Dr. Barlay with Something to Think About - FISH STORIES

FISH STORIES

There are a few stories in the Bible that are difficult to understand and truly believe; one is the story of Jonah and his ordeal in the belly of a great fish.

Now the Lord had prepared a great fish 

[not a whale as some stories have it] to swallow Jonah. 

And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fishes belly.

So the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land. 

(Jonah 1:17, 2:1,10)

Now, while such a story may be hard to accept, Jesus Himself referred to the story of Jonah in the book of Matthew when He replied to the Pharisees and Sadducees by saying:

A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, 

and no sign shall be given to it 

except the sign of the prophet Jonah… 

(Matthew 16:4)

And there is a fish large enough to accomplish what the story of Jonah details - the whale shark; a massive fish up to 30 feet in length, with a huge mouth, and measuring up to 16 tonnes in weight. Certainly capable of swallowing a man; so the story of Jonah may not be a fish tale after all.

And then there is the story told in Matthew 17 as to whether or not Jesus paid the temple tax. Jesus told Peter to:

…go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. 

And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; 

take that and give it to them for Me and you.

(Matthew 17:27) 

Now, if it is difficult to accept a man being swallowed by a fish, it is just as hard to comprehend catching, on the first try, a fish with a needed coin in its mouth. If you think about it, this would be a true miracle. But at the same time there is a fish, a kind of tilapia, which is found only in the Nile River, in Lake Victoria and in the Sea of Galilee.* This kind of tilapia holds its eggs in its mouth and keeps the young there well after they hatch; letting them out for only short periods of time and scooping them up again if any sign of danger. During this time she rarely swallows for fear of damaging her young. When her young are gone, the female fish are  often found with a pebble or bottle cap top or something similar in its mouth apparently to retain the habit of thus protecting her young. This apparently is the fish mentioned in this story and has become known as St. Peter’s Fish.

So, in spite of these being unusual occurrences as mentioned in Scripture, there is evidence for them being actual events and not just “fish stories.” Of course, being in the Bible should in itself give them credibility.

At the very least, it provides a few more tidbits to think about.

* The Handwriting of God by Grant R. Jeffery, p.g. 217  

 

Pastor Matthew Trott Sept. 13, 2026

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Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - FOURTEEN

 FOURTEEN

There are many instances in which numbers are used in Scripture. In most, if not all of these cases, there is a definite significance to the use of such numerals. For instance, the number two is used to mean separation or division such as night/day, man/woman, two tablets of stone, etc. The number three is used to mean completeness, something real, or perfection; for example, the three persons of the Trinity, the three Patriarchs of Israel, the three sons of Noah, etc.

There are many other examples of where numbers are repeatedly used in the Bible and in those cases there is a definite significance to the way in which they were used; but the number fourteen is not one those used frequently. In fact, it is used only twenty-four times in the NKJV of Scripture - eight of those times is in Numbers 29 where it specifically refers to sacrifice.

You shall present a burnt offering…to the Lord; 

thirteen young bulls, two rams, 

and fourteen lambs in their first year…without blemish… 

(Numbers 29:13)

…and on each of the next six days; one less bull each day but still two rams and always fourteen lambs without blemish.

Why do you suspect that always fourteen lambs without blemish were required at each sacrifice? The first mention of a lamb without blemish in Scripture is at the time of Passover when God instructed the Hebrew people to take:

 

[A] lamb…without blemish, a male of the first year… 

(Exodus 12:5) 

The last mention of the same in Scripture is in 1 Peter when the reference is made to our redemption through Christ:

…with the precious blood of Christ, 

as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. 

(1 Peter 1:19)

So, is there a connection between the fourteen lambs without blemish referred to in Numbers and the lamb without blemish which represents Christ in 1 Peter? Perhaps there is. Matthew 1 gives the genealogy of Christ; which apparently reveals the number fourteen.

So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations,

from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, 

and from the captivity in Babylon until Christ are fourteen generations.

