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7th Day - Unleavened Bread

Updated: Dec 6, 2022

On the seventh day you must explain to your children, ‘I am celebrating what the Lord did for me when I left Egypt.’ This annual festival will be a visible sign to you, like a mark branded on your hand or your forehead. Let it remind you always to recite this teaching of the Lord:‘With a strong hand, the Lord rescued you from Egypt.’ So observe the decree of this festival at the appointed time each year. -Exodus 13:8-10

Today is the seventh day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, and it is observed as a day of rest, a Sabbath, dedicated to the Lord. This annual festival, and the obedience of God’s people in observing it, was a visible sign, a mark, which set them apart from all other nations and signiﬁed that they are God’s chosen people. God had rescued them from the bitterness and oppression of slavery and delivered them out of Egypt to be a nation set apart to Him. For the full seven days of this festival, the Hebrew people eat bread without leaven (or yeast) and not a trace of it is to be found in their homes. This serves as a reminder to Israel that when God delivered their ancestors from Egypt, they left in such a hurry that they did not have time to add yeast to their bread dough – so they ate unleavened bread.

Later in their history when God delivered His people into the Promised Land, they were instructed to dedicate every ﬁrstborn son to God as a sign, a mark, which reminded them that God had spared their ﬁrstborn sons from death, while the destroyer angel killed the ﬁrstborn of the Egyptians. The ﬁrstborn sons of the Egyptians were struck down, and the screams of terror swept through all of Egypt while the Hebrew section of the land was so quiet that not even a dog barked.

The nation of Israel was set apart from all other nations by God and the laws which God had given them. These laws of God are summed up by the Great Commandment, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. And love your neighbor as yourself.”

The people of Israel were instructed to tie God’s commands as symbols on their hands and bind them on their foreheads and write them on the door frames of their homes and gates as a sign, a mark, which reminded them of God’s ways which are pure and perfect.They applied this quite literally by making teﬁllin and mazuzas, leather cubes that were bound to their arm and dangled on their forehead and small cases on their doorposts, both ﬁlled with strips of parchment paper on which the Word of God is written.

Much later in Israel’s history, God’s people became over-indulgent in the land which He had given them, even turning to other gods, defying God’s laws of justice and righteousness, and performing perverted and abominable acts even worse than the other nations around them. The prophet Ezekiel had a vision of a man clothed in pure white linen with a writer’s briefcase. The man received instructions from the Lord pertaining to the small remnant of His people who had remained faithful to Him. This man in linen went throughout Jerusalem placing a seal, a mark, on every person who wept with remorse and compassion over the sad and sorry state of God’s people. Each Hebrew person who was deeply and genuinely grieved by the happenings in the land of Israel and the state of God’s people was set apart by this mark on their forehead, and those who did not receive the mark were subject to God’s wrath and destruction.

Just as the Israelites are set apart by these marks of remembrance, Christians today are set apart by distinguishing marks. A disciple of Christ removes all traces of the yeast of hypocrisy from their life by obeying the teachings of Jesus. A disciple of Christ is marked by their faith that God did not spare His ﬁrstborn Son but gave Him up in order to save us from death. Followers of Jesus are marked by their love for God and their love for one another and are marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit who dwells, not only on their arm, forehead, or doorpost but in their innermost being. Disciples of Christ are marked because they weep with grief and compassion for the poor and needy in this world and the condition of the Church. You see, although the times and seasons of the course of history may signiﬁcantly change, the distinguishing marks of God’s chosen people have not.

When the appointed time comes for this earth to pass away and the state of mankind has become over-indulgent, treacherous, and violent, and abominations are running rampant, everyone will bear a mark on their forehead. Everyone will bear either the mark of the beast or the seal of the living God. Those marked with the seal of God will be spared from destruction, but those bearing the mark of the beast will surely perish in the destruction.

If that day were to come tomorrow, what would be the mark on your forehead? If you are unsure, then begin today by walking in the obedience of faith. Receive the free gift and promise of salvation oﬀered by God through His Son, Jesus Christ. If you already know Him, then commit your life to Him afresh with renewed passion, zeal, and willingness to follow Him wherever He may lead you. For this, you will be marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit, a deposit and promise of eternal life and by this, you are set apart as a child of God.

