Topical Studies
What the Bible says about
Why Do We Observe Unleavened Bread
(From Forerunner Commentary)
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Exodus 12:17-20
The fundamental reason God gives for the Feast of Unleavened Bread appears in verse 17: "for on this same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt." In other words, this Feast is a commanded memorial of God's deliverance. Additionally, because it is a Feast, God intends it to be a time of rejoicing. Granted, the food we eat is somewhat unusual compared to what we normally associate with a festive occasion, but nonetheless, this Feast is an appointed time for us to remember God's deliverance. Physical Israel kept this Feast as a memorial of God delivering them from Egypt. Lot's deliverance from Sodom may also have taken place during this Feast (see Genesis 19:3). Spiritual Israel keeps it as a memorial of a far greater, spiritual deliverance from the power of darkness. Exodus 23:15 reiterates the basic reason for this Feast: You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (you shall eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt; none shall appear before Me empty). Again, God ties the command to observe this Feast with His deliverance of Israel from Egypt. The context in which this appears is God's instruction to keep Feasts to Him during three seasons each year. Hitting the high points of the appointed times, He does not mention the avoidance of leavening. Its absence does not mean avoiding leavening is unimportant (as other verses show), but it indicates that God is emphasizing other things in this Feast. In all of God's instructions for this Feast, there are more references to eating unleavened bread than to putting out or avoiding leavening. The instructions, then, are weighted toward the positive aspect of eating rather than the negative aspect of avoiding. Even the name of the Feast gives us an obvious clue to what God intends the focus to be: eating unleavened bread, rather than avoiding leavening. Moses records a third witness of this in Exodus 34:18: The Feast of Unleavened Bread you shall keep. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, in the appointed time of the month of Abib; for in the month of Abib you came out from Egypt. We see the same two elements here, and thus the same emphasis. Yet, we must be careful with the wording of these instructions, as it contains a detail that can influence the way we think about this Feast. Both this verse and Exodus 23:15 speak of coming out of Egypt. That is indeed what happened, but the wording obscures who was truly responsible. The effect of such wording can be like a child saying, "The milk got spilled," or "The rock accidentally went through the window." The critical matter of who caused these things to happen slides into the background, and we can understand why a child might prefer that. The Israelites literally "came out from Egypt"—they walked—but they did not cause themselves to leave it. God made it possible for them to walk away from slavery by decimating their captors, and then God Himself led them out of Egypt "by day in a pillar of cloud . . . and by night in a pillar of fire" (Exodus 13:21). We should never forget by whose hand these things occurred. Israel "came out from Egypt" only because of God's intervention. They had instructions from Moses to follow, and they had to make the effort to walk, but it was not by their efforts that they were delivered. As Exodus 12:51 reads, "And it came to pass, on that very same day, that the Lord brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt . . . ." The focus of this Feast, then, must remain on God's activity.
David C. Grabbe
Why Do We Observe Unleavened Bread? (Part One)
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Exodus 12:19-20
The instructions for the Feast of Unleavened Bread in Exodus 12:17; 23:15; 34:18 reveal the primary reason for its observance is to remember God's deliverance. Second to that is the instruction to eat unleavened bread every day for the duration of the Feast. These two elements of the commanded observance set the stage for what comes next. Exodus 12:19-20 gives a third, vital aspect of this Feast: We must eat nothing leavened nor have leavening in our houses. Applying this spiritually, we understand our responsibility to overcome and "not let sin reign in [our] mortal bod[ies]" (Romans 6:12). Whether we are speaking of the leaven of corrupt doctrine and practice (Matthew 16:12), the leaven of hypocrisy (Luke 12:1), or the leaven of malice and wickedness (I Corinthians 5:8), leaven is a symbol of corruption. A significant part of pursuing holiness (Hebrews 12:14) and going on to perfection (Hebrews 6:1) involves identifying sinfulness, removing it where we find it in our lives, and avoiding it where it tries to make inroads. Yet, from what we have seen, this aspect of avoiding sin—of overcoming—is not actually at the top of the list for this Feast. Certainly, it is on the list, and we dare not neglect it lest we be cut off (Exodus 12:15). But our ability to put all the corrupt things out of our lives entirely depends on the first two aspects of this Feast. In other words, if we overlook God's deliverance or neglect the eating of unleavened bread, we cannot perform the third aspect—the putting away of sin that God requires. Colossians 1:13 informs us that God "has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love." The apostle Paul writes in Galatians 1:4 that Jesus Christ "gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age." Numerous verses relate this in various ways. Because our life-debt has been paid, we are no longer under the sway of the one with the power of death (Hebrews 2:14). We have a new Master and a new lease on life. God purchased us, taking away Satan's dominion over us, so now we can be slaves of righteousness instead (Romans 6:18). This Feast, then, is a joyous remembrance of the difference God has made between us and those who are still under the spiritual Pharaoh—still enslaved to sin and death. Our deliverance is an indescribable and rare blessing, and it opens up avenues that this world can only dream of. As with Israel, we have this freedom only because of what God has done. Paul says something quite encouraging in his rebuke of the Corinthians: "Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the Feast . . ." (I Corinthians 5:7-8). He is writing to a fairly carnal group, yet even with their manifest weaknesses, he still tells them, "You truly are unleavened." It is another way of saying that righteousness had been imputed to them because of Christ's sacrifice. In essence, he says, because they truly are unleavened, they must start behaving like it. Since Christ's righteousness was imputed, they now need to conform to it to make it their own. In the same way, we "truly are unleavened" because we are in Christ. Our sins have been forgiven, and we have been delivered, so now we have the opportunity to walk in conformity to that unleavened state that has been imputed to us through our fellowship with Christ. But it all begins with what the Father and Son did on our behalf.
