Eating unleavened bread
Exodus 13:3-10; 6/14/2026; BCBC/IOUC; Rev. Paul Wang
Introduction
This is the third section of instruction given to God’s people after they came out of Egypt. It is not a direct declaration from the Lord, but words spoken by Moses to the people. This passage is closely related to our daily life of faith. After we hear God’s Word, what should we do next? Let us look at the first point.
Observe this day
Why should we observe this day? What kind of day is it? And what is its significance? First of all, you are to remember this day. Notice that Moses does not simply speak of an outward commemoration. He speaks of a heartfelt remembrance. This kind of remembrance comes from within. It is active and personal. It is something you keep in your heart, something you continually think about and cannot easily forget. By contrast, a commemoration is often expressed through outward forms—such as a memorial, a monument, or a special day of remembrance. At the end of May, the United States observed Memorial Day. The Civil War ended more than a century ago. Most people today no longer have a personal connection with those who died, yet the day still carries commemorative significance. Moses reminded the people that their deliverance from Egypt had just taken place. It was still fresh before their eyes. Therefore, his emphasis was on a present and living remembrance. Moses wanted the people to remember the transformation that had taken place in their lives. They had been delivered from the house of slavery. Their identity had been changed. In the same way, when we believed in Jesus Christ, we were set free from slavery to sin. In Christ, we have received true freedom. As the Scripture says, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.”
Second, this is the day of the Exodus. The Israelites came out of Egypt—but have you come out? The reason we can confess Jesus Christ as Lord is because the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives. Likewise, the Israelites were able to leave Egypt because the Lord brought them out with His mighty hand. For this reason, God established a new calendar for His people. He designated that month as the first month of the year, a new beginning for Israel. This month was called Abib, which refers to the first ripened grain. It can also be associated with the season of spring, the time when the barley begins to mature. More importantly, the two major feasts in Exodus—the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread—both fall in the middle of this month. Clearly, God established a specific time and setting for His people’s deliverance from Egypt.
Lastly, observe this ordinance this Month. The Bible consistently teaches that there is a right time for the things God calls His people to do. Even our Lord Jesus Christ came into the world in the fullness of time. In the fullness of time, He became flesh. He gave His life on the cross. And on the third day, He rose from the dead. In the same way, God waited until the completion of the four hundred and thirty years in Egypt. On that very day, the people of Israel came out of Egypt as the armies of the Lord. Here Moses is looking ahead and giving the people a preview of the future. He tells them that when they enter the land of Canaan—the land occupied by the seven Canaanite nations—they must continue to observe this ordinance in this month. At that point, what was once a present remembrance would become an ongoing commemoration. We see the same principle in the church today. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are examples of this. Gathering for worship on the Lord’s Day is also an example. Even our daily devotions, our prayers, and our songs of praise follow this same pattern. Now, let us move on to the second point.
Possess this land
God prepared both the time and the space for Israel’s exodus from Egypt. This is the land He had sworn to their forefathers—a land flowing with milk and honey. First of all, it is the land of the seven nations. In this passage, only five are mentioned: the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites. But if we look back at Exodus 3:8, six nations are listed: the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. The seventh nation, the Girgashites, first appears in Genesis 10:16. Moses also summarizes all seven nations in Deuteronomy 7:1. Among these peoples, the Canaanites were the most numerous and the primary inhabitants of the land. The Hittites lived in the hill country. The Amorites were strong people of the mountains. The Perizzites lived in the open countryside. The Hivites were related to the Gibeonites. And the Jebusites were the original inhabitants of Jerusalem. Clearly, the land God promised was not a place of ease or comfort. It was not a land of rest without challenge. Rather, it was a land of battle.
Second, a Land led by God. The details in Moses’ writing remind us that Israel’s coming inheritance was not something they would enter on their own. It was the Lord who would lead them into the land of Canaan. More than six hundred years earlier, God had called Abraham to leave Ur. After many journeys and struggles, he finally entered the land of Canaan. Isaac yielded and moved away from conflict, giving up three wells, yet he never left the boundaries of the Promised Land. He remained in Gerar, holding fast to God’s promise. Jacob later returned to Canaan. In order to restore his relationship with his brother Esau, he sought reconciliation and even sent ahead large gifts of livestock. Eventually, Esau moved away to Edom and established his own nation there. Jacob, however, chose to remain in Canaan. He waited quietly before God. And when the fullness of time came—four hundred and thirty years ago—God led Jacob’s descendants, a family of seventy, down into Egypt. There they went through suffering, and waited for God’s appointed deliverance.
