Strain at a Gnat and Swallow a Camel - Matthew 23:24

Matthew the apostle wrote how Jesus said, “Woe unto you, you blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! You fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifies the gold? And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever swears by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. You fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifies the gift. Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, swears by it, and by all things thereon. And whoso shall swear by the temple, swears by it, and by him that dwells therein. And he that shall swear by heaven, swears by the throne of God, and by him that sits thereon. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought you to have done, and not to leave the other undone”, and in chapter twenty-three and verse twenty-four of his book, Matthew wrote how Jesus shared how the “scribes and Pharisees”, “strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel” where we read:

You blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.

The verse reads, “You blind guides, which strain at a gnat, ...”. Matthew began with the words, “you blind guides” which means “you impious, dull, stupid, heedless and absurd ones who are leaders and teachers of the ignorant and inexperienced” “which strain at” or “who with difficulty filter through” “a gnat” which refers to “a wine gnat or midge that is bred in fermenting and evaporating wine”. Matthew shared how the “scribes and Pharisees” would choke and gag themselves while straining to rid their throats of a “gnat” they accidentally swallowed.

The verse continues, “... and swallow a camel.” Matthew added the words, “and swallow” which means “and drink down, devour and gulp” “a camel” which refers to “the animal known as a camel”. Matthew shared how Jesus referred to the way the “scribes and Pharisees” “gulped down” an entire “camel” when it came to the law of God.

When we meditate upon Matthew's words in this verse, we use our imaginations to visualize these “scribes and Pharisees” accidentally swallowing a “gnat” as they walked down the street. Because the “gnat” had not been “properly bled”, they would violate the law of meats by swallowing it whole. So, they would choke and gag themselves to rid their throats of this non-kosher meal. At the same time, because they did not observe the “weightier matters of the law”, they were “swallowing a camel” according to Jesus. God desires people to be in a relationship with Him through His Son Jesus, and many times “small matters” keep them from yielding their lives to Him as “Savior and Lord”. Let all who read these words examine their “spiritual diet” and be certain they are not “straining at gnats” and “swallowing camels”.

Next time we see Matthew writes how Jesus tells the scribes and Pharisees they, “clean the outside of the cup … but … are full of extortion and excess”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

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