Isn’t There a Bit of ‘Pharisee’ In All of Us?

   Read Matthew 6:1-30. The Pharisees wore “phylacteries” and fringes to show off and prove outwardly just how holy and righteous they were. The phylacteries were box-shaped “small leather cases” that the Pharisees strapped on their foreheads and their arms. Sort of like if we strapped a New Testament to our head and walked around showing off how Holy we are. Almost like they were expecting to absorb the Scripture verses by osmosis. Inside these cases were the written Scripture verses from Exodus 13:8-10, 16 and Deuteronomy 11:18-21. The phylactery found on the inside of the left arm was near the elbow so that with the bending of the arm it would rest over the heart, the knot fastening it to the arm was in the shape of the Hebrew letter “yodh”  (Y) and the end of the string was wound around the middle finger -- “a sign upon thy hand” (Deuteronomy 6:8).

   The Exodus verses are about how God brought His people out of bondage in Egypt, and about honoring the Passover. The Deuteronomy verses are more about loving God with all your heart, mind, and spirit. The figurative language found in the above passages became more like religious traditions than genuine love of God.  The fringes they wore represented the Mitzvot — a collection of 613 commandments or precepts in the Bible and some of rabbinic origin that relate mainly to the religious and moral behavior of Jewish pe ...

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