The Leaven of the Pharisees

Job, a major prophet and speaker of righteousness, spoke words in Job 13:3 that have profound prophetic significance and explain why people, including Christians, argue with God. They also explain why Jesus had to effectively counter the human reasoning of the Pharisees by His well-chosen words. Here are Job's words: "But [should be translated "Hence"] I would speak to the Almighty, And I desire to argue with God."

Job's words have power. They have empowered people to have a false sense of power over God. The Days of Unleavened Bread were designed by God to rid His holy people of all sin and falseness. This includes what Jesus called "the leaven of the Pharisees." Matthew calls this leaven or sin the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees (16:6,12), while Luke calls it "hypocrisy" (12:1). Job's words reveal the root behind both explanations: the prideful desire to argue with God rather than submit like a little child to be humbly taught God's thoughts by the Word of God.

Job's words prophesied what Jesus and the true believers would have to go through. They would have to face the hypocritical persecution from false teachers who would not be interested in what God had to say. Like Job's friends, they would only want to express their misguided opinions based on human reasoning and tradition.

The world has had a false understanding of who God is since Adam and Eve's sin. Satan promised them that taking the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil would make them like God, knowing good and evil. While this promise was bogus and they already were like God, eating the forbidden fruit would make them even feel superior to God, telling Him what He ought to think and do and how He should be worshipped.

Even Jesus' disciples did not fully understand who God was. When Jesus said, "When you have seen Me, you have seen the Father," this led them to believe that Jesus and the Father were One and the same, as some still believe today. Yet Jesus' questions aimed at the Pharisees debunk this idea.

Job demanded to speak with God, as the Hebrew words here imply, in His position of power and justice on the judgment seat. He wanted to find a way that a righteous man could have direct contact with God, which had not been done since Eden. Job thus prophesied the rending of a veil in front of the door of the mercy seat. This would allow the door to open for direct contact between man and God, a door that had been shut for 4000 years.

Proverbs 16:1 says, "The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the [Eternal]." We humans have plans, but they are not necessarily a part of God's heart. We often in trials ask why, and we want to know when they will end. When Job vented, he only received answers from men in the form of human reasoning, which frustrated him all the more. His friends were party poopers at his birthday party, declaring Job a sinner when God declared him three times to be a righteous man. The more Job responded to these false friends who represented the three major false world religions, the more he prophesied for God, and for our future, speaking into our lives in these last days and also prophesying what Satan would be able to do to counter God's plan.

Job's heart and body were sick. Out of the heart the mouth speaks, and Job spoke out his own inner pain, while his undiscerning friends were speaking to his head or brain falseness he knew was wrong and could not accept. As with Jesus and His true followers today, Job chose not to compromise and stood fast in the truth he knew, bringing on persecution. Job wanted more of Jesus, but the plans of his heart got in the way. Often we also have plans that are not God's. We choose not to "think outside the box."

Job was sure his tongue could overwhelm God. He argued with God so God would come to see things his way. Satan and Nimrod did the same.

... Continued