A parable is a secret code that communicates spiritual truth in an indirect manner. The purpose using spiritual code is to hide the revelation of G-d’s word for those considered worthy of receiving it. Therefore, this revelation is hidden “for” G-d’s people not hidden “from” them. Those who have spiritual eyes to see and spiritual ears to hear will be able to perceive the mystery G-d is revealing though the parables. But to those whose heart motives are not pure in G-d’s sight they will remain dull of hearing and spiritually blind so that they will be unable to see the revelation of God’s word. A parable is therefore a secret message written in code and the revelation contained in a parable is “hidden” and meant only for the eyes and ears of those who are worthy to receive it.

Parables: Mysteries Hidden in Code

Psalm 78:1-2 (CJB)

¹ Listen, my people, to my teaching; turn your ears to the words from my mouth.

² I will speak to you in parables and explain mysteries from days of old.

King David wrote these words which later proved to have great prophetic significance. These prophetic words indicate that G-d has revealed “mysteries” within the Jewish Torah which can only be accessed by those who have spiritual eyes to see and spiritual ears to hear the hidden meaning.

Spiritual wisdom that is hidden in a parable is concealed for those to whom G-d has considered worthy to see these things. G-d’s hidden revelation has been kept secret for G-d’s people since the creation of the world. A parable reveals G-d’s wisdom in an indirect or cloaked manner. Those who are spiritually dull of hearing will not perceive the revelation that is hidden in the form of a parable.

Isaiah 6:9-10 (CJB)

⁹ He said, “Go and tell this people: ‘Yes, you hear, but you don’t understand. You certainly see, but you don’t get the point!’

¹⁰ “Make the heart of this people [sluggish with] fat, stop up their ears, and shut their eyes. Otherwise, seeing with their eyes, and hearing with their ears, then understanding with their hearts, they might repent and be healed!”

Those whom G-d has considered unworthy of seeing revelation will remain dull of hearing and blind to spiritual things. The Jewish Prophet Yesha‘yahu spoke of hard-hearted people who were rebellious and stubborn and unrepentant of heart. These hard-hearted people who refused to obey G-d’s commands became dull of hearing. Humans become dull of hearing when they refuse to listen what G-d says and so they are deprived from seeing the light or revelation of God’s word. A dull of hearing person can hear G-d’s word but not understand it. They can see G-d’s word and read it but not get the point! They have their spiritual ears stopped up and deaf and their spiritual eyes are blinded from seeing revelation of what G-d is saying. The purpose of spiritual deafness and spiritual blindness is to seal up the hard-hearted and reserve them over to judgment. This spiritual condition of blindness and deafness prevents people with a wicked heart from repenting so they will not be spared the judgment that they deserve.

Deuteronomy 29:4 (CJB)

⁴ Nevertheless, to this day Adonai has not given you a heart to understand, eyes to see or ears to hear!

Those who have impure motives or bad heart conditions or who are faithless and full of doubt are those who have been made dull of hearing and blind to seeing G-d’s revelation. God has not given such people a heart to understand nor eyes to see nor ears to hear the mysteries of G-d’s word.

Mysteries hidden for God’s People

While the mysteries of G-d’s word are hidden from those who are dull of hearing, at the same time a person who is considered righteous in G-d’s sight will see this revelation. Parables contain hidden wisdom that only humans with a good heart condition are able to understand.

Parables in the Form of Dreams

One example of a parable “hidden wisdom” is that which is given in the form of a dreams. Such is the case of the prophetic dreams given by G-d to Pharaoh King of Egypt in the time of Joseph.

Genesis 41:1-7 (CJB)

¹ At the end of two years, Pharaoh had a dream: he was standing beside the Nile River;

² and there came up out of the river seven cows, sleek and fat; and they began feeding in swamp grass.

³ After them, there came up out of the river seven more cows, miserable-looking and lean; and they stood by the other cows at the edge of the river.

⁴ Then the miserable-looking and lean cows ate up the seven sleek, fat cows. At this point Pharaoh woke up.

⁵ But he went to sleep again and dreamt a second time: seven full, ripe ears of grain grew out of a single stalk.

⁶ After them, seven ears, thin and blasted by the east wind, sprang up.

⁷ And the thin ears swallowed up the seven full, ripe ears. Then Pharaoh woke up and realized it had been a dream.

Pharaoh dreamed twice and in one dream he saw some thin cows consuming some fat cows and in a second dream he saw some blighted ears of corn consuming plump ears. Pharaoh was not a godly man and he had no comprehension of what these dreams meant.

Genesis 41:8 (CJB)

⁸ In the morning he found himself so upset that he summoned all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one there could interpret them for him.

Pharaoh summoned all of the magicians and wise men of Egypt and told them the dreams but these ungodly men were spiritually dull of hearing and could not see the revelation that God had given in the form of two dreams.

Genesis 41:12 (CJB)

¹² There was with us a young man, a Hebrew, a servant of the captain of the guard; and we told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us — he interpreted each man’s dream individually.

There happened to be an official standing before Pharaoh who knew about Joseph and how Joseph was able to interpret their dreams for them accurately. Joseph was a Hebrew and a righteous man who could see the spiritual significance of parables which were given in the form of dreams from G-d.

Genesis 41:14-16 (CJB)

¹⁴ Then Pharaoh summoned Yosef, and they brought him quickly out of the dungeon. He shaved himself, changed his clothes, and came in to Pharaoh.

¹⁵ (A: ii) Pharaoh said to Yosef, “I had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it; but I’ve heard it said about you that when you hear a dream, you can interpret it.”

¹⁶ Yosef answered Pharaoh, “It isn’t in me. God will give Pharaoh an answer that will set his mind at peace.”

In G-d’s wisdom, he chose to use Joseph to interpret the dreams of Pharaoh because this resulted in having Joseph promoted to the highest position in the land. This position gave Joseph the authority to take action and prepare for the coming famine. If Joseph had not been called from the prison he may have just remained there in jail and starved to death with the rest of the nation when the famine came. Joseph had spiritual ears to hear and spiritual eyes to see the significance of these parables which were given by G-d to Pharaoh in the form of two dreams.

Genesis 41:17-27 (CJB)

¹⁷ (S: ii) Pharaoh said to Yosef, “In my dream, I stood at the edge of the river;

¹⁸ and there came up out of the river seven cows, fat and sleek; and they began feeding in the swamp grass.

¹⁹ After them, there came up out of the river seven more cows, poor, miserable-looking and lean — I’ve never seen such bad-looking cows in all the land of Egypt!

²⁰ Then the lean and miserable looking cows ate up the first seven fat cows.

²¹ But after they had eaten them up, one couldn’t tell that they had eaten them; because they were as miserable-looking as before. At this point I woke up.

²² But I dreamed again and saw seven full, ripe ears of grain growing out of a single stalk.

²³ After them, seven ears, thin and blasted by the east wind, sprang up.

²⁴ And the thin ears swallowed up the seven ripe ears. I told this to the magicians, but none of them could explain it to me.”

²⁵ Yosef said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are the same: God has told Pharaoh what he is about to do.

²⁶ The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears of grain are seven years — the dreams are the same.

²⁷ Likewise the seven lean and miserable-looking cows that came up after them are seven years, and also the seven empty ears blasted by the east wind — there will be seven years of famine.

Joseph immediately saw the spiritual significance of the dreams. Pharaoh was standing by the river which represents the passage of time like the flowing of river water that continues all year long. This signifies that the seven cows and seven ears of corn represented units of time (just as years represent annual periods of time). Thus, the dream indicated that seven years of abundance would come and then be followed by seven-years of famine.

Joseph told Pharaoh that the dreams were one and the same and had been repeated in two different forms for confirmation. The seven cows and seven ears of grain were seven years which signified that seven years of abundance that would be followed by seven years of famine.

