Pastor Bell's Words To Live By

After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?” “Yes, he does,” he replied. When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own sons or from others?” “From others,” Peter answered.

“Then the sons are exempt,” Jesus said to him. “But so that we may not offend them, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours“(Matthew 17:24-27 NIV).

talapea galilea

There is a fish in the east called the Musht or the Talapia Galilea. This fish is apparently native to area of the Sea of Galilee. It is a small fish about six inches long with a large head.  It also has a pouch under its mouth. After new Musht hatch, the parents keep the new fish in the pouch for a short while to protect them.  Then when it is time, the parent fish will begin to pick up pebbles from the bottom of the sea and put them into the pouch to make the new fish so uncomfortable that it leaves the comfort of the pouch.

These Musht fish eats plankton, and so at certain times of the year they can be found in very shallow water.  Consequently they pick up shiny items such as gold and coins thrown into the river as sacrificial offerings.

Today, let us trust the Lord that he will provide such a fish for us; one that has twice as much as we need in his mouth. Jesus told Peter to take the fist fish he caught and the money would be in its mouth. The Musht was the same type of fish that the Jesus prayed over and fed nine thousand people (Mark 6:44 + 8:9). So let us trust the Lord to provide all our needs even at the eleventh hour.

Read Mark 6:30-43 + 8:1-10.