(Matthew 1:17)

Is it possible that the fourteen lambs mentioned seven times in Numbers 29 were symbolic to the generations leading up to the birth of the one lamb without blemish who would be there for us all? It may not really be so but then the number fourteen is a rarely used number in Scripture,

At least it does give one something to think about. 

 

Blake Storey Aug 23 2026.

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Dr. Barclay's Bible Study - The Gospel of Mark Part 55

 

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Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - FESTIVALS

FESTIVALS

Christianity has a number of days we consider to be Holy Days or festivals. These have been primarily pagan festivals that have been Christianized; thereby making them into Christian religious times. But there is nothing in the Bible which suggests that we should be celebrating such days. There is, however, instruction to follow the festival days that are noted in the Scriptures; and although they are primarily there for the Jewish nation, should we also be giving them more significance than we do? After all, much of Jewish history, and therefore in part our history, can be related to events that took place on these or other similar days.

For example, there is the day in the Jewish month of Av [August] which commemorates the loss of the Jewish Temple that was burned when God withdrew His presence.

 

When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months during those seventy years, did you really fast for Me—for Me?

(Zechariah 7:5)

This event of the Temple burning apparently took place on the ninth day of the month of Av. But not just one event in Jewish history took place on that day. Apparently, on this same date, those whom Moses had sent to spy out the land of Canaan returned and told of the giants there and caused the people to turn against Moses and want to return to Egypt. 

There we saw the giants; and we were like grasshoppers…in their sight 

(Numbers 13:33)

Only the counsel of Caleb and Joshua swayed the masses and apparently this was on the ninth of Av, 1490 BC.

On the same date in 587 BC, the army of Babylon broke through the last defence of the Jews and destroyed Solomon’s Temple.

He [The Lord] has abandoned His sanctuary…

They [the enemy] have made a noise in the house of the Lord… 

(Lamentations 2:7)

Similarly, in AD 70 the Roman army reached the edge of the Temple area and began the destruction of the Temple once again. It was the following year, AD 71, on the same date when the Romans plowed the Temple mount.

…they will not leave in you one stone upon another… 

(Luke 19:44)

…Zion shall be plowed like a field,

Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins… 

(Micah 3:12)

In AD 135, a further Jewish revolt developed and was led by a Simon Bar Kochba. This rebellion was put down by the armies of the Roman Emperor Hadrian, and on the ninth of Av of that year over 500,000 were killed according to the Roman historian Dio Cassius

On the ninth of Av in 1290, King Edward 1 ordered the Jews in England to be expelled, and on the same date in 1492, Spain expelled over 800,000 Jews from the country. Again, on he same date in 1914, as Russia prepared for war, a persecution against the Jews began in that country as well.

The odds of all of these events occurring by chance on the same date in history are extremely small and gives evidence that perhaps chance alone was not the reason. Perhaps there is behind all of this a plan of which we may not be aware. In any case, this is an important date in Jewish history and in our history and is another reason why we should become a little more aware of dates mentioned in the bible.

Certainly it gives one something to think about.

Dr. Barclay's Bible Study - The Gospel of Mark Part 54

 

Dr. Barclay's Bible Study - 

The Gospel of Mark Part 54

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Dr. Barlay with Something to Think About - THE CHURCH

THE CHURCH*

It is not unusual to hear people say that they are going to church on Sunday; or asking if someone had been to church lately. In essence, both of these statements are incorrect because the church is not a building to which one goes but rather we, being the church itself, are really the church going to a building in which to gather. So the church, being the congregation, in actuality, refers to the people of the congregation and has nothing to do with the physical building where the congregation meets.

Therefore, in reality, the church extends back to the time of the Old Testament and is not something that initially came from Christ. This gathering was originally known as the ekklesia which means “the gathering.” So when in the Bible a congregation is mentioned it is often a translation of ekklesia. For example:

…as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation [ekklesia] of the children of Israel… 

(Exodus 16:10)

Now, the word ekklesia is itself a translation of the Hebrew word “kehilah.” Kehilah refers to the congregation of Israel travelling through wilderness on its journey to the Promised Land. Thus, the church, or the ekklesia, may be considered the spiritual journey through the wilderness to the Promised land.

