The Days of Unleavened Bread

YHWH's Set Apart times for us are not the usual man-made holidays spawned from traditions that you find printed on most modern day calendars, nor are they simply Jewish holidays. He put them in place as one set of rules for all people - His fixed times for all generations, throughout the ages. He set the pattern for us way back then, just as He showed the pattern of the Tabernacle to Moses and instructed him to build it just as he had been shown, we, too, have been shown the pattern of becoming His Set Apart people. 

~ Pesach is the Hebrew word translated "Passover"
~ Chag HaMatzah is Hebrew translated "Feast of Unleavened Bread" 

From my studies of Scripture I have learned Passover is not a set apart time by itself; the 'pass over offering' was made during the evening of the 14th day and immediately gives way to the seven days of Unleavened Bread. Also, the entire time (14th through the 21st) traditionally is referred to as Pesach, which I think is misleading in general as  anything kept 'traditionally' is always a red flag in my mind.

A lot happened before Pharaoh finally let Yah's people go. We'll fast forward to Exodus 12 when YHWH tells Moses and Aaron that this month will be the beginning of the months, it is the first month of the year. The people, Hebrews and a mixed multitude that accepted YHWH as their Elohim, were instructed to take a lamb per household on the 10th day of this month and keep it until the 14th day of this month, to be slaughtered at twilight.

They were further instructed to take some of the blood of the lamb and, using a bunch of hyssop, put it on the doorposts and lintel of the houses in which they were going to eat the roasted lamb, not leaving anything left over until morning. They were to be fully dressed and ready to travel, and they were to eat it hurriedly: It is a passover offering to YHWH.

Exodus 12:12- For that night I will go through the land of Egypt and strike down every first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and I will mete out punishments to all the (false) gods of Egypt... And the blood on the houses where you are staying shall be a Sign for you: when I see the blood I will pass over you, so that no plague will destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

This day is one we shall remember and celebrate throughout the ages, for all time. 

Exodus 12:15- Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread- on the very 1st day (of the 7, on the 15th) you shall remove leaven from your houses. The first day and the seventh day are sacred occasions and no work is to be done, only whatever is to be eaten may be prepared.

Exodus 12:17- you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread for on this very day (the 15th of the 1st month) I brought you out of Egypt, to be observed throughout the ages as an institution for all time.

Exodus 12:18- In the first month from the 14th day at evening you shall eat unleavened bread until the 21st day of the month at evening. No leaven is to be found in your houses- whether one is a stranger or a citizen of the country- you shall eat nothing leavened.

Exodus 12:24- You shall observe this as an institution for all time, for you and for your descendants. :25 And when you enter the land that I will give you, as I promised, you shall observe this rite... And when your children ask why and what does it mean, you shall say, 'It is the passover sacrifice to YHWH Elohim because He passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when He smote the Egyptians, but saved our houses.'

Please note that He tells us to observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread from the 14th until the 21st. Those seven days of yeast free breads begin with the pass over offering. The act of Faith, painting the blood of the lamb on the doorposts and lintel, was a Sign between Yah and those Set Apart believers.

Exodus 13:49- There shall be one law for the citizen and for the stranger who dwells among you.

Leviticus 23:4- These are the set times of YHWH, the sacred occasions, which you shall celebrate each at its appointed time: In the first month, on the 14th day of the month, at twilight, there shall be a passover offering to YHWH and on the 15th day of that month YHWH's Feast of Unleavened Bread- for seven days.

If we are not in the Promised Land now, are we to be observing this rite? If the priesthood does not exist, should we offer up a lamb at this time? We are to 'remember' why YHWH makes this a set apart time, and observe it as a sacred occasion, but can we take matters into our own hands by making a celebration out of it according to our own imagination? 

