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Exodus 12:26 “And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service?” Verse 27: “That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the LORD’s passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered [saved] our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped.”
The Passover commemorates the day our people received deliverance out of the house of bondage (Egypt). Exodus 20:2 “I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage [slavery].” The name Passover comes from the last plague suffered by the Egyptians. Deuteronomy 6:22 “And the LORD shewed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes:” To save his people the most High brought upon the Egyptians ten plagues, which were signs of his great power. Before punishing Egypt, he sent Moses demanding that his people would be freed from slavery.
Exodus 4:22 “And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:” Verse 23: “And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.” Pharaoh the king of Egypt refused, although miraculous wonders were done before his eyes. He heard prophecies that he did not believe, such as the feast which if the Hebrews did not keep they will suffer pestilence or the sword. Please read, Exodus 5:1-3. When Moses spoke those words he predicted the last plague, the death of the firstborn, that would cause Pharaoh to submit. Exodus 11:1 “And the LORD said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence: when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether.”
After the last warning; Exodus 12:21 “Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover.” To keep the feast a lamb is required, that is a male, of a year old with no defects. Exodus 12:5 “Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:” The preparation of the Passover lamb is very specific. Exodus 12:9 “Eat not of it raw, nor sodden [boiled] at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance [inner organs] thereof.” It is a mistake to think that buying lamb chops will suffice to keep the feast. The lamb must be roasted whole, with its head and legs attached and none of its bones broken. Exodus 12:46 “...neither shall ye break a bone thereof.” Even the purtenance which is the inner organs (heart, kidneys, liver, etc..) which is not lawful to eat must be present. See, Leviticus 3:14-17.
In preparing the lamb, it is cleaned and seasoned with salt. Leviticus 2:13 “And every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt.” The meat is to be eaten in one location. Exodus 12:46 “In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not carry forth ought of the flesh abroad out of the house;…” There will be no left overs that could be taken by visitors. Exodus 12:10 “And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire.” Since it is not lawful to eat the purtenance, it is burned.
These laws are given to us because the purpose of the lamb is beyond being food. Exodus 12:7 “And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.” When the lamb is killed, the blood is collected in a basin. Then hyssop is dipped into the blood, which is used to spread the blood on the sides and above the doorway. Exodus 12:22 “And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.” Verse 24: “And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever.” This ritual causes the children to ask the meaning of it in every generation. By doing this commandment the children learn their magnificent history and heritage.
As Moses prophesied to Pharaoh, the feast the Hebrews kept was to avoid the pestilence and sword. Exodus 12:12 “For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.” Verse 13: “And the blood shall be to you for a token [sign] upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.” By the blood of the lamb our people were saved from being destroyed along with the Egyptians. Any home that did not have the blood on the doorway, their firstborn son would die. Even the beasts that were in Egypt suffered from this plague.
The name of the feast is clearly explained by what took place, an angel would pass over the doors that had the blood. Exodus 12:23 “For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.” Remember that the blood is a token, a sign of what is to come! Exodus 12:29 “And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.” The Israelites were instructed not to go out of their homes until morning, but by midnight their salvation had appeared and the destruction of every Egyptian home.
Besides the lamb, the meal consisted of other items; bitter herbs, unleavened bread, and wine. Exodus 12:8 “And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.” The eating of bitter herbs such as watercress, mustard greens, cilantro, etc.; is a reminder of how bitter the Egyptian slavery was. Exodus 1:13 “And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour:” Verse 14: “And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.”
Likewise the unleavened bread was made to remind us of the affliction we suffered. Deuteronomy 16:3 “Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life.” Another reason for eating unleavened bread, was the fact that God’s word was fulfilled: the Egyptians “thrust you out”. By forcing Israel to leave in haste it caused a memorable event.