And as it has been stated, the Jewish people are known as the chosen of God.

For you are a holy people to the Lord your God, 

and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for Himself… 

(Deuteronomy 14:2)

So, if the Israelites are a chosen people who are called the kehilah because of their journey through the wilderness, and since ekkelsia comes from kehilah which refers to a congregation and hence the church; then the church is in essence the new Israel - trekking through the wilderness of this world on the way to the Promised Land.

It’s just interesting to realize the church of God is the new Israel and again God’s chosen people.

Just a little something to think about.

*Adapted from The Book Mysteries by Jonathan Chan p.g. 182

Dr. Spencer Barclay - Aug. 9, 2026

 

Dr. Spencer Barclay - Aug. 9, 2026

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Dr. Barclay's Bible Study - The Gospel of Mark Part 53

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Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - LOT'S WIFE

LOT’S WIFE

Through the pages of the Bible we are told to remember many things; particularly as they relate to God’s love, His mercy, and the way in which He rescued the Hebrews from the land of Egypt. We are also told to remember His ordinances, rules, and commandments so that our lives may be full and pleasant. Christ also said to remember Him at the table of communion when He said:

“Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you;

do this in remembrance of Me.” 

(1 Corinthians 11:24)

But really nowhere else in Scripture does it state that we are to remember anyone else except in one place. In one of the shortest verses in the Bible we are told to:

Remember Lot’s wife. 

(Luke 17:32) 

Lot’s wife was the one who was turned into a pillar of salt after looking back during the flight from Sodom and Gomorrah.

But [Lot’s] wife looked back behind him, 

and she became a pillar of salt. 

(Genesis 19:26)

This event, however, was not the reason we are to remember her, for she did what many of us do each day. She had been told, along with Lot and his family, to flee the city; the culture that was enveloping it along with the punishment that would soon befall it.

Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain.

…lest you be destroyed. 

(Genesis 19:17)

But Abraham, who had not been told to avoid looking back, did so…

…and he saw…the smoke of the land which went up 

like the smoke of a furnace. 

(Genesis 19:28)

So why was Lot and his family given the instruction to avoid looking back?

There is some evidence that Lot and his family were reluctant to leave behind the life they had been leading. 

…the angels urged Lot to hurry…

And while he lingered, the [angels] took hold of his hand, 

his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, 

…and they brought him out and set him outside the city. 

(Genesis 19:15-16)

Lot saying: 

"Please, no, my lords!" 

(Genesis 19:18)

Examining Lot’s wife and her subsequent fate, was it just because she looked back that God punished her or was it because she was reluctant to leave her old life behind? The Hebrews, during their travels in the desert, often bemoaned the fate that had befallen them and stated on many occasions that they wished to be back in their old life in Egypt. Being thus ungrateful to God for what He had done for them, He prevented most of them from going into the Promised Land and they perished in the desert. Like wise with Lot’s wife, it seemed to be her reluctance to leave behind her old life that really was the cause of her demise.

And it seems to be no different with ourselves. When we are saved through grace we are to become…

…a new creation. 

…if anyone is in Christ…old things have passed away; 

behold, all things have become new. 

(2 Corinthians 5:17)

Therefore, one is not supposed to continue to look back with regret at their old life as the Hebrews did, but to constantly remember what God has done for them and look forward to their new existence, both here on earth and in eternity with Christ.

And that, in turn, is certainly something to think about. 

Pastor Matthew Trott - Aug. 2, 2026 Part 1 and 2

 

Pastor Matthew Trott - Aug. 2, 2026 Part 1

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Pastor Matthew Trott - Aug. 2, 2026 Part 2

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Blake Storey July 26, 2026

 

Blake Storey July 26, 2026

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Dr. Barclay's Bible Study - The Gospel of Mark Parts 51 and 52

 

Dr. Barclay's Bible Study - The Gospel of Mark Parts 51 and 52

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Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - LULAV

                                                         LULAV*

It is interesting just how much of Jewish tradition, and therefore our tradition, is based on the story of the Exodus and the journey through the wilderness. In the book of Leviticus we read:

…on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, 

…you shall keep the feast of the Lord for seven days…

And you shall take for yourselves on the first day 

the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, 

the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook… 

(Leviticus 23:39-40)

There seemed to be specific instructions in this passage regarding the types of trees to be represented during the feast in question; the query then is to why? According to Wikipedia, a lulav is a closed frond of the date palm tree. When bound together with branches of the myrtle, and branches of the willow along with the etrog, a fruit of the citron, the whole was known as the lulav and was symbolic of the travel of the Jewish people through the wilderness.