This dream was a parable because G-d did not just appear to Pharaoh in a dream and speak to him in direct manner using his own native language and tell him that seven years of abundance would be followed by seven years of famine. Instead G-d gave the dream in the form of a parable so that Pharaoh and his staff could not interpret the dreams on their own. This caused Pharaoh to seek help in interpreting the dreams and this resulted in having Joseph called from the prison and as a result Joseph received authority from Pharaoh to implement a plan to store grain during the years of abundance.

Genesis 41:32 (CJB)

³² Why was the dream doubled for Pharaoh? Because the matter has been fixed by God, and God will shortly cause it to happen.

Joseph made it clear that the dream was repeated in two-forms because the matter was fixed by G-d and it would shortly come to pass. Whenever G-d repeats something more than once then those with spiritual ears better listen up because what G-d is saying is important.

Genesis 41:33-36 (CJB)

³³ “Therefore, Pharaoh should look for a man both discreet and wise to put in charge of the land of Egypt.

³⁴ Pharaoh should do this, and he should appoint supervisors over the land to receive a twenty percent tax on the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven years of abundance.

³⁵ They should gather all the food produced during these good years coming up and set aside grain under the supervision of Pharaoh to be used for food in the cities, and they should store it.

³⁶ This will be the land’s food supply for the seven years of famine that will come over the land of Egypt, so that the land will not perish as a result of the famine.”

Not only did Joseph have the revelation of the two separate dreams but he also had the natural wisdom to provide the correct application to prepare for what was coming. The application Joseph gave from G-d was that grain should be stored up during the seven years of abundance so that they would have food saved for the coming seven years of famine. Without this practical application then the revelation given by G-d would have been rendered useless.

G-d revealed what was going to happen in the future so that they would have time to prepare for what was coming! There must always be an application to every parable. If G-d reveals wisdom to the righteous it is so that they will apply what God has shown to them in practical manner.

There is no quicker way to become dull of hearing than to be passive about the application of what G-d has said. If G-d reveals something to his people, then they must obey it and apply it. If people do not obey and apply what G-d has told them then he will not speak to them anymore! If someone was not faithful to apply what G-d has told them then G-d will not speak to that person anymore. Such a person will be dull of hearing and blind to seeing revelation that God has provided for them. Dullness of heart is a product of disobedience and rebellion and also a product of passivity in doing what G-d has said. King Saul is an example of what happens when someone fails to apply what G-d has commanded them to do.

1 Samuel 15:18-19 (CJB)

¹⁸ Now Adonai sent you on a mission and told you, ‘Go and completely destroy ‘Amalek, those sinners; keep making war on them until they have been exterminated.’

¹⁹ Why did you seize the spoil instead of paying attention to what Adonai said? From Adonai’s viewpoint, you have done an evil thing.”

King Saul was given specific directions what to do but he was passive about his obedience and he only obeyed those parts he liked and disregarded the commands he did not want to obey. This caused his rejection by G-d. Saul feared humans more than God and listened to them instead of obeying what G-d said.

1 Samuel 15:20-21 (CJB)

²⁰ Sha’ul said to Sh’mu’el, “I did too pay attention to what Adonai said, and I carried out the mission on which Adonai sent me. I brought back Agag the king of ‘Amalek, and I completely destroyed ‘Amalek.

²¹ But the people took some of the spoil, the best of the sheep and cattle set aside for destruction, to sacrifice to Adonai your God in Gilgal.”

Saul feared humans more than G-d and permitted them to keep some of the best of the spoil for themselves and then tried to justify his disobedience by saying they would sacrifice this livestock to G-d.

1 Samuel 15:22 (CJB)

²² Sh’mu’el said, “Does Adonai take as much pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying what Adonai says? Surely obeying is better than sacrifice, and heeding orders than the fat of rams.

Samuel rebuked Saul telling him that obeying what G-d said is more important than trying to pay for your disobedience with sacrifices. Saul was required by G-d to heed G-d’s orders.

1 Samuel 15:23 (CJB)

²³ “For rebellion is like the sin of sorcery, stubbornness like the crime of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of Adonai, he too has rejected you as king.”

Saul was rejected by G-d because he did not obey instructions and did not heed G-d’s orders.

1 Samuel 28:6 (CJB)

⁶ But when he consulted Adonai, Adonai didn’t answer him — not by dreams, not by urim and not by prophets.

What happened to King Saul was that he became dull of hearing and spiritually blind and spiritually deaf. G-d would no longer speak to King Saul and Saul found himself cut off from G-d! If a person does not obey what G-d reveals to them and does not heed G-d’s orders, then G-d will never speak to that person ever again! Saul became a walking dead-man cut off from G-d just waiting for his time to perish go to eternal damnation!

How did Saul become dull of hearing? It happened by his own freewill when he chose to fear humans more than G-d and obey the desire of his people instead of heeding what G-d told him. If a person does not obey G-d, then G-d will no longer speak to them. They become hard-hearted and dull of hearing and will be given over to spiritual darkness.

Samuel an Example of Heeding G-d’s Word

1 Samuel 3:19-20 (CJB)

¹⁹ Sh’mu’el kept growing, Adonai was with him, and he let none of his words fall to the ground.

²⁰ All Isra’el from Dan to Be’er-Sheva became aware that Sh’mu’el had been confirmed as a prophet of Adonai.

Samuel was confirmed to be a prophet of the Lord and he did not let any of G-d’s words fall to the ground. This means that Samuel was attentive to follow every detail of what G-d told him. A starving person for example would be extremely careful with grain and would not spill even one kernel of grain on the ground. They would cherish every kernel of their grain and not be sloshing it around and spilling it all over as if it meant nothing to them. Samuel treated God’s words with great care and did not take anything lightly. Most certainly he would have recorded all that God spoke to him so that he would not forget and he would be careful to apply everything God told him to do. This is how he was attentive to G-d’s words and never let one of them fall to the ground in passive manner.

If Samuel was given a parable in the form of a dream, he certainly would have gotten out of bed immediately (at any time of night) to record what G-d said. Then he would take action to do whatever G-d told him. He would fear G-d more than humans so even if G-d told Samuel to go and rebuke a king then he would obey regardless if that king might get angry and put him to death! Samuel feared G-d more than humans and feared G-d more than trying to preserve his own life! But if a prophet displayed fear of man or desired to be popular then he could not fulfill his calling as a prophet. He had to take every word G-d told him seriously and never be passive about his obedience. A prophet knows that if he does not obey what G-d said then G-d will never speak to him ever again. This is what happened to King Saul.

Spiritually Dull of Hearing

People who love sin more than they love God are those who do not want to repent. They enjoy going their own way and doing their own thing like a sheep gone astray. Such people are sealed up in darkness and are dull of hearing and cannot hear G-d’s voice. They arrived in this miserable condition of darkness by their own human freewill of choosing to reject what God told them and refusing to heed G-d’s commands. If they do not obey what G-d says, then G-d will reject them and not speak to them anymore. Spiritual dullness is a heart condition which blocks people who are unworthy from seeing the revelation of God’s word which is found in a parable!

Torah-Teacher Gifted to Teach G-d’s Word

A Torah-teacher like Ezra could teach G-d’s word and make it clear so that the people would understand what was being read. He could reveal the hidden meaning to those who had spiritual ears to hear and spiritual eyes to see what G-d was saying through a parable.

Nehemiah 8:8 (NKJV)

⁸ So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading.

It is the job of the Levites to teach the word of G-d to the people and give the meaning so that the laymen can understand what is being read. The Levites are like the oxen that treads out the grain. A gifted Torah-teacher can expose the revelation of G-d’s word in clear manner so that the congregation can understand what is being taught to them. Revelation of G-d’s word is hidden for the righteous (people with good heart conditions) in the form of parables. A parable is like a kernel of wheat that is hidden inside of the outer covering or hull. When this hull is removed then the people can receive the wheat inside which can be made into bread to feed the people.