A year after He set them free from Pharoah, they did make the passover offering and observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This was after the Tabernacle was set up and YHWH was in their midst. He had moved from the mountain to the tent where He attached His Name. When Solomon built the temple, that is the last place we know of where Yahweh attached His Name. There is only one House of Elohim. Also, for us, the Lamb has already been sacrificed which set us free from bondage to sin. There is no longer a sin offering necessary, no passover offering is required yet we keep the the appropriate days as Shabbats, remove leaven from our lives for those seven days and remember why:

Deuteronomy 6:21- We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt and YHWH freed us from Egypt with a mighty hand. YHWH wrought before our eyes marvelous and destructive signs and portents in Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his household, and He freed us from there, that He might take us and give us the land that He had promised to our fathers. Then YHWH Elohim commanded us to observe all these laws, to revere Him as our Elohim for our lasting good and for our survival as is now the case. It will be therefore to our merit before YHWH our Elohim to observe faithfully this whole Instruction as He has commanded us.

As they were were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, we are slaves to today's world system, and by the blood of the lamb, Y'shua, we have freedom from the old pagan ways, freedom from our old sin nature and made ready to receive the promise of eternal life. The shed blood of Y'shua we accept as our covering, as a Sign to the Almighty to save us from death, that we may rest in His Kingdom for eternity.

Deuteronomy 16 gives us a little more detail for this set time. It reads that a passover offering is made to YHWH and slaughtered in the place Elohim will choose to establish His Name. For 7 days no leaven shall be found among you. You cannot slaughter the sacrifice wherever you choose but at the place YHWH chooses to establish His Name. In the morning you may start back home; on the 7th day of Unleavened Bread hold a solemn gathering, do no work.

In today's world, we are not able to bring a passover offering to YHWH which would normally be handled by the priesthood at the temple, but we must also remember that His Son was our one time sacrifice. He is our Lamb whose blood was shed for our sake. 

Hebrews 10:11
For every high priest who stood and ministered daily, offered again and again the same sacrifices which never were sufficient to purge away sins. But this Priest (Yahshua the Anointed One) offered one sacrifice for sins, and forever sat down at the right hand of Elohim (where he waits for his kingdom to come). For by one offering he has perfected forever, them who are sanctified by him. After which the Ruach haKodesh testifies by saying, This is the covenant I will give them after those days; says Master Yahweh... I will put my Torah/Instructions into their minds and inscribe it on their hearts and their iniquity and sins I will not remember against them.

Now, where there is a forgiveness of sins 

there is no offering for sin demanded.

There is no need to make a passover offering because Y'shua has fulfilled that requirement. We can, however, be free of leaven those seven days and hold a solemn assembly on the 1st and 7th days and do no work on those days. We do this because we remember how YHWH set our ancestors free from slavery, in bondage to Pharaoh in Egypt - this same pattern was revealed in Y'shua, who sets us free from eternal death, by willingly laying down his own life that we would gain life eternal.

If we 'remember' as Elohim says to, then we can understand how this applies to us today. The blood of the lamb was/is a sign to YHWH to pass over those who chose/choose to obey, follow, observe His Instructions. If you don't have the testimony of Y'shua, the blood of the lamb (a Sign) on your doorposts and lintels (heart and mind), then you cannot be saved, passed over, from destruction. This would mean, to be saved (from eternal death) is to obey YHWH's instructions, by Faith, and in obeying His Instructions you accept that Y'shua gave his life, his blood was shed that we may have life eternal.     

Take notice in regards to what has been added to the simple Word of Elohim as a quote from the Jewish Virtual Library:

On the first night of Passover (first two nights outside of Israel), Jews are commanded to have a special family meal filled with ritual to remind us of the significance of the holiday. This meal is called the Seder, which is a Hebrew root word meaning “order.”  The Seder, however, is no ordinary holiday meal - there is a specific set of tasks that must be completed and information that must be covered in a specific order. To correctly follow the process, the text of the Passover seder is written in a book called the Haggadah. The content of the seder is summed up in fourteen parts... end quote.

Now you tell me, after reading Scriptures and knowing what Yah's instructions are, has His Word been added to? This invented celebration is pure hog-wash in comparison to Scriptures.

The Definition of Haggadah: 

• The Passover Haggadah is a set form of benedictions, prayers, midrashic comments and psalms recited at the seder ritual on the eve of Passover. (this is Not a Commandment of YHWH our Elohim...)