The palm tree, which tends to grow in the valley areas, symbolized the sojourns through the valleys of life and that God never left them. As it says in Psalm 23:

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil; 

For you are with me…

(Psalm 23:4)

The myrtle tree, which grew more on the hillsides, tended to remind the people of the mountains they had to climb during their travels and again that God never left them and remained with them no matter how difficult the road became.

And the willow which grew near water or in more moist areas symbolized the life-giving waters that God provided for them in the wilderness. As the psalm also says:

He makes me to lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside still waters. 

(Psalm 23:2)

The other mentioned, of course, was the fruit of beautiful trees; the fruit being a reminder of the bounty and provision that awaited them in the Promised Land. As it says in Isaiah:

…thus says the Lord…

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by your name; 

You are Mine.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.

When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned…”

(Isaiah 43:1-2)

The Lord was saying to the Jewish people that He would be with them in the valleys of life as well as when they were going through whatever mountain lay before them and that provision would always be there for them. And if they remained faithful, the fruit and promises of the Promised Land would eventually await them. Referenced again in Psalm 96 and in Isaiah 55:

 

Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it.

Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the Lord. 

(Psalm 96:12)

…And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. 

(Isaiah 55:12)

The same promise is echoed in the New Testament when Jesus says:

“I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

(Hebrews 13:5)

What has been stated in the Old Testament is just said again in the New, just in different ways and format. The meaning, however, remains unchanged. And that is: God is always with us.

And that is something we should always be thinking about.

*Adapted from The Book of Mysteries by Jonathan Chan, p.g. 165

Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - TZEMACH

 TZEMACH

The word “Tzemach” is apparently the Hebrew word meaning to sprout, blossom, prosper, spring forth, etc. It evidently refers primarily to organic material coming forth from the ground. 

In the book of Zechariah, a branch is considered to be the tzemach because it is that which comes forth and starts in a small way before it enlarges, spreads, and encompasses a much larger space. In fact, Zechariah used this concept in a message of prophecy to Jehozadek, the high priest.

 

…speak to him saying…

‘Behold, the Man whose name is the Branch!

From His place He shall branch out, 

And He shall build the temple of the Lord;

…He shall bear the glory, 

And shall sit and rule on His throne… 

(Zechariah 6:12-13) 

This was not the first time the concept was used. In chapter 3 of the same book we read Zechariah saying:

…For behold, I am bringing forth My Servant the Branch. 

(Zechariah 3:8)

In addition, Isaiah used similar language when he said:

In that day the Branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious… 

(Isaiah 4:2)

…when he referred to the time of the renewal of Zion. Also,

There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse,

And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. 

(Isaiah 11:1)

“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord,

“That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness;

A King shall reign and prosper,

And execute judgement and righteousness in the earth. 

(Jeremiah 23:5)

In those days and at that time

I will cause to grow up to David

A Branch of righteousness;

He shall execute judgement and righteousness in the earth. 

(Jeremiah 33:15)

And as John says in chapter 15:

I am the vine, you are the Branches. 

He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; 

for without Me you can do nothing. 

(John 15:5)

In a number of books then, prophecy refers to Jesus as being the Branch or the Tzemach; that which starts small and continues to grow until it encompasses much more than initially thought, eventually the entire world. And as it enlarges, the Branch eventually becomes the vine and we, in turn, become the branches to hopefully keep spreading what the vine has to offer: the Good News for all of us.

Something further to keep thinking about.

Adapted from The Book of Mysteries by Jonathan Chan pg 143