Lesson 26 Part 2
The Ambassador College Bible Correspondence Course Part 2
Lesson 26
1986
__________ FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD ___________________________________ Keeping the Feast Today
1. Are the first and seventh days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread annual Sabbaths or Holy Days on which God’s people are to rest and assemble for worship? Exodus 12:16;Leviticus 23:6-8.
COMMENT: The Feast begins on the evening of the 15th of Abib, the beginning of the day after the Passover. It continues for seven days, ending with the 21st of Abib. Both the 15th and the 21st are special Sabbaths--annual "holy convocations"--days of rest from regular work, though cooking is permitted (Exodus 12:16). Ordinary work may be done on the intervening days, except on any intervening weekly Sabbath. A "holy convocation" is a commanded religious assembly--commanded by God Almighty Himself. Today, members of God’s Church assemble on the annual Sabbaths much as they do on the weekly Sabbath (Leviticus 23:3). Those few who live too far away from other members to attend weekly Sabbath services are often able to meet with God’s Spirit-begotten children on these annual Sabbaths. God’s ministers use these opportunities to explain more about the meaning of God’s festivals and His Master Plan.
2. What special observance did God institute on the evening of the first day of the Feast? Exodus 12:42.
COMMENT: Every year on the evening of the 15th of Abib, the evening after Passover, the Israelites were to have a special observance in remembrance of their deliverance from Egypt. Today, true Christians (spiritual Israelites) also celebrate the "Night to Be Much Observed" on the anniversary of Israel’s deliverance from slavery.
Gathering in small family groups for an evening meal, God’s people give thanks to Him for having called them out of the slavery of sin into His Church. They rejoice in the fact that God has revealed to them His law, His Holy Days and their meaning. Then on the daylight part of the 15th, they assemble with the rest of their local congregations to be instructed by God’s ministers.
3. Is all leaven and leavened food to be removed from our homes and property, and kept out during the seven days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread? Exodus 12:19-20;Exodus 13:7.
COMMENT: Leaven is any substance used to cause dough to rise by fermentation. Yeast, bicarbonate of soda (baking soda), baking powder and sourdough are leavening agents. Leavened foods include most breads, crackers, cakes, cookies, biscuits, pastries and some pies and prepared cereals. A few candies and other foods are also leavened. If one is in doubt about any product, he should check the list of ingredients on its package. If still not sure about a particular food, it should not be eaten during the Feast (Romans 14:23).
All leaven and leavened foods should be removed from one’s premises before the beginning of the first Holy Day. They should not be stored in another room. The morning after the New Testament Passover service, which is still the Passover day, is a convenient time to finish removing any leavening agents or leavened bread. It is wise to arrange purchases so that when Passover comes, there will be little leaven to discard. Removing these inexpensive products is one way God tests us to see how much we value obedience to Him.
If during the Feast some accidentally overlooked leaven is found in the home, it should be thrown away immediately. This is a good lesson for us as it is a type of the hidden sins we aren’t aware of at baptism. As we grow in spiritual knowledge and understanding, we become aware of more sins to overcome. We must immediately put the leaven of sin out of our lives when it is discovered!
Unleavened bread can be made at home or bought in stores (it is often called "matzos," which comes from the Hebrew word matstsah, which means unleavened), but one should check the label to make sure it is unleavened. We may also enjoy unleavened cereals and desserts, together with all the meats, drinks, fruits and vegetables we normally eat. Many unleavened products are delicious as well as nutritious and can be enjoyed year-round.
It should be noted that "brewer’s yeast" and "yeast extracts" are not active, and therefore are not leavening agents. Cream of tartar, by itself, is not a leavening agent either. Beaten egg white used in meringue on pies and other desserts is not a leavening agent, but when used as a substitute for leavening to puff up any flour or meal product, it violates the spirit of God’s command. But what about beer or other fermented drinks? There is no restriction on the kind of beverages consumed during the Feast of Unleavened Bread--no mention in the Bible of this being the "Feast of Unleavened Beverages." Naturally fermented wine was customarily consumed by the Israelites at all of God’s festivals, except, of course, the Day of Atonement. The Bible does not refer to leaven in connection with beverages. Reference is made only to the example set by the children of Israel when they came out of Egypt without any leaven in their dough (Exodus 12:39).
