Let no yeast be found in your possession in all your land for seven days. Do not let any of the meat you sacrifice on the evening of the first day remain until morning. – Deuteronomy 16:4

Today's Scripture Reading (January 17, 2022): Deuteronomy 16

It is an ancient Proverb. "One bad apple spoils the whole barrel." The first record of the proverb was in 1340, where it was worded, "A rotten apple quickly infects its neighbor." In the 1736 edition of "Poor Richard's Almanack," Benjamin Franklin phrased it as "the rotten apple spoils his companion." The scientific basis for the proverb is that mold can spread from one apple to the next. But beyond that, a rotting apple produces ethylene gas, which triggers the aging process in nearby apples. One bad apple really does spoil the bunch.

But the proverb's use is often seen as the effect that one bad or negative person can have on a group of people. It is a warning that even if the group aims to make a positive difference, one negative influence can derail that positive effect. In churches, that one voice can speak volumes that can stop the organization from reaching its lofty goals. One bad apple can truly spoil what every good the organization is attempting to accomplish. 

The same proverbial intent was given in the ancient world using yeast as an example. The obvious phenomenon was that just a little yeast could influence a whole loaf of bread; just a little leaven would "puff up" the lump, just as pride and sin "puffed up" the individual. In the same way, just a little sin could work itself throughout the whole community. The sin of ten of the twelve spies at the time of Israel's first attempt to enter into the Promised Land meant the entire nation would be condemned to wander in the wilderness for almost 40 years.

As Israel emerged from Egypt, the nation did so while the whole community was commanded to be "unleavened." The imagery was that the community would be pure in their walk with God as they moved into the early years of nationhood. As the people remembered those beginning moments, they would spend the week "unleavened," a reminder of the pure walk with God that they had committed to when they first left Egypt.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 17