The LORD instructs Israel to celebrate Pesach and the following Matzot without leaven:
“‘Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance. ‘Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, but on the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses; for whoever eats anything leavened from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. On the first day you shall have a holy assembly, and another holy assembly on the seventh day; no work at all shall be done on them, except what must be eaten by every person, that alone may be prepared by you. ‘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. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening [when Passover begins, Ex. 12:6], you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. Seven days there shall be no leaven found in your houses; for whoever eats what is leavened, that person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is an alien or a native of the land. You shall not eat anything leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.’” (Exodus 12:14–20 NASB 1995)
Then at Shavuot (Pentecost) seven weeks later, the LORD calls for an offering with leaven:
“‘You shall bring in from your dwelling places two loaves of bread for a wave offering, made of two-tenths of an ephah; they shall be of a fine flour, baked with leaven as first fruits to the LORD.” (Leviticus 23:17 New American Standard Bible — NASB 1995)
Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus) taught important lessons the Kingdom of Heaven and the kingdom of the Adversary using the important Bible symbol of leaven:
“’The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened.’” (Matthew 13:33 NASB 1995)
“’Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.’” (Mark 8:15 NASB 1995)
Apostle Paul drew from the celebrations of Pesach and Matzot to teach about the inner change for the reborn believer:
“Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” (1Corinthians 5:6–8 NASB 1995)
Readings
- Exodus 13:17–15:26
- Numbers 28:16–25
- 2Samuel 22:1–51
- Luke 24:13–52
- 1Corinthians 10:1–13
Studies on Unleavened Bread
Crying out to the God Who hears: Lamenting injustice and hoping in divine resolution (Exodus 3–4)
The three signs Elohim gave Moshe (Moses) at the burning bush in Exodus 4 to show the elders of Israel revealed God knew intimately the horrors they endured during centuries of bondage in Mitzraim (Egypt).
First, the staff becoming a snake and back again symbolized how the “tribe” of Israel had been made contemptible in Egypt but was being restored, finally though the Red Sea crossing. Second, the leprous hand showed God saw their affliction as if they were stillborn infants, to which Moshe’s sister, Miriam, was compared. Third, turning a jug of water into blood red revealed that God…
1st day of Chag Matzot (Unleavened Bread) readings
Because ancient Israel had to flee Egypt quickly during the Exodus and not let the dough to rise. Because Israel was afflicted in bondage in Egypt. These are a couple of the reasons the Torah gives for why these seven days of leaven-lessness following Passover are observed from generation to generation. Yet why does “leaven” get featured mention by Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus) in the Gospels and by the Apostle Paul? Check out these Bible readings and related studies about Chag Matzot (Festival of Unleavened Bread) to discover the lessons that help us become alive in the Spirit of God.
Why you can trust that Heaven has your back (Lessons from the 7th day of matzah)
The last of the seven days of the Festival of Matzot (Unleavened Bread) commemorates ancient Israel’s crossing of the Red Sea, when Heaven delivered not just from slavery but also from certain death at the hands of the slave masters who pursued them.
Apostle Paul connected Israel’s passing from death to life through the sea to the passage of everyone who does likewise by trusting in Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus the Christ) and commemorating the freedom through baptism.
Messiah is ‘faithful and righteous to forgive’ our leavened ‘malice and wickedness’
There’s ample reasons to stand in awe of Heaven’s love and mercy as we recall what when Heaven showed the Jail-keeper of humanity Who is boss that “Good Friday” and resurrection day two millennia ago. But we shouldn’t forget the enduring lessons about our salvation from the seven days of Unleavened Bread that surrounded ancient Israel’s deliverance in the Exodus and ours today.
Mad about matzah: Enlist Heaven in our eschewing leaven in our ‘new self’
The seven-day Chag Matzot (Festival of Unleavened bread) is an annual memorial of and spiritual reflection on our redemption, reformation and restoration into the Kingdom of God. Part of the lesson of purging out leaven during the festival is mastering the malice and wickedness that is beckoning us to open our heart’s door to them. Rather, we should let in Yeshua (Jesus) to our hearts and, thus, lives as He knocks.
The Exodus teaches us how to stand up to bullies
Standing up to a bully is never easy. It’s not easy for an adult to do, but it’s even more difficult when our children have to stand up to those who would bully or persuade them to distrust their creators — their parents.