Difficulties sometimes arise when family members disagree with the observance of God’s festivals. In this age in which God is calling only a few, one should never try to force his will on others! This festival is a matter between you and God. The family member who does want to keep God’s Feast of Unleavened Bread should avoid eating leavened products and do his or her best to remove leavening from those areas of the house he or she has authority over, which may be only a bedroom.
4. Does God command His people to eat unleavened bread during this festival? Exodus 13:7;Leviticus 23:6.
COMMENT: God’s people do not merely remove all leaven and leavened foods from their property during these seven days. That would symbolize only the putting away of sin. We are commanded to eat unleavened bread during this festival. That symbolizes righteousness--active obedience to God!
Whenever bread and other flour products are eaten during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, they must be unleavened. This requires alertness, and attention to detail, especially in restaurants, for the use of leaven is very common. Sin is also very common, and forgetfulness of God’s law will lead to sin in our lives.
God’s people should always keep firmly in mind the vital lesson taught by this annual festival: God wants His Spirit-begotten children to live righteously, keeping His perfect spiritual law, forsaking the spiritual leaven of sin!
Saved by the LIVING Christ The seven days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread following Passover picture the putting away of sin--the keeping of God’s law--after past sins are forgiven. This festival of God also pictures the life and work of the resurrected Christ, who ascended to the throne of God, where He is now actively working on our behalf as our High Priest, helping us put the leaven of sin out of our lives. Understanding this vital aspect of the Feast is crucial to our developing the character of God and being born into His universe-ruling Family at Christ’s Second Coming.
1. What did Christ’s death make possible for us? Romans 5:10,first part. But does His death save us? Same verse, last seven words.
COMMENT: Jesus Christ’s death does not save us--it merely reconciles us to God. Those so reconciled are no longer cut off from God. Through acceptance of Christ’s sacrifice they have been restored to contact with God the Father--the One who can give us eternal life.
Passover pictures the crucified--the dead--Christ. But Christ is not a dead Savior. He rose from the dead. He is our living Savior! Notice how this fact is also pictured in the symbolism of baptism.
2. Is baptism symbolic of Christ’s death and resurrection? Romans 6:3-4.In the context of baptism, are we saved through Christ’s death, or through His resurrection? 1 Peter 3:21-22.
COMMENT: If Christ had not been raised from the dead, we would still be in our sins (1 Corinthians 15:17). That could be symbolized by being immersed in water and never coming back up--symbolically drowning in our sins! But coming up out of the water of baptism is symbolic of Christ’s resurrection from the dead. Clearly, we can be saved only by Christ’s life.
Part of God’s instructions to ancient Israel for observing the Feast of Unleavened Bread included the ceremony of the "firstfruits wavesheaf offering" (Leviticus 23:9-11,Leviticus 23:14). God told the Israelites that the spring grain harvest could not begin until this offering was made. But God does not require this offering today. The Bible reveals that its symbolism was fulfilled by the resurrected Christ (1 Corinthians 15:20).
Jesus Christ was the first resurrected Son of God--the first harvested product of God’s Master Plan. He became the "firstborn" Son of God (Colossians 1:18)--the first human to be born into God’s divine Family. (The complete meaning of the wavesheaf offering relates also to the third annual festival and will be explained thoroughly in the following lesson.)
It is fitting that Christ, who was completely without sin, was resurrected and born of God during the festival that pictures the absence of sin. Therefore the Feast of Unleavened Bread, in addition to picturing the putting of sin out of our lives, also, through the symbolism of the firstfruits wave offering, pictures the resurrected living Christ, for it is the living Christ who gives us the spiritual power we need to be able to overcome sin! We must understand.
