A Commanded Convocation
Leviticus 23:4 ‘These are the feasts of the LORD, holy convocations [a time for a special church service; annual meeting days not dissimilar to the weekly ones] which you shall proclaim at their appointed times.
Leviticus 23:5 On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the LORD’s Passover.
Leviticus 23:6 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.
Leviticus 23:7 On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it.
Leviticus 23:8 But you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD for seven days. [We still give offerings all seven days, not animal not just monetary] The seventh day shall be a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it.‘ ” [a day of ceasing from our regular activities]
Two holy days here that we are to keep. Here is the scriptural basis for the holidays that God wants us to keep.
But this is not where this holy day was first instituted and commanded
Institution of Passover and Unleavened Bread
Exodus 12:6 Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight.
Exodus 12:11 And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD’s Passover.
Exodus 12:13 Now the blood shall be a sign [to identify] for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
Exodus 12:14 ‘So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance.
Exodus 12:15 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses [you shall have no leaven in your house from this day forward]. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.
Exodus 12:16 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.
Exodus 12:17 So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your armies [masses] out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance. [second time we have seen this]
Exodus 12:18 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.
Exodus 12:19 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.
Exodus 12:20 You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.’ “
Understanding the Timing
The giving of these instructions predates other events that some use to say that this is done away with and we do not have to observe these days.
Given before Sinai
This was in effect before the Old Covenant was given, so it could not be done away with the Old Covenant.
Given before Sacrificial Law
About a year before the sacrificial system was given (not to be confused with sacrifices in general) this was instituted — so these holy days do not rise and fall with sacrificial system that Christ made obsolete.
Kept in the New Testament
These feasts were not only observed in the Old Testament times but in the New Testament as well
Jesus Kept the Days of Unleavened Bread
Matthew 26:17 Now on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?”
Still Observed after Jesus Died by Apostles
Days of Unleavened Bread (1 Corinthians 5:6–8)
It Will be Kept in the Future
In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you shall observe the Passover; a feast of seven days, unleavened bread shall be eaten” (Ezekiel 45: 21).
So what is the meaning of these days and why does God want us to keep them? God always does things for a reason! When we go through the word of God we need to look for meaning and understanding.
We use the Bible to interpret Bible. We do not come up with our own interpretation of scripture. It will and has to agree with the rest of the Bible.
So what is it that God wants us to learn from the Days of Unleavened Bread and how do we apply this to our lives
Come Out of Egypt
Exodus 13:7 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. [Remove all leavening and leavened products from our home]
Exodus 13:8 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.’
Why did God take them out of Egypt? Notice what was going on in Egypt:
Joshua 24:14 “Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD!
In other words, come out of Egypt!
Revelation 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.
Egypt was a type of the sinful world!
John 17:14 I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
John 17:15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.
John 17:16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
We are to strive to completely come out of the sinful world and its ways and what it has to offer. Even though we have live in the world and walk in it, we are not to be a part of all that it has to offer.
1 John 2:15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.
1 John 2:17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
2 Corinthians 6:16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM. I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.”
2 Corinthians 6:17 Therefore “COME OUT FROM AMONG THEM AND BE SEPARATE, SAYS THE LORD. DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN, AND I WILL RECEIVE YOU.”
Pharaoh is a type of Satan
If Egypt was a type of the world then Pharaoh was a type of Satan and this ties into why we need to come out of the ways of this world. Because Satan is the god of this world at this time.
2 Corinthians 4:3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,
2 Corinthians 4:4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.
Satan is the power behind all the gods of the world that are pulling the wool over the eyes of those that are not called at this point in time.
Ephesians 2:2 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,
Ephesians 2:3 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.
1 John 5:19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.
We are to remember that it was God that delivered His people from Egypt and the power of Pharaoh and it is God who still delivers His people out of the world and out of the grasp that Satan has on us.
God did this! God does this!
Israelites could do nothing on their own and it is the same for us today. But we do still have a responsibility!