God, though the plagues of the Exodus and the drawing Pharaoh’s army in the Red Sea, defended ancient Israel against the bullying of Pharaoh and his nation. Mitzraim (Egypt) taught Israel to deny their Creator, but God put Egypt in its place.
And on the Day of the LORD, God again will defend Israel and all those adopted into her from the…
Passover connection between donkeys and Messiah
To those of us who have not grown up on a farm, a donkey is merely a beast of burden, and a stubborn, cantankerous one at that. For those who have lived on farms and have raised donkeys, they know that donkeys are more brains than brawn. They are intelligent and protective of their territory and those who live on it.
It also holds a unique position among the unclean animals listed in the Torah. It’s the only animal that the Torah requires the owner of to redeem its firstborn. What makes the firstborn donkeys so special that they have to…
First-born identity in the Bible: Redemption or death (Lessons from Passover)
There are a lot of symbols in the Bible that God blended together for the redemption of the first-born of the womb, not only of human beings but also donkeys. They all point to the first and only born of Heaven: Yeshua the Mashiakh (Jesus the Christ).
The first part of this Bible study on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread looks into two major lessons from four types leaven. This second part focuses on important lesson of redemption of the first-born.
4 types of spiritual leavening and how to avoid them (Lessons from Passover)
What is the big deal about unleavened bread during Passover time? If it was only about the practicality of eating on the go during Israel’s exodus from slavery in Mitzraim (Egypt), why does matzah show up in the offerings of God’s House, the teachings of Yeshua the Mashiakh (Jesus the Christ) and in apostle Paul’s writings to early believers?
The first part of this Bible study on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread looks into two major lessons of matzah.
‘Forgive us our debts’: Lord’s Prayer a window into Passover freedom
What does “the Lord’s prayer” have to do with Moshe’s (Moses) asking God to show him “Your glory”? You might be surprised. And what does Pesakh (Passover) have to do with tithing, remission of debts every seven and 50 years, and pilgrimages to Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) for Pesakh, Shavuot (Pentecost) and Sukkot (Tabernacles)? Here’s the thread through all of these and topics: We are to remember from Whom our sustenance and wealth come and from Whom our freedom comes from the things that hold us captive.
Passover: Make me into matzah!
When the LORD is moving you out of your old life, it’s a one-way trip, like the first exodus celebrated at Pesakh (Passover). There is no looking back or carrying a lot of baggage that would tie us to that old life. Part of Pesakh is the spiritual discipline of eating מצה matzah (unleavened bread), through it and with the counsel of the Lamb of God and apostle Paul, we find out the remaining parts of our old way of life — the “old leaven” — God wants to drain out of us.
Exodus 14:1–15:21: Seventh day of Unleavened Bread teaches repentance, salvation and righteousness
The seventh day of Chag Matzot (Feast of Unleavened Bread) is a memorial to the crossing of the Red Sea. It’s not only the zenith of most movies about Israel’s flight from Egypt but also a parable about every believer’s path to repentance, salvation and righteousness.
Unleavened Bread: First-born of Israel grow in grace and knowledge
The first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread pictures the beginning of a new living way. But that new living way was not joyous when Israel left Egypt — days of affliction — and our departure from our “house of bondage” isn’t either. They were learning to live in a way, and so are we. God writes His law deep in our hearts, which flow with “living water.” We are to grow in grace and knowledge as we get older. We never stop growing, even when we are very old.
Yeshua the Firstfruits: First-born of those who are being saved
Humans and donkeys have something very important in common, according to the words of God: Both have to be redeemed by the blood of a lamb. The purpose of the memorial of Unleavened Bread is to remind us those who trust God have crossed over and what was before is destroyed and is gone. The past is destroyed just as the Egyptian army was drowned into the Sea.
When we accepted Yeshua as our Savior, we chose Him as our first-born. We have made Him first in our hearts.
What did Apostle Paul mean by ‘you are unleavened’?
Being “unleavened” during God’s Festival of Unleavened Bread (חג מצות Khag Matzot) is not about being a “holier than thou.” It’s not about overpowering or dominating others. We need to have humility, mercy, kindness and gentleness that comes from God. We need to keep ourselves low, not higher than one another. It’s foolish to measure yourself against someone else.
