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Last Day of Unleavened Bread
April 12, 2023
Today we are observing the Last Day of Unleavened Bread, a day when we consider the finality of leaving sin. While being fully aware of our prior life before being called by God through Jesus Christ, we look forward to the future seeking the Kingdom of God and God’s Righteousness. We do not need to live in the past as we live for the future and the Kingdom of God that will come. On a day like today, we can be reminded of the words of Moses who spoke to the children of Israel on the banks of the Red Sea. He told them to stand still and be not afraid because God would deliver them from the Egyptians who were pursuing them. He directly told them that God would fight for them.
Exodus 14:13-14
And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more forever.
The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.
In the book of Deuteronomy, they were again reminded that God would fight for them, just like God defeated the Egyptians to free His people. Told to not be afraid, they were reminded that when they saw their enemies and weapons of war, even if outnumbered, they had nothing to fear, because God would fight for them.
Deuteronomy 20:1-4
When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them: for the Lord thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
And it shall be, when ye are come nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people,
And shall say unto them, Hear, O Israel, ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies: let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them;
For the Lord your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.
Being told that God will fight for us can be hard to believe when the sight of our enemy is before us. That is what happened with Jehoshaphat when the children of Moab and Ammon and others came to fight Israel. When word of the advancing armies got back to Jehoshaphat, that it caused him to be concerned and he ordered a fast throughout the land to seek the help of God. Jehoshaphat then publicly asked God for his mercy and protection over the invading armies reminding God of past favors provided back through the time of Abraham.
He then detailed the threat they were facing from nations they were not allowed by God to invade when they had left Egypt, and now came before God to invoke promises of protection recognizing that the size of the invading army was much greater than the size of the army of Israel. After hearing the prayer of Jehoshaphat, the Spirit of God came upon Jahaziel, one of the Levites who spoke not only to king Jehoshaphat, but to all of the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. He told them to not be afraid or sense defeat because the battle belonged to God, not to them. Through the Spirit, God relayed to the people exactly where this army could be found, giving them a huge tactical advantage. All they needed to do was show up and fight, and God would give them victory.
2 Chronicles 20:1-17
It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle.
Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazon–tamar, which is En–gedi.
And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the Lord: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.
And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court,
And said, O Lord God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?
Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend forever?
And they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name, saying,
If, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in thy presence, for thy name is in this house, and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help.
And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and destroyed them not;
Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit.
O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.
And all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.
Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the Lord in the midst of the congregation;
And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's.
Tomorrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel.
Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you.
God always gives a path to victory and a way of escape for His people, and the accounts from the Old Testament are given to us an example. Even though God promised victory after victory, many times the people got in the way of those promises. While sometimes they were attuned to the will of God doing what was expected, many times they let their minds wander from what is righteous to what is evil, and because of sin, many suffered and died. Like God fought for Israel, God fights for us today. Back then through God, victory was given, and through Jesus Christ today we have a way of escape from the sin that is so common in this world. Knowing a way of escape is provided to us, we could choose to ignore that exit and stay with the sin, or we can with greatest confidence take that exit to remove ourselves from sin, and Paul encouraged the Corinthians to flee from idolatry.
1 Corinthians 10:1-14
Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;
And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
And did all eat the same spiritual meat;
And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.
Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.
Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.
Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.
Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.
Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.
In his second letter to the church at Corinth, Paul reminded them that even though we live a physical existence, the wars we will fight are not physical but spiritual. Knowing we have this spiritual war to fight against a common enemy, through Jesus we are meek and gentle and yet have this spiritual quality of boldness about us. Just like soldiers fight in combat knowing serious harm or even death is a reality, and are bold in so doing, we must continue our spiritual fight knowing our enemy, Satan the Devil seeks our spiritual harm and death, having great confidence that God will give us the way of escape, by giving us the might through the Spirit of God to overcome that which is evil, as we bring every thought into obedience to Jesus.
2 Corinthians 10:1-6
Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence am base among you, but being absent am bold toward you:
But I beseech you, that I may not be bold when I am present with that confidence, wherewith I think to be bold against some, which think of us as if we walked according to the flesh.
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.
We have to be like the Thessalonians who were reminded by Paul that God is faithful to us and will keep us from evil so that the word of God, the teachings of the Bible, the words of faith that keep our hope focused on the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness is not somehow restrained by what we say and do, but will flow freely so that what is written in the Bible brings glory to God. We must continue to do what is expected of us knowing we have to patiently wait for the return of Jesus.
