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Exodus 12:14-17

vs.14–And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall deep 
it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a 
feast by an ordinance for ever.

vs.15–Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye 
shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened 
bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut 
off from Israel.

vs.16–And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in 
the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of 
work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that 
only may be done of you.

vs.17–And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this 
selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: 
therefore shall ye observe this day in yur generation by an ordinance 
for ever.

Summary

The feast of Unleavened Bread starts the day after Passover and lasts seven days. Passover takes place on the 14^th of Nissan according to the Jewish calendar, which is a Thursday according to modern calendars.  Friday is the 15^th of Nissan, the first day of Unleavened Bread.  The next day is Saturday, the Sabbath.  Sunday is the Feast of First Fruits.  Fifty days later is Pentecost.

At the beginning of the feast a convocation or meeting is held to start the feast and then one is held at the end to conclude the feast.  The feast is a representation of how the Israelites needed to leave Israel in such a hurry that they did not have time to take any leaven with them for their bread. So for seven days during this feast Jews do not eat bread with leaven.  Leaven is yeast to make the bread rise.

A common tradition among Jews is to sprinkle leaven crumbs (yeast) around the house that they will then sweep up in a pile and burn outside.  The burning of the leaven crumbs is a wonderful representation of what Christ does to sin.  By His power and the help of the Holy Spirit we can eradicate sin from our lives.  The burning of the leaven symbolized this for the Jews. 

See what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 (NKJV)

7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.^[8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

The feast represents not only purging sin from our lives and our homes but also complete separation from our old selves and our sinful nature.  Israel remembered their complete separation from Egypt during this time.  The Israelites needed to be continually reminded about what they left behind in Egypt.  They needed to be reminded about their false religion, bondage, food, and of course slavery to their masters.  Egypt seemed to offer a great deal of promise but the promise land offered much more, FREEDOM!  This week long feast was designed to continually remind them of this fact.

Related Scriptures

Exodus 23:15

Deuteronomy 16:16

Leviticus 23:1-4

What is the Feast of First fruits?

Summary

The feast of first fruits or the “beginning of the harvest” was celebrated on Nisan 16 according to the Jewish calendar.  This was the first day after the Sabbath during the feast of Unleavened Bread.

The priest would wave a sheaf of green barley to symbolize the Jews dedication of the coming barley harvest   to the Lord.

This feast had a great agricultural significance to the Jews after they entered the Promise Land but its spiritual significance goes far beyond grain and barley.  This feast is the feast that represents the Resurrection of the Lamb of God Jesus Christ.

See the timeline around Christ’s death on the Cross and his Resurrection three days later:

Timeline of Christ’s Resurrection

Nisan 14 – Thursday evening – Passover Lamb killed / Christ is Crucified, Dead, and Buried

Nisan 15 – Friday – High Sabbath begins – first day of Unleavened Bread – Stone of the tomb sealed

Nisan 16 – Saturday Day - Waving of the Omar (first fruits)

Nisan 17 – Saturday Evening – Christ Rises from the Dead!

The Jewish timetable has the next day starting at sun down not at midnight!  Therefore Christ’s Resurrection takes place specifically on the evening of the waving of the barley loafs to celebrate the real reason for th Feast of First Fruits. 

Other Important Events that Took place on Feast of First Fruits

a) Noah’s Ark landed on Mt. Ararat (Genesis 8:4).

b) The Jews crossed the Red Sea (Exodus 3:18).

c) Israel ate the first fruits in the Promised Land (Joshua 5:10 12).

d) Haman’s plot to kill all the Jews was foiled (Esther).

e) Jesus Christ rose from the dead (John 12:24).

Paul Ties it All Together

Paul also ties the Feast of First Fruits together by linking Christ’s Resurrection to it in 1 Corinithains 15:20-23

20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.

The Bible is written with such order and such symbolism that all points to Christ.  He cares for us so much that He has been revealing himself to the world since it’s inception!  Take note of Him now!  Ask Him to be your Lord and Savior.  He can relieve the guilt and pain of sin in your life today.  You must ask Him first and then watch Him work a miracle in your life!

Passover Feast / Feast of Unleavened Bread

Summery: The Passover is the celebration of God delivering the Hebrew children from the rule of Egypt.  This enslavement lasted over 400 years. 

Passover begins on the 15th day of the month of Nisan, the first month of the Hebrew calendar, in accordance with the Hebrew Bible. The Exodus of the Jews from Egypt took place in the spring and so Passover is celebrated in the spring for seven or eight days. (Credit Wikipedia)

In Exodus 12 the Bible clear explains how Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt and the consequences for Pharaoh’s lack of belief in the one True God, Jehovah!  The Lord sent 10 plaques upon Egypt because Pharaoh would not listen Moses who was speaking for God.  Here were the 10 plaques:

1.    The Nile turned to blood (Exodus 7:14-25)

2.    Plaque of Frogs (Exodus 8:1-15)

3.    Plaque of Gnats or Lice (Exodus 8:16-19)

4.    Plaque of Flies (Exodus 8:20-32)

5.    Livestock Diseased (Exodus 9:1-7)

6.    Plaque of Boils (Exodus 9:8-12)

7.    Plaque of Hail (Exodus 9:13-26)

8.    Plaque of Locust (Exodus 10:1-20)

9.    Plaque of Darkness (Exodus 10:21-29)

10. Death to the Firstborn (Exodus 11:1-10)

Passover was explained in Exodus 12

1.    Take a spotless lamb and kill it at twilight

2.    Take the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they ate.

3.    After they covered the doorpost with blood they were to eat the lamb with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.

4.    The Lord passed through the land of Egypt that night and every home that did not have blood on the doorposts from a lamb suffered the loss of every first born person and animal.

5.    This feast according to Exodus 12:15 is to be kept for seven days.

6.    They were to eat unleavened bread for seven days

7.    No work was to be done on those seven days for it is a memorial to the Lord.

8.    This feast is to be kept as a memorial to the Lord forever.

Modern Day Passover

The modern day version of the Passover celbration is called the Seder Meal

The Seder meal consists of six highly symbolic elements: matzah, a roasted shank bone, parsley or green herbs, the top of a horseradish, charoset, and an egg. On each plate are three piece of matzah (a special type of cracker or unleavened bread). Two of these pieces represent the traditional loaves used in the ancient Temple during festivals and the third piece symbolizes Passover. The roasted lamb bone connotes the sacrificial Passover lamb. Herbs symbolize springtime growth. The horseradish represents the bitter years of slavery in Egypt; charoset, a mixture of fruit and ground nuts soaked in wine, represents the mortar used in Egypt; and the egg represents the chagigah (a secondary sacrifice prepared along with the Passover lamb). (Credit: CBN)

Old Testament Scriptures on Passover

• Exodus 12:1-28
• Leviticus 23:4-8
• Numbers 9:1-14
• Deuteronomy 16:1-8

New Testament Significance

Christ is the last sacrificial lamb needed to cover our sins.  When the blood of Christ was shed on the Cross it was far reaching enough to cover the sins of all those who would have faith in Him.  The death of the lamb at the first Passover was a shadow of the real death of the Lamb of God that was to come.  Now that we can fully see the true Lamb of God we can fully accept Christ’s death on the Cross in our life so that the Lord might “Passover” our sins on the day of judgment. 

Resources Around the Web on the Passover

How The Passover Reveals Jesus Christ - GodandScience.org