Category Archives: Traditions / Holidays

Forgive Others / Seek Forgiveness, Grace / Forgiveness, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Merciful, Repenting from Sin, Seeking God, Traditions / Holidays

Explore and Observe Yom Kippur

It is easy to embrace celebrations that are “fun”.  Even holidays that had significant meaning can be overwhelmed by the distractions of celebrating as people focus on making it fun.  Thanksgiving is a great example. It started as a way to come together as a nation to give thanks to the one true God. Now, most people really breeze over the original purpose of Thanksgiving. It is about family, football, and feasting.  I think most people put more time and thought into the food than they do giving thanks to God.

We truly benefit in our relationship with the Lord when we embrace the holy days He created, such as Yom Kippur. We should humble ourselves before Him throughout the year. However, having a day set aside to come humbly before the Lord and reflect on atonement for our sins is a very good idea. It is focused solely on our relationship with our Father and the forgiveness we receive through Yeshua. We are to humble ourselves and contemplate our need for atonement, repentance, and forgiveness from sin. He does not want us getting distracted during this holy day, and thus sets aside another Sabbath day of rest for it.

Leviticus 23:25-32

The Day of Atonement

26The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 27“On exactly the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall humble your souls and present an offering by fire to the LORD. 28“You shall not do any work on this same day, for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement on your behalf before the LORD your God. 29“If there is any person who will not humble himself on this same day, he shall be cut off from his people. 30“As for any person who does any work on this same day, that person I will destroy from among his people. 31“You shall do no work at all. It is to be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places. 32“It is to be a sabbath of complete rest to you, and you shall humble your souls; on the ninth of the month at evening, from evening until evening you shall keep your sabbath.”

I encourage each of you to join me in observing this holy day in which we humble ourselves before God. We should take this opportunity to focus on the wonderful gift God sent in Yeshua. Yeshua died for our sins. Through His perfect life and then death for our sins, He has made it possible for us to be reconciled to YHWH. He was the sacrificial lamb on our behalf. Let us not take Yeshua for granted and miss out on our need for His sacrifice due to our sins.

Romans 3

10as it is written,
“THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;

On our own, we can never be made righteous. It would be like trying to jump the Grand Canyon. One may be able to jump further than another, but none can span the gap. We can be made righteous only through Christ, who in this canyon metaphor serves as a bridge to enable us to come before the Lord and be reconciled.

I would encourage each of you to study more about our Creator’s appointed times. As you study, remember to separate what is Jewish tradition from what is written in the Bible specifically. The study of tradition can be helpful and enriching, but I find it good to know what is of scripture and what is of tradition. Especially when getting started, I focus on the scriptural first. The traditional would then be optional as it fits with and helps or supports the scriptural message. I have provided a few links to help you get started, but you can search on your own, of course.

I hope that studying and learning about our Creator’s appointed times, and then following them, will be as enriching for you and your family as it has been for me and mine.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, please help me to focus on my relationship with You as I observe Yom Kippur. I thank You for forgiveness and grace through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, dying for my sins. Help me to truly repent and live my life for You. Help open the eyes of Your people to Your wonderful ways and lead them into a restoration of all things so that the ways of man would be lessened and the ways of God would be increased. Amen.

Shalom. May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you. Devotion by John in service to Christ

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Forgive Others / Seek Forgiveness, Grace / Forgiveness, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Is the Old Testament Relevant Today?, Justice / Judgment, Repenting from Sin, Seeking God, Traditions / Holidays

Yom Kippur – The Day of Atonement

Over the course of my life, I have spent a significant amount of time in Catholic, Baptist, and evangelical churches. None of the ones I attended ever even came close to teaching about YHWH’s appointed times, or Mo’edim. They seem determined to stick to popular man-made holidays commonly celebrated by Christians and non-Christians alike. As I journeyed into a deeper relationship with the Lord over many years, the Bible has come alive to me. It is amazing how much rich heritage is being missed by the Christian church today. They typically do not teach the whole Bible as still relevant and true today. They may say it is, but their teaching leaves much untouched and untaught.

My family and I find observing the Mo’edim, God’s appointed times, genuinely enriching our relationship with Him. I encourage you to join us. You will have to do some study on your own, however, as churches will not teach it.

The Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur, is a holy day set aside by YHWH annually for us to focus on atonement for our sins. We are to rest and be humble. It is a permanent statute. These holy days are not just for Jewish people and they are not obsolete. They both look back at what the Lord has already done and look forward to what He will do in the future. As a matter of fact, the day of atonement is now even more significant for those of us who follow Christ as we can focus on the forgiveness we receive through Christ and his sacrifice for us.

Leviticus 23:26-32

The Day of Atonement

     26The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 27“On exactly the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall humble your souls and present an offering by fire to the LORD. 28“You shall not do any work on this same day, for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement on your behalf before the LORD your God. 29“If there is any person who will not humble himself on this same day, he shall be cut off from his people. 30“As for any person who does any work on this same day, that person I will destroy from among his people. 31“You shall do no work at all. It is to be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places. 32“It is to be a sabbath of complete rest to you, and you shall humble your souls; on the ninth of the month at evening, from evening until evening you shall keep your sabbath.”

We need not make animal sacrifices for atonement any longer, as Yeshua has paid the price for our sins once and for all. However, we will still face judgment when we die or Yeshua returns. Let us atone for our sins, repenting and accepting forgiveness from the Lord.

