Today, at local sunset, April 6th 2012 begins Nissan 15 on the Biblical calendar and the first day of the feast of Unleavened Bread.
Exodus 12:17 NASB 17 'You shall also observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt; therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as a permanent ordinance.
God told the children of Israel that they were to observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread because He brought them out of Egypt. What is the connection between unleavened bread and Egypt? Egypt is the land where Pharaoh held them in slavery and God had just delivered them from that slavery. They were now free to go into the wilderness and worship Him. From there, God promised to bring them into the Land promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Slavery in Egypt represents our slavery to sin. Paul tells us that leaven also represents sin in our lives. So fleeing from Egypt and eating unleavened bread both remind us of Yeshua’s sacrifice as our Passover Lamb freeing us from our lives of sin.
1 Corinthians 5:7-8 NASB 7 Clean out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. 8 Let us therefore celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
When the children of Israel left Egypt, they did so in haste. They took their bread which hadn’t had time to leaven and traveled to Succoth and there they baked unleavened bread. The name Succoth means a tent or temporary dwelling place. When God redeems us, we are to quickly leave our lives of sin not waiting for sin to seep back into our lives. Here on this earth we are to dwell in the temporary dwelling places of our flesh and keep sin out of our lives. But we have the promise of an eternal body.
2 Corinthians 5:1 NIV 1 Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.
When Yeshua died and they laid His body in the grave, it did not decay. Unleavened bread is a substance that does not decay. David wrote of the hope he had that his flesh would not remain in the grave because God would not allow His Holy One to decay.
Psalms 16:9-10 NKJV 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope. 10 For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
Peter writes of the hope we have in Yeshua.
1 Peter 1:3 NKJV 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
What does the Feast of Unleavened Bread mean to me? By eating unleavened bread during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, I remember that Yeshua died to take away my sins; that I am to live a life according to the Spirit not according to the sinful nature of the flesh. By removing the leaven from my house, I realize the enormous task of getting all the sin out of my life. Just when I think I have it licked, the Holy Spirit reveals one more thing I need to work on! I remember that every day anew, He delivers me from the imperfections of my life as I in turn flee from the desires of the flesh. Finally, I reflect on the hope I have through Yeshua of an eternal incorruptible body.
What does the Feast of Unleavened Bread Mean to you?
…for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt.
Shalom and be blessed
Dan & Brenda Cathcart
Please visit our web site at www.moedministries.com
Coleen, from Ruston, Louisiana writes:
ReplyDeleteI have enjoyed learning by reading your site. It has been a challenge for me for the last 3 years. I had no know idea believers were following the law in this manner. Since 7 years old I have committed my life to knowing Christ and learning the truths of the Word. In the last 3 years I just came into the knowledge of actually celebrating the different feast, still trying to understand what I was never taught, and it has been different for my family, lots of confusion at times; trying to find who to trust while journeying. What I have learned about the body of Christ in my quest for another level of truth, my experience has been people say they want to help you but just like anything else many are too engrossed with being different and the knowledge they have. Instead of sharing they gloat in being different but the love seemingly the love becomes a second motive. Again thanks and this has been very informative. ~Fighting my way back to Truth
Thank you Coleen for your comment.
ReplyDeleteThrough this journey, one must remember a few points: One, salvation is a free gift from God through His son Yeshua. None of us are "saved" by following the law (Torah). Salvation is by the grace of God. Two: Yeshua never came to "start a new religion". On the contrary, if He is the living word of God, as the Gospel of John chapter 1 tells us, and He told us "If you love me, keep my commandments", then I think we should do just that, keep His commandments.
Keep on the path Coleen. If you have no local congregation of good Torah teacher, then I would suggest to you to join us at El Shaddai Ministries via the internet. Check us out at www.elshaddaiministries.us Be blessed
Shalom
Dan
I've only just heard of it, but it sounds like a fascinating concept! Thanks for the write up.
ReplyDelete