In the same way, when a Levite is feeding the people good spiritual food it is as if he is serving fresh spiritual bread. He is treading out the grain of G-d’s word and revealing the secrets that are hidden in the form of parables. He is removing the cloak of mystery as if he was an ox treading out the grain to remove the hull from the kernels of grain. When the hull is removed then the people can see the revelation and it will feed them spiritually much the same way that fresh bread will satisfy their natural hunger.

So, a Levite called by G-d to be a Torah-teacher will remove the hull or covering of mystery from parables and reveal the hidden wisdom of G-d. This wisdom will be seen by those who have spiritual eyes to see and spiritual ears to hear G-d’s revelation. This revelation is like the inner core of the kernel of grain that supplies food to the eater. Spiritual food is supplied to those who have ears to hear and eyes to see what the Torah-teacher is revealing to them.

Deuteronomy 25:4 (CJB)

⁴ “You are not to muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain.

The job of being a Torah-teacher is a full-time occupation. The Torah-teacher cannot do this on a part-time basis because he needs six days a week to study and meditate on G-d’s word. He cannot do this on a part-time basis by working a secular job and only teaching once a week. He will need six days to prepare the word of G-d to feed the people on the seventh day or Shabbat. It requires much prayer and fasting and meditation of G-d’s word to come up with the revelation hidden in the parables. It is not fast-food but something that takes time like harvesting grain, then treading out grain, then winnowing that grain, then grinding the kernels to flour, then using that flour to make bread, and then baking that bread in an oven. There are many hours of labor involved to turn grain in the field into bread that can be eaten.

In the same way, there are many hours of fasting and prayer and meditation of G-d’s word for a Torah-teacher to harvest the word, and tread out the hull of covering and to reveal that mystery and to teach that mystery to the people as if he was serving them good hot bread to eat!

Such a man is to be supported by the tithes and offerings of the layman who work secular jobs and run businesses. They provide the natural needs of the Levite Torah-teacher so that he can focus his full-time in teaching the word of G-d.

So, the bottom line here is that the scripture about “not muzzling an ox” found in the Torah of Moshe is a parable and it is not even referring to natural oxen at all. If a spiritually dull person read this scripture, they would assume G-d is talking about cattle but in fact this scripture is referring to Levite Torah-teachers whose job it is to tread out the grain of G-d’s word to feed the people spiritually. This scripture therefore is not even talking about cattle at all. The layman is not to muzzle the Levite Torah-teacher from receiving tithes and offerings which he needs to feed his family. If they do not muzzle him and they pay their tithes and offerings, then the Levite Torah-teacher will be able to continue to labor full-time in the ministry. He will focus all of his time on fasting and prayer and meditation of G-d’s word and not be distracted by being forced to work a secular job to feed his family.

When Levites were Muzzled by the Withholding of Tenths and Offerings

Nehemiah 13:10 (NIV)

¹⁰ I also learned that the portions assigned to the Levites had not been given to them, and that all the Levites and singers responsible for the service had gone back to their own fields.

In the time of Nehemiah, the laymen stopped supporting the Levites with their tithes and offerings. This caused the Levites to be starved out of the ministry and they returned to their pasture lands trying to scratch out a living by planting gardens. This also causes the laymen to be diminished by withholding the tithes and offerings. The teaching of G-d’s word then ceased and everything was cursed and both Levites and Laymen came to poverty. Everyone is a loser when tithes and offerings are withheld against G-d’s command to pay them. The laymen will be cursed in their farm our business for withholding the tenths and offerings and the Levites will be starved out of the ministry and this causes the teaching of G-d’s word to cease.

This parable which speaks about oxen is actually referring to the Levite Torah-teachers not being muzzled by laymen who refuse to support them with the natural things necessary which are needed for a Levite man to feed his family.

If this scripture was referring to oxen only then it would be one of many scriptures that would appear to be obsolete since oxen are no longer used to tread grain. Machines are used to combine and thresh grain in this modern era. But this scripture is not talking about oxen and it still is pertinent today because the mystery of this parable refers entirely to the Levite-Torah teacher who has a right to receive natural tithes and offerings from the laymen to feed his family so he can focus 100% of his time on treading out the grain of G-d’s word to feed the people spiritually!

So, understanding that G-d speaks in parables using natural things (like oxen as an illustration of spiritual things) we can also see that G-d can use other natural illustrations as parables to teach spiritual truth. Another example of this the parable of the mother bird that speaks of saving for future investments.

Parable of a Mother Bird

Deuteronomy 22:6-7 (CJB)

⁶ “If, as you are walking along, you happen to see a bird’s nest in a tree or on the ground with chicks or eggs, and the mother bird is sitting on the chicks or the eggs, you are not to take the mother with the chicks.

⁷ You must let the mother go, but you may take the chicks for yourself; so that things will go well with you, and you will prolong your life.

Above is another parable that contains hidden wisdom from G-d. If a spiritually dull person reads the scripture above, they would probably assume that this scripture is speaking about natural birds and they would miss the revelation of G-d that has hidden in this parable. This is much like the parable that says do not muzzle the oxen that treads out the grain. That parable was not referring to oxen at all and the same is true of this parable because it is not referring to birds at all!

A spiritually dull person (those cut off from spiritual revelation) might even make the mistake of assuming this scripture is speaking of not hunting because it says let the mother bird go. This however would be a false assumption because the same scripture permits a person to take the eggs or the young birds that they find in the bird nest and only let the mother bird go free. If this scripture was forbidding hunting, then it would not have permitted people to eat the eggs (undeveloped bird embryos) or the chicks (newly hatched birds unable to fly). No, this scripture is not speaking of birds at all and it is also not forbidding anyone to hunt.

Deuteronomy 22:7 (CJB)

⁷ You must let the mother go, but you may take the chicks for yourself; so that things will go well with you, and you will prolong your life.

This scripture says that if a person lets the mother bird go free then things will go well with them and their will prolong their lives on earth. Again, a spiritually dull person might make the mistake to assume that G-d is saying that if you do not hunt birds then G-d will bless you and things will go well for you and G-d will prolong your life on earth! But again, this would be a false assumption because this is a parable that is not even speaking about natural birds.

It takes a Levite Torah-teacher like Ezra and his Levites to teach G-d’s word and give the meaning so that the people can understand what is being said. If the laymen could discover these things on their own, then there would be no need for a Levite Torah-teacher. But God specially equips a Levite Torah-teacher with special gifts and calling to see revelation that the laymen cannot see. When a Levite Torah-teacher reads a scripture about an ox or about a bird he will know immediately that G-d is giving a parable which is revealing mysteries that are far beyond natural things such as oxen and birds.

The parable given to Pharaoh in a dream spoke of cattle coming out of the river. The river speaks of time just like the expression that says, “A lot of water has passed under the bridge!” which means a lot of time has passed just like the fine sand that flows through an hourglass. So, the seven cows came out of the river speaks of time and it was revealed to Pharaoh that the seven cows represent seven segments of time or seven years. The same was true of the seven gaunt cattle that followed them which was also seven segments of time or seven years of famine. The same was repeated with plumb ears of grain and blighted ears of grain. But again, it must be emphasized that G-d was not talking about cows or grain but about seven years of abundance followed by seven years of famine. It took a man of spiritual discernment who was gifted to see the hidden meaning of parables (that were given in the form of dreams) in order to interpret these dreams. Pharaoh and his staff were unable to see the revelation and were unable to interpret these things. In the same way, G-d gifts Levites to see spiritual revelation that laymen cannot see. That is why God appointed the Levites to do the work of the ministry and to teach the Torah-principles that change people’s lives on earth.