It's no wonder Isaiah shares these Words of YHWH in 1:10 as he relates how it was in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah: 

"Hear the word of YHWH the instructions of Elohim! What need have I of all your sacrifices? I am sated with burnt offerings of rams, and suet of fatlings, and blood of bulls, and I have No Delight in lambs and goats that you come to appear before Me... trample My courts no more! Bringing oblations is futile, incense is offensive to Me. New moon and sabbath, proclaiming of solemnities, assemblies with wickedness, I cannot abide. Your new moons and fixed seasons fill Me with loathing, they are become a burden to Me, I cannot endure them..."

This is exactly why we are not to worship Elohim in our own way, or try to approach Him as we see fit. If we follow tradition we are not following YHWH or Y'shua haMashiyach.  Remember, Y'shua also warns of the end times, that it will be like it was in the days of Noah, like the days of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Remember, it is about Yahweh's perfect timing, not religious ideals, traditions. our own creative imagination or customs.

In this day and age 
let us obey 
and follow His Instructions best we can.

Set apart the 1st and 7th day as Sabbaths
to do no work,

And remember why this time 
is appointed by our Creator.

Read Scriptures
Remember and see the pattern

The pattern which reveals the days to come.

Remove the leaven from your life

Let no temptations be found in your home

Nothing Has Changed

Right off the bat we are told it is Satan 
who causes us to doubt the Word of Yah. 

This doubt causes division among His People. 

If we aren't of one mind how can we be a Light unto others?

If we won't accept the written word as truth, 

if we doubt that Yahweh says what He means 
and does what He says, 

then we fall into that same trap Satan 
set in the Garden of long ago.

Nothing has changed. 

The rules are the same and the consequences are the same.

It is up to us to seek Him as if looking for treasure. 
By seeking YHWH we follow the trail 
and avoid those stumbling blocks
of bad translations, doctrines of man 
and those wolves in sheep's clothing.

Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, 
is our road map out of the world system
that we may find our way back home 
returning to our Creator.

We know God speaks to His People as it is written in Scriptures. We also know even those who witnessed His Works first hand eventually fell away from following His Teachings.

In the beginning Yahweh established Himself as the Creator of: Light; Sky; Earth; Lights in the Sky; Sea Creatures; Birds that Fly; Animals, insects and man. Then He blesses the 7th day and rests. Many years later He tells us to remember the 7th day, to rest and do no work on that day (commandment #4 of the 10.) We obey this instruction as a 'sign' that we have chosen to be Set Apart because our Creator is Set Apart.

YHWH has told us the end from the beginning so we will recognize that when these events occur, it was He, the Living Elohim, who told us beforehand. We can trust that Yah is the One True God. 

YHWH Elohim provides the instructions needed that all will be well for us. His Instructions are recorded in Genesis through Deuteronomy.  If we read Scriptures every day His Spirit will begin to reveal the Truth of His Word and we shall gain understanding. This is the path of righteousness we choose to travel.

God placed man in the Garden to tend it. He put us in His Creation to take care of things until the Time of the End (of life as we know it.)   The Adversary, Satan, has been corrupting the system ever since he caused Eve to doubt the Word of God by asking: Did God really say...? Doubt causes division and Satan uses that same tactic against us in this day and age.

If we continue to read and study Scriptures our understanding will increase and give way to wisdom that we may discern the times we are in and not fall victim to Satan's deceits. Satan has a counterfeit for everything God put in place.

We can say anything, profess to be believers, but it is the intentions of our heart that will be eventually revealed. YHWH's People are recognized as Set Apart because not only do they 'talk the talk' by they 'walk the walk'.

Our lifestyle becomes Set Apart by our choice to obey YHWH and live according to His rules. This is what it means to be a Light unto the Nations (other peoples).

If we love Elohim the Creator whose name is YHWH, then we obey His Instructions. He, in turn, keeps His promise made to Abraham so many years ago: Yah will gather us from the corners of the earth, from the places we have been scattered and set us on the Promised Land of Canaan.

We trust our Heavenly Father that we will find ourselves back in that Garden.