Date of message: 27 April 2003
Subject: The Feast of Unleavened Bread
Shalom, Boker-tov (good morning),
In Leviticus 23: 6 we read, "and on the fifteenth day of the same
month (of Nisan) is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD; seven days
you must eat unleavened bread".
The fifteenth day of Nisan represented the day that the children of Israel
left Egypt about 1500 years before Christ was born and they went on their
way into the wilderness en-route to the land flowing with milk and honey
as promised by the Lord Himself to their forefathers. Because of their
haste to get out of the land, there was no time to prepare the dough for
baking the bread in the normal way with a tinge of yeast and leaving the
dough overnight for it to ferment and raise the texture. They had to make
their dough only with pure flour and to bake them and bring along with
them on their journey.
The Holy Spirit recorded for us the instructions given by the Lord to
Moses in Exodus 12: 17-20.
17. So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same
day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore
you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting
ordinance.
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.
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.
20. You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat
unleavened bread.
Because there was no yeast in the bread, the dough could not rise but
the pieces became flat instead and they tasted like crackers. In fact
the Israelites called this type of bread the Matzah bread and this was
only made especially for the Passover Feast although it is available for
sale all year round at the thrift shops in the Jewish Synagogues in Singapore.
Three astonishing features can be found on the matzah bread (cracker)
and if one were to ask the Jews why they made the cracker as such, they
would respond by saying that they had been instructed to do so by Moses
who received the same instructions from the Lord Himself.
On close examination of the photographs below (of the matzah cracker)
one would notice: -
1. The cracker has burnt marks
2. There are also pierced holes, and
3. The holes are arranged in rows or the cracker has stripes.
1. Our Lord Jesus took upon His body the full force of the wrath of God
against our sins when He hung there on the cross. So great was the wrath
of God that Jesus was thirsty and He cried out for a drink at the end
of the three hours that God poured out His anger on Him.
2. Jesus' hands bore the nail prints and His side was ripped open by the
spear of the Roman soldier who came to check whether He had died and to
quicken His death because it was getting late and they wanted Him buried
before sunset as the following day was a Sabbath.
3. On His back, Jesus bore the stripes of the Roman torturer who had applied
the forty-less-one lashes. So severe were the cuts inflicted by the ends
of the cat-o-nine-tails that much of the flesh on His back were ripped
off and His bones protruded - that was why He had much difficulties carrying
the cross for His own crucifixion.
By the way, according to Roman law, no prisoner was to suffer both punishments
of flogging and crucifixion except Jesus. Pontius Pilate had Jesus whipped
and He wanted to release Jesus since He had already suffered the penalty
but the crowd pushed him to a corner and to satisfy them, he had Jesus
crucified instead (Matthew 27: 15 - 26).
Jesus told His disciples that He is the Bread of Life; the Living Bread
which came from heaven and that those who ate of the Bread of Life will
live forever (John 6: 48 - 51). Unknowing to the Jews of Moses' time,
God wanted to give the nation of Israel an object lesson of Himself being
the bread that they were to feed on during their journey out of Egypt
and for life. Unfortunately, not many of them caught that valuable lesson
and till today, some Israeli families celebrate the Seder meal at Passover
with the matzah bread but could not appreciate the significance of the
marks on the cracker or what the cracker represented.
The matzah cracker is unleavened (without yeast) because there was no
sin in the life of Jesus and that qualified Him to be our Savior. Praise
the Lord that Jesus came, lived His life on the earth as one of us and
yet without sin and in obedience and out of His love for the Father and
for us, He did not hesitate to go to the cross and to die for our sins.
What tremendous love demonstrated on the cross for us two thousand years
ago!
Because the bread that the children of Israel brought along with them
on their first journey was unleavened, the food could last them for some
time. There was no worry about fermentation as the process of fermentation
only takes place when there is yeast in the flour. Seven days the children
of Israel were commanded to eat the unleavened bread because the Lord
wanted them to remember that with Jesus in their lives they will be completely
freed from all their sins. The number seven in the Bible represents perfection
and completeness.
Have you received Jesus into your heart? You too can enjoy this life of
walking in the Lord and you can also learn to feed on Him daily. All that
is needed is for you to believe in Jesus, the One Who had died for you
and taken away all your sin. He will come into your heart and give you
eternal life. By believing in Jesus and receiving His Holy Spirit into
our lives, God confers on us the position of sons and daughters in His
Family, special positions reserved for those whom He loves dearly. (John
1: 12)
The Lord cannot lie. For Him, whatever He speaks come to pass and He had
promised us in the Bible that those who have put their trust in Him will
not be condemned but have passed from death into life (Romans 8: 1).
Pray this simple prayer of faith and invite Him into your heart and immediately
you will experience the peace of Jesus coming your way.
Our Heavenly Father, thank you that You are sovereign and in full control
over everything that is happening around us. Thank you that You love us
so much You sent Your only Beloved Son Jesus into this world to take our
place and to die for all our sins.
Lord Jesus, thank you that You came, You obeyed the Father and You died
for all on the cross. You conquered death and rose again on the third
day. Thank you that You became that Sacrificial Lamb for us and because
of Your death, the judicial righteousness of the Father had been satisfied.
And now, because of Your death and resurrection, we, who believe in You
as our Lord and Savior, will no longer have to die but we receive Your
eternal life. Thank you for coming into my heart and making my heart Your
home.
Thank you that what You have accomplished for us on the cross has qualified
me to become a child of God the Father. Thank you that I am now eternally
forgiven, greatly blessed, highly favored, deeply loved and completely
protected in the Lord and in Your most precious Name, Yeshua Ha' Mashiah,
I pray. Amen.
If you have prayed this prayer for the first time, welcome to the Family
of the Father (and it is a very large universal family). It is important
that you are not alone facing your personal trials but that you can obtain
good help wherever you are. Why not take the time to find your own local
Christian family (local church) and worship the Father together? You will
be greatly encouraged when you meet together to worship the Father, for
fellowship and for the study of the Word of Christ.
Start receiving the blessings of the Father as you walk with Him in faith.
It is your inheritance in Christ and He wants you to start enjoying these
blessings right now and there is more from where they come from.
The Lord blesses you and keeps you,
The Lord makes His face shine upon you and be gracious to you and all
your loved ones,
The Lord lifts up His countenance upon you and gives you His shalom peace.
Numbers 6: 24 -26
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
Have a blessed week ahead, Shavrou-tov
Shalom,
Andrew L W Lee
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