Exodus 12:30 “And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead.” Verse 31: “And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as ye have said.” Verse 32: “Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also.” Verse 33: “And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men.” Verse 34: “And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneadingtroughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders.” In rushing to leave Egypt the circumstance left them with no choice but to take their dough unleavened. Meaning, they didn’t have enough time for their dough to rise if they added leaven.
Prior to this they were instructed to remove all leaven from their homes and to keep the feast of unleavened bread. Exodus 12:15 “Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.” The feast of unleavened bread is a celebration of seven days, within that time all leaven is forbidden. There are three ways to leaven bread; mechanically, biologically, and chemically. The majority of breads purchased today are leavened, meaning that an ingredient like yeast or baking powder was added to the flour to make the dough rise. Therefore putting out leaven out of our homes, means to look for any ingredient that is a leavening agent.
The most popular form of leaven used in ancient times was biological; through the process of fermentation. The Hebrew word for leaven שְׂאֹר in Exodus 12:15 is defined as barm or yeast. It also means to leave or be left behind, which explains the process of making leaven or leavened bread. For instance, barm is the foam left behind when making beer, it is a way to produce yeast. In baking, the dough goes through proofing: the time you leave it alone for the yeast to give it a final rise. Even today yeast is used for most breads; this is why yeast is one of the main ingredients searched for in the feast of unleavened bread. The process of fermentation is when an ingredient becomes corrupted, bad, or sour. Within the same verse the Hebrew word for leavened חָמֵץ is defined as sour or literally fermented. A natural way to leaven is to leave ingredients to sour like in milk; therefore at times yogurt, vinegar, etc. is used to make a starter. A notable example is sourdough, known as a starter because a small amount is combined with new dough to be the catalyst that causes the bread to rise.
Matthew 13:33 “Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.” As this scripture shows us, leaven is a separate ingredient from what makes the dough. The parable explains that a small amount of leaven spreads throughout the whole dough causing it to rise. Although it is possible to purchase yeast in powder form; the most common powder form of leaven used today is chemical. Alternatives like baking soda and baking powder shorten the time to prepare baked products in comparison to yeast. When coming out of Egypt our ancestors did not have the time to wait for the bread to rise or leaven. With most chemical leavens there is no need to wait for it to rise, once it is mixed it is ready to bake and it will rise in the oven. Products like self rising flour is made possible because of the chemical leavening that is included; it is used often in cakes, cupcakes, pancakes, biscuits, etc..
Exodus 13:7 “Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days; and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters.” The term spring cleaning comes from the actions taken in the springtime festival of unleavened bread. All baked goods (breads, cookies, cakes, etc.) that are leavened and the products that contain or are leavening agents (yeast, baking powder, etc..) must be removed and discarded. The cleaning process involves searching for leaven by looking at the labels, even of products that are not baked goods or that you might not think of as food (vitamins, toothpaste, etc..). Thus our homes and all our quarters are cleaned so that not even a crumb of leaven is present during the feast.
In our generation, because of chemical leavening it seems like you must be a scientist to know what you must throw out or avoid. Since chemical leavening is found in a wide range of products; a list of products would not be useful. However it would be wise to avoid all baked goods like pizza, donuts, breads, cakes, enriched flours, etc.. Another advice we give is to research every ingredient you are unfamiliar with. To help you with your spring cleaning we have compiled a list of the most common ingredients to look out for in this flyer, “Beware of Leaven”.
Exodus 12:19 “Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land.” Verse 20: “Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread.” At times you have individuals reluctant or that try to evade the commandment. Refusing to remove leaven will have an affect on your soul. If you eat leaven your soul will be cut off meaning destroyed. There is no carnal possession that is worth your soul. Mark 8:36 “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”
Although the Heavenly Father gave us the strict commandment to not eat anything leavened, he did not forbid us from eating bread. Instead he commanded us to eat “unleavened bread” for “Seven days”. Previously unleavened bread was called the bread of affliction; this does not mean it must taste nasty. In fact the feast was known to our forefathers as the feast of sweet bread. 1st Esdras 1:19 “So the children of Israel which were present held the passover at that time, and the feast of sweet bread seven days.” In your supermarkets you will be able to find an unleavened bread called Matzos. This type of bread is more like a cracker and it is not sweet, unless you spread over it some fruit preserves. If you choose to purchase it make sure to check the ingredients, some are made with leaven and are not meant to be eaten on Passover.