Parable that Speaks of Seed for Investment

Deuteronomy 22:6-7 (CJB)

⁶ “If, as you are walking along, you happen to see a bird’s nest in a tree or on the ground with chicks or eggs, and the mother bird is sitting on the chicks or the eggs, you are not to take the mother with the chicks.

⁷ You must let the mother go, but you may take the chicks for yourself; so that things will go well with you, and you will prolong your life.

Again, this scripture above is given in the form of a parable which is a form of code that reveals the hidden wisdom of G-d only to those who have spiritual ears to hear. This scripture says that if a person finds a mother bird sitting on her eggs or chicks in a nest that they were to let the mother bird go free and were permitted only to eat the eggs or chicks. If they would follow these instructions, then it would go well for them in the future and they would prolong their lives on earth.

The reason for this is because the mother bird represents investments. The mother bird has the potential of creating more eggs and creating more chicks for the future. The mother bird therefore represents investments for the future.

Example of Farmer and Chickens

A good example of the principle of do not eat the mother bird is that of a chicken farmer. If a man eats his last hen, then that will be the last meal he will ever eat. But if he saves his hens for reproduction then he will have more eggs and more chickens to eat in the future. Things will go well for him in the future and he will prolong his life on earth if he does not eat his last hen. It will not go well for him however if he eats his last hen and the farmer and his family starve to death in the future with nothing left to eat.

This may seem only to be “common-sense” but in fact there are millions of people on earth who are starving to death simply because they consume their seed or consume their investment capital and have nothing in the future because of their ignorance. Poverty throughout the world is largely self-induced by people who break these Torah-commands.

If the farmer has one hen and this hen lays six eggs and these eggs hatch out and produce six more chicks, then he will have a multiplication. Chickens can come to maturity in as little as 45 days so it will not be long before those six chicks mature and they can hatch out more chicks as well. Consider the simple math multiplication if each chicken hatches out only six chicks each:

1. 1 x 6 = 6 chickens

2. 6 x 6 = 36 chickens

3. 36 x 6 = 216 chickens

4. 216 x 6 = 1,296 chickens

5. 1,296 x 6 = 7,776 chickens

It is easy to see how the chicken farmer could go from one hen to over 7,500 chickens in a relatively short period of time (if each chicken reproduced only six chicks each). With a flock of over 7,500 chickens this farmer would have plenty of rooster meat to eat, and plenty of eggs to eat and he would have a surplus of meat and eggs to sell also for a cash income. This farmer has a hope for his future with more than enough food and cash income to feed his family. All of this prosperity comes by not eating his last hen!

This is the revelation that is taught in the form of a parable that speaks of letting the mother bird go and it is the same revelation that can be applied to the chicken farmer. This principle can also be called, “Do not eat your last hen.” The hen represents future income and future multiplication and if that is consumed the future prosperity has ceased!

The same thing can be said of grain because if a man eats his last seed then that will be the last meal that he ever eats! He will starve to death in the future if he saves no seed for planting his future crop.

The same principle of “save the mother bird” can also be applied to financial investments because if a man consumes his seed it is the same as spending all of his investment capital on consumer goods. If he blows all of his money now, then he will have no income in the future and he and his family will starve to death. It will not go well with him in the future and he will not prolong his life on earth when he starves because he consumed his last investment capital.

This can be seen in the lives of those who win a lotto and have a big payment of prize money. Typically, such people will blow that money as fast as they can spend it and will end up completely broke a short-time later even if they have won millions.

The same is often true of children who inherited millions from their wealthy parent’s estate (if these children were not taught these Torah-principles and were not taught how to respect money and how to manage wealth). Many people who have inherited millions ended up broke a short-time later just the same as the foolish lotto winners who blew everything that they got their hands on.

Isaiah 55:10 (CJB)

¹⁰ For just as rain and snow fall from the sky and do not return there, but water the earth, causing it to bud and produce, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater;

The scripture above speaks of G-d providing seed for the sower and bread to the eater. This means that a portion of what G-d provides is meant for sowing or investment and a portion of what G-d provides is for eating or consumption. It is of vital importance that people learn not to mix that which is meant for consumption together with that which is intended by G-d for future investment.

Yes, G-d knows people have to eat and they have immediate living expenses to pay for but they are not to consume everything (including their investment seed) or they will come to financial ruin in their future. G-d gives both seed to the sower and bread to the eater. This speaks of the portion that is to be set aside for future investments and the portion that is set aside for meeting immediate family needs to feed and clothe the family and provide for necessary living expenses.

A wise person however will seek to minimize their living expenses as much as possible in order to save more money for investments. The more they invest the more money they can make and then they can prosper tremendously in their future.

Repetition for Emphasis

Whenever G-d has something important to share He will often repeat the message in a number of different forms. This gives confirmation that the revelation is true because it is often repeated in different ways like the parable of Pharaoh which was given in two different forms to communicate the same thing.

Principle of Preparing Investments Before Increasing Living Standard

Proverbs 24:27 (CJB)

²⁷ Prepare your outside work, and get things ready for yourself on the land; after that, build your house.

This principle of saving the mother bird can be seen in this scripture above as well. Here it says that a man is to prepare his work outside in the field and get things ready on the land before he builds his house. This can be seen in the example of the early American pioneers who would often live rough on the land while they spent their time preparing fields and tending livestock. They might live in a wagon or a dugout or a tent because they had to first invest their time and labor in something that will produce a future harvest and income for them.

Suppose a pioneer man listens to his wife who wants a nice home to live in so he spends his time building a new house and spends all of his capital on it. As a result of this poor decision this man and his family will end up starving to death later while sitting in their new home. This is because he consumed his time and investment money on something that does not produce an income for his family. If he is wise and follows the wisdom of the Torah, then this man will be the head of his home and tell his wife to wait for a new house. He would first invest his resources and time in things that produce income instead of immediately building a new house. If he will do this then his crops and his livestock will increase and eventually they will prosper until they have the extra money to spend on a new house in the future.

But first they must invest in something that will produce future income like grain and livestock and then they can build a house afterward when they have prospered enough to have the extra money available for a new house.

Men have to look to the future and seek after producing new sources of income and not be moved by immediate desires of a wife for a new home. The wife can have a new home eventually if she will wait for her husband to invest his time and energy and capital in something that will produce a livelihood for the whole family.

I have heard stories about pioneer families that perished because a wife would not submit to her husband and insisted on bringing useless furniture along in the wagon. The Oregon trail for example is said to have been strewn with discarded furniture when the horses could no longer pull the heavy wagons and they had to dispose of the furniture that the wife insisted on carrying. But some of these families perished because the husband was unable to carry the tools and seed and essential survival supplies needed by the family because the wife filled the wagon with useless furniture. A man has to be the head of the home and the scripture commands women to submit to their husbands for this reason. The man will see the long-term goal and know what is key and essential for survival but the women will typically only see what they want for comfort or beauty in the present-tense.

What good is it to have a nice house or furniture when the family will starve to death without any income in the future? A man has to make the decisions using his masculine logic and think ahead for the long term good of his family. If he permits his wife to make the decisions, they could all die just as many pioneer families perished whose men were not being the leaders at home. Hen-pecked husbands who base their decisions upon the feminine thinking of the wives (who did not submit to their husbands) can cause the deaths of their entire family. Their entire family will perish when they are not able to carry that which was essential for survival when the wagon was filled to capacity with useless things the wife insisted on bringing. A man has to be a leader because if he is not then his wife and children will perish when the woman is running the household and refuses to submit to her husband.

The Tanakh teaches men to prepare for themselves in the field that which provides a future income like planting crops and tending livestock then afterward when they prosper and increase then that will be the time for building a new house. Wives and children are to submit to the leadership of the man of the house and wait until they have enough income before they improve their standard of living. If they consume all of their time and investment capital on luxury items, then they will all perish later when they have nothing and all starve to death. It takes masculine leadership to say NO to present desires in order to invest the time and energy and capital in that which can produce an income for the future.