2 Corinthians 5:10

10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

Of course, we can say, that we should acknowledge and repent from sin and accept God’s forgiveness through Christ all year long. That is correct. However, God knew setting this day aside would help to draw our attention to this important matter in a clear and focused way at least once a year.

I still have more to learn about the  Creator’s calendar (often called the Hebrew calendar), but I am learning more each year. You can research a variety of websites that provide information on the Hebrew calendar, several even focus on it from a Messianic or Christian perspective. Keep in mind, the Hebrew calendar starts at sundown and ends at sundown and not “midnight to midnight” as our western calendar does.

It can be overwhelming when you first get started, but just take it in bite-sized chunks and keep seeking to get closer to Him with every step. Because we have changed away from YHWH’s calendar to the Gregorian calendar, there is some debate as to when the appointed times are observed. They reference the Creator’s calendar and not what we are used to. It is clear which days in His calendar are to be recognized, but the challenge comes in converting that into the Gregorian calendar most of us use daily. Which exact date you choose is not the most important aspect to get started, in my opinion.  I suggest researching at the sites below or on your own search and picking one of the dates proposed and getting started. Do not get overwhelmed by trying to learn all the history at once. Just get started, seek the Lord, study His word, and start to experience a deeper relationship with Him.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, please open my eyes to the wonderful ways of Your appointed times. Lead me in preparation for Yom Kippur. Show me my sin and help me to turn from it and submit more fully to You. Thank You for the opportunity to reconcile with You through Christ. Thank You that my sins are forgiven and I am washed clean. You are worthy of praise! Amen.

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Guide, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, His Ways Are Not Our Ways, Is the Old Testament Relevant Today?, Seeking God, Study the Word, Teachable, Traditions / Holidays

Observing Yom Teruah (Feast of Trumpets) Draws Us Nearer to God

Growing up a Christian in the United States, I was never taught about the biblical holy days that Yahweh calls His people to observe and celebrate.  Many Christians skip over much of the instruction that our Father has provided in the Old Testament as if it were now irrelevant. It is not! I found it felt a bit odd and even a little uncomfortable at first as my family and I started to study and learn Yahweh’s traditions. My kids actually adapted quite easily and love to celebrate Sukkot (Tabernacles) as we sleep in tents for a week. It is great fun.

These traditions were new to us, but have proven to be a joyful step in moving closer to Him. There is great symbolism and purpose to each of our Father’s holy days. God’s holy days help us remain focused on Him and His word and bring honor and glory to Him and our relationship with Him.

Yom Teruah, literally “day shouting/blasting”, is the first of our Father’s holy days (specified by Leviticus 23:23–32) which usually occur in the early autumn of the Northern Hemisphere. It is coming up soon. It has also come to be called more recently Rosh Hashanah and is celebrated as the start of the new year in Yahweh’s calendar (often referred to as the “Jewish calendar”).

Leviticus 23 actually does not document a lot of information about Yom Teruah, and it is worthwhile studying elsewhere in scripture. Today you can find a lot of information about it by simply searching online for Yom Teruah. My suggestion is, however, to always test what people say about the celebration and traditions against what the scripture actually says. Often people add to Yahweh’s instruction or change the emphasis and create their own traditions which they treat as if they were commands from our Father.

Yom Teruah is characterized by a holy day, a Sabbath, which constitutes a day of rest. The trumpets remind us to prepare for the day of Atonement which will follow. As followers of Christ, we are reminded that the trumpets will blast again when Christ returns. We should now prepare ourselves by asking God to open our eyes to our sin and help us to repent. Let us turn away from the ways of the world and toward the ways of God. You can have quite an interesting study as well generally about the use and significance of the shofar (ram’s horn) throughout scripture which is what the term “trumpet” means in this context.

I encourage you to do some personal study on this celebration. I include a few links below. However, be sure to validate everything you read against the truth of scripture. Remember, these are the Father’s holy days, not “Jewish” holidays.

One last word of encouragement, do not get tripped up by the details and logistics of how and when to celebrate exactly as you get started. Do not get frustrated by different opinions on exactly which day to celebrate.  Just pick one. You can study and debate which is the exact right day as you mature in your understanding. Allow yourself to start even with an incomplete understanding and make it a point to learn by observing Yom Teruah each year.  Allow yourself to learn and grow and change year after year. Don’t wait for the perfect time to start! (Ecclesiastes 11:4 One who watches the wind will not sow and one who looks at the clouds will not harvest.)

I also encourage you to study some additional ministries online that help us to reconnect with and better understand the Hebrew roots of our faith.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Guide, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, His Ways Are Not Our Ways, Seeking God, Study the Word, Teachable, Traditions / Holidays

In Yeshua We Have More Reason to Celebrate God’s Appointed Times

Most Christians today are taught that the appointed times, or Moedim, of Yahweh, are obsolete in Christ… that is if they are taught about them at all. What is interesting is that these same people cling tightly to man-made holidays like Christmas which were never called for biblically and are mixed and mingled with pagan beliefs over a long history in which the holidays evolved. Christ actually lived out the Moedim as an example for us. In Messiah, these are not made irrelevant but actually take on more meaning than before.

The Moedim help us remember what Yahweh has done for us. He is our Creator and Lord. He is all-powerful, all-knowing, and present at all times in all places. Still, He takes time to know each one of us and He loves each one of us as a father. They also point us forward to what is to come.