Scripture References: Exodus 13, Deuteronomy4:7-8, Deuteronomy 6, Ma hew 22:36-40, Ezekiel 9, Revelation 7, 9, Ma hew 24:35, Revelation 21:4, Ephesians 2:8-9

Spring Feast Psalms - 115

Then they sang hymns and went out to the Mount of Olives. -Matthew 26:30

This verse of Matthew is in the context of the Last Supper Jesus ate with His disciples. Jesus broke bread, the symbol of His body, broken for us. He lifted up the cup of wine, the symbol of His blood, which was about to be poured out as a sacriﬁce for the forgiveness of our sins on the cross of His cruciﬁxion and which sealed the new covenant between God and His people. They were celebrating the Passover meal at twilight on the fourteenth day of Nisan as ordered in the Law of Moses. It is highly likely that Psalms 115-118 are the hymns they sang together.

Passover was the night all those years ago when all Israel was delivered from bondage and the oppressive slavery of Pharaoh in Egypt. The world looked upon the subjected condition of the Israelites wondering where their God was because it seemed that the gods of the Egyptians must be much more powerful than the God of the Hebrews. But, of course, this was not the case. God is God, the Living God, the God of gods, Creator of heaven and earth who has power and dominion and authority over all things. No Egyptian god, or idol, or even their wealth, or the strength of their mightiest men, or their military power with horses and chariots could stand a chance against the power of the God of the Hebrews.

Leading up to Passover, God called upon Moses to lead His people to salvation. God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He had heard the cries of His people, and the time had come for them to be delivered to freedom. In a mighty display of His power the Lord delivered His people through the Red Sea. Not by strength, nor by might, but by His Spirit. Not because His people were exceptional or worthy, but because of His love for them, His mercy on them, His faithfulness to the promise He had made, and to prove Himself to be exactly who He says He is.

Psalm 115 declares the Living God’s faithfulness to those who trust Him. We can sing it today, knowing all the more the deliverance of the Lord which has been provided for us through Jesus Christ, our Passover Lamb. We have been delivered from slavery to sin and we have been set free from the law of sin and death. We no longer live in dread of hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword because we cry out to our Heavenly Father, our God who will never forsake us and is mighty to save.

Being chosen by God to be part of His family and His household does not mean we will not have trials or endure suﬀering. At times, persecutors and oppressors will look on, mock our faith, and wonder where our God is because it appears that their way of life is superior to ours and that devotion to God is a worthless waste. But, of course, this is not the case. God is the same today as He was then, and He is faithful to deliver His own. No other god, or idol, or wealth, or power, or the strength of man, or force can stand against the power of God. And at just the right time, He will remember His promises, and He will bless those who fear Him. Not because we are worthy or exceptional, but because of His mercy, His loving-kindness, His faithfulness, and to prove Himself true.

Leading up to Jesus’ cruciﬁxion, God called upon Him to lead His people to salvation. God remembered His promise of a new covenant to bless all those who would believe in His Son. And in a mighty display of His power, through the sacriﬁcial death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God delivered all believers to freedom from the oppression of sin, fear, shame, and death.

Read Psalm 115 today with fresh perspective. Whatever you are facing in your life today, place your trust in the Lord. Praise Him and give Him all the glory and honor He deserves. Jesus Christ is our Passover Lamb. Praise the Lord!

Psalm 115 (New Living Translation)

Not to us, O Lord, not to us,

but to your name goes all the glory

for your unfailing love and faithfulness. Why let the nations say,

“Where is their God?” Our God is in the heavens, and he does as he wishes.

Their idols are merely things of silver and gold, shaped by human hands.

They have mouths but cannot speak, and eyes but cannot see.

They have ears but cannot hear, and noses but cannot smell. They have hands but cannot feel, and feet but cannot walk,

and throats but cannot make a sound.

And those who make idols are just like them, as are all who trust in them.

