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4 FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD This Feast was instituted so that the ancient Israelites would remember eating the bread in haste as they had to be prepared to leave Egypt in a hurry. There was no time to let their bread rise so they were forced to eat it unleavened. Unleavened bread or Matzah was require to be eaten on the first night of Passover and then to be eaten for the week following. Exod 12:14,15 Now this day will be a memorial to you and you shall celebrate it as a Feast to the Lord; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, but on the first day, you shall remove all leaven from your houses; for whoever eats anything leavened from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.

AFFLICTION IN EGYPT The ancient Israelites were to eat the unleavened bread so that they would remember their affliction in Egypt. Deut 16:3 You shall not eat leavened bread with it (Passover Meal); seven day you shall eat it with unleavened bread, the BREAD OF AFFLICTION, so that you may remember all the days of your life, the day when you came out of the land of Egypt. The Feast of Unleavened Bread is observed by removing all leaven items from one’s house and keeping the home free of leaven during the seven days of Unleavened Bread. 5

MATZAH FOUR TIMES IN EXODUS 12:15-20, YHWH SAY, “YOU ARE TO EAT UNLEAVENED BREAD” – THIS MEANS THAT IT MUST BE PRETTY IMPORTANT. THERE ARE SO MANY HIDDEN SECRETS SURROUNDING THE MATZAH. MATZAH IS ALSO REFERRED TO, AS MENTIONED BEFORE, AS ‘THE BREAD OF AFFLICTION’. IT SYMBOLISES FREEDOM FROM SLAVERY. 6

THE MATZAH IS MADE IN A VERY HURRIED FASHION BECAUSE IF THE DOUGH IS LEFT TO STAND FOR MORE THAT 18 MINUTES, THE PROCESS OF FERMENTATION HAS ALREADY BEGUN TO TAKE PLACE. FUNGI FROM THE AIR INVADE THE DOUGH, AND MULTIPLY BY THE MILLIONS CAUSING FERMENTATION. AS THE FUNGI CONTINUE TO MULTIPLY BY THE BILLIONS, THEY FEED OFF THE SUGAR MOLECULES IN THE FLOUR AND GIVE OFF THE CARBON DIOXIDE GAS THAT SOURS THE DOUGH AND CAUSES IT TO BECOME AIRY AND LIGHT. THIS TEACHES US THAT THERE IS A GRAVE DANGER IN NOT PROMPLY OBEYING THE LORD WHEN HE SPEAKS. THIS TIME OF INACTIVITY ALLOWS DECEPTION TO ENTER OUR HEARTS AND LIVES. DECEPTION, LIKE THE FUNGI, MUTIPLIES RAPIDLY AND CAN MAKE OUR LIVES ‘SOUR’ AND ‘PUFFED UP’ WITH PRIDE. 7

IT IS TRADITIONAL TO HAVE THREE PIECES OF MATZAH ON THE TABLE AT PASSOVER. SOME SAY THAT THEY REPRESENT ABRAHAM, ISAAC AND JACOB – ISN’T IT SIGNIFICANT THAT THE MIDDLE MATZAH (ISAAC) IS REMOVED! ABRAHAM’S SEED OF THE PROMISE. WE KNOW THE BEAUTIFUL STORY OF HOW THAT YHWH INSTRUCTED ABRAHAM TO TAKE ISAAC AWAY AND SACRIFICE HIM AND THEN JUST BEFORE HE CARRIED OUT THAT INSTRUCTION, YHWH PROVIDED A RAM AS THE SACRIFICE. WHAT A BEAUTIFUL PICTURE OF YESHUA MESSIAH. TO US TODAY, THIS MIDDLE PIECE OF MATZAH REPRESENTS YESHUA MESSIAH IN EVERY WAY. YESHUA CAME TO BRING US FREEDOM FROM THE SLAVERY OF SIN HE TOOK ON HIMSELF THE FORM OF A SERVANT AND HUMBLED HIMSELF EVEN TO THE DEATH OF THE CROSS. HE RESPONDED TO HIS FATHER’S INSTRUCTIONS IN IMMEDIATE AND COMPLETE OBEDIENCE. HE SAID, “I DELIGHT TO DO YOUR WILL, OH MY ELOHIM.” THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NO SIN AND PRIDE FOUND IN HIM 8

THE CHALLENGE TO US TODAY IS: DO I CARRY THE MESSAGE OF FREEDOM FROM SIN IN MY LIFE-STYLE? DO I WALK HUMBLY BEFORE YHWH AND MY FELLOW-MAN – ALWAYS LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITY TO BE A SERVANT? DO I RESPOND TO MY HEAVENLY FATHER’S INSTRUCTIONS (TORAH) IN PROMPT OBEDIENCE?...OR DO I PUT OFF BEING OBEDIENT TILL A MORE CONVENIENT TIME, AND IN DOING SO ALLOW THE ‘FUNGI’ OF THE WORLD TO INVADE MY LIFE WITH SIN AND CAUSE FERMENTATION? MATT 16:6 YESHUA WARNED HIS PEOPLE WHEN HE SAID: ‘WATCH OUT AND BEWARE OF THE LEAVEN ON THE PHARISEES AND THE SADDUCEES.’ 9

1 COR 5:8 THEREFORE LET US CELEBRATE THE FEAST, NOT WITH OLD LEAVEN, NOR WITH THE LEAVEN OF MALICE AND WICKEDNESS BUT WITH THE UNLEAVENED BREAD OF SINCERITY AND TRUTH. This encourage us as believers, that when we celebrate this Feast, we are to get the leaven of sin out of our lives. He was born in Bethlehem – BEIT LECHEM – which means the HOUSE OF BREAD. 10

Each time we pick up a piece of Matzah, we should be reminded of Yeshua’s sacrifice for us, as He is the sinless, leavenless Bread of Life. We are also reminded of the prophecy in Isaiah 53:5: ‘But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed. When we look at the Matzah, we see stripes and holes. This reminds us that He was pierced for us and the stripes on His body brought us healing and wholeness. 11

CONCLUSION We observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread today as a reminder of the ancient Israelites’ journey from Egypt and the Bread of Haste they had to eat. But we also observe it to remind ourselves that we need to guard our hearts against ‘leaven’ and remember that Yeshua, our Messiah, came as the ‘unleavened’ or sinless Lamb of God Who was beaten and bruised for us. 12

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