During the Feast of Unleavened Bread, while keeping leaven out is important, our primary focus should be on eating unleavened bread. Scripture repeatedly commands us to eat unleavened bread for seven days, as seen in various passages such as Exodus 13:6-7, 23:15, 34:18, Leviticus 23:6, Numbers 28:17, Deuteronomy 16:8, and Ezekiel 45:21. Eating unleavened bread symbolizes becoming unleavened, purified, and perfected. It reminds us that we are to be fashioned into the likeness of Jesus Christ, transformed from our human nature into the divine nature of God, which is love. This focus on eating unleavened bread during the feast represents striving for perfection, as the number seven in Scripture symbolizes perfection. The ultimate goal is to be perfected in love, mirroring the nature of God, so that in the resurrection, we will be like Him, no longer able to sin because we will embody perfect love. This is the essence of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, emphasizing the symbolic act of eating unleavened bread as a representation of the perfect Unleavened Bread of Life from heaven, Jesus Christ.

In a few weeks, members of the church of God will be observing the Feast of Unleavened Bread, a springtime festival that memorializes the redemption and exodus of the children of Israel from Egyptian slavery. God commands in Exodus 13:3, 8-9 to keep this feast as a memorial of His deliverance of them from the Egyptians. The Bible's first mention of unleavened bread, matzah, appears in Genesis 19:3, where Lot in Sodom serves his angelic guests a meal including unleavened bread, associating it with his divine deliverance from corruption. In Exodus 12:17-18, God instructs the Israelites to observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on that day He brought them out of Egypt, commanding them to eat unleavened bread from the fourteenth to the twenty-first day of the first month, with no leavening found in their houses for seven days. This observance ties unleavened bread to God's act of deliverance, as seen when He brought the children of Israel out of Egypt on that very day, as noted in Exodus 12:50-51.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread is highly disruptive, not only due to the effort required in deleavening but also because it alters our diets, capturing our attention as God intends. This feast stands out among other days, prompting us to reflect on its purpose. God first mentions the Feast of Unleavened Bread in Exodus 12:17, providing the fundamental reason for its observance: it serves as a memorial of His deliverance, commemorating the day He brought His people out of Egypt. This foundation underpins all other aspects of the feast, including the eating of unleavened bread and the avoidance of leavening, which are responses to His command to remember His deliverance. Although rejoicing is not explicitly stated in the instructions, the Feast of Unleavened Bread implies a celebratory nature as a feast, even if the food, often referred to as the bread of affliction, differs from typical festive fare. This bread reminds us of past oppression and slavery under a hostile ruler, recalling the hardship of Egypt. Each bite of unleavened bread serves as a reminder of the affliction endured before God's intervention. The feast is consistently called the Feast of Unleavened Bread in Scripture, emphasizing its celebratory purpose over merely the act of avoiding leaven. God's repeated instructions, as seen in Exodus 23:15 and Exodus 34:18, tie the observance of this feast to His deliverance, reinforcing that it is a feast to Him, focusing on what He has done rather than on human actions. The feast memorializes His act of bringing His people out of slavery, not their own efforts, though they must respond to His call. Egypt symbolizes the environment of godlessness and slavery to a despotic ruler, akin to the world under the sway of a spiritual adversary. God's deliverance freed His people from this oppressive realm, not from sin itself, as evidenced by Israel's continued idolatry even after leaving Egypt. The unleavened bread, as a token, reminds God's people yearly of His liberation, offering a new beginning. This disruption to normal food reinforces the memory of His works. The feast also serves as an opportunity to evaluate how free we remain, ensuring we do not become ensnared again by the world from which we were delivered. God's instructions emphasize eating unleavened bread each day for seven days and avoiding leavening in areas under our control, with a greater focus on the positive act of eating rather than the negative act of avoidance. Exodus 13:9 highlights that part of this feast involves having God's law in our mouths, suggesting both speaking of His teachings and taking in His word as spiritual food. This dual application encourages us to reflect on God's work and to feed on His word, ensuring that what we consume mentally and spiritually aligns with the feast's purpose. The feast challenges us to consider not only physical deleavening but also the content we allow into our minds, recognizing that mental and spiritual intake holds greater significance for our connection with God. Ultimately, the Feast of Unleavened Bread is a memorial of God's deliverance, a feast to the LORD, celebrating His act of passing over sins to initiate a covenantal relationship. He is the Unleavened Bread, and by feasting on Him and His words, we remain free from the world and its influences. This feast centers on Him, emphasizing that our ability to avoid spiritual leavening depends on taking in His unleavened nature, allowing His life to become a reality within us.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread, a commanded holy day on God's sacred calendar, holds a central focus on Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Observed as one of seven annual holy convocations, this feast follows Passover and emphasizes a deeper spiritual significance beyond mere prophetic timing. The primary instruction, repeated in Exodus 12, Exodus 23, and Leviticus 23, is to eat unleavened bread every day for seven days, highlighting its importance as a symbol of spiritual nourishment. The apostle Paul, in I Corinthians 5:8, connects this feast to Christ by instructing us to keep it with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Sincerity represents an inward quality of tested purity, implying flawless integrity and unalloyed virtue, while truth signifies the outward manifestation of genuine Christian character, reflecting God's righteousness in active right doing. Together, these qualities mirror the inward holiness and outward goodness exemplified by Christ, who is the model of sincerity and truth. In John 6, Christ declares Himself the true bread that came down from heaven, the bread of life that must be consumed for spiritual sustenance. This metaphor, delivered during the Passover season, underscores that eating unleavened bread during the feast symbolizes taking in His character, teachings, and examples. Just as physical food nourishes the body, ingesting Christ spiritually sustains, energizes, repairs, heals, and fosters growth in our Christian walk. Without Him, there is no spiritual life within us. This feast serves as an annual reminder to diligently feed on Christ daily, integrating His essence into ourselves through study and practice. Skipping this practice can lead to neglecting spiritual growth, so God provides a training mechanism through the feast to encourage both spiritual contemplation and physical application in good works, with Christ as the perfect Model. As I John 2:3-6 suggests, knowing Him involves not only internalizing His life but also walking as He walked, manifesting His righteousness outwardly. Furthermore, Exodus 13:4-10 reveals an additional layer of meaning, linking the feast to God's act of bringing Israel out of Egypt. This redemption, achieved through His strong hand, parallels His calling of us out of spiritual bondage to sin and its ruler. Just as He led Israel to the Promised Land, Christ leads us to holiness and righteousness, preparing us for the Kingdom of God. His agency, mercy, love, and providence make this transformation possible, positioning Him as the central focus of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, not merely our own efforts or sins.