3. Do Christians still sin occasionally after having accepted Christ’s sacrifice in payment for their past sins? 1 John 1:8.(Notice that John included himself by using the word "we.")
COMMENT: We are still flesh and blood beings. We can still be tempted. Satan can still broadcast his attitudes of sin to our minds and influence us to break God’s commandments.
4. How can Christians be forgiven the sins they commit after baptism? 1 John 1:9;1 John 2:1-2.In what other ways does the living Christ now help God’s Spirit-begotten children? Romans 8:34;Hebrews 7:25-26;Hebrews 4:14-16.
COMMENT: Christ, our ever-living High Priest, Advocate and Intercessor, acts as a "bridge" between imperfect humans and our perfect Father in heaven. Our High Priest can sympathize with our weaknesses because He, as the human Jesus, was tempted just as we are, yet He overcame and promises to help us overcome, too (John 16:33;Php 4:13). Therefore, through our High Priest, we can come boldly to God’s throne and find grace, mercy, forgiveness and the help we need to continue putting sin out of our lives.
5. Does Christ give us permission to pray directly to the Father, using Christ’s name in making those requests? John 15:16.Does Christ, acting as God’s administrative assistant, also answer those prayers? John 14:13-14.
6. Does Christ, through the Holy Spirit, live in God’s Spirit-begotten children? Galatians 2:20;Romans 8:9-10;Colossians 1:27;Php 2:5;1 John 3:23-24.Must Christians not only have God’s Spirit, but also be led by it so their thoughts may become more like Christ’s and the Father’s? Romans 8:14;2 Corinthians 10:5.
COMMENT: The true Christian’s hope of glory--the hope of attaining membership in God’s glorious Family--is in Christ, our Savior, living in us through the Holy Spirit! Christ is not only the Author or Beginner of our salvation, but He is also its Finisher--He is the One who completes our salvation (Hebrews 12:2).
Jesus Christ told His disciples He had to go to His Father’s throne in heaven to send God’s Spirit to them (John 16:7). They received the Spirit through the resurrected, glorified, living Christ. As we learned in a previous lesson, the Spirit of the Father is also the Spirit of Christ. Thus it was Christ entering them--not in person, but in spirit. Christ is a living Savior, who does His saving work from within!
God’s Spirit also imparts to us His love, which enables us to fulfill His law (Romans 5:5;Romans 13:10). It’s not just us, through our own strength, striving to keep God’s commandments. It is the living Christ in us, in spirit, keeping His Father’s commandments by divine love, just as He did when He was the human Jesus.
We know we cannot obey God on our own power and strength. But CHRIST IN US CAN! Our living Savior gives us the POWER to become righteous--to become spiritually unleavened! Through that power we are being prepared for our spiritual harvest into the universe-ruling Family of God! The Next Step in God’s Master Plan
God’s law is a spiritual law (Romans 7:14). Consequently we must have God’s Holy Spirit to fully understand and keep it (1 Corinthians 2:11). God’s Spirit imparts to us the love of God and the faith of Christ. It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that God’s holy, righteous character can be built in us. And it is only by God’s power that we will be born of God, if we have first been begotten by His Spirit. God’s Spirit is a vital part of God’s Master Plan of salvation.
It is also through the Holy Spirit that God places us into His Church-- His Spirit-begotten Family--His Kingdom in embryo. God is not working through isolated individuals, nor through the many religions of this world. He is working through an organized, unified body of thousands of true Christians whom He has called out of the world. God’s Church is also a vital part of His plan of salvation. In our next lesson, we’ll learn how God’s Church began and how His Spirit empowers His Church, enabling it to perform the tremendous commission God has given His people to do. We’ll learn how God is now using His Church to prepare this world for Christ’s return.