This time of year is an exciting time to learn about and celebrate the fall Moedim, Yom Teruah (Day of Trumpets), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), and Sukkot (aka Tabernacles or Festival of Booths).  I will not attempt to discuss all the details in this post, but I will point out at a high level some quick observations how these have more meaning to remind us what is coming.

The day of trumpets reminds us that Christ will return and we should prepare ourselves. Yom Kippur reminds us to make atonement, recognizing that we are sinners and need Christ to be reconciled with the Father. Sukkot celebrates the return of the King, that Yeshua will come back and He will dwell among us.

I will post more about each appointed time as we get closer, but I would encourage each of you to start studying now and commit to learn more and celebrate.

You may find yourself asking, “Why are appointed times so important to God? The church has not taught me to celebrate it.” God tells us why it is important to Him in an example pertaining to Passover.

Exodus 13:1-16

8“You shall tell your son on that day, saying, ‘It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ 9“And it shall serve as a sign to you on your hand, and as a reminder on your forehead, that the law of the LORD may be in your mouth; for with a powerful hand the LORD brought you out of Egypt. 10“Therefore, you shall keep this ordinance at its appointed time from year to year.

and again…

14“And it shall be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ then you shall say to him, ‘With a powerful hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. 15‘It came about, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the LORD killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore, I sacrifice to the LORD the males, the first offspring of every womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ 16“So it shall serve as a sign on your hand and as phylacteries on your forehead, for with a powerful hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt.”

The appointed times are not just for Jewish people who don’t believe in Christ as Messiah. They take on even more meaning through Messiah and help us draw nearer to the Lord. We could have a longer discussion on how to celebrate today, but for today I am really focused on encouraging you to read and study more, to embrace God’s holy days and learn more about them. God said we should, and he has great ideas. Once we make the decision to do it, then we take the next step and begin to study how… that is the journey my family and I are on today. We find joy in seeking to better understand our relationship with YHWH through studying and celebrating his appointed times.

Do take care that you don’t celebrate the Moedim because it is “required”. As the temple and the priests are not available, we can not celebrate in a fully biblical manner. Rather, let us use this as an opportunity simply to glorify Yahweh, grow our relationship with Him, and delight in Him.

Here are a few resources where you can learn more about the Moedim, the Creator’s calendar (often called the “Jewish” calendar), and given this time of year, Yom Teruah, Yom Kippurim, and Sukkot in particular.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, please lead me in understanding and embracing Your ways. open my eyes to the wonderful ways of Your law and to Your appointed times. Let me not rely on the teaching of man or traditions of my family in prior generations, but rather on Your word. Lead others to celebrate Your appointed times across our country and let it draw us closer to You. Amen. 

Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Discerning / Judging, False Prophets / Teachers, Hypocrisy, Teachable, Traditions / Holidays, Unteachable / Foolish

Do Not Set Aside The Commandments of God for the Tradition of Men

Yeshua firmly reminds us to seek to understand and live according to the commandments of Yahweh rather than the traditions of men. Many of us have read the scripture in Mark 7 and just thought… “Those Pharisees were really lost.” But I challenge each of us to dig deeper. The same is true in our churches and society today around the world. There is often a push to set aside the commandments of Yahweh as “irrelevant” or “obsolete” and to instead live according to tradition of our family, our culture, or even our church.

Mark 7:1-13

Followers of Tradition

      1The Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered around Him when they had come from Jerusalem, 2and had seen that some of His disciples were eating their bread with impure hands, that is, unwashed. 3(For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders; 4and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots.) 5The Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with impure hands?”

6And He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:
‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS,
BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.

      7‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME,
TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.’

8“Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.”

      9He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition. 10“For Moses said, ‘HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER’; and, ‘HE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER, IS TO BE PUT TO DEATH’; 11but you say, ‘If a man says to his father or his mother, whatever I have that would help you is Corban (that is to say, given to God),’ 12you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or his mother; 13thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.”

We must truly challenge ourselves to test everything against the holy scriptures. There are many examples where we as Christians have strayed in large numbers from the commands of Yahweh. An easy, basic example is activities around Sabbath. Do Christians truly seek to obey Yahweh’s command around Sabbath weekly? Do we avoid work? Do we rest and seek Him on this day each week? The facts are we do not even celebrate our day of worship broadly on the same day that He commanded. From the beginning He created the earth and rested on the seventh day, which for us is Saturday. Jesus and the disciples recognized Sabbath in what would correspond to our current Gregorian calendar as Friday at sundown to Saturday at sundown. We have created and follow traditions of men instead of those laid out by Yahweh and demonstrated even by Yeshua!

Similar exploration could be fruitful regarding holy days, or appointed times. Yahweh lays out the holy days in Leviticus 23, and elsewhere, that we are commanded to obey for all generations. However, rather than celebrate these (e.g. Passover), we instead have created our own traditions to replace them. We create a new tradition of men to celebrate the birth of Christ and then blend it in with pagan celebrations and traditions and cling to it as if it is from Yahweh. We do the same with resurrection, pursuing pagan practices like Easter eggs instead of celebrating Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, as commanded.

God commands us to not have graven images as part of worship, but in many cases man puts carved images of Yeshua or Mary in their churches where we worship. Yahweh commands us not to covet, or to be envious of what others have. Yet our culture is saturated with an attitude of needing to have what others have, even if we can’t afford it. People go into debt so far they can never dig out.

