Feast of Unleavened Bread

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The Feast of Unleavened Bread is found in Leviticus 23:6-8; Exodus 12:15-20 and is also known as Hag HaMatzot or Hag HaMatzah.  The appointed time is on the 15th day of the month of Nisan, the same month as Passover.  Today, however, the Feasts Passover, Unleavened Bread, and Firstfruits have all been incorporated into the celebration of Passover, also known as Pesach, and reference to Passover means all three Feasts.  Passover is celebrated for eight days, 14 - 21 Nisan.  The Lord said that for seven days the children of Israel must eat unleavened bread.  This bread, made in a hurry without yeast, represents how the Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt in haste.

In Scripture, leaven also represents sin.  Today, cleansing the house before Passover is often a symbolic search to remove any hypocrisy or wickedness.  Unleavened Bread is one of the three pilgrimage feasts when all Jewish males were required to go to Jerusalem to “appear before the Lord” Deut. 16:16.

Unleavened Bread, also known as Matzah, is a symbol of Passover.  Leaven represents sin, Luke 12:1; 1 Cor 5:7-8.  Matzah stands for “without sin” and is a shadow picture of Yeshua, the only human without sin.  Yeshua said that the “bread of YHVH is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world”  and the He, Yeshua, is the “bread of life,” the “bread that came down from heaven,” “the living bread” which a person may eat and not die, John 6:32, 35, 41, 48.  While leaven is a symbol of sin, the Messiah is “unleavened” or sinless.  He conquers the grave with His resurrection because he is not a sinner under the curse of death.  Yeshua, was scourged and pierced at His crucifixion.  As the prophet Isaiah proclaims, “By His Stripes We are Healed”, Isa 53:5.  All of the festivals instituted by YHVH, including Passover and Unleavened Bread, are “shadows of things to come” Col. 2:17.

The only type of bread eaten during the eight days of Passover/Unleavened Bread is Matzah.  It is made with flour and water only, not any leaven.  It is striped and pierced during baking.  Matzot is plural for matzah.  

The utensils used must never touch leaven.  Bakery goods are made with matzah meal.

On the night before Passover, the father does a final search for any remaining leaven in the house.  Traditionally, by candlelight, he sweeps any remaining bread crumbs onto a wooden spoon with a goose feather.  When finished, the bread crumbs, the feather, and the spoon are placed in a bag and burned the next morning.

There is more in the Hebrew Scriptures, Old Testament, about Unleavened Bread for those that search for truth and righteousness.  Exodus 23:15; 34:18; 2 Chronicles 30; Ezra 6:22.  In the New Testament, or Renewed Covenant, look at Acts 12:3 & Acts 20:6.



Let us eat of Him during this Holy Week in reverence to His Word, seeking Truth to Fill Our Hearts.


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