Readings
- Exodus 12:21–51
- Numbers 28:16–25
- Joshua 3:5–7; 5:2–6:1, 27
- Luke 22:1–7
- Matthew 16:5–12
- 1Corinthians 5:7–8
Studies
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…
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.
The First 10 Chapters of Genesis: A Blueprint for God’s Appointed Times
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.
On eating unleavened bread and Yeshua the firstborn — getting the ‘sincerity and truth’ of Heaven
Matzah is the culinary focus of the Feast of Unleavened Bread and we eat it every day for seven days. That’s the physical reality of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. However, if we aren’t careful, we can miss the spiritual reality of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Just as matzah’s simple mixture of flour and water (with no salt, leavening or seasonings added) is a “back to basics” food, on a spiritual level, God is calling us to get back to the basics of sincerity and truth in our spiritual life, too. If we miss out on sincerity and truth,…
First day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread — Remembering the Father
We know that Yeshua loves us and we love Yeshua. Sometimes God the Father is left out of the loop of affection. We forget the fact that everything Yeshua ever did was because of His Father. We don’t think about the fact that God loves us even more. Yeshua did nothing that was not approved by the Father. God has set aside this time as a time of protection and sanctification. He gives us His sincerity and His truth. We don’t become unleavened because of us but because of Him.
Richard also presents his views on the role of Yeshua in…
‘Feasts to the LORD’; ‘the LORD spoke to…’ (Leviticus 23–24)
The 23rd chapter of Leviticus is a relatively obvious passage. The explanations are simple and self-explanatory, except for questions about the biblical timing of Firstfruits and Pentecost.
The 24th chapter is a bit unusual and not so simple to decipher. When you read the book of Leviticus and you find the phrase “the LORD spoke to…” pay attention to whom is supposed to hear the message. There were some messages for the sons of Aaron but some messages were for the people of Israel. Each group had their own duties and responsibilities, and it’s God Himself Who decides.
Journey to the 10 — Israel thirsts, discovers bitterness within
We are continuing our “Journey to the 10 (commandments)” as our ancestors of old went the first time. We see God’s “high hand” redeem our ancestors from the Egyptians once and for all. Then they continue for three more days until they reached Marah on the 24th of Aviv.
Journey to the 10 — Last Day of Feast of Unleavened Bread, crossing the Red Sea
The people of Israel arrive at the edge of the Red Sea. They have walked day and night for 7 days to reach this point. As they set their eyes on the Red Sea in front of them, they see the Egyptians coming behind. God has one last “elohim” of Egypt to judge before he takes the Israelites away from Egypt for good.
After a temporary lack of faith, God guides them through the water and they walk in “martial array” to the other side. The Egyptians, blindly follow them in and God creates havoc and it is the Egyptians who…
Journey to the 10 — First day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread
Passages discussed.: 1st Corinthians 11; Exodus 13; 1st Corinthians 5; Matt. 16:1-12; 2nd Tim. 2:18-21.
Today is the 15th day of the first month, also called Aviv in the Bible. We are continuing our “Journey To the 10” which is the retelling of the journey from Egypt to Sinai.
Acts 12 — the leavened leaders of the ‘lump’ of Israel try to bump off Petros
It’s no coincidence God frees Petros (Peter) from jail during Passover/Unleavened Bread, which even at that time was understood to be a removing of “sourness” from one’s life. In Acts 12, the “leaven” of Herod and of the leaders was shown to be “spoiling” Israel.
The seventh day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread — death to a ‘sour’ spirit; life in ‘sincerity and truth’
God commands His people to observe the seventh and last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread with a “holy convocation.” The day has connections to Israel’s crossing of the Red Sea after the Exodus and baptism in the name of Messiah Yeshua.
Feast of Unleavened Bread — Purge out malice and wickedness
The apostle Paul uses the object lesson of purging leaven out of the home for the Feast of Unleavened Bread in one of his most shocking statements on discipline for immorality in the congregation in Corinth — purge out “malice” and “wickedness.”
Feast of Unleavened Bread: Get the leaven out
Why does God tell us to remove leaven — “yeast” in the NIV translation — from our mouths, homes and community during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the seven days right after Passover? Why does God tell us then to put leaven in our mouths at Shavu’ot (Pentecost) a short time later? What does this have to do with Messiah? The connection is startling.
Patterns and lessons of God’s spring appointed times
God’s ways may be mysterious, but when He lays out patterns and times important historical events accordingly, He is inviting us to learn more about what He is doing. There’s a “new beginning” lesson in the spring festivals of the LORD on Yeshua (Jesus).
Yeshua fulfills Pesakh completely
At the time of the Exodus, YHWH (God’s personal name in Hebrew, often translated as “the LORD”) told the people of Israel to have a “lamb for a household” (Exodus 12:3). Usually 10 people could manage to consume a whole lamb. Smaller groups joined together to form a chaverim, Hebrew for “a group of friends,” and that formed a mishpokhah, “a family group.” Paul talks about believers being the “household of God” (1st Timothy 3:15) because there is a “lamb for the household.”
When Was the Wave Sheaf Offering and Yeshua’s Resurrection?
Feast of Unleavened Bread 2007 — Day 5 Speaker: Richard Agee Thought questions Why do Christians celebrate the resurrection of Messiah Yeshua on Sunday? Where did the early Christians get that idea? Why is it called a “wave offering”? What does God do with the offering? What is the “bread of life”? What “feast of the LORD” is connected to the wave offering? What are the two loaves of the wave offering made out of ? How does “on the morrow” from old English in Hebrew change the meaning of “the day after” in most translations of Leviticus 23:11 in…
What are “firstfruits”?
Feast of Unleavened Bread 2007 Speaker: Daniel Agee [contact] = b’khor in Hebrew literally means "bursting forth" and is commonly translated as "firstfruits" Thought questions How do the prophets discuss "firstfruits"? How do those who plant a tree or crop see the budding, ripening and harvesting feel? How different is God in this regard? How many of the seven Shabbats of Shavuot (Feast of Weeks or Pentecost) have happened prophetically? 8 sets of 490 years from Adam to the Second Adam (Messiah) 8 sets after the temple is established to the New Jerusalem temple 8 sets from Abraham to today;…
Why Are We to Eat Unleavened Bread?
Why is God so obsessed with yeast, or “leaven”? What does leaven have to do with Passover and Pentecost, or Shavuot? What does it have to do with Yeshua of Natzeret?
Matthew 16 — Good or bad “yeast”?
Yeast is commonly seen as a symbol for pride, something bad. Why does God command us to not eat leavened bread for seven days after Passover then at Shavuot (Pentecost) command that He be offered two loaves of leavened bread? How is the answer to this paradox found in Yeshua’s cryptic instruction to His disciples to beware of the “yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees”?
Passover & Unleavened Bread preview — Exodus 12
Feast of Unleavened Bread 2007 Speaker: Richard Agee
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