Yahweh calls us to trust in Him, but instead most put their trust in money. Scripture warns us that we can not serve two masters. We will love one and hate the other. We must choose if we trust and serve our Father or money.

Yahweh calls us to repentance. It is the first teaching from Yeshua in His earthly ministry and the first for the disciples whom He sent out. It is ripe throughout the history of Yahweh’s prophets in the messages they bring. It is the very core of our faith. However, culture and society claim that all people are inherently good instead of sinful. We are told to accept people the way they are rather than call for and lead them to change. Why is it that our culture insists we are not supposed to talk about gluttony, but rather just accept people as they are… which is not helping them at all. In the USA there is a tremendous obesity problem resulting in all sorts of health issues impacting people’s lives. Why are we not supposed to speak the truth about homosexuality and other sexual identify confusion? Why are we not to engage one another to repent regarding coveting or sex outside marriage? The tradition of men continues to march on away from the commands of Yahweh, insisting that accepting everyone as they are, without repentance, is good. But our Father tells us to lovingly confront one another and help one another to repent and change our behaviors.

I could go on. The traditions of men continue to push out and overshadow the commands of Yahweh broadly in our world today. Seek prayerfully where you need to make changes in your life to obey Yahweh more, and the traditions of men less.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father please bring about an awakening to contrast the ways of man from Your ways. Bring about the restoration of all things to return to Your ways and bring You glory. Defeat the plans of the wicked. Raise up and defend the righteous for Your name’s sake. Open the eyes of Your people to their sin and disregard for Your commandments and lead us to repentance on a broad scale across our nation and the world. Help us to have the strength and courage to challenge and test what we have long accepted as correct and further to walk away from those things for which we need to let go so we can return to Your ways instead of the ways of man. Amen. 

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Am I on the path?, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Obeying God, Traditions / Holidays

Reflect on Freedom: Follow God’s Instructions with Wisdom

Many in the USA celebrate freedom as a key part of the heritage of our July 4 national holiday. It commemorates the independence of the USA from England and the policies of the government there for which the colonies were not represented. We can be reminded to value our freedom and not take it for granted. Fireworks and parties are commonplace. The birth of a free nation is celebrated. We do not celebrate this freedom by rebelling against the very nation that protects and provides our freedom. We do not declare that our freedom means we are no longer subject to any laws.

This day is a good opportunity for us to reflect deeper on one who is greater than us and who also allows us the freedom to make our own choices. Our Creator made us in His image and allows us the freedom to follow Him on His terms or live in rebellion to Him, choosing instead to honor and follow the desires of our flesh and sinful nature. We do not have the freedom to truly follow Him while defining our own terms regarding how we will do so. When we change the terms, we are no longer following Him His way. All of us are inherently sinful. Babies at birth need not be taught to scream when they want something. Young children need to be taught to share, taking what they want comes naturally. We must learn to focus on the needs of others just as we must learn God’s ways in order to be set apart and different than the world.

Our Father, YHWH, provided us instructions to follow as any good father does for His children. Often the instructions are for the benefit of the children themselves, even if they don’t understand that fully. The instructions have been communicated through thousands of years and neatly compiled into the Bible we have so readily available to us today, so long as we choose to open it or click the link to it. We need only pray for enlightenment from the Spirit and read with a desire to learn and change our behaviors to follow God’s instructions. We should not read with a desire to justify all of our current actions and attitudes… that is redefining God in our image rather than redefining ourselves in His image.

We talk often in Christian community about freedom through Christ. It is amazing, but sadly many get confused by false teaching about this freedom. What are we set free from?

The short answer is that all too often people essentially say we are set free from all boundaries and can do anything, and God will be pleased. This is false. This would be akin to saying we are free in the United States and then pretending that there are no laws or boundaries governing what is acceptable behavior and what will land you in prison. God has established guidelines and instructions for us to follow to help us, as a father does for his children. Are we to use our freedom to rebel against the one who gives it to us? No. Christ sets us free from the law of sin and death. He sets us free in that we can be reconciled to YHWH even when we do not live out his instructions perfectly to his standard. This means, simply that we can be forgiven for our sins, because Jesus already paid the price required by the law for our sins. We can be set free from condemnation and guilt, but we are to repent from the sinful ways and do things according to God’s instruction. We are to follow Christ.

Romans 8:1-4

1Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 3For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, 4so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Many teach that we are set free from the law, from God’s instructions, but this is not correct. Jesus followed God’s instructions throughout His earthly ministry and so did His disciples. In fact, he was judged righteous in that he lived perfectly according to the law. He never taught against following God’s law, only against following the man-made traditions of the Pharisees and Sadducees that were overburdening people with meaningless traditions and distracting from or even contradicting God’s law. We must ask ourselves… “Is Jesus our example to follow? or our excuse to live how we want rather than how God tells us to?”

Throughout the scriptures, God’s law is highlighted as good, as worthy of love, of setting us free from the lure of sin by showing us what is right. It is a light unto our path to guide us. I have included a few excerpts from Psalm 119, but you should click the link and read the whole Psalm. Many others have similar content. The law of God is to be obeyed. Jesus did not come to set us free from it.

Psalm 119 (excerpts – I encourage you to read 119 completely)

97O how I love Your law!
It is my meditation all the day.

98Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies,
For they are ever mine.

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142Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness,
And Your law is truth.

143Trouble and anguish have come upon me,
Yet Your commandments are my delight.

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162I rejoice at Your word,
As one who finds great spoil.