Brethren, the Days of Unleavened Bread and the eating of unleavened bread must be understood in the context of God's work in our lives. It is not merely about our efforts to overcome sin, but rather to mark what the Father has done to bring us to where we are right now. This observance reminds us of the Father's initiative in drawing us to the Son, stirring our minds to understand and grasp who Jesus is. As we partake in unleavened bread, we acknowledge that it is the Father and the Son working together in our creative process, preparing us for entry into the Family of God.

God commands the observance of the Days of Unleavened Bread as a memorial of what He did in bringing Israel out of Egypt, emphasizing His direct intervention and power in their deliverance. This memorial serves as a reminder of the significant events in the past when He spared Israel's firstborn and led them out of bondage. For us, as spiritual descendants, these days also signify coming out of the world, urging us to remain vigilant against slipping back into worldly ways. More positively, the eating of unleavened bread instills a sense of urgency in our lives to overcome sin and grow in grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ, pushing us towards becoming sinless and holy. Beyond being a memorial, the primary focus of the Days of Unleavened Bread is on what God Himself accomplished, setting the stage for the entire plan of salvation across all holy days. His actions are the foundation; without what He did, we could never achieve what He desires of us. The observance highlights the vast difference between what He does and our own contributions, which are minimal by comparison. Our role is largely to believe, profess our guilt, and participate mentally, recognizing that it is entirely because of what the Lord did that we observe these days. The Days of Unleavened Bread point us to look to God for all things, especially in relation to Passover and the forgiveness of sin, as well as in overcoming and growing spiritually. This period reorients our understanding annually at the start of the Sacred Year, reminding us of how crucial God is to the outworking of His purpose and how little He requires of us beyond yielding to Him to produce good fruit.

The there, let's dive into the significance of Unleavened Bread as it ties into the broader journey of escaping bondage and maintaining freedom. The Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread address how one can break free from slavery and stay free afterward. During the Days of Unleavened Bread, we see a powerful symbol in the command to eat unleavened bread for seven days, representing perfect completion. From the moment you leave Egypt, from the time you accept the blood of Christ and receive God's grace, you are to never fast from God's Word. You must take it in completely for the rest of your life, as it is vital to thinking like God does. Leavening serves as a type of sin, illustrating how it spreads, ferments, corrupts, and transforms us into something different from our original state. Eating unleavened bread symbolizes consuming the pure, unadulterated Word of God, which is spirit. This pure Word becomes the foundation for thinking within new parameters that always consider God. It is refined, tested, and proven to work, offering protection from the bondage and sin that surround us. The scriptures are clear that we are to eat unleavened bread for seven days, typifying the intake of God's Word. This Word, described as truth, is genuine and real, derived from a pure and holy God, declaring His will in contrast to the sullied ways of the world. Taking in this truth through God's Word, believing it, and putting it into practice results in pure, sincere, and genuine conduct. Just as physical strength follows from eating the right food, the vitality of the mind and the life of God are strengthened by His Word, enabling growth into spiritual adulthood. Right now, during the Days of Unleavened Bread, the focus is on the Word of God. Alongside God's help and His Spirit, it is what will keep us free, maintaining the liberty He has granted us. God's Word is always true and reliable, protecting us from sliding back into the world. It empowers us through an educational process to make the best use of our free moral agency, aiming toward the ultimate goal of the Kingdom of God.