Women typically only see immediate family needs therefore they must submit to their husbands and wait for the proper time. Only after they have increased financially and can afford to improve their standard of living should they consider building a new house.

Deuteronomy 4:6 (CJB)

⁶ Therefore, observe them; and follow them; for then all peoples will see you as having wisdom and understanding. When they hear of all these laws, they will say, ‘This great nation is surely a wise and understanding people.’

When G-d’s people live by Torah principles then they will become a wise and understanding people. Even the Goyim will envy them because all that the Jews did would result in increase and prosperity. Many Torah-ignorant people cause their own poverty simply by consuming all of their seed so that they starve in their future. This is self-inflicted poverty caused by breaking the principles of G-d’s word found in the Torah. Obeying the Torah is what makes G-d’s people (the Jews) wise.

Mysteries found in Parables

The following parable is about the kid cooked in his mother’s milk. This is in fact a parable and contains a mystery just as the parables found in Pharaoh’s dreams spoke of seven years of abundance followed by seven years of famine. The officers of Pharaoh and his heathen magicians did not have spiritual understanding to see the revelation of these dreams. It took a man of G-d like Joseph who was a Hebrew to see what these dreams meant. The parable about the oxen previously mentioned also speaks not of cattle but of supporting the Torah-teaching Levites financially. The parable about not eating the mother bird also speaks of saving for future investments.

Everything that was given in this teaching lesson up to this point was to condition the reader to understand and see revelation contained in parables found in the bible. These same principles can also be seen in the parable about the kid in its mother’s milk.

A Parable of Kid in Mother’s Milk

This parable contains a mystery which speaks of the same principle of not mixing that which is intended for investment together with that which is meant for consumption. It is the same principle that has already been repeated in several different forms. This is like the dream of Pharaoh which was repeated in several different forms but each form was saying the same thing. This parable says the same thing as letting the mother bird go and tending your business in the field before you build a new house. It speaks of not mixing that which is for consumption together with that which is for investment.

The importance of this parable is reflected in the fact that it is repeated three different times. The number three is the number of “completion” just like there are three-levels in the Ark of Noah, and three Jewish patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In the same way, the same parable is repeated in three times in the following scriptures:

Exodus 23:19 (NASB)

¹⁹ “You shall bring the choice first fruits of your soil into the house of the LORD your God. “You are not to boil a young goat in the milk of its mother.

Exodus 34:26 (NASB)

²⁶ “You shall bring the very first of the first fruits of your soil into the house of the LORD your God. “You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.”

Deuteronomy 14:21-22 (NASB)

²¹ “You shall not eat anything which dies of itself. You may give it to the alien who is in your town, so that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner, for you are a holy people to the LORD your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

²² “You shall surely tithe all the produce from what you sow, which comes out of the field every year.

In all three of the cases listed above they all share two elements in common. In all three instances, these scriptures above mention bringing in the first fruits (tithe) to the house of the Lord and all three cases mention, “Do not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.” The third listing also adds an additional statement to what was already listed in all three by saying, “You shall not eat anything which dies of itself!” and gave instructions that the Jewish people could give it to an alien or foreigner but it was forbidden to G-d’s covenant people.

In our study of parables thus far we have seen that they contain mysteries. It is evident that these three scriptures listed above are not referring to natural things like boiling a goat in a mother milk or giving a dead animal to an alien to eat. There is a mystery contained in these scriptures for those who have spiritual eyes to see and spiritual ears to hear what God is saying.

It is also interesting that G-d specifically said do not boil a young goat in its mother’s goat milk when G-d could have just as easily said do not boil a calf in its mother’s cow milk. G-d used the term goat (not cow) in all three instances of scripture listed above.

The term goat is significant because it is distinguished by its behavior. A sheep and a goat are entirely different in behavior and the shepherds who raised both animals would be aware of these differences. Sheep are docile followers and if one jumps off a cliff then they will all jump off a cliff together. Sheep are a picture of submission and following without question.

The goat is independent and not a follower and in fact the goat is often used as an illustration of unbelievers who do their own thing. Sheep who follow their master are often used as an illustration of believers who follow Adonai (the Lord) and submit to his leadership and follow him without question. A goat is a picture of self-will and independence and is an image of Torah-ignorant unbelievers who do not submit to the Torah but do their own thing like a goat.

The young goat also symbolizes future provision because a young goat can mature and bear more goats and it can also produce more milk for the future.

Deuteronomy 32:14 (NASB)

¹⁴ Curds of cows, and milk of the flock, With fat of lambs, And rams, the breed of Bashan, and goats, With the finest of the wheat— And of the blood of grapes you drank wine.

Proverbs 27:26-27 (NASB)

²⁶ The lambs will be for your clothing, And the goats will bring the price of a field,

²⁷ And there will be goats’ milk enough for your food, For the food of your household, And sustenance for your maidens.

Goat’s milk is mentioned as food for the household and as a blessing and provision from God. So, in our three-part parable the goat milk represents provision and food for the family. The goat milk represents food for daily consumption because generally they had to drink it fresh daily before it spoiled especially when they had no refrigeration to store it.

In our parable, the young goat represents future investment because if you do not consume your goat it will mature and bear more goats and produce more milk in the future. A person needs to have both provision for daily consumption and investment capital for future increase.

Isaiah 55:10 (CJB)

¹⁰ For just as rain and snow fall from the sky and do not return there, but water the earth, causing it to bud and produce, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater;

Again, we see this scripture above that mentions G-d giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater. G-d provides seed for the sower (the portion set aside for investment) and G-d provides bread to the eater (that portion set aside for daily consumption). Again, G-d knows that people have to eat but if they mix the portion meant for investment together with the portion meant for consumption then they will consume it all and come to financial ruin.

Exodus 23:19 (NASB)

¹⁹ “You shall bring the choice first fruits of your soil into the house of the LORD your God. “You are not to boil a young goat in the milk of its mother.

Exodus 34:26 (NASB)

²⁶ “You shall bring the very first of the first fruits of your soil into the house of the LORD your God. “You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.”

Deuteronomy 14:21-22 (NASB)

²¹ “You shall not eat anything which dies of itself. You may give it to the alien who is in your town, so that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner, for you are a holy people to the LORD your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

²² “You shall surely tithe all the produce from what you sow, which comes out of the field every year.

Again, looking at our three-part parable above we see that G-d commands that they do not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk. This is repeated three times because this is important and G-d’s people better open their spiritual eyes to see and their spiritual ears to hear and listen attentively!

Not Mixing Meat and Milk Together

If a goat is boiled in its mother’s milk that would mean that the meat would be totally sodden with milk. The meat would be totally saturated with milk and there would be no way of separating the dairy and meat from one another.

A Jewish person is very careful not to mix dairy products together with meat products and will go to great extents to avoid the mixing of the two. They will even keep separate sets of utensils to use only for dairy and separate utensils to use only for meat. A Jewish person will wait for at least four hours before consuming diary if they have just eaten meat because they do not want the two products to be mixed together in their stomachs! Apparently, this practice it is good for the health because Jewish people in Israel are an example of people who enjoy a longer life-span than any other country. Possibly the human body digests meat protein differently than milk protein so they should not be mixed together in the digestive system or it can cause internal problems and health issues.

But the point to make here is that if someone placed some goat meat that was sodden in milk in front of a Jew and told them to eat it then the Jewish person would revolt in disgust. They would abhor that sodden meat the same as they would abhor a ham and cheese sandwich (pig meat with cheese on top). Such things are called “Goyish” by Jewish people meaning that only a Goy or Gentile would eat such things! A Goy is one who would typically not know about the Torah unless they were righteous Goyim who believe in the G-d of Israel and believe that the Jews are G-d’s covenant people and who believe that the Torah is G-d’s word. But in general, the Goyim who are unbelievers are totally ignorant about the Torah and these unbelievers are often illustrated by goats in the word of G-d.