163I hate and despise falsehood,
But I love Your law.

164Seven times a day I praise You,
Because of Your righteous ordinances.

165Those who love Your law have great peace,
And nothing causes them to stumble.

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171Let my lips utter praise,
For You teach me Your statutes.

172Let my tongue sing of Your word,
For all Your commandments are righteousness.

Would it make sense that Jesus came to set us free from wisdom, delight, truth, and peace? Certainly not. This would be absurd. Jesus came to set us free from the law of sin and death. Yes, we all sin, and thus deserve death. However, Jesus sets us free from that guilt and condemnation and judgment because He already paid the price for us. What He calls for in return as part of this freedom is that we submit to God, repent of our sinful ways, and seek after God. True repentance transforms us to be different from the world and to become more and more like Jesus as we continue to grow in wisdom and maturity in our faith over the course of our lifetime.

Just as we see so obviously in the physical world, freedom brings responsibility and accountability for the choices we make. It is similar with our Father in heaven. Freedom comes with responsibility and accountability. There are spiritual consequences in our relationship with God and ultimate destination when we die from this life and go into eternity to heaven or hell. There are also physical and emotional impacts in our lives today based on how well we follow the instructions He has provided. After all, the loving Father and Creator knows how best to guide His creations. He gives us the answers, but we need to listen and obey… even when we don’t understand fully.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, please help me to follow You according to Your ways. Help me rejoice and celebrate freedom in Christ from bondage to sin. You provide forgiveness from my sins and reconciliation to You. Let me not use Your forgiveness as an excuse for me to live my own way and call that “freedom” to do as I want. That is wrong. Thank You for the freedom to choose to follow You. Help me to choose You and embrace You fully. Amen.  

Learn more:

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Children, Father / Yahweh, Parenting, Traditions / Holidays

Guided by YHWH: Embodying the Qualities of a Good Father

Good fathers should pursue after Christ and be spiritual leaders in their family. They should put YHWH first, their wife next and then the children in their priority list and then actually live their lives according to that standard. YHWH has said much about what it means to be a good father. It need not be a mystery.

Ephesians 6:4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Psalm 103:13 Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.

Colossians 3:21 Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so that they will not lose heart.

Psalm 127:3-5 Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; they will not be ashamed when they speak with their enemies in the gate.

Luke 11:11-12 “Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? “Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he?

Joshua 24:14-15 “Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15“If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

Perhaps some scripture does not explicitly call out “fathers”, but as in Joshua 24:14-15… he demonstrates the role of a good father as a strong leader for his family committed to serving YHWH even if others refuse to do so. Psalm 127:3-5 shows a good father feels blessed to have received the gift of children.

There are many more such scriptures. I encourage you to do an internet search for “Bible scriptures about good fathers” and invest time to dive deeper. In fact, YHWH gives us the metaphor to think of Him like a Father and He is perfect. Thus we can learn a lot about being a good father from studying how He relates to His people.

Good fathers are not perfect… there is only one perfect Father. On behalf of all those fathers out there who are trying to lead, protect and provide for their families, we appreciate your grace and forgiveness when we get it wrong, and we welcome your prayers and encouragement on our behalf so we may become better and better at what YHWH has called us to be… fathers.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, thank You for the righteous fathers that are trying to lead their families in Your ways. Please help and encourage fathers to lead and love their families actively. Help fathers reflect Your character traits and be a light to others that do not know You and  godly example to their children. Amen.

 Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Consequences of Sin, Grace / Forgiveness, Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Loving / Kind, Traditions / Holidays

The Ultimate Act of Love: Reflections on Memorial Day

As we recognize Memorial Day, it is a good time to reflect on and appreciate those who have laid down their lives for the rest of us to be able to live free in the United States of America. It is a good time to pray for those who are actively serving, have served, or are surviving family of those who have died in service to our country. God gave us this unique nation based on Judeo-Christian values and heritage. Many have served and died protecting it.

Yeshua demonstrated and taught that there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for his friends. He laid down His life for all those who choose to follow Him and submit to Him. We can be thankful for sure that our sins can be forgiven because of Him. We could never pay that debt.

Yeshua also encouraged His disciples to show this kind of love for one another as well… to lay down their life for one another. So, too, are we encouraged to lay down our lives for one another. At times, we may face a situation where we literally must make that choice in an instant. Other times we lay down our lives by how we live for others rather than living for ourselves.

As we read, we should not overlook that Yeshua said that “You are my friends if you do what I command you.” This is clearly important, but a different context in our relationship with Him vs. relationships with each other that we may consider friends. We should obey Yeshua to be His “friend”. We do not need to obey each other to be friends.

John 15:12-17

Disciples’ Relation to Each Other

12“This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. 13“Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. 14“You are My friends if you do what I command you. 15“No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. 16“You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. 17“This I command you, that you love one another.

Take time to pray for those who risk their lives or lose them for others. Pray also for their families. Of course, not everyone in uniform is righteous or acts with righteous motives, but many have sacrificed none the less to protect our country and our freedom. Pray also for the leadership in our government so that they would lead well and not recklessly. Further, pray for the people of our nation that they would hold in high regard those that serve to protect our nation and risk their lives to do so.