2 Thessalonians 3:1-5
Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you:
And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith.
But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.
And we have confidence in the Lord touching you, that ye both do and will do the things which we command you.
And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ.
With all that God does for us, does that mean we have to do nothing? Absolutely not! Our Christian faith is not a spectator sport. We do not sit in the stands and watch others in the faith, because we are part of the faith, we are part of the team. It reminds me of how Joshua explained what Israel would need to do as he was getting much older nearing his death. First Joshua reminded them that God had always fought for Israel. It was God who divided nations before them so that the tribes of Israel could have an inheritance. It was God who drove these other nations from the land before them.
Then Joshua reminded the children of Israel what they needed to do. They had to be very courageous and do what God expected of them. They couldn’t pick and choose what God wanted them to do, they had to do all that God wanted them to do. Following God is not just an act of obedience. Following God in a world that mostly rejects God is also an act of extreme courage. The more that society moves away from God the more courage it will take to do all that God expects of us.
The children of Israel were also specifically warned about adopting any indigenous religious practices or to regard the indigenous gods remembering that through God, great and decisive victories had been given to Israel. The children of Israel were cautioned to remember to love God not becoming like the nations they displaced in any way. They were not to even marry into the remnant of the nations they displaced, because if they did this, that would bring an end to the promise by God to fight for Israel. Evil would then come upon Israel as much as the blessing of God had previously come upon them, because Israel did not obey God.
Joshua 23:1-16
And it came to pass a long time after that the Lord had given rest unto Israel from all their enemies round about, that Joshua waxed old and stricken in age.
And Joshua called for all Israel, and for their elders, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers, and said unto them, I am old and stricken in age:
And ye have seen all that the Lord your God hath done unto all these nations because of you; for the Lord your God is he that hath fought for you.
Behold, I have divided unto you by lot these nations that remain, to be an inheritance for your tribes, from Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, even unto the great sea westward.
And the Lord your God, he shall expel them from before you, and drive them from out of your sight; and ye shall possess their land, as the Lord your God hath promised unto you.
Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left;
That ye come not among these nations, these that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow yourselves unto them:
But cleave unto the Lord your God, as ye have done unto this day.
For the Lord hath driven out from before you great nations and strong: but as for you, no man hath been able to stand before you unto this day.
One man of you shall chase a thousand: for the Lord your God, he it is that fighteth for you, as he hath promised you.
Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love the Lord your God.
Else if ye do in any wise go back, and cleave unto the remnant of these nations, even these that remain among you, and shall make marriages with them, and go in unto them, and they to you:
Know for a certainty that the Lord your God will no more drive out any of these nations from before you; but they shall be snares and traps unto you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good land which the Lord your God hath given you.
And, behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth: and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof.
Therefore it shall come to pass, that as all good things are come upon you, which the Lord your God promised you; so shall the Lord bring upon you all evil things, until he have destroyed you from off this good land which the Lord your God hath given you.
When ye have transgressed the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed yourselves to them; then shall the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and ye shall perish quickly from off the good land which he hath given unto you.
Going back further in time in the Bible, we have the account of Lot and his family who lived in Sodom, which together with the city of Gomorrah were cities of wild sexual acts that eventually brought God’s destruction to them. The people were so involved with sex that when angels of God showed up to talk with Lot, the people wanted to have sex with them as well. These angels, who appeared in the likeness of men eventually were hustled by Lot to his house where in an attempt to satisfy the sexual appetite of the townspeople, Lot offered his daughters instead.
It didn’t take long for these angels to ask Lot about his entire family and if he was willing to bring them with him out of Sodom, because destruction was coming at the will of God. Lot tried hard to convince his sons-in-law that Sodom would be destroyed but because they were so full of unbelief, they couldn’t take Lot seriously. Even with his own family, these angels had to physically hustle Lot, his wife and his daughters to safety, even though they were initially reluctant to go. Once they were a safe distance from the city, they were told to continue their escape and not to look back. For whatever reason, Lot’s wife did look back as the city was being destroyed and was turned into a pillar of salt.
Genesis 19:12-26
And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place:
For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the Lord; and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it.
And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.
And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.
And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the Lord being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.
And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.
And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord:
Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die:
Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, is it not a little one? and my soul shall live.
And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken.
Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do anything till thou become thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.
Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven;
And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.
