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[Newbie]

All throughout the Old Testament I see God forbidding yeast. I did a little research on it to figure it all out. I didn't really like any of the answers that I found, for they didn't really mesh with my thought processes.

I heard that God hated yeast because
1) it represented sin; foreign to the body and makes bad things "rise"
2) took too much time to rise; saying Israelites always needed to be ready to move, especially when the exodus happened
3) other weird answers, too many to write.

But the first two seemed to be the most popular answers.

Granted, I can see how yeast takes time to rise, and therefore if needed to get up and go someplace, it could hinder. . . but thinking of all the people and things they were bringing along with them, for some reason I don't think that a time issues would be much of a hinderance.

When it comes to representing sin, okay, I can see that, but it just seems weird that he would choose yeast. Granted, He is God, and can do as he pleases, but to me it just seems unlikely that he was using it as a symbol. I don't understand why they had many of the rules and regulations that they had, such as the no trimming of the beard hairs, and so forth, but the yeast one was mentioned so many times. God seemed bent on not having yeast be ANYWHERE near the Israelites.

Help me out here.

[jimwalton]

God often uses symbols that every people group, globally, and through all eras of history will be able to understand. It's why he often uses agricultural symbols, as well as darkness and light, food, water, yeast, clothing, etc. They're global and not confined to one particular historical era.

God doesn't have anything against yeast per se. In the Bible he uses it as a symbol, and he is against most of what he uses it to symbolize. Yeast could technically symbolize any invasive and pervasive influence, whether good or evil: little causes can have great effects. Both good and evil can deploy uncanny power. But, as you noted, it almost always has a negative connotation in Scripture (though not always: Lev. 7.13; 23.17). Godliness often is not "spread"—it's the work of the Holy Spirit. But evil spreads from one person to another, like a disease through the body, a cancerous tumor on the rampage, or like fermentation in a liquid or in dough. Yeast became a symbol of spoilage, because it introduced the principle of fermentation: the process of taking something fresh and breaking it down, changing its natural form—a symbol of permeating perversion. Because of the spreading abilities of yeast, God most often used it as a symbol of moral corruption, evil teachings, false doctrines, and sinful practices. It is fitting to the dispersion-tendency of evil, and it's an image just about everyone will be able to understand.

Just as an aside, on the night of the Exodus it's a symbol of haste, not of sin. They are to make bread without yeast because they "don't have time" to let it rise. They have to be ready to go NOW. It represents haste a few times, but the exodus is the biggy as far as that meaning.

Yeast is a fitting symbol of "that which spreads and infects all." Behavior, morality, philosophy, and theology are all contagious. People are, by nature, followers and band-wagon jumpers, and they love a success story. Testimonials and celebrity endorsements work well because people are like sheep. This has its pros and cons, since stupidity and wrong can be caught just as easily as virtue and right. On the other hand, because of our sin natures, stupidity and wrong are more easily caught. People have a natural propensity toward ungodliness, and we seem to catch it from those close to us. Instead of silliness and stupidity, however, there are eternal consequences for these distractions and diversions. It's human nature to sin and disobey. Just a little bit of wrong in your life can go a very long way. It can continue and have the snowball effect... one that can carry to other people.

Hope that helps.