Take time to also pause and reflect on our Savior, Yeshua, who laid down his life for us so we could be forgiven and reconciled with the Father. Give thanks to him. Do not let that offer be wasted. Rather, submit to him, turn from your sin, and seek him. Let him be Lord of your life. You will find greater joy and peace in this world and after.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, thank You that You sent Yeshua to lay down His life for me, so that I could be forgiven and reconciled to You. Thank You for the people that have sacrificed personally to protect and build up our nation as a free nation built on individual liberty and not dominated by tyrants or a ruling class that controls the people. Please help protect and maintain that nation based on Your principles and ideals from those who would change it for something else, like socialism or simply giving up more and more individual freedom to government control. Please raise up the righteous and bring restoration to the land that we would be a light for the world to bring You glory. 

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Holy Spirit (hearing from God), Holy Spirit / Ruach HaKodesh, Traditions / Holidays

Spirit Ignited: Embracing Pentecost and the Feast of Weeks

Many Christians have heard of Pentecost and remember it as the time to celebrate and remember when the Holy Spirit came to dwell in the early church believers after the death and resurrection of Christ. This truly is a holy day worth celebrating. Our Father sent a Helper to dwell among us… to teach us and lead us as His people. The Spirit dwells among believers today, though many have been taught to dismiss the Spirit as an active part of experiencing relationship with our Father in our daily lives. Others, in their enthusiasm to experience the Spirit attribute much to the Spirit, even when it is only their own insight or instinct. We don’t, as a culture, know how to relate to and experience the Spirit in our lives anymore.

Pentecost is a wonderful event that followers of Christ should want to remember given that we are promised the Holy Spirit dwells in all of us. What a great reminder that we have that Helper from our Creator to guide and teach us… to comfort and counsel us. We are not alone in trying to live our lives obedient and pleasing to the Lord as we face hardship in this world.

Acts 2

The Day of Pentecost

 1When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. 4And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.

5Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6And when this sound occurred, the crowd came together, and were bewildered because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language. 7They were amazed and astonished, saying, “Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8“And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born? 9“Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya around Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11Cretans and Arabs—we hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God.” 12And they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13But others were mocking and saying, “They are full of sweet wine.”

Peter’s Sermon

14But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: “Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words. 15“For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day; 16but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel:

17‘AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,’ God says,
‘THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND;
AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY,
AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS,
AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS;

18EVEN ON MY BONDSLAVES, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN,
I WILL IN THOSE DAYS POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT
And they shall prophesy.

19‘AND I WILL GRANT WONDERS IN THE SKY ABOVE
AND SIGNS ON THE EARTH BELOW,
BLOOD, AND FIRE, AND VAPOR OF SMOKE.

20‘THE SUN WILL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS
AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD,
BEFORE THE GREAT AND GLORIOUS DAY OF THE LORD SHALL COME.

21‘AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.’

22“Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know— 23this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. 24“But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.

25“For David says of Him,
‘I SAW THE LORD ALWAYS IN MY PRESENCE;
FOR HE IS AT MY RIGHT HAND, SO THAT I WILL NOT BE SHAKEN.

26‘THEREFORE MY HEART WAS GLAD AND MY TONGUE EXULTED;
MOREOVER MY FLESH ALSO WILL LIVE IN HOPE;

27BECAUSE YOU WILL NOT ABANDON MY SOUL TO HADES,
NOR ALLOW YOUR HOLY ONE TO UNDERGO DECAY.

28‘YOU HAVE MADE KNOWN TO ME THE WAYS OF LIFE;
YOU WILL MAKE ME FULL OF GLADNESS WITH YOUR PRESENCE.’

29“Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30“And so, because he was a prophet and knew that GOD HAD SWORN TO HIM WITH AN OATH TO SEAT one OF HIS DESCENDANTS ON HIS THRONE, 31he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that HE WAS NEITHER ABANDONED TO HADES, NOR DID His flesh SUFFER DECAY. 32“This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. 33“Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear.

34“For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says:
‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD,
“SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND,

35UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET.”’
36“Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”

The Ingathering

37Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” 38Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39“For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” 40And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!” 41So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. 42They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

43Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. 44And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; 45and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. 46Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, 47praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Reading through Acts 2, we are reminded of the power of the Holy Spirit in us. What an inspiring event! Look at how Peter was transformed from the man who denied Christ three times as he followed to see what would become of Him on the way to crucifixion into now a powerful man of God addressing large crowds and bringing many to the Lord.

If we dig a bit deeper, note that the very beginning of this scripture identifies that the day of Pentecost was drawing near, and many had gathered for it… before the Holy Spirit showed up. This day already had significance. It is often referred to as the Feast of Weeks or Shavuot by Jewish people.

As an important side note, we see that Yeshua’s disciples were still following the law even after He had died and risen. The law is still our guide, but we must understand it properly and what has changed with the death of Christ. Spoiler alert: most of it has not changed. (Understanding the Law – What Does It Mean Today?)

Pentecost is simply Greek for “50 days”. It was applied to this day because the Feast of Weeks, or Shavuot, was a festival to be observed seven weeks from the second day of the Passover. Since seven weeks times seven days per week is 49 days… the day after would be 50.

The Feast of Weeks is the second of three major Jewish festivals with the others being Passover and Feast of Tabernacles. This celebration corresponds to when the first fruits of the wheat harvest were offered to the Lord. Many also traditionally associate it with commemorating the giving of the law at Mount Sinai, though that is not clear from scripture.

Leviticus 34:22-24

22“You shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks, that is, the first fruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year. 23“Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord GOD, the God of Israel. 24“For I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your borders, and no man shall covet your land when you go up three times a year to appear before the LORD your God.

