Deuteronomy 16:4

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Articles, Bible studies, and sermons that contain The Fifth Book of Moses Called Deuteronomy 16:4:

Deuteronomy 16:3-4
Excerpted from: Unleavened Bread Basics

God continues to reinforce the purpose and meaning of this feast. Verse 3 commands the eating of unleavened bread to remember God’s deliverance. And if you are counting by now, this passage contains two more references to deliverance as the reason for the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Numerologists tell us that eight indicates super-abundance and a new beginning, which is an interesting detail. The unleavened bread is a token to remind God’s people each year of God’s liberation so they could have a new beginning. This disruption to our normal food reinforces our memory of His works.

Verse 3 mentions “the bread of affliction.” Various translations and paraphrases call it “hard-times bread,” “the bread of hardship,” “the bread of tribulation,” and “the bread of distress.” One paraphrase says it is “a basic of affliction.” So, the theme of Egypt as a place of affliction or hardship enters the picture. Exodus 3 & 4 refer to Israel’s affliction and oppression in Egypt—same word. This theme begins back with Joseph’s naming of his son, Ephraim. Joseph says, “For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.” At that point, Joseph had been liberated from slavery and from prison and was now the second-in-command, but he still refers to Egypt as “the land of my affliction.”

So, each bite of unleavened bread includes with it a reminder of the former oppression and slavery under a hostile ruler. For us, it can recall the days before conversion when we believed we were free to do whatever we wanted, and probably didn’t recognize who we were serving or the ways in which we were enslaved. That is not the only meaning of unleavened bread, because the New Testament gives some additional themes that we will get to. But our former affliction and oppression before God’s intervention are principal parts of what the unleavened bread should call to mind as we eat it each day this week.

Deuteronomy 16:4
Excerpted from: Passover (Part 9)

The term "first day" refers to the first day of Unleavened Bread, not Passover day. Calling this entire period "Passover," and especially calling the Passover "the first day of Unleavened Bread" is a practice of later traditional Judaism. It does not reflect God's Passover as given in Exodus 12, Numbers 9, Leviticus 23, or Leviticus 33. These two together make ten differences already.

Articles
A Subtle Yet Devastating Curse
How Do We Keep God's Festivals?
The Second Exodus (Part One)

Sermons
The Night to be Much Observed
James and Unleavened Bread (Part 1)
James and Unleavened Bread (Part 3)
Deuteronomy 16, Passover, and the Night to be Much Observed
Leavening: The Types
The Unleavened Life Is a Happy Life!
Deuteronomy 16, Passover, and the Night to be Much Observed
The Night to be Much Observed

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