of the Bible lies rich, ripe and lovely. With the return of June, the heat of the summer sun begins to beat down on the land once again. The seasons have completed one full cycle. The seasons of the year seem to have been planned to create a balance in nature. The effect of the winter rains corrects and balances the results of the dry summer heat. When either season is delayed or something goes wrong, the land and its people suffer. The Bible tells how YHVH often used the weather to display His power or to work His will in the lives of the people of Israel. When all the world’s people had turned toward evil, He used rain to destroy the earth. Only Noah and his family were saved from the great flood that covered the world. YHVH also sent rain in answer to Elijah’s prayers when all the priests of Baal could not relieve the drought that killed the land. Sometimes Adonai used drought and famine to accomplish His purposes. Jacob and his sons were reunited with Joseph in Egypt, where they had gone to buy the grain, their parched land could not grow.

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