If you want actual sweet bread during the feast, the only option is to make it yourself. For someone that has never baked bread it may sound challenging, but it is really fun and easy! The only way to mess it up is by mechanically leavening the dough. The ingredients to make unleavened bread or cakes are very simple, the base is flour and olive oil. Leviticus 2:4 “And if thou bring an oblation of a meat offering baken in the oven, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mingled [mixed] with oil, or unleavened wafers anointed with oil.” Verse 5: “And if thy oblation be a meat offering baken in a pan, it shall be of fine flour unleavened, mingled with oil.” If you stick to these ingredients it is very difficult for it to leaven.
The fine flour is whole wheat without any other ingredient, it does not contain any malted (fermented or leavened) grain and it is not enriched. Exodus 29:2 “And unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened tempered with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil: of wheaten flour shalt thou make them.” The word tempered illustrates the consistency that we should expect, mixed as clay. See, Exodus 1:14, Job 4:19, and Ezekiel 13:10-15. The olive oil is poured into the flour then it is mixed. Gently stir the flour to make sure all of it is moistened by the liquid; at times water might be included. Apocrypha Ecclesiasticus 39:26 “The principal things for the whole use of man’s life are water, fire, iron, and salt, flour of wheat, honey, milk, and the blood of the grape, and oil, and clothing.”
To mechanically leaven additional ingredients are included to knead the dough until it starts forming bubbles and become airy. One ingredient we are explicitly forbidden to use in baking unleavened bread is honey. Leviticus 2:11 “No meat offering, which ye shall bring unto the LORD, shall be made with leaven: for ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey, in any offering of the LORD made by fire.”
Hence mechanical leavening is kneading the dough or mixing rigorously. Hosea 7:4 “They are all adulterers, as an oven heated by the baker, who ceaseth from raising after he hath kneaded the dough, until it be leavened.” Remember when leaving Egypt, our forefathers did not have time to knead the dough, their kneadingtroughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders. This means unleavened bread is made without kneading since it had to be made in haste. We must beware of the many recipes online that claim to be for unleavened bread, but instructs the person to knead the dough for several minutes.
Often these online recipes call for additional ingredients that could cause mechanical leavening and require an electrical mixer. Obviously we must avoid an electrical mixer, since even by hand we are not to whisk, beat, fluff, cream, or mix vigorously. Sponge cake is great example of mechanical leavening, the texture is airy just like biological or chemical leavens although it is not included. The sponging texture is due to the eggs that are part of the recipe, these eggs are beaten to make a foam by vigorous whipping. A very popular way of leavening cakes is by creaming using a fat like butter (buttermilk, powdered milk, milk, etc..) usually with sugar until it becomes fluffy and air bubbles are incorporated.
Matthew 16:6 “Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.” Christ warned the disciples of these two Israelite groups, that did not keep sincerely the commandments. Likewise today you will find many Israelite groups similar to them, which explains why many sisters have Passover recipes online with leavened cakes.
Their doctrines (teachings) is another form of leaven. Matthew 16:12 “Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.” In regard to the feast, many do not care to observe it in the right season or time. Searching for the date of when to keep Passover is an obstacle for a new comer since they will get conflicting dates.
Also the common mistake of following Jewish traditions cause many to observe Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread as two separate days. Exodus 12:17 “And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this SELFSAME DAY have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever.” Although this feast last for seven days, it begins on the selfsame day as Passover. For this reason the Passover is also known as the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Luke 22:1 “Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh [near], which is called the Passover.”
