Devotional Gems by Jolene: Unleavened Bread

Friday, March 10, 2017

Unleavened Bread

UNLEAVENED BREAD

Part seven of fourteen in Commanded Holy Days Importance Today series

1 Corinthians 5:7: “Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed.”

Immediately after Passover, God commanded the Feast of Unleavened Bread lasting seven days be celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first month (Leviticus 23:5-6a). This Feast is step one fulfilling God’s master plan after forgiving people of ALL sin.

Leaven [LEV-in], or yeast, represents sin. People celebrate this Feast eating flat bread for seven days. Each meal reminds people of their sin.

Sabbath Days bookend the feast. Worship is first and last days’ event (Leviticus 23:7-8). This reminder of Israelites’ flight from Egypt, AND Gentile Believers’ deliverance from sin glorifies God with praise and thanksgiving.

How do people live as God’s redeemed people?

A.) We remove all malice and wickedness from our lives.

May we embrace all God’s commands living with sincerity and truth (1 Corinthians 5:6-8). Only by prayer and with God’s help can we recognize, flush out, and avoid sin. God knows that we all sin, despite our best intensions.

Paul insisted on self-reflection during this feast (2 Corinthians 13:5). “Do you not know that Christ Jesus is in you?” Monitoring sinful thoughts, Paul recognized that life is an ongoing battle with sin. “O wretched man that I am!” he admitted. “Who will rescue me from this body of death? (See the lesson linked below).

B. “Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24-25).

Romans chapter 8 shows that we can be free from human weaknesses and sinful tendencies—the way of sin and death—only with Christ’s help through His Holy Spirit. Flat bread represents Jesus’ sinless live. This Feast showcases our need for Jesus’ help.

Believers MUST choose something better!

Let’s stop gorging ourselves on food that perishes. Why not eat food which Jesus is offering that endures forever?

Take Home Nugget

“I am the bread of life. … I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will never go hungry, … If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” (John 6:35, 51).

The spiritual lesson of God’s commanding us to eat unleavened bread during this Feast is to rid our lives of sin. We are to fill up on Jesus Himself!

That means that Jesus gets the final authority over our lives; that we hunger for Him more than we hunger for physical food. We embrace the whole of God’s Word leading to daily repentance.

Empower me LORD, to obey You. Amen.