Leviticus 23:15-21

15‘You shall also count for yourselves from the day after the sabbath, from the day when you brought in the sheaf of the wave offering; there shall be seven complete sabbaths. 16‘You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh sabbath; then you shall present a new grain offering to the LORD. 17‘You shall bring in from your dwelling places two loaves of bread for a wave offering, made of two-tenths of an ephah; they shall be of a fine flour, baked with leaven as first fruits to the LORD. 18‘Along with the bread you shall present seven one year old male lambs without defect, and a bull of the herd and two rams; they are to be a burnt offering to the LORD, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the LORD. 19‘You shall also offer one male goat for a sin offering and two male lambs one year old for a sacrifice of peace offerings. 20‘The priest shall then wave them with the bread of the first fruits for a wave offering with two lambs before the LORD; they are to be holy to the LORD for the priest. 21‘On this same day you shall make a proclamation as well; you are to have a holy convocation. You shall do no laborious work. It is to be a perpetual statute in all your dwelling places throughout your generations.

Numbers 28:26-31

26‘Also on the day of the first fruits, when you present a new grain offering to the LORD in your Feast of Weeks, you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work. 27‘You shall offer a burnt offering for a soothing aroma to the LORD: two young bulls, one ram, seven male lambs one year old; 28and their grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an ephah for each bull, two-tenths for the one ram, 29a tenth for each of the seven lambs; 30also one male goat to make atonement for you. 31‘Besides the continual burnt offering and its grain offering, you shall present them with their drink offerings. They shall be without defect.

I am still personally coming up to speed on some of historical context and rich meaning behind the feasts of the Lord as He instructed in the Old Testament. There is much to be studied and appreciated there. Our Father makes a habit of tying together the Old and New Testament events. Often one is a foreshadowing of another, not one a replacement of the other. For example, Jesus was crucified at Passover. This was not coincidence. As Passover celebrates God’s people being set free from slavery in Egypt by the mighty power of God, so too Jesus death and resurrection on the cross should be celebrated as setting His people free from slavery to sin.

Consider also, then that the Holy Spirit being sent to the believers after the death of Christ on Pentecost. This is not coincidence. God intended the two to be linked. We must then explore the Old Testament to fully understand what God is telling us in the New. Tradition holds that the law was given at Mt Sinai on Shavuot. If this is true, then once again God has linked the giving of the law with the giving of the Holy Spirit. One does not replace the other, but rather they foreshadow and complement one another.

Consider a homework assignment… a challenge for each of you who are hungry to seek the Lord. Put some time aside for additional study of Pentecost and how the Old Testament feast foreshadows the coming of the Holy Spirit to our lives.

As a start, I am beginning with my family to set aside the day of Pentecost as a Sabbath day of rest as God instructed. We will discuss the significance of both the Feast of Weeks and Pentecost. Both are worthy to be remembered and celebrated.

You can study more about the creators calendar using sites like Hebrew4Christians.com or Psalm119Ministries (select Time: Our Creators Calendar to see collection of videos available). You can learn about what the scripture says about these holy days, when they occur, why God told us to celebrate Shavuot, and traditions.

There is some debate amongst different sources as to the date of the Passover and thus Shavuot/Pentecost each year. Don’t let this discourage you from getting started celebrating and studying God’s holy days.

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Study the Word, Teachable, Traditions / Holidays

Why No Leaven at Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread?

Most Christians are taught to celebrate Easter rather than Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread as a way to observe and remember the death of Christ for our sins. You will not find any mention of Christ or His disciples celebrating Easter or hiding eggs. There is not biblical record of chicks and bunnies to this accord.

If we study the biblical origins of this celebration, we will find plenty of instruction about Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. There is even record of Yeshua preparing to observe Passover with His disciples shortly before He was crucified.

I find it interesting to study and learn more about the Feast of Unleavened Bread and consider what it may symbolize. I found an article I wanted to share, by Tim O’Hearn. It is not authoritative like the Bible, but it is interesting to help guide us to thinking more deeply about the symbolism of unleavened bread in the Biblical record.

Passover: No Leaven

by Tim O’Hearn

In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD’S passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread. In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD seven days: in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. (Lev. 23:5-8)

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. (Ex. 12:15)

Even many non-observant Jews observe Pesach (Passover). The Pesach Seder (the meal and the order of observance that goes with it) is central to Judaism. At least one aspect of it has even become a cliché in Gentile homes: spring-cleaning.

While there are many customs and laws associated with Pesach, the defining law is that there is to be no leavened bread in the household. This law governs the preparation of food, the discussion at the Seder, and even dictates the aforementioned spring-cleaning.

Because of the requirement to rid oneself of chametz (leaven), many have equated leaven with sin. Chametz, they argue, is something we need to get rid of in our lives; sin is something we need to get rid of in our lives. Therefore, leaven symbolizes sin. Sounds like a good argument. There is only one thing wrong with it.

Look at the passages above. How many days out of the year is leaven to be removed? Three hundred sixty five? No. Only seven. If leaven is bad, in and of itself, why must we only be without it for one week? If leaven is sin, are we allowed to sin all year, except for the week of Passover? I think not!

What is leaven?