Another way we could verify this is by looking at what date Unleavened Bread is to be kept and Passover. Exodus 12:6 “And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.” The Passover lamb is killed on the fourteenth day of the first month at evening. Exodus 12:18 “In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even.” As we can clearly see it is indeed in the selfsame day that Passover and the feast of Unleavened Bread begin.
The first month of the Hebrew Calendar is called Abib. Exodus 13:4 “This day came ye out in the month Abib.” It is in the season of spring, between the months of March and April. The Jewish Calendar should be avoided since they base the beginning of their months on the lunar crescent and not the new moon as God commanded. Titus 1:14 “Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.” Therefore they do not keep Abib in its proper time, because they do not observe the new moons. Please read, Deuteronomy 16:1 and Exodus 23:15.
Some Israelite groups use captivity as an excuse or deceitfully teach that the Passover could not be kept outside of Jerusalem. The heavenly Father removes all leaven of excuses that some attempt to use by commanding us to keep this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever. Remember that the Passover was kept in Egypt by our forefathers that were in captivity (slavery). Others forgot that the feast is forever and like Churchianity claim that the sacrifice of Christ is a good enough reason to stop. 1st Corinthians 5:7 “Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:” The Apostle Paul revealed a hidden mystery concerning the Passover, that in many ways it represented Christ. Like many of the feasts they have prophetic messages, which often are obscure to most, unless you observe the feast.
Removing leaven out of our homes is symbolic of removing wickedness, hence being unleavened would be to keep the feast just as Christ did. Luke 22:15 “And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer:” Christ our Passover had no blemish meaning sin, by following his footsteps we could be free from leaven.
1st Corinthians 5:8 “Therefore let us KEEP the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” A true believer of Christ will keep the feast as it was commanded, understanding the spiritual significance that is associated to our King. In observing the feast, a believer learns to remove all the old leaven of wickedness and to become sincere in this truth. Exodus 12:47 “All the congregation of Israel shall keep it.”
To the other nations this day has no importance because it is not their heritage nor have they suffered as our nation. Exodus 12:43 “And the LORD said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of the passover: There shall no stranger eat thereof:” The so called Blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans are the Israelites in modern day Egypt, in Churchianity they are taught the doctrine of strangers that dismiss their oppression. Revelations 11:8 “And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.”
By the Passover we learn the prophecies that will come upon our people in modern day Egypt. Jeremiah 16:14 “Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be said, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;” The deliverance that happened in ancient Egypt is undoubtedly great, it is still spoken of throughout the world. Yet by the blood of our Passover (Christ) over our homes a greater salvation will take place.
Jeremiah 16:15 “But, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers.” It shall be spoken of the redemption that will take place in north America and everywhere our people have been scattered. By his blood we are protected, the angels will pass over our homes during the destruction that is to come. Colossians 1:14 “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:” The Israelites by the blood of Christ will receive restitution, in their salvation they will receive the promise land.
For this reason we come together to keep the Sabbaths of this feast. Exodus 12:16 “And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you.” The first day and the seventh day are Sabbaths, within the seven days we commemorate our past and we also look towards our future.
This is the only feast the Heavenly Father gave us that if a person could not attend because of uncleanness they must keep it in the second month. Numbers 9:10 “Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of your posterity shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be in a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the passover unto the LORD.” Verse 11: “The fourteenth day of the second month at even they shall keep it, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.” This should help us understand how important this feast is to the most High.
Matthew 26:17 “Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover?” On the last supper, while the disciples were eating the Passover, Christ gave them unleavened bread. Matthew 26:26 “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.” Christ is the unleavened bread of life, then he took a cup of wine and gave it to them to drink. Matthew 26:27 “And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;” Verse 28: “For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” Verse 29: “But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
The lamb of God, showed us how important this day is unto him, insomuch that by eating the Passover meal we are remembering his death. See, 1st Corinthians 11:23-29. Yet at the same time it shows what we will be doing in our Father’s kingdom. We pray and hope that this lesson will guide you to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread also known as the Passover. Shalam (Peace)!