So, the statement, “Do not boil a goat in its mother’s milk!” speaks to God’s people and says, “Do not be like a Goy “unbeliever goat” who has no knowledge of God’s ways and mixes two things together that should not be mixed at all! In the same way that a Jew would revolt in disgust at meat sodden in milk or abhor a pig meat sandwich with cheese on top, they should also have the same total revulsion and disgust at mixing that which God has provided for daily consumption together with that which is intended for future investment. Those who do such things are like a Torah-ignorant Goy who has no common sense based upon knowing G-d’s commands.

In fact, the poverty seen in most third-world nations can be traced directly to breaking every command of G-d found in the Torah. These Torah-ignorant people actually create their own poverty and will typically consume all of their investment capital together with their daily consumption as if it was all the same to them! That is Goyish behavior of people who are Torah-ignorant and this behavior creates their own poverty and results in their own financial ruin!

G-d repeatedly has given the same principle over and over again in the Tanakh and has warned the people never to mix that which is intended by G-d for daily consumption together with that which is intended for future investment. If they eat their last hen, then that will be the last meal they will ever eat. If they eat their last seed that will be the last meal they will ever eat. If they spend their last money on consumer goods, then that will be the last money they will ever see!

They must always keep separate that which is for daily consumption from that which is intended for future investment. If they will always invest for the future, they will constantly increase and become prosperous and have more than enough over time.

Deuteronomy 14:21-22 (NASB)-M

²¹ “You shall not eat anything which dies of itself. You may give it to the alien who is in your town, so that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner, for you are a holy people to Adonai your G-d. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

²² “You shall surely tithe all the produce from what you sow, which comes out of the field every year.

The third part of this parable adds a new twist from the first two parts because the scripture above speaks of not eating anything that dies of itself. There is a mystery evident here and G-d is clearly speaking of those who hang themselves by their own Torah-ignorance. This speaks of those who create their own self-inflicted poverty by their own behavior of mixing that which is intended for daily consumption together with that which is intended for future investment. Anything that dies of itself means that no outside force killed them but they just died of their own causes. I have often met Torah-ignorant Goyim who have created their own misery and poverty and starvation by consuming their seed meant for investment. These people were not made poor by any outside sources and no one stole their money but instead they created their own poverty by their own ignorance! When they starve to death it is because they died of themselves or killed themselves by their own Torah-ignorance.

So, this illustration is clear for a Jewish person to see when it speaks of an animal that died of itself. No Jew would eat such an animal because it would not have been bled properly, the animal could have died of a disease and eating such an animal could transmit the disease to humans. The point is glaringly obvious to any Jewish person reading this scripture that they would not eat anything that died of itself. That would be as repulsive as someone stopping their car and going out and eating some dead animal as “road-kill” lying rotten beside the road!

The scripture above said they could give something that died of itself to an alien or sell it to a foreigner but they were not to eat such a thing themselves! This is a statement from G-d that the Torah-ignorant behavior of the unbeliever Goyim should have no part in their lives as G-d’s covenant people the Jews. The Torah-ignorant Goyim will typically do foolish things like mixing the funds for daily consumption together with funds meant for future investment and just devour it all and end up broke and starving as a result. This Goyish behavior should be just as repulsive to a Jew as stopping a car to eat dead animal laying along the road! It should be just as repulsive as eating meat sodden in milk or pig meat with cheese on top! No way would any Jew in his right mind do such a thing and this is an illustration in this parable from G-d that says, “In the same way that a Jew would never mix meat and milk together so they should not mix that which is meant for daily consumption together with that which intended for future investment and then consume them all as if they were all the same thing!”

The goat boiled in its mother’s goat milk (instead of a calf boiled in its mother’s cow milk) speaks of the goat or unbeliever Goyim who commit Torah-ignorant behavior on a regular basis. Poverty stricken nations are filled with unbeliever Goyim who break all of God’s laws and create their own poverty and misery by their own actions. They typically consume their seed as if there was no difference between that which is for consumption and that which is for investment. They eat their last investment capital and have nothing in the future as a result.

G-d is saying through these parables; “Let that Torah-ignorant behavior remain with the unbeliever Goyim” but God’s covenant people should have no part of it! G-d’s people should abhor it as if it was a milk-sodden piece of meat or some dead road-kill!

The young goat and the alien and foreigner mentioned here all speak of those who are Torah-ignorant and who do not follow G-d’s laws but do their own thing like an independent goat. But those who submit to Adonai (the Lord) are those who follow him without question like a sheep in submissive manner. The sheep people are both Jews and righteous believing Goyim who have prospered by following the principles of G-d’s word found in the Torah.

One of the most important principles in the Torah that has been repeated in many forms is the principle of seed-time and harvest. If someone will save seed to plant, then they will always have an increasingly larger harvest in the future. With progressively larger harvests they can plant more seed and have even larger harvests in the future. So, their living standard increases and their harvests increase and over time as they increase more and more until they are prosperous and have abundance.

Genesis 26:12-14 (CJB)

¹² Yitz’chak planted crops in that land and reaped that year a hundred times as much as he had sowed. Adonai had blessed him.

¹³ (iii) The man became rich and prospered more and more, until he had become very wealthy indeed.

¹⁴ He had flocks, cattle and a large household; and the P’lishtim envied him.

Isaac followed the Torah principles of do not eat the female livestock and do not eat your seed intended for planting. Isaac learned these principles from his father Abraham who himself learned these principles from G-d. By saving seed for planting and saving the female livestock for reproduction Isaac was able to continually increase every year. Isaac prospered more every year until be grew to be wealthy and had great abundance. Following Torah principles will cause any people to prosper who will live by the wisdom of G-d’s word.

The Philistines envied Isaac because he was prospering in their region but they were not. This is because the Philistines were ignorant of G-d’s principles and they were not saving their seed and doing those things that cause future prosperity.

Genesis 26:15 (CJB)

¹⁵ Now the P’lishtim had stopped up and filled with dirt all the wells his father’s servants had dug during the lifetime of Avraham his father.

The Philistines even stopped up the wells that Abraham had dug which shows their ignorance about financial matters. A well represented water which is needed to grow crops and livestock which are a source of prosperity. It was an investment of labor to dig a well but it paid for itself with the increase of wealth in crops and livestock that need water. A man who has Torah-wisdom will seek to make investments that will increase his future prosperity (like digging a well) so that his crops and livestock will increase. To fill a well with dirt is to stop their own prosperity and this behavior is typical of Torah-ignorant people who do not understand principles of prosperity.

G-d is no respecter of persons and whoever will follow his laws will find increase and blessing and financial prosperity! It works for both Jews and Goyim for whoever will submit themselves to G-d’s word and follow as a submissive sheep in obedience. But for those who behave like a goat and go their own independent way they will find a curse as they eat everything including their seed for future investment.

Another analogy illustrated by goat behavior is that the goat will eat the grass down to the bare ground and denude the land of all vegetation. The desertification of some countries has been traced to the goat which leaves nothing for the future. The sheep however will not typically eat the grass to the bare ground but will move on and only eat the tops of the grass. The sheep leaves some grass to continue growing for the future unlike the goat who eats it all to the ground and kills the grass.

This is yet one more natural analogy of the “goat people” (Torah-ignorant unbeliever Goyim) and the “sheep people” who learn the Torah and submit to Adonai and save something for the future. Those who leave nothing for the future (like goats) will cause bareness and famine.

