The journey from slavery to freedom ended for the wilderness generation when the spies brought a bad report about the land. Upon hearing that report, they gave up and asked to return to Egypt (and slavery). This represents one step in God's millennia-long project to develop a good relationship with the people that He created. The project began in the Garden and will culminate in the New Jerusalem.

Among the difficulties in the Corinthian church, there seemed to have been confusion or contention about gender roles. In addressing this, Paul starts with the order of creation and proceeds to then current customs. The upshot is that Scripture forbids dress or behavior that would confuse the two genders.

In the parable of the great banquet, the invited guests all make transparently false and insulting excuses why they cannot attend. This leads the master to cast a wide net and bring others in. In the parable of the wedding feast, the Pharisees assume they will have places of honor in the kingdom. In the parable of the narrow door the Pharisees are assuming that because they are Abraham's descendants, they will be admitted.

In Numbers 11 when the people complain that they are fed up with manna and want Egypt food, Moses has a melt down before God, complaining that he didn't want the job and would rather die than continue. God treats him gently as would a friend or parent and gets him some help. Similarly, Y'shua, who is the physical son of God, tells us to pray to our Father in Heaven. That is we are to have a family relationship with God. This idea of God as a friend or parent is unique to Judaism and Christianity.

After a defense of his apostleship, Paul turns to the generation that died in the wilderness. That generations failures should serve as an example and warning for us today. The temptations that caused them to fall are no different than those we face.

God is not willing that anyone should be lost. The parable of the fig tree warns Israel to bear fruit. The parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the prodigal son indicate the joy in heaven when that which has been lost is restored.

In Mark 3 and 4 Y'shua switches from speaking plainly to speaking in parables. This is after He was accused of having demonic powers. This set of kingdom parables is slightly different from those in Mat 13. After saying that a strong man's goods cannot be stolen unless he is first bound, He begins with the parable of the sower and then gives four more parables. The question is, what is He concealing from His listeners that He then speaks plainly to His disciples?

The question of meat sacrificed to idols was important in a predominantly pagan world. Paul's answer to the problem was a variation of "don't ask, don't tell." If, by whatever means, one discovers that meat has been part of a sacrifice, it is forbidden. Otherwise it is permitted and one need not conduct an investigation.

In the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, the rich man's deficiency is not his wealth per se. Rather, he is not handling that wealth as indicated by Moses and the Prophets. Lazarus' condition is evidence that the rich man did not love his neighbor. In the Luke 12 parable of the servants awaiting their master's return, the message is that His return will be at an unexpected time and He wants His servants to be found faithful to their charges.

The parable of the sower marks the point in His ministry where Y'shua gives up on trying to convert Israel's religious establishment because they do not want to believe that He is the Messiah. From that point his public messages are in cryptic parables. In the parable of the sower, there are four regions where seed falls. They represent Satanic interference with the Word, societal hostility, individual distraction and the faithful heart respectively.