Finally, it is the promised land. Even to this day, many people cannot fully understand why the people of Israel have such a deep and persistent love for this land.
Why are they so determined to return to the Holy Land? From 586 BC until today, 2,612 years have passed, yet God’s promise has never changed. In fact, because of the situation in Palestine, the British government once proposed the “Uganda Scheme” in 1903. It was a plan to allocate about 15,000 square kilometers in East Africa—what is now part of Kenya—for Jewish settlement. There were also other proposed alternatives, such as Argentina, Cyprus, the Sinai Peninsula, Angola, and Madagascar. But there was only one reason Israel did not settle elsewhere. That reason is this: Jerusalem is the Holy City, and Canaan is the land God promised—a land flowing with milk and honey. Now, let us move on to the third point.
Observe this ordinance
What ordinance are we talking about here? In fact, it refers to the observance of the Passover regulations. The Passover includes not only the lamb that is to be eaten, but also the ordinance of eating unleavened bread. In its context, Moses is speaking right after the Passover had just been observed and the Israelites had just left Egypt. Through Moses, God exhorts His people not to forget His holiness, because He cares about it deeply. First of all, remember the holiness of God. Why were they to eat unleavened bread? Originally, the immediate reason was practical: the Egyptians pressed the Israelites to leave in haste, giving them no time for their dough to rise. So the unleavened bread came out of the urgency of their departure under Egyptian pressure. But the Apostle Paul later explains in 1 Corinthians 5:7–8 that leaven represents sin and malice. The Israelites, however, often longed for the food of Egypt. They found the simplicity and scarcity of the wilderness difficult to endure. As a result, their hearts became bitter, their mouths filled with complaints, and they forgot God’s grace and failed to give thanks. What Moses is saying is this: compared with God’s salvation, our present sufferings are light and momentary and not worth comparing. And compared with Christ’s death on the cross, the gains and losses of this world are almost insignificant. When we have the Lord, what more do we still need?
Secondly, keep God’s covenant. Knowing God’s covenant is not difficult. The real challenge is keeping it. Do you want to observe the Passover? Do you want to offer sacrifices to God and please Him during that feast? Then you must also be willing to eat unleavened bread for seven days before the feast. Can you do so? We have the opportunity to observe the Lord’s Supper once a month. Are you willing to prepare your heart and your spiritual life? Can you come to worship on time? Can you prepare the bread and the cup in advance? When you partake of the bread and the cup, can you do it in unity with the whole church? Eating unleavened bread for seven consecutive days is not easy at all. Changing our habits is never simple. One day may be manageable, two days may still be fine, but seven days will eventually confront our deepest habits. Once habits are formed, they can quietly become a breeding ground for insensitivity toward sin—without us even noticing.
Finally, keep the covenant according to the appointed festivals. Keeping God’s covenant can be done in two ways: one is to observe it according to His instructions, the other is to go through the motions while following our own way. Coming to worship on the Lord’s Day, attending church, and receiving the Word may seem outwardly the same. But if there is no reverence in our hearts, even our children may grow up without fear of God, showing no reverence before Him. However, if we are willing to place God’s Word as a sign on our hands and a reminder on our foreheads, and to keep His law continually on our lips, then God’s power and grace will be revealed not only among the Israelites, but also in our own lives and families. He will deliver us from the bondage of sin, just as He brought Israel out of Egypt. Therefore Moses says: “You shall keep this ordinance at its appointed time year after year.” To live out God’s faithfulness and to receive His abundant grace—Are you willing?
Conclusion
Thank the Lord. Unleavened bread represents purity and sincerity. The removal of leaven speaks of putting away our old self and our old life. Of course, the greatest meaning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is that it points to Christ Himself. Because unleavened bread symbolizes sinlessness. It points to One who is pure and without blemish— the Passover Lamb, Jesus Christ. Therefore, we are to observe this day, we are to possess this land, and we are to keep this ordinance.
Let us pray together……
3 Then Moses said to the people, “Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by a strong hand the Lord brought you out from this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten.
4 Today, in the month of Abib, you are going out.
5 And when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall keep this service in this month.
6 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord.
7 Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days; no leavened bread shall be seen with you, and no leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory.
8 You shall tell your son on that day, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’
9 And it shall be to you as a sign on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth. For with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt.
10 You shall therefore keep this statute at its appointed time from year to year.
