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March - April 2000 The Sabbath Sentinel

Unleavened Bread - Meaning for Today?

by Royce Mitchell, Jr.

Have you ever looked at some of the things that God has done and wondered to yourself, "Why did He do that?" As I have studied and learned more about God's Way of life over the years, there are a number of things that have caused me to ask myself this very question. One of those "wonder-filled' things is His creation of a set of Sabbaths commonly known as "High Sabbaths" or "Holy Days"

Whether or not one agrees with the idea that those days (listed in Leviticus 23) are still to be observed by a New Testament Christian, we can certainly agree that God ordained them and that their biblical significance remains. While scripture plainly states as much, questions still remain... What was God's purpose for legislating these Sabbaths and what is their meaning?

We know that God has a purpose for everything that he does. In the January-February 2000 issue of The Sabbath Sentinel, the front cover pictured an impressive galaxy which is not visible with the unaided eye; yet, this spectacular spiral system of stars becomes observable with the focused help of the Hubble Space Telescope. We know that there is a wonderful raison d'eatre for all of God's creation - whether distant galaxies or events on planet Earth.

God did not create those majestic "heavenly bodies" without a purpose. Such is likewise the case with the "Holy Days" found in Leviticus 23.

Of particular interest at this time of the year would be the days which directly follow the Passover. We read of them in Leviticus 23:4-8, where it is stated, "These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons. In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD's passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread. In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD seven days: in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein,"(KJV). God made no mystery of His desires for this day - ALL were to attend a sacred assembly!

We notice that two sacred assemblies were required: one on the first day and another on the seventh day.... But, what could God's purpose have been for asking that those days be kept? Often we will find the meanings of the symbolism, that is used in the Old Testament, explained in the New Testament. All scripture is useful for us today; (2 Tim 3:16, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" ).

1 Corinthians 5:7 states, in part, "... For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:" (KJV). Indeed, the Passover lamb which was sacrificed under the Old Testament was merely a symbol of Christ. But, more importantly, we learn that it was the blood of the Passover lamb that caused the Israelites to be spared from the death of the firstborn by the angel of death. Once we see that Christ is that lamb, we can see that we, as the coming firstborn, are also spared from that same angel of death by His blood.

What then is the meaning of the Days of Unleavened Bread, the next set of Holy Days listed in Leviticus 23? Turning to the context of the last reference, we find in 1 Corinthians 5:8, "Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." (KJV). We now see that these days of unleavened bread, that is, bread without a rising agent, relate to that forgiveness that we receive as a result of our acceptance, of the covering blood of the sacrifice on our lives. What, then, does the leaven represent? It is clear from the context that leaven is related to malice and wickedness.

Wickedness is clearly a condition that is in opposition to the Way of God. Many verses of scripture tell us of the unpleasant end of those who practice wickedness. (What then does this tell us of this day?)

Here in Verse 8, notice the distinct contrast between bread without leaven - unleavened bread - and bread with leaven! We see that the unleavened bread is compared to sincerity and truth.... According to Christ's prayer the night of His capture, God's Word is truth.

How does that translate to useful information for us: His called and chosen people? Consider first, that we are called to repentance. Repentance brings with it a turning from our own ways to the Ways of God. But, we can not maintain this new path without help. The Scriptures and history have taught us that mankind does not know the way to peace. (Isaiah 59:8, Rom 3:10-18).

Peace is the condition into which God calls us. Because we are still carnal beings, we need help to continue on this new-found path. That guidance comes in the form of the Holy Spirit.

But, again from looking at the Old Testament, we know that God will not dwell in an unclean situation. So, how do we get cleaned up? We must be washed in the blood of the sacrifice that was made for us, the blood of Christ. That is the meaning of Passover....

Now we get a glimpse of God's reason for having created that set of Holy Days known as the Days of Unleavened Bread. Since leaven represents wickedness, and the Israelites were commanded to put it out of their lives, we can see that, once cleansed, we too must put leaven (sin) out of our lives. The physical leaven found in bread is symbolic of the spiritual leaven found in our lives.

We should search every corner of our lives for this leaven. When we find it, we are to get rid of it...While the wine of Passover represents Jesus Christ's redeeming sacrificial blood, His broken body is our unleavened "bread of life."

What is it about leaven that caused God to use it as an example for us? Notice this: 1 Corinthians 5:6-7 states, "Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us..." Even though we were washed clean by the Blood of Christ's Sacrifice, we see that even a little bit of leaven if unchecked, can work its way through our lives and has the potential to return us to the soiled state of wickedness from which we were rescued.

Leaven has the effect of causing bread to rise, giving it that soft texture that we enjoy. It literally puffs the bread up. This analogy did not go unaddressed in scripture. 1 Corinthians 8:1-2 states, "...we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth. And if any man think that he knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know." We see that even if we know and understand the things of God, that such wisdom, when not combined with love, tends to puff us up, as leaven does bread. That is a stern warning for us to see our knowledge in proper perspective, as a tool with which to better understand, serve and love God - but not to raise ourselves above our brethren. Indeed, we are warned not to think higher of ourselves than we ought.

Once again, we can look back into the Old Testament for some insight. Saul was rejected as king of Israel because he forgot the attitude that he had as a child. In 1 Samuel 15:17, we are reminded of that attitude: "And Samuel said, 'When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?'" Saul had become puffed up, like a piece of leavened bread! He forgot that he was nothing without God. The first king of Israel stands as a lesson to us that if we forget where we were before He called us and taught us His Ways, we too will find ourselves rejected by God.

None of this is to say that we can be saved by anything we do. Salvation is a free gift of God's grace, which works in us through His calling and merciful forgiveness. While the Israelites did pass through the sea (symbolic of baptism) and were forgiven ~ God still expected them to obey His commandments and judgments; the same likewise applies to us. We must repent of our sins, become baptized by water, and start obeying and living by every Word of God.

Even though we have been forgiven and washed in the blood of Christ, and have received the gift of His Spirit, we are still expected to obey His Laws! Failure to obey His Laws is the slippery slope of sin, which is degradation into wickedness and lawlessness. This is the lesson of the leaven that God was trying to teach us when He instituted the Days of Unleavened Bread.

Whether or not one believes that the keeping of these days is required of those who are called in these latter days, it is nevertheless clear that God at least intended for them to teach us a lesson. That lesson is easily understood, when viewing all of the scriptures on the subject. The OT Scriptures regarding the Days of Unleavened Bread are listed directly after the ones regarding Passover, which we know to be representative of the cleansing nature of Christ's sacrifice....

They show us that since we have been cleansed from all sin, that we must now actively seek to remove sin from our lives. We might consider the keeping of those days as optional, but we dare not consider the prevention of sin through His Spirit as a mere option. If we do, we will too easily return to the state of being puffed up that we had once escaped. Having been freed from the evil which is in the world, we should be actively seeking to remove and avoid anything that might serve to return us to that state.

What a glorious lesson that the Days of Unleavened Bread have to teach us, if we will only learn from them!

TSS

March - April 2000 The Sabbath Sentinel