The Feast of Unleavened Bread: Sanctification
Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. (1 Corinthians 5:8)
Each of the Seven Feasts prescribed by the Lord throughout the Torah have their own specific purpose. The Feast of Unleavened Bread, being one of them, should hold a special place in the calendar of all believers and truth seekers. It is a time that the Lord has appointed His people to come before Him.
Last year, we went in depth with the concept of sanctification for the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This year, we want to explain the “why” behind it.
The length of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is particular in nature. To begin, it is a feast that lasts a total of seven days. During those seven days, you are to remove all of the yeast from within your homes and to not eat anything that has the product within it (Deuteronomy 16:3). The perplexing number here is seven, a number that represents completeness and holiness. That should already spark something within you, as it's the number of days that God has given in the week. But also, around the Bible, there are numerous sevens, from seven feasts (Leviticus 23) to the seven titles given to the Hebrews by Paul as well Book of Revelation, which tells of 7 churches, 7 angels, 7 thunders, 7 seals, etc.
What also stands to be important is the timing of the Feast. Remember, the Feast of Passover is only meant to be lived from sunset to evening (Number 9:3, Joshua 5:10). When it ends, the Feast of Unleavened Bread begins (Leviticus 23:5 - 6). That means that the Lamb has already died for your sins and you have consumed it, in remembrance of what Yahweh has done in Egypt, at Golgotha and in your life. The sins have been transmitted onto the animal and you are now, theoretically, sanctified. From that point on, you do not eat yeast for the appointed days, something that was explained last year as being representative of sin, in a bid to continue that sanctification. That is something seen in Revelations 22:11, where it is written:
Let the one who is doing harm continue to do harm; let the one who is vile continue to be vile; let the one who is righteous continue to live righteously; let the one who is holy continue to be holy.”
- Revelations 22:11
The importance of this feast can be found in what one could call the “precedence of sanctification”. As it is the beginning of the calendar year for Yahweh, He is inviting you to live out your year in sanctification. In that same spirit of sanctification, you must be willing to abstain of what is wrong in the eyes of the Lord and present yourself to Him as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1). When you reach the feasts that follow, you will be able to present your first offerings, receive the Holy Spirit, hear the trumpets, ask for atonement for your sins and celebrate His holiness because you are sanctified. Remember that Unleavened Bread is the first feast that the Lord says that you must present yourself to Him: that is so that you may continue your year in sanctification.