David C. Grabbe
Why Do We Observe Unleavened Bread? (Part Two)
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John 15:4-5
Bearing fruit is another way to describe overcoming. Our Savior points out the impossibility of a branch producing fruit without being attached to the Vine—to Himself, Jesus Christ. He declares that without Him, we can do nothing. In other words, without the Unleavened Bread of Life (see John 6:53-58), we have no means to overcome—we are powerless both to avoid and put out the corruption of sin that leaven represents. Putting this all together, the spiritual strength required to overcome is a result of eating the Bread of Life continually, and that Bread is available only to those whom He has delivered from spiritual Egypt. But to approach overcoming without that is to imply that we can overcome on our own—thus that we have no need of a Savior after our forgiveness. It is self-glorifying and self-righteous to focus more on our own efforts—which are necessary to the process—than on what makes our efforts possible in the first place and by whose strength those efforts will succeed. Consider that during the exodus, God did not escort the ancient Israelites to the border of Egypt and then leave it up to them to make their way to the Promised Land and conquer it. In the same way, neither does God leave us to fend for ourselves when it comes to preparing to inherit His Kingdom and to overcoming corruption along the way. As the Potter, He is the principal craftsman of our transformation into the spiritual image He desires. The question is, do we trust Him enough to follow His lead, or will we try to find our own way? As an example, imagine that we notice in ourselves a persistent lack of patience with others in our lives, and we want to get rid of that particular leavening. Currently, Amazon.com lists some 19,000 books on the subject of patience. High on the list is a book titled, How to Be More Patient: An Essential Guide to Replacing Impatience with Patience. It seems promising—it has received great reviews—and undoubtedly, the author has some insightful things to say. The word "patience" appears prominently in the title, and since patience is what we are lacking, perhaps we can find our solution in this "essential guide." Yet, think it through from what God's Word reveals: Unless the author of this book has been given God's Spirit, what he is describing in its pages has only to do with the human spirit. Even the most patient, carnal person alive cannot guide us in producing the true spiritual fruit that God desires us to possess and display. The human spirit is entirely insufficient for the task. The patience that God is developing in us is of a far higher quality than the patience that human wisdom can even grasp. So, if we ask God to help us to overcome our impatience—the right thing to do—He will not send us a step-by-step plan for us to carry out. Rather, the Author of the Book will Himself lead us into and through circumstances where He will develop His patience in us, because He is the only One who knows what true patience is. Ironically, His means of developing that fruit will not happen as quickly as an impatient person would like. It will happen on the Creator's terms, which is why we have to walk by faith while He does the work (II Corinthians 5:7). This explains God's emphasis on overcoming, particularly in the book of Revelation. God does not stress overcoming because we have to achieve the Kingdom. There will be no glorying in His presence over our works (I Corinthians 1:29; Ephesians 2:9). Rather, God is pleased to give the Kingdom to those who are victorious through working with Him, which is the only way we can be victorious (Romans 8:31-37). Overcoming points to a smoothly working relationship with our Creator, one that will continue to work for all eternity—and that is what He desires. The Feast of Unleavened Bread reminds us of our duty to put out sin. But even more than that, it is a joyous memorial of the spiritual deliverance that has been given and the salvation that comes through the Bread of Life that sustains us all the way through the sanctification process—as long as we continue to feast on Him.
David C. Grabbe
Why Do We Observe Unleavened Bread? (Part Two)
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Acts 12:3
The phrase "Days of Unleavened Bread" is only used in two places (Acts 12:3; 20:6), and in these instances, Luke refers to a span of time that can be slightly longer than the seven days of the Feast. Aside from this, the seven-day observance itself is consistently called the "Feast of Unleavened Bread," showing that this is a time to celebrate.
David C. Grabbe
Why Do We Observe Unleavened Bread? (Part One)
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