Main Focus of the Feast of Unleavened Bread

                                    Main Focus of the Feast of Unleavened Bread

Introduction – We have come to the end of the Days of Unleavened Bread.

I hope that you have learned many spiritual lessons during the past 7 days.

Maybe there is yet another lesson you can learn today.

If I were to ask you, what is the main focus of the Days of UB, you would probably tell me, “Putting sin out of our lives.”

You would be right, but that is only part of the meaning and not even the most important meaning.

Remember that this Holy Day season is not called the Feast of No Leavened Bread, but the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

NKJ Leviticus 23:5-6 On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the LORD’s Passover.

‘And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD; seven days you must eat unleavened bread.

SPS – To find the answer to this question, we need to go back to the historical account of the institution of this Holy Day.

The correct answer is not only a doctrinal matter.

It is also a key to putting sin out of our lives.

Exodus 12:15-20 ‘Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day, you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. 16 ‘On the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and on the seventh day, there shall be a holy convocation for you. No manner of work shall be done on them; but that which everyone must eat – that only may be prepared by you. 17 ‘So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance. 18 ‘In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. 19 ‘For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses since whoever eats what is leavened, that same person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land. 20 ‘You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.’”

NLT Exodus 12:17 “Celebrate this Festival of Unleavened Bread, for it will remind you that I brought your forces out of the land of Egypt on this very day.

Historical meaning = what God did to free Israel, not what they did

What does this have to do with eating unleavened bread?

Exodus 12:29-34 And it came to pass at midnight that the LORD struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of livestock. 30 So Pharaoh rose in the night, he, all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead. 31 Then he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, “Rise, go out from among my people, both you and the children of Israel. And go, serve the LORD as you have said. 32 “Also take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone; and bless me also.” 33 And the Egyptians urged the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste. For they said, “We shall all be dead.” 34 So the people took their dough before it was leavened, having their kneading bowls bound up in their clothes on their shoulders.

Exodus 12:39 And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they had brought out of Egypt; for it was not leavened because they were driven out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared provisions for themselves.

NLT Exodus 12:39 For bread they baked flat cakes from the dough without yeast they had brought from Egypt. It was made without yeast because the people were driven out of Egypt in such a hurry that they had no time to prepare the bread or other food.

Unleavened bread was a symbol of the swiftness of God’s deliverance of Israel, while at the same time reminiscent of the relative insignificance of their human effort.

They didn’t have enough time to even bake a decent loaf of bread or prepare sufficient provisions for the journey.

So God prepared a daily portion of bread to feed them during their journey toward the promised land.

Exodus 13:3-10 And Moses said to the people: "Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out of this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten. 4 "On this day you are going out, in the month Abib. 5 "And it shall be, when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, which He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, that you shall keep this service in this month. 6 "Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day, there shall be a feast to the LORD. 7 "Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days. And no leavened bread shall be seen among you, nor shall leaven be seen among you in all your quarters. 8 "And you shall tell your son in that day, saying, 'This is done because of what the LORD did for me when I came up from Egypt.' 9 "It shall be as a sign to you on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the LORD's law may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand the LORD has brought you out of Egypt. 10 "You shall, therefore, keep this ordinance in its season from year to year.

What do you see as the meaning of unleavened bread?

What did God want the Israelites to remember?

Answer – To remember God’s powerful deliverance of the Israelites from the bondage of Egypt.

God chose to perpetuate a rare and perhaps unique incident as a reminder—baking unleavened bread.

The lesson here is the swiftness of God’s deliverance.

Nothing is stated here about leavening being a type of sin.

That was a later meaning from Jewish tradition.

It is a correct meaning since the Apostle Paul makes this clear in 1 Corinthians 5.

But that meaning has to do with leavening and leavened bread, not unleavened bread.

The unleavened bread was to be a reminder of God’s swift and powerful deliverance of the Israelites from Egyptian bondage.

Psalm 78 – chronicle of Israel’s failure to trust God and remember all He had done for them.

1 Corinthians 10:11 – Israel’s failure stands as a sobering warning to us today….

Us, in the words of 1 Corinthians 11, “upon whom the ends of the ages have come.”

We have been delivered from the bondage of spiritual Egypt.