O Israel, trust the Lord!

He is your helper and your shield.

O priests, descendants of Aaron, trust the Lord! He is your helper and your shield.

All you who fear the Lord, trust the Lord! He is your helper and your shield.

Spring Feast Psalms - 116

For the LORD will pass through the land to strike down the Egyptians. But when he sees the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe, the LORD will pass over your home. He will not permit his death angel to enter your house and strike you down. Exodus 12:23

Psalms 115-118 are songs traditionally sung at the Passover meal. Passover is the feast that commemorates Israel’s exodus from Egyptian slavery. For 400 years, their lives had been made very bitter by Egyptian oppression, and they groaned and cried out in distress to God. The time had come for God to show mercy on them and deliver them from their terrors and troubles.

On the ﬁrst Passover, an unblemished lamb was slain, and its blood was sprinkled on the doorpost of every Hebrew home. At midnight, God made a distinction between the Hebrews and the Egyptians, and would not allow the destroyer, the angel of death, to enter any home marked with the blood of the lamb. Death was ordered by God to pass over the Hebrews.

Jesus celebrated Passover every year of His life of perfect obedience to God’s law. The last night of His life on earth was the Passover Feast, and He celebrated it with His disciples in the upper room. He knew He was on His way to the cross, and He spoke to them about a new covenant of His body and His blood. You see, just as the Israelites had cried out to God in their anguish and the torment of slavery, all of mankind has been crying out to God in the anguish of their mortality and slavery to sin. God heard the cries of mankind, so at just the right time, He sent His Son to reveal His mercy and deliver all who would believe from the terror of death.

Jesus faced the bitterness of death head-on, and even He cried out to God in the anguish and torment of taking our sins upon Himself. Death ensnared Him for a moment, but God saved and delivered Him to eternal life. And now, through His death and resurrection to eternal life, all who believe in Him are marked with the blood of the eternal unblemished Passover Lamb so that God can make a distinction between those who are marked by faith with the blood of the Lamb and those who are not. Moreover, Jesus tells us that everyone who believes in God who sent Him, the Son of God, the Lamb of God who takes away their sins, has already passed over from death to eternal life. As we worship Him for what He has done for us, we are celebrating and commemorating the eternal Passover with the eternal Lamb of God.

Read Psalm 116 again with fresh perspective. Whatever you are facing today, even if your life has been made bitter by the circumstances you face, take heart and know that God hears your groans and your cries for help. Fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Fix your eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. Your Passover Lamb has already faced your greatest enemies and conquered them. He will be faithful to give you the victory and lead you in triumphal procession each and every time.

Psalm 116 (New Living Translation)

I love the Lord because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy.

Because he bends down to listen,

I will pray as long as I have breath! Death wrapped its ropes around me; the terrors of the grave overtook me. I saw only trouble and sorrow.

Then I called on the name of the Lord: “Please, Lord, save me!”

How kind the Lord is! How good he is! So merciful, this God of ours!

The Lord protects those of childlike faith; I was facing death, and he saved me.

Let my soul be at rest again,

for the Lord has been good to me. He has saved me from death,

my eyes from tears,

my feet from stumbling.

And so I walk in the Lord’s presence as I live here on earth!

I believed in you, so I said,

“I am deeply troubled, Lord.”

In my anxiety I cried out to you, “These people are all liars!” What can I oﬀer the Lord

for all he has done for me?

I will lift up the cup of salvation

and praise the Lord’s name for saving me. I will keep my promises to the Lord

in the presence of all his people.

The Lord cares deeply when his loved ones die.

O Lord, I am your servant;

yes, I am your servant, born into your household;

you have freed me from my chains.

I will oﬀer you a sacriﬁce of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord.

I will fulﬁll my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people— in the house of the Lord in the heart of Jerusalem.

Praise the Lord!

Scripture References: Exodus 11-14, John 5:24, Romans 5, John 1:29, Hebrews 12:2, 2Corinthians 4:18

7th Day - Unleavened Bread

Spring Feast Psalms - 115

Spring Feast Psalms - 116

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