Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread” (Exodus 12:20). In our last writing, we discussed the first reason the Israelites were to abstain from leaven for the passover event: Because the LORD “said so.” He commanded. Let us consider two other reasons.
The second reason the Israelites were to abstain from leaven for the passover event is because the LORD saves. “And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever” (Exodus 12:17; see also Exodus 23:15; 34:18; Deuteronomy 16:3). In other words, God tells them that because He saved them from Egyptian bondage, this provided for them a memorial to keep for years to come. Christians are commanded to keep a memorial the first day of every week (Matthew 26:26–28; Mark 14:22–24; Luke 22:19–20; 1 Corinthians 11:23–26). This memorial supper—sometimes called the Lord’s Supper, or communion—also requires that there be nothing leavened in its contents.
The third and final reason we will consider as to why the Israelites were to abstain from leaven for the passover event is because leaven symbolizes. Leaven symbolizes sin in that it slows. “Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste” (Deuteronomy 16:3). “And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened; because they were thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any victual” (Exodus 12:39). Waiting on bread to rise would have prevented their exodus. Sin truly can slow us in our Christian race (Hebrews 12:1–2). Leaven also symbolizes sin in that it spreads. Leaven impacts an entire lump of dough by breaking down the grain and expelling gases throughout the dough. God wanted to cleanse Israel of Egyptian influence and impurities. He also demands that His disciples today purge sin out of their lives and congregations (Matthew 16:6–12; 1 Corinthians 5:6–8; Galatians 5:9).
Have we purged sin from our lives? Do we weekly memorialize the Lord’s sacrifice? Are we concerned with what God has commanded?
Clifton preaches for the Coldwater Church of Christ in Coldwater, MS