This has been a repeated theme throughout the scripture that G-d wants his people both Jews and believing Goyim to save investment capital for their future. If they save seed for investment they will always have increasingly larger harvests in the future. They will experience prosperity and abundance in their future if they will follow these Torah principles.

Stop the Curse by Tithes and Offerings

But this is not the end of the story because if G-d-fearing people (both Jews and godly Goyim) will obey the Torah and save seed for investment then they will prosper over time. But when they do prosper, they must beware to always give a tenth-part or tithe to the Lord from their increase.

Exodus 23:19 (NASB)

¹⁹ “You shall bring the choice first fruits of your soil into the house of the LORD your God. “You are not to boil a young goat in the milk of its mother.

Exodus 34:26 (NASB)

²⁶ “You shall bring the very first of the first fruits of your soil into the house of the LORD your God. “You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.”

Deuteronomy 14:21-22 (NASB)

²¹ “You shall not eat anything which dies of itself. You may give it to the alien who is in your town, so that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner, for you are a holy people to the LORD your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

²² “You shall surely tithe all the produce from what you sow, which comes out of the field every year.

In all three scriptures above, these three parables all say the same thing to bring the very first of the first fruits of your soil to the house of the Lord. The first of the first fruits are the tenth part that belongs to G-d. If they have ten bushels of grain, then they have to give one bushel to G-d. If they have ten eggs, they are to give one egg to G-d. If they have ten chickens, then they have to give one chicken to G-d. If they have ten dollars, they have to give one dollar to G-d.

There are different types of tithes in found in the scripture and the first tithe is for the Levites and other tithes are for widow and orphans or aliens who have no means of support. But the very first tithe was to be given to the house of the Lord. Then G-d gave this tithe to the Levites for their work of the ministry in the tabernacle and later in Jewish history in the temple that was built at Jerusalem.

Malachi 3:8-12 (NASB)

⁸ “Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings.

⁹ “You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you!

¹⁰ “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the LORD of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.

¹¹ “Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes,” says the LORD of hosts.

¹² “All the nations will call you blessed, for you shall be a delightful land,” says the LORD of hosts.

The last book of the Tanakh says that whenever a man fails to pay his tithe and offerings then he has robbed G-d. G-d’s people were to pay both tithes and offerings because if they do not pay then they will be cursed with a curse. They were to bring the whole tithe into G-d’s storehouse which was used to feed the Levites. If they would do this, then G-d would pour out a blessing so big they would overflow with abundance and G-d would rebuke the devourer for their sakes and all nations would call them blessed because of their vast abundance of prosperity.

The tithe is the first ten-percent of their increase. G-d only asks for a tenth but allows them to keep 90% for themselves. Then out of the 90% share that belongs to the people they could decide to give a freewill offering. They could give as much or as little as they desire but the offering is according to their own human freewill and what they decide to give. But the tenth was mandatory and G-d determined how much and that was a tenth part of their increase.

The tenth tests the heart because if someone is blessed by G-d with ten-dollars but they love money so much that they cannot even give one-dollar back to G-d then it shows they are ensnared by greed which is idolatry. If they do not pay a tenth that means they love money more than G-d and cannot even give one-dollar away! This is pretty sad considering G-d allows them to keep 90% for themselves and only asks for one tenth part.

Numbers 18:23-24 (CJB)

²³ Only the L’vi’im are to perform the service in the tent of meeting, and they will be responsible for whatever they do wrong. This is to be a permanent regulation through all your generations. They are to have no inheritance among the people of Isra’el,

²⁴ because I have given to the L’vi’im as their inheritance the tenths of the produce which the people of Isra’el set aside as a gift for Adonai. This is why I have said to them that they are to have no inheritance among the people of Isra’el.”

The Levites were not given an inheritance of land as the rest of the Israelites received. G-d commanded that the tenths of the produce of the children of Israel were to be set aside for the Adonai. The people gave their tenths to the Lord but then G-d gave these tithes to the Levites as their provision and this was their inheritance from G-d.

So, this is how the Levites could devote themselves full-time to the study and teaching of G-d’s word because they were supported by the tenths and offerings of the people. The first of the first fruits or the first tenth was given to the Lord and the Lord gives this to the Levites who do the work of the ministry like Ezra and the Levites who taught the people the Torah. They gave the meaning of G-d’s word so that the laymen would understand what it meant.

Exodus 23:19 (NASB)

¹⁹ “You shall bring the choice first fruits of your soil into the house of the LORD your God. “You are not to boil a young goat in the milk of its mother.

Exodus 34:26 (NASB)

²⁶ “You shall bring the very first of the first fruits of your soil into the house of the LORD your God. “You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.”

Deuteronomy 14:21-22 (NASB)

²¹ “You shall not eat anything which dies of itself. You may give it to the alien who is in your town, so that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner, for you are a holy people to the LORD your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

²² “You shall surely tithe all the produce from what you sow, which comes out of the field every year.

Again, we see in our three-part parable that three times G-d commanded that they bring in the first fruits of the soil into the house of the Lord. This principle goes along together with the principle of not mixing the things for daily consumption (milk) together with that which is for future investment (the young goat). If a person will follow the first principle of not mixing these together then they will prosper. But when they do prosper then they must do the second step and not withhold the tenth that belongs to G-d. If they withhold the tenth then they will be cursed with a curse.

Malachi 3:11 (CJB)

¹¹ For your sakes I will forbid the devourer to destroy the yield from your soil; and your vine will not lose its fruit before harvest-time,” says Adonai-Tzva’ot.

Those who pay their tithes to Adonai will have the devourer rebuked or restrained. This means that their produce will not be cursed in the field. But on the other hand, if they fail to pay their tenth then they will have the devourer loosed against them. Everything that they touch will be cursed. Their crops can be destroyed by insects or worms or disease or hail storms. Their livestock can get sick and die or be devoured by predators. Their money will flow out of their hands like dry sand through holes in their pockets. Things will break down and have to be replaced, their family members will get sick and spend money on medicine and hospital bills, and everything that they touch will be cursed!

It is evident why G-d put these things together in the same parable. Whenever G-d said do not mix that which is for consumption (milk) together with that which is for future investment (young goat) then God also added together with this principle, the principle of paying the tithe to stop the devourer. When God increases someone, then they are obligated to pay a tenth part of their increase to G-d (a tithe) and if they do not then the devourer will be released against them to destroy everything that they have.

What good is it for someone to follow the first Torah-principles that makes them prosper only to ignore the second Torah-principle to pay a tenth on that increase G-d has provided for them? If they do not pay a tithe, then they are a robber of G-d and all of their increase will be cursed and they will come to poverty again!

Ecclesiastes 5:6 (NASB)

⁶ Do not let your speech cause you to sin and do not say in the presence of the messenger of God that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry on account of your voice and destroy the work of your hands?

Suppose as man makes a vow that if G-d will prosper him then he will give a tenth-part or tithe to the Lord! But after G-d prospered that man, then this same man has a change of heart and wants to keep all of the money to himself and does not even want to give a tenth to the Lord. Will he tell G-d that he made a mistake in vowing to pay a tithe if he was prospered? Such a change in behavior after vowing to G-d (and then deciding not to pay later) will make G-d angry and cause G-d to destroy the work of his hands and bring him to nothing!

Genesis 28:20-22 (CJB)

²⁰ Ya‘akov took this vow: “If God will be with me and will guard me on this road that I am traveling, giving me bread to eat and clothes to wear,

²¹ so that I return to my father’s house in peace, then Adonai will be my God;

²² and this stone, which I have set up as a standing-stone, will be God’s house; and of everything you give me, I will faithfully return one-tenth to you.”