We’ll also learn how God is now preparing those whom He has put into His Church, readying them for spiritual "harvesting" into His soon-coming Kingdom--for being born as the "firstfruits" of His divine Family to become the rulers and teachers in the wonderful world tomorrow!
All this is pictured by the third annual festival in God’s Master Plan, the "Feast of Firstfruits," known in the New Testament as the day of Pentecost.
TEST This multiple choice test is designed to help you review the preceding lesson. It’s an enjoyable way of putting to use some of the vital knowledge and understanding you have gained through this lesson.
Select one of the four choices given under each question or incomplete statement. The other three are incorrect--unless stated or indicated otherwise.
Take sufficient time to understand each question or statement, as well as the choices. Try to do as many as you can without referring to the lesson. If you have difficulty deciding on the correct answer, then review the part of the lesson in question.
1. God ordained that His people observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread to A. stress that they have their part in God’s plan by putting sin out of their lives.
B. remind them they must repent and strive to put sin completely out of their lives.
C. picture keeping His commandments.
D. All of the above.
2. When Paul wrote "let us keep the feast," he A. was clearly referring to the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
B. meant the feast known today as Easter.
C. was writing to Jewish Christians only.
D. meant the Passover, not the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
3. How did the ancient Israelites learn about the Feast of Unleavened Bread?
A. It had been an annual occasion from the time of Abraham; perhaps even earlier.
B. God, through Moses, commanded this festival shortly before they left Egypt.
C. The Israelite elders created the festival as a national holiday to give the people national identity.
D. It was an agricultural festival celebrated by everyone in Egypt.
4. When God led the Israelites out of Egypt, He A. led them by the quickest possible route to the Promised Land.
B. caused their flight to be so rapid that the Egyptians gave up pursuing them.
C. abandoned them in the desert and let them fend for themselves.
D. purposely led them into a trap from which He supernaturally delivered them.
5. According to Church tradition and the plain intent of Scripture, the Israelites crossed the Red Sea A. where it was only a shallow marsh.
B. by borrowing ships of the Egyptian navy.
C. on the seventh day of the first Feast of Unleavened Bread.
D. on the Feast of Firstfruits.
6. Which one of the following statements is FALSE?
A. The ancient Israelites kept God’s festivals faithfully from the time of Moses until Christ.
B. The ancient Israelites fell into idolatry many times.
C. God’s Temple sometimes fell into disuse and disrepair.
D. King Hezekiah realized that Judah’s national troubles were the result of the nation having forsaken God.
7. When King Hezekiah and King Josiah restored the true worship of God to Israel, they A. said the Holy Days were for Jews only.
B. restored the keeping of God’s Holy Days.
C. told the people God’s laws would soon be done away.
D. preached that salvation is by faith only.
8. The seven annual festivals A. were instituted by the Most High God and given through His Spokesman to His people.
B. are "feasts of the Lord."
C. were commanded to be kept forever.
D. All of the above.
9. Which one of the following statements is FALSE?
A. Christians today do not need to follow the example set by Christ and His apostles.
B. Jesus kept the Feast of Unleavened Breed.
C. The Apostle Paul commanded Gentile converts to keep the Feast.
D. The early true Church kept the Feast.
10. Paul told the Colossians to A. quit observing the Sabbath and the Holy Days.
B. ignore outsiders’ criticisms--whether from Gentiles or Jews--of their newfound Christian conduct.
C. allow their pagan neighbors to sit in judgment of their observance of God’s Holy Days.
D. observe all the sacrifices and rituals of the law of Moses that were associated with the Sabbaths and Holy Days.
11. What was figuratively nailed to Jesus’ cross A. God’s commandments.
B. The seven annual festivals.
C. The debt we incurred by following the commandments and doctrines of men.
D. All of the above.
12. Christians today should observe God’s seven annual festivals and Holy Days because.
A. God has told us to do so.
B. they foreshadow good things to come.
C. they picture the seven major steps in God’s Master Plan for offering salvation to all mankind.
D. All of the above.
13. In Egypt the ancient Israelites were slaves and were not allowed to obey God. This symbolically pictures that A. sinners are the servants or slaves of sin.
