Memorials in the Bible
A memorial is an object which serves as a focus for memory of something, usually a person (who has died) or an event. The most common type of memorial is the gravestone or the memorial plaque. Also common are war memorials commemorating those who have died in wars.
God has given us many memorials. This week we will look at four of them.
2) UNLEAVENED BREAD
Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days; and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters.8 And thou shalt shew thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the Lord did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt.9 And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the Lord’s law may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand hath the Lord brought thee out of Egypt.10 Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in his season from year to year. (Exodus 13:7-10)
Definition and Origin
The term “unleavened” refers to bread or other baked goods made without leavening agents, such as yeast, which cause dough to rise. In the Bible, unleavened bread holds significant religious and symbolic meaning, particularly in the context of the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
Biblical Significance
Unleavened bread is first mentioned in the context of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt. As they prepared to leave in haste, there was no time to allow their bread to rise. Thus, they baked unleavened bread, which became a lasting symbol of their deliverance from bondage. In Exodus 12:39 , it is recorded: “They baked unleavened cakes of the dough that they had brought out of Egypt, for it was not leavened, because they were driven out of Egypt and could not delay; they had not prepared any provisions for themselves.”
Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread
The Feast of Unleavened Bread is a seven-day festival that begins on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, immediately following the Passover. During this time, the Israelites were commanded to eat unleavened bread and remove all leaven from their homes. Exodus 12:15 states: “For seven days you must eat unleavened bread. On the first day, you are to remove the leaven from your houses. Whoever eats anything leavened from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel.”
This feast serves as a reminder of God’s deliverance and the purity required of His people. Leaven, often symbolizing sin and corruption, is to be purged, reflecting the call to holiness and separation from sin.
New Testament Context
In the New Testament, unleavened bread continues to hold symbolic importance. The Apostle Paul draws a parallel between leaven and sin in 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 : “Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven works through the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old leaven, that you may be a new unleavened batch, as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”
Here, Paul emphasizes the need for believers to live lives of sincerity and truth, free from the corrupting influence of sin, just as unleavened bread is free from leaven. (https://biblehub.com/topical/u/unleavened.htm)
Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com
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