When Ya’akov (Jacob) left home he made a vow to G-d that whatever G-d gave to him then he would return one-tenth back to G-d. Possibly he sacrificed every tenth animal that he had as a burnt offering to G-d as a means of giving his tithe. This was prior to the time the tabernacle or the temple was built and before the Levites were set aside for the ministry. This was before the Levites were commanded to receive tithes and offerings for teaching G-d’s word. Also, sacrificing livestock under the Old Testament is a form of worship to G-d but since the time of the Levites giving tithes and offerings has become a form of worship to G-d.

Genesis 32:10 (CJB)

¹⁰ I’m not worthy of all the love and faithfulness you have shown your servant, since I crossed the Yarden with only my staff. But now I have become two camps.

Ya’akov (Jacob) went across the Jordan river with nothing in his hand but his staff. But when he came back again, he had two large camps with a great reserve of livestock. He honored G-d with a tithe and G-d rebuked the devourer for Jacob and he increased tremendously and was a prosperous man with thousands of head of livestock and many servants who worked for him.

If a man is wise like Jacob and follows the principles of not mixing that which is for consumption together with that which is for investment, then they will prosper and increase financially. (Jacob certainly would have saved his female livestock for reproduction.) But the second principle is to honor God with the first part of their increase by giving the tenth to God. This tenth shows that their heart is not greedy nor covetous and they acknowledge that all they possess was given to them by G-d and they give G-d glory for it!

Proverbs 3:9-10 (CJB)

⁹ Honor Adonai with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your income.

¹⁰ Then your granaries will be filled and your vats overflow with new wine.

A person who pays their tithes is honoring G-d and acknowledging that all that they have is given to them by G-d so it is the least that they can do when they return a tenth part back to G-d again. If they will follow the principle of the tithe, they will have their granaries be filled and their vats for grape harvest overflow with new wine. This speaks of abundance and prosperity given to them because they honored G-d by paying their tithes. The granaries and vats overflowing speak of abundance in a storehouse like a savings account that has a big balance in it.

Exodus 23:19 (NASB)

¹⁹ “You shall bring the choice first fruits of your soil into the house of the LORD your God. “You are not to boil a young goat in the milk of its mother.

Exodus 34:26 (NASB)

²⁶ “You shall bring the very first of the first fruits of your soil into the house of the LORD your God. “You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.”

Deuteronomy 14:21-22 (NASB)

²¹ “You shall not eat anything which dies of itself. You may give it to the alien who is in your town, so that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner, for you are a holy people to the LORD your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

²² “You shall surely tithe all the produce from what you sow, which comes out of the field every year.

Again, we see that in all three scriptures listed above give the same principle of not mixing that which is for daily consumption (milk) together with that which is for future investment (young goat). And in all three cases G-d commands them to pay their tithe to the Lord so that there is food in G-d’s house for the Levites. When all of this is done, the people will prosper and they will pay a tithe on their increase and the devourer will be rebuked and so they will be blessed with overflow and abundance and have more than enough!

The Alien and the Foreigner

The alien and the foreigner mentioned in the last part of our three-part parable speaks of the Torah-ignorant unbelievers who rejected the laws of G-d and brought on their own misery and created their own poverty. Below are scriptures that provide more clarification that speaks of unbelievers who neglect God’s wisdom:

Proverbs 1:24-32 (NASB)

²⁴ “Because I called and you refused, I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention;

²⁵ And you neglected all my counsel And did not want my reproof;

²⁶ I will also laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your dread comes,

²⁷ When your dread comes like a storm And your calamity comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you.

²⁸ “Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently but they will not find me,

²⁹ Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the LORD.

³⁰ “They would not accept my counsel, They spurned all my reproof.

³¹ “So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way And be satiated with their own devices.

³² “For the waywardness of the naive will kill them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them.

Those who do not pay attention to G-d’s counsel and do not want G-d’s reproof are like the goat-type of unbelievers who go their own way and do their own thing without submission to Adonai. Such people hate the knowledge of the Lord and do not choose the fear of the Lord. They do not accept G-d’s counsel and spurn all of G-d’s reproof. It is for this reason that these Torah-ignorant people will eat the fruit of their own way. They do what they want just like independent goats and they create their own way of misery and poverty and create their own life of disorder. Their own waywardness (of going their own way) will kill them and their complacency of not making it a priority to follow G-d laws will destroy them. This all speaks of self-inflicted poverty and self-inflicted misery that comes upon the wayward goat-type of people who go their own way and do their own thing.

Deuteronomy 30:19 (NASB)

¹⁹ “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So, choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants,

G-d sets before all mankind a choice between life and death. If they choose to submit to G-d (like as sheep following a shepherd) then they will live. But if they go their own way like an independent goat they will be destroyed. G-d encourages all humans to use their human freewill to choose G-d’s way and live because if they do not then they will be destroyed by their own waywardness. Those who disregard G-d’s word will bring on their own misery and create their own poverty by failing to do as G-d commanded them in the Torah.

Principles in Review

Below are the Torah-principles that we have seen from the parable of do not boil a kid in its mothers’ milk:

1. Do not eat your seed, which is the same principle as do not eat your hens.

2. Separate that which is for daily consumption from that which is for investment.

3. Pay your tithes and offerings to the Lord from all increase God gives to you.

It is evident that if a person will follow the first two principles listed above they will prosper. But then they must follow the third principle of paying both tithes and offerings on the increase G-d gives to them or they will reap a curse and lose all the prosperity that that they have gained. All three principles are necessary to follow or a person will not continue in their prosperity.

Fourth Factor of Prosperity

The three Torah-principles seen in the parable of the kid in the mother’s milk will make anyone who follows them prosper and increase financially. But there is yet another factor that must be added to this list. The fourth factor is that of sowing into good soil. If this is not done, then they will reap a curse and their prosperity will come to ruin.

See my lesson called “Sow in Good Soil” for more details.

Summary:

We have seen that G-d speaks to his people in mysteries hidden in the form of parables within G-d’s word. This is done to hide the revelation for G-d’s people while keeping it from the goat-type people who have no intention of obeying G-d or living according to G-d’s laws. This results in G-d’s people becoming prosperous and having dominion in areas of finance and technology and in every area of natural life. This makes G-d’s people the head and not the tail and puts them in a place of dominion over unbeliever (goat-type of people) who do not live by G-d’s laws.

This revelation about not mixing that which is intended for daily consumption together with that which is intended for investments has a wide application for men. This is because men are called by G-d to serve as providers for their families. If men are passive about these principles, they will not make good financial decisions for their families. They are to reduce living expenses as much as possible in order to save more for investments that will produce a future income for their families. Following these principles will work for any man who obeys them and they are guaranteed to make their family prosper financially. However, when they do increase financially they are to be sure to honor the Lord with the first fruits or tenth-part of their increase. If they will do this then the devourer will be rebuked and their finances will be blessed. They will continue to increase much like Jacob who started with nothing but over time he prospered greatly! He vowed to honor G-d with a tenth-part of all of his increase so that made Jacob increase more every year until he grew to become a wealthy man.

G-d’s people should abhor mixing the part meant for consumption together with the part intended for investments. If they will follow these principles and keep funds for consumption separated from funds intended for investments, then they will never fail to prosper. They will increase as long as they are obedient to pay tithes and offerings to the Lord as they prosper.

Saving for investments has application for business and investing in things that will produce a future income. This has a snowball effect because every year that they have more income they will also have more money to invest. This will result in their annual income increasing continually until they are prosperous and have more than enough to meet the needs of their family.

This is G-d’s way of creating financial prosperity for his people by having them use wisdom in savings and investments. This will put them on top so they will be in a place of authority over the ungodly who refuse to live by G-d’s laws.

Jewish Topics

Jewish Well of Salvation

Everything Good Comes From the Jews

Lordship of Adonai

Mix Not Laws

Parable of Goat and Mother’s Milk

Principle Approach

Seed for Future

Sowing into Good Soil

Touch Not Laws

Wisdom of Jewish People