Hebrews 3:7-19  Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you will hear His voice, 8 Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness, 9 Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, And saw My works forty years. 10 Therefore I was angry with that generation, And said, 'They always go astray in their heart, And they have not known My ways.' 11 So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest.' " 12 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; 13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today," lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, 15 while it is said: "Today if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion." 16 For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? 17 Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? 19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

John 6:27-33, 35   27 "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you because God the Father has set His seal on Him."  28 Then they said to Him, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?"  29 Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."  30 Therefore they said to Him, "What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do?  31 "Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.' "  32 Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.  33 "For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." …   35 And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.

John 6:47-51  47 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.  48 "I am the bread of life.  49 "Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead.  50 "This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die.  51 "I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."

Just as God provided the Israelites with a daily portion of bread, Jesus teaches us in the model prayer to “give us this day/day by day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11, Luke 11:3).

NAS Hebrews 2:14 Since then the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil; 15 and might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.

We were delivered from death when we accepted Christ as our Savior and were baptized.

But just as Israel’s deliverance from Egypt was only the beginning of their journey to the promised land, baptism is only the beginning of our spiritual journey to eternal life in the kingdom of God.

Hebrews 3:14 For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end,

“partaker” = “one who shares with someone else as an associate in an enterprise or undertaking”

“The relationship between Christ and the community is conceived in the binding terms of a business partnership. The community can rely on the faithfulness of Christ (cf. 3:1–2), but they too must display “good faith.” They have been placed under obligation” (The Word Biblical Commentary).

It is certainly true that we must do our part to put sin out of our lives, but we cannot do that by ourselves, nor can we earn salvation by our works.

Titus 3:5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 2:1-10 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,  2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,  3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.  4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),  6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,  7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,  9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.  10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

We know from Bible prophecy that the times ahead will not be as easy as they are now.

Major problems loom on the horizon even in the months ahead.

stock market downfall, massive job layoffs, an energy crisis, terrorism to name a few

The Israelites rejoiced and praised God when times were good, but their attitudes turned sour when they suffered trials and deprivations.

It’s easy to trust God (or claim that we do) when things are going reasonably well.

The real test is when things go wrong, especially when we are faced with major trials and tests and suffering.

It has been said that it takes more faith to trust God when He doesn’t heal or deliver us right away.

NLT James 1:2-4 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

Matthew 24:12-13 "And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 "But he who endures to the end shall be saved.

“many” = “the many”

NIV Matthew 24:12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold….

Most people will go the way of ancient Israel when evil increases.

We must endure to the end, trusting in God’s deliverance.

What will get us through these and other tough times?

Answer – the mighty hand of God and Jesus Christ our Savior, typed by Moses.

“Persevering faith is a mark of true conversion. Faith is not a good work that saves us but the means by which we hold on to the promises of God and remain in the relationship he has made possible for us through his Son” (New Bible Commentary: 21st-century edition, comment re. Hebrews 3:14).

Luke 18:1-8 Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, 2 saying: "There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. 3 "Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, 'Get justice for me from my adversary.' 4 "And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, 'Though I do not fear God nor regard man, 5 'yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.' " 6 Then the Lord said, "Hear what the unjust judge said. 7 "And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? 8 "I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?"

God promises to hear and answer the prayers of His people and deliver us, just as he faithfully delivered Israel so many times.

Israel failed because of unbelief.

We are God’s people who have far more going for us than Israel did.

We have repented of sin and professed our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior

We have Christ abiding in us through the power of the Holy Spirit.

“Yet, When the Son of Man comes, will he really find faith on the earth?

Faith in Christ as our Savior, the (unleavened) Bread of life is the major focus of Spring Holy Days.

NT Passover = faith in Christ as our Passover sacrificed for us (1 Corinthians 5:7).

Days of UB = Christ as the Bread of life feeding us and leading us out of the sin and spiritual bondage of this world and into the kingdom of God.

We need to remember the mighty power of God and to maintain that confidence to the end.

Conclusion – Let’s be sure we remember the meaning of unleavened bread and maintain our faith and trust in God and Jesus Christ to lead us through the trials and tests of this world so we can enter the Promised Land of the Kingdom of God.