But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
Jesus even taught that His disciples cannot look back. We cannot follow God and Jesus while also looking back on the life we once lived. In one example, Jesus was approached by a man who wanted to follow Christ, but only after his father died first, to which Jesus replied that the dead need to bury the dead, but His followers needed to preach the Kingdom of God. Another told Jesus he wanted to follow Jesus but only after first saying farewell to his family. We cannot commit to following Jesus and then back away from that commitment for any reason whatever it might be.
Luke 9:57-62
And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.
And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.
And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.
And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.
And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
In Matthew, the same lesson is taught using different words. In Matthew’s account, we are shown that if we commit to follow Jesus, our commitment to follow Jesus must be greater than any love we have for any person on earth.
Matthew 10:34-39
Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
Instead of looking back to the time in our life before we knew God and Jesus Christ, we must press forward reaching to the future and the Kingdom of God, knowing that it is in the future and not the past that we will attain eternal life. We cannot even begin to consider that we have already arrived at this future time, nor can we return to our past as if our calling has never happened. We press forward reaching for the prize of eternal life.
Philippians 3:12-14
Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
As we physically age and develop a lifetime of experiences, we have to be especially mindful not to regard our past life when we were younger not knowing God and Jesus Christ as we do now. Each of us will have memories of that time when we were younger, and some of us will have fond memories of when we were younger. Chances are as we look back in our life we see the good things that have happened in our lives, and because we are called, we probably also see the hand of God in bringing about at least some of these events. But, we are cautioned not to consider the life we had when we were younger as the good old days while looking at the present time as a time of evil.
Ecclesiastes 7:7-10
Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift destroyeth the heart.
Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.
Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this.
If the hand of God was with us in our younger days bringing at least some of the good into our life, God is still bringing good into our life today. If we cannot see the good that God brings into our life today, that is more likely a problem of our perspective. If all we see is evil around us everywhere, where are we acknowledging the protection and deliverance of God? If when we were younger and more foolish God was merciful and brought good into our life, even if we are older and living in a world that rejects God, God can and will bring good into our life. Like Lot’s wife, we cannot look back.
We need to remember we are led by the Spirit of God. Being led by the Spirit of God means we are a willing participant in the process. We are not being dragged by the Spirit of God as if we are a lifeless body. Being led means we follow the leader, and that all shows a forward looking view. We are looking forward to the Kingdom of God and not back knowing that we are heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ.
Romans 8:14-17
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
Looking to this future Kingdom of God does not give us a free pass on our spiritual responsbilities today. Now is the time of our spiritual harvest. Now is the time to gather fruit for eternal life, for ourselves and for others.
John 4:31-38
In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat.
But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.
Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat?
Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.
And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.
And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.
I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.
Looking forward and not back means we seek those things which are of the Kingdom of God that can be found in the throne room of heaven where Jesus Christ sits at the right hand of God. There is nothing on this earth which has that importance. Instead of focusing on our physical life which eventually comes to an end, we need to focus on that which is beyond our physical life, what is spiritual and eternal. With that focus of spiritual and eternal we need to put away everything that is sinfully human as we become more and more like Jesus Christ.
Colossians 3:1-10
If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:
In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.
But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;
And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
Knowing we are to become more and more like Jesus as we live on earth, we look to Jesus Christ who is the author and finisher of our faith. He not only began us on our journey of faith, but will help us complete that journey of faith. We can either look back to when we were first called in the faith and focus on that time, or we can look to the finish line, with Jesus at the finish line cheering us on to victory. If we look back, we will lose the race before us.
Hebrews 12:1-3
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
To get to the finish line, it is a spiritual race, and a spiritual fight. We fight looking to the finish line, not the starting line knowing we are fighting a spiritual battle, knowing that through the Spirit of God, God will equip us to fight our spiritual battles, knowing that just like God brought victory to Israel, God will bring spiritual victory to each of us. What we do is based on truth, protected by righteousness fully understanding the message of the Kingdom of God, based in faith using salvation to shield us from evil while using the word of God as our offensive weapon, and we will pray for all who are of the faith, and for all who bring messages of the faith.
Ephesians 6:10-20
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,
For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
With the conclusion of the Days of Unleavened Bread, we consider the finality of leaving sin, just like the children of Israel finally left Egypt, and we must leave sin. We know from those many Old Testament examples that God was there leading the way and fighting for the children of Israel bringing victory to them. We also know that today, God is there leading the way for us as we look forward to the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness, as we see Jesus as the author and finisher of our faith cheering us on to get to the finish line so that we can receive the gift of eternal life.
All verses are from the King James Version.
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