The Jewish definition of leaven, dating from long before the first century, is any of the five biblical grains (and some include rice and corn) which has been exposed to moisture followed by the lapse of a certain period of time before baking in which the introduction of an agent of change may occur. Many rabbis set this time at eighteen minutes. By this definition, a bread made from wheat flour with no yeast added is considered leavened if the dough was mixed and the cook waited, for whatever reason, before baking it. It may even look exactly like unleavened bread, but it is considered leavened. This is also why wine, which is fermented, is able to be used at Passover. It is not made from a grain, so it does not fall under the prohibition against leaven. (Grain alcohols like beer and whiskey, on the other hand, would be prohibited.)

How does this definition help us to understand what leaven represents at Passover, and why it is acceptable at other times? It has to do with what bread represents.

Throughout Jewish history, and particularly since the destruction of the Second Temple, bread has represented the Torah, the word of God (Deut 8:3; Isa 55:1-4). Leaven, then, is grain that has had the opportunity for an outside element to be added and to work to change the grain. It has had time to ferment, if a fermenting agent is nearby. Does the fermenting agent make the grain unfit for consumption? No. Does it change the nature of the grain? Yes. And that is why a time is set aside each year for unleavened bread. Over time it would be easy for the teaching of God’s word, His Torah, to be fermented, changed, adulterated. Once a year God says, “Remember how it was at first. You received my pure law. Go back to the purity of your teaching. Go back to the unleavened bread of My Torah.”

Just as God gave his pure word at Sinai but in the passage of time men added agents of change to that word, so once a year God demands that we return to our roots. Is it because change is bad? No. It is just that we occasionally need a reminder that God brought Israel out with a mighty hand. In doing so, he communicated his word. That is also a part of the Passover.

The reason for the prohibition

Why was leaven originally prohibited? Perhaps if we understand that, we will understand the role leaven plays in our lives.

Years after the event commemorated by Passover, Moses explained, “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. (Deut 16:3)” The expressed reason is that they came out of Egypt in haste. How in haste? God told them four days in advance that they were to eat unleavened bread. Why does Moses say it is because it was in haste, if they had four days in which they could have made leavened bread? The answer is found in Ex. 12:34. “And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading troughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders.” Although they had four days to prepare, they immediately packed their kneading troughs. Of all the household goods they packed for the journey, the kneading trough was important enough not to pack last. As a result they had to bake unleavened loaves for four days. Actually, it turned out to be forty years before they needed the kneading troughs, but they could not know that yet.

The “haste” of Israel was not a blind rushing out of Egypt. Instead it was a planned and long awaited exodus. When the time came, the people were so eager to make haste that they packed in advance, and had to do without some things as a result. One of those things was leavened bread. A modern analogy, though imperfect, might be the wife who, preparing for a trip, reminds the family after having done the laundry not to wear anything they plan on taking with them. Other clothes, equally good, have to be worn. For the Israelites, other bread, equally good, had to be eaten.

Every year the Passover is a reminder that God will take His people out of bondage and give them a better land. The unleavened bread does not represent the bondage to sin. Instead it represents the eagerness of the people to leave that bondage. So in prohibiting leavened bread for seven days out of the year, perhaps God is reminding us that we need to set priorities. We need to be packed and ready for our trip to the world to come.

Leaven in the Christian scriptures

I think that if we look at the ways Jesus and Paul, themselves rabbis, used leaven, we will find that even in the first century of the Christian Era leaven did not represent sin, but something entirely different. Jesus even likened the kingdom of heaven to leaven (Matt 13:33; Lk 13:21), which hardly sounds like the totally negative thing many have tried to make it.

Perhaps the best known discourses of Jesus concerning leaven, though, are the times he warns his disciples against “the leaven of the Pharisees,” Sadducees, and Herod (Matt 16:6-12; Mk 8:15-21; Lk 12:1). In the Luke passage he calls it “hypocrisy.” In the Matthew passage, the writer says he was speaking of the “doctrine” of the Pharisees. By doctrine, however, he is not speaking of all the teachings of these holy men. In Matt 22:2-3, Jesus even commands his disciples to follow the teachings of the Pharisees, because the teachings are from Moses. Instead, the leaven of the Pharisees must be those things they do that don’t accord with their teachings. This accords with the idea, previously expressed, that once a year (at least) we need to examine our teachings and bring them back to the unfermented grain of God’s word.

When Paul spoke of leaven, it was always in the context of the Passover. Even in Galatians 5:9, where Pesach is not mentioned, it is the concept that even the minutest amount of leaven makes a loaf unfit for Passover that is expressed.

The other passage where Paul speaks of leaven is 1 Cor 5:1-8. The context is a discussion of the church glorying in one of their own who was living incestuously. In verse 6 he uses the same phrase as in Galatians 5, and in the same way. He continues by saying that Christians should consider every day as Passover, because our lamb has been sacrificed. Therefore, we need to constantly clean house lest any leaven be found. He does talk of the “leaven of malice and wickedness,” but he also speaks of the “old leaven” in a way that implies not that it is sin but any change from the pure word of God.

Why is leaven only prohibited for seven days out of the year? It is obviously not that leaven is in itself sinful. Instead we might as easily ask why Passover was designated to be observed once a year. God knows that man is a forgetful being. So at varying times throughout the year, but especially at Passover, God is telling us in varying ways to remember. Passover, with its unleavened bread and its ceremonies, is but one of God’s reminders that we are not in control.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, please encourage me to seek to study and better understand Your ways. Help me to be passionate and curious to test what I have been taught and what is broadly accepted against Your written word in the Bible. Increase my curiosity to seek Your truth. Amen. 

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.