This is the sixth reference to deliverance. Yet there is something with which to be careful in the wording, something that can influence the way we think about this feast.
This says, “in the month of Abib you came out from Egypt.” That is what happened, but we must keep in mind how it happened. It is sort of like when a child says, “the glass was dropped,” or “the ball accidentally went through the window.” That describes the action, but not who is responsible. The all-important matter of who caused these things to happen is in the background, and we can understand why a child might prefer that.
But for us, remembering who is responsible is essential. While the Israelites “came out from” Egypt, they did not just happen to come out, nor did they cause themselves to come out. Of course, they had to put forth the effort to walk, even as we must respond when God draws us from spiritual Egypt. But the Israelites came out of Egypt only because God made it possible for them to leave by decimating their captors, and then God Himself led them out of Egypt. The initiator and primary Actor in all of this was God, not God’s people. Israel “came out from Egypt” only because of God’s intervention.
Now, all the passages we have looked at so far mention Egypt, so we will explore that. We understand what Egypt meant for Israel, but we also need to understand Egypt as a symbol so we can fit ourselves and our walk with God into this.
One common interpretation is that Egypt is a type of sin. If you think about that, though, it is rather nebulous and hazy. It also breaks down quickly, because Israel was not delivered from sin. We’ll come back to that, but first I will give another way of looking at Egypt.
A second interpretation is that Egypt is a symbol of the environment of sin, where sin takes place with little thought or restraint. It is the realm of godlessness and slavery to a despotic ruler. In other words, Egypt is a symbol of the world, with Pharaoh as a type of Satan. For us, it is the environment from which we were delivered when God called us and liberated us from the authority of the prince of the power of the air. Egypt can be similar to Babylon, which is another symbol of the world, but whereas Babylon pictures the attractiveness of the world, Egypt pictures the hardship and affliction of slavery.
When we look at Israel’s exodus from Egypt, God delivered them from the house of bondage and from the power of Pharaoh, but they were not delivered from sin itself. Ezekiel 20:5-10 indicates that the Israelites in Egypt refused to get rid of their idols. Joshua 24:14 and Amos 5 confirm that the Israelites carried their idols all throughout the wilderness journey and into the Promised Land. So, the Israelites were not delivered from sin, but from the power of Pharaoh, from slavery, and the environment where they learned idolatry.
Now, maybe this seems like a distinction without a difference, but the difference between these two interpretations of Egypt is significant. If Egypt is taken as a symbol of sin, the next step in the explanation is that this feast pictures coming out of sin, and the emphasis moves to what we do. Again, there are things we absolutely must do. But as we have seen, God’s words concerning this feast emphasize what He did. It is a feast to Him because of what He makes possible, not a memorial of human works.
So, understanding Egypt as a symbol of the world puts the focus on what God did in delivering us from darkness, from the present evil age, and its ruler. What we do in response, then, is to eat unleavened bread and all it represents, while also putting away leaven and all that leaven represents. That’s how we memorialize His deliverance.
Another commonality with these feasts is that they are both kept for seven days. That may sound obvious, and it is, but it is worth reviewing God's commands so we don't forget. Back in verse 6, it says, …seven days you must eat unleavened bread. You don't have to turn to these, but I will read to you the same command in other places:
Seven times, God says to eat unleavened bread for seven days. He is very clear.
It is commonly held that Unleavened Bread is about putting sin out of our lives. And while that is an aspect, if we were to go through all of God's instructions for Unleavened Bread, we would see that His reason and emphasis are different. What God overwhelmingly emphasizes is His deliverance, not our work of avoiding leavening and thus sin (Exodus 12:17; Exodus 13:3, 8-9; 23:15; 34:18; Deuteronomy 16:3).
The overarching reason for that feast, and the reason we eat unleavened bread for seven days, is to remember God's deliverance. When we get to the New Testament, Jesus identifies Himself as the bread of God - the bread of life. He was entirely unleavened.
Further, Paul tells us in I Corinthians 5:8, Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Christ is the embodiment of sincerity and truth. He is the One who delivered us from this present, evil age, from spiritual bondage, from the power of darkness. And it is through the strength that He supplies that we have the means to overcome sin. And that strength comes from ingesting His word and beseeching Him to live His life in us every day.
The unleavened bread that God says we must eat for seven days represents Christ Himself. To miss eating the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth is to miss out on the divine connection with our Savior. Our minds should rebel at the thought of skipping that.
It is similar with Passover. The bread and wine are the symbols of Passover. It wouldn't be Passover without them. These things may just be symbols, but these symbols signal to God our intent and our desire to fulfill all righteousness, even in the symbols.
In the same way, we keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days by eating unleavened bread each day and not merely avoiding leavening. Consider what neglecting to eat the unleavened bread of life every day would signal to God. The symbols matter.
Faithful and righteous Daniel chose to spend the night in a cave of lions rather than give up his bread of life for a single day. That's how important his connection with God, and being strengthened by God, was to Daniel. It is those who know their God who will be strong and carry out great exploits, but that strength and knowledge of God come from continually partaking of what, or of Whom the unleavened bread represents.
We can apply that to the lessons of Unleavened Bread. God says repeatedly that the reason we keep that feast and eat unleavened bread is because of what He did. He delivered Israel from Egypt and the power of the Pharaoh. Likewise, He delivered us from this present evil age and its adversarial ruler. He delivered us from spiritual Egypt and has given us a new home.