Why Leaven?
Exodus 12:18 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.
Exodus 12:19 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.
Exodus 12:20 You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.’ “
What is the significance of it? What does it symbolize? It has parallels to sin (it is equated to sin).
1 Corinthians 5:6 Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?
One little bit of leaven will eventually permeate a whole lump of dough and it becomes inextricable and ingrained within the bread.
2 Timothy 2:17 And their message will spread like cancer [sin]
Romans 7:15 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.
Romans 7:16 If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good.
Romans 7:17 But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
Romans 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.
Romans 7:19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.
Romans 7:20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
Leaven is ingrained in bread as sin can be in us; Ingrain literally means “work into the grain.” This is the way sin works.
1 Corinthians 13:4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;
Paul talks about this many times and it is a direct reference to sin and leavening.
Hypocrisy
Matthew 16:1 Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven.
Matthew 16:2 He answered and said to them, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’;
Matthew 16:3 and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.
Matthew 16:4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” And He left them and departed.
Matthew 16:5 Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.
Matthew 16:6 Then Jesus said to them, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.”
Matthew 16:7 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “It is because we have taken no bread.”
Matthew 16:8 But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread?
Matthew 16:9 Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up?
Matthew 16:10 Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up?
Matthew 16:11 How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?—but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
Matthew 16:12 Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
It was their hypocrisy, their pretense of having a virtuous character, moral or religious beliefs that Jesus Christ was equating to leaven. This was a huge problem for the Pharisees that was very evident to Jesus.
Have a look at what the Pharisees were doing
Mark 7:3 For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands in a special way, holding the tradition of the elders.
Mark 7:4 When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other things which they have received and hold, like the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches.
Mark 7:5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?”
Mark 7:6 He answered and said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR FROM ME.
Mark 7:7 AND IN VAIN THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE COMMANDMENTS OF MEN.’
Mark 7:8 For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men— the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.”
Mark 7:9 He said to them, “All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.
They were sinning. They were discarding the law of God and replacing it with their idea of what was right.
They did not concentrate on the big things, like the plank in their own eye or the more important things of God- they got away from the trunk of the tree and were overly concerned about their own traditions and ways.
Mat 23:23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.
Mat 23:24 Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
Mat 23:25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.
Mat 23:26 Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.
They were concentrating on the less weighty matters of the law and their cleansing rituals while not properly taking care of their brethren and not representing the Kingdom of God in the right manner.
And JC is saying here in :26 they should have been cleansing their inside so that the deeds they do on the outside would be done in the right and correct manner.
It takes us putting on Christ and His righteousness as exemplified by the unleavened bread. This has to be imputed to us.
2 Timothy 3:1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:
2 Timothy 3:2 For men will ….
2 Timothy 3:5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!
They, like the Pharisees, were trying to appear religious. But its not about the outward it is about the inward. God looks upon the heart. That is what we are to be cleansing.
Deleavening
*(This word is not found in any major dictionary)
God wants us to remove leaven from our lives. He wants us to remove sin from our lives. God is very serious about deleavening!
1 Corinthians 5:6 Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?
1 Corinthians 5:7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.
1 Corinthians 5:8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
God’s word is truth (John 17:17) and we are to live by every word (Matthew 4:4) of it and we are to worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:24).
We do this physically and spiritually!
How serious was He about this?
Exodus 12:15 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses [you shall have no leaven in your house from this day forward]. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.
Exodus 12:19 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.
It is a Sign!
Exodus 13:9 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. [a type of sin] Exodus 13:10 You shall therefore keep this ordinance in its season from year to year.
Aren’t we always looking for signs [where God’s people are]?
Of course we have our part to do
2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.
We are to be removing sin from our house, but more importantly How do we purge out the leaven from our life. We ask God for help and He will.
Conclusion
Sin is counter productive to living a christian life. It is going away from God and our ultimate goal.t to the Days of Unleavened Bread