B. God no longer commands people to quit sinning.
C. God’s laws are not relevant to our modern society.
D. Christ’s Passover sacrifice guarantees our salvation and consequently we do not have to obey God.
14. Just as God required the Israelites to walk out of Egypt. Christians today A. must leave their ungodly neighbors and form separate Christian communities.
B. should walk as the only healthy form of exercise.
C. must willingly start out of sin by obeying God.
D. should believe that Christ has obeyed God for them.
15. When Paul asked if we, after being forgiven, should continue in sin, what did he answer?
A. Faith in Christ had made God’s spiritual law null and void (Romans 3:31).
B. Sin is no longer a relevant issue in the New Testament era of grace (Romans 6:15).
C. Sins committed after baptism will keep a person out of God’s Kingdom (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).
D. Christians must not be enslaved to sin (Romans 6:6,12).
16. After Christians begin to obey God, Satan A. is pleased because they have abandoned faith in God’s grace.
B. will attempt to discourage them, to get them to quit their newfound faith.
C. can no longer deceive them on any point of doctrine.
D. has no more power over them because they now perceive him as merely an abstract personification of evil.
17. Christians today should remember Lot’s wife because A. modern society is nothing like ancient Sodom’s.
B. the fate of unrepentant sinners is to be perpetual pillars of salt.
C. she is an example of one who did not really want to forsake sin and its environment completely.
D. she is the best biblical example of complete conversion.
18. God prohibits leaven and leavened breads A. during the Feast of Unleavened Bread because leaven puffs up and spreads and, during that week, symbolizes sin.
B. because they cause health problems.
C. only for the Jews.
D. during the Lenten season before Easter.
19. When Paul learned that the Corinthian Christians were permitting an unrepentant person to fellowship with them, he told them A. that their good example would eventually convert the man.
B. to put him out of their fellowship because his example would eventually spread to other members in the Church.
C. that the man’s sin was not serious.
D. a little spiritual leaven would not spread throughout the whole Church.
20. God wants His people to put the leaven of sin out of their lives A. only so long as it is convenient.
B. only during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
C. with all their heart, mind and , together with God’s help.
D. by deciding their own moral standards.
21. The first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is A. usually a convenient time to finish removing leaven from the house.
B. a holy convocation, a God-ordained religious assembly and Sabbath.
C. the same day as the Passover.
D. All of the above.
22. On the evening of the 15th of Abib, true Christians A. gather in small family groups for the "Night to Be Much Observed."
B. observe the New Testament Passover service.
C. rejoice at having been freed from slavery to God’s laws.
D. remain awake all night in memory of the death angel passing over the Israelites’ firstborn.
23. Which one of the following statements is FALSE?
A. If a Christian finds some leaven in his home during the Feast, he should discard it immediately.
B. Even during the Feast, it is all right to eat leavened bread in a restaurant because we have no control over the chef.
C. Christians should eat unleavened bread during this festival to symbolize righteousness.
D. God allows us to drink wine in moderation during the Feast.
24. During the Feast of Unleavened Bread, an ancient ceremony was performed that pictures the resurrected Messiah or Christ A. through the symbolism of a wave offering of the first of the firstfruits.
B. who gives us the spiritual power to overcome sin and become righteous.
C. who ascended to His Father’s throne on the First day of the week during this festival.
D. All of the above.
25. Which one of the following statements is FALSE?
A. Christ, our High Priest, intercedes for us.
B. Christ lived a righteous life so we wouldn’t need to.
C. We can pray to the Father in Jesus’ name.
D. Christ lives His life in Spirit-begotten Christians and helps them overcome every type of temptation.