Exodus 12 "Leaven and Unleavened"

Exodus 12:18 "In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even."

Leaven: a substance (as yeast) used to produce fermentation (as in dough) something that modifies or lightens. Websters dictionary.

Leaven is sour dough used to raise the new dough with which it is mixed. The Jews were forbidden to use leaven or have it in their houses during the seven days of the Passover. For this reason this festival was sometimes called the "feast of unleavened bread." The word leaven is often used figuratively. According to Comprehensive Bible Helps.

Leaven had always been a mystery to me until I tried my hand at making some homemade bread. Using yeast properly and letting the dough set for a correct period of time will make a nice fluffy loaf. Using no leaven will turn out a flat bread which may be sort of like the old western hardtack or maybe the flapjacks.

I am still struggling with leaven as it is used figuratively and spiritually and have been thinking about it for several days. CI Scofield points out that it was the blood on the doorpost that saved the Israelites since they did not have time to eat the unleavened bread but took it with them when they left. v39

Thinking about leaven and unleavened, I thought of the way people try to take faith in Christ and mix it up with some other belief or thing and depend on the mixture for redemption. It seems obvious to me that we must put complete faith in Christ without any additives, i.e. Christ is the bread of life. Mt 26: 26-28. The word repentance is a turning away, so in turning to Christ one turns lose of past beliefs and trust in Christ fully without hanging onto the past.

In a Christians role as the light of the world we become the leaven that affects the world for faith in Christ as in Matthew 13:33 "Another parable spake he unto them: The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened."

I read once about Aristole, I think it was, who professed faith in one God but on his death bed he had his servants to strangle a chicken just in case. That is adding leaven to his faith and I expect the whole lump was useless. He did not trust in God fully and God will not share his kingdom.

Faith will grow within us with proper nurturing and make us a better person. Sin, on the other hand, will also grow given room and destroy us.

I believe that the ordinance of the passover was the first law given to the Israelites. I think they already understood that they were to have no other gods than the true God Jehovah which was later engraved in the tablets.

Exodus 12:49 "One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you." v51 "And it came to pass the selfsame day, that the Lord did bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies."

He said he would and He did.

Proverbs 4:23 "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life."