Seventh day of Unleavened Bread: From death to life
What is so special about the last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread? What makes it special is not the death of the Egyptians or the fact God “saved” the Israelites from slavery. Rather, God would teach Pharaoh one final lesson about His power, and His people would pass from bondage and death to freedom and life.
When Messiah Yeshua died on the cross, He sanctified you and me. It happened then and is happening now. You might not see yourself as sanctified but the only reason we are sanctified is due to the bread and blood of the Messiah….
Those who trust the Messiah become sincerely, truly ‘unleavened’
Is the Feast of Unleavened Bread all about “getting sin of your life”? Is that the only message here? I’d submit to you that there’s much more. It is where the Father, the Creator, has placed you. He has placed you in the world, in the place where He wants you to be. It’s not just the “bread of affliction” but also the “bread of hope.”
We are to be “unleavened” — clear, transparent and easy to see, i.e., not “actors” a.k.a. hypocrites. And the community we worship in is also supposed to be clear, transparent and easy to understand…
Exodus 13-15: God delivers Israel from Mitzraim (Egypt) through the Red Sea
On the 15th day of the first month, the first day of what God established as Khag Matzot (Feast of Unleavened Bread), Israel left Mitzraim (Egypt). We’ll explore why the Bible talks more about the Matzot than Pesakh (Passover).
Pesakh commemorates God’s breaking the chains of Mitzraim that held Yisra’el there, and Matzot, God’s breaking the power of Mitzraim via the sea.
God’s appointments with humankind gain meaning over time – not obsolescence
A number of theologians have wondered publicly if the festivals of the LORD are relevant for today or are just historical or intellectual curiosities. Many dismiss Sukkot as either a harvest festival only applicable in the Land of Israel or only relevant with a standing temple. Let’s explore what the Bible says about the past, present and future layers of meaning in these annual appointments and how they teach us about the Messiah and ourselves.
We will look at the different layers of the festivals: past, present and future.
In a sense, they are like a wedding anniversary, on which the couple…
Seventh Day of Unleavened Bread points to the lifelong, arduous journey of trust in God
How do we relate to Israel’s flight out of Egypt to the Red Sea, as recorded in Exodus? We weren’t there. We know that this was a long, arduous journey. It was a seven-day walk — day and night — without sleep or respite. A likely reason God wants us of the Commonwealth of Israel to remember the Israel’s deliverance from both the lure of Egypt and the might of Egypt on the first and seventh days of the Festival of Unleavened Bread they are picture of the full release God gives us through the Great Deliverer, Yeshua the Messiah.
Last Day of Unleavened Bread: Baptism of Israel in the cloud, sea, Messiah
Ancient Israel passed through the Red Sea on the seventh day of the Chag Matzot (Feast of Unleavened Bread), described as “the salvation of the LORD.” Apostle Paul equated that salvation from the ensnaring error of Egypt via cloud and sea with the Salvation from ensnaring sin via the death and resurrection of Messiah Yeshua (Jesus).
Rejoicing in God’s harvest of His firstfruits of the harvest of the nations
Chag Matzot (Unleavened Bread), one of the festivals of the Lord is not primarily about eating lots of matzoh, but about “eating” and absorbing Yeshua’s pure and true testimony about God. As you nibble on the matzoh, think about God’s word and how you can absorb God’s word into your inner being.
‘Feasts to the LORD’ foreshadowed in Genesis 2-5
Daniel explores foreshadowing of all seven ‘feasts to the LORD’ in Genesis 2–5. For example, hints of Passover are seen in Adam and Eve’s hiding from God in the garden; Firstfruits, in Eve’s dedicating her firstborn; Atonement, in God’s marking Cain to wander with vengeance taken against him.
Seventh day of Unleavened Bread: Significance then and today of Israel’s crossing of the Red Sea
Seven days after Israel left Egypt after the first Passover, the new nation went through the Red Sea. The salvation of the LORD was on display. God said that “from generation to generation” we are to remember the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It is easy not to remember this time because the world’s system purposefully distracts from this time and ignores it as much as possible. God proved His sincere desire to redeemed mankind when He commanded His Son to die for us.