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Sunday, April 13, 2014

Put Away Leaven Out Of Your Houses

Exodus 12:15 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.

I read an article about a custom that the Jewish people perform every Passover. The head of the household lights a candle and carries it through the house in search of any products that are leavened (contain yeast) by the light of the candle only. Each thing that is found which contains leaven right down to the smallest crumb is found with joy and a feather is used to sweep the crumbs into a bag. This search is continued until the very last crumb is found and removed. The next morning each Jewish family burns their bag of leaven.

This ceremony demonstrates how we are to be cleansed from sin. The candle symbolizes the word of God which searches our hearts for pride and arrogance. The feather symbolizes the work of the Holy Spirit sweeping the sin away. The fire symbolizes how God destroys the leaven (sin).
It is important to remove sin from our heart and life. The more we study God’s word and apply it to our mind, heart, and life the stronger we become in him. Studying his word, praying without ceasing, and singing psalms and hymns helps us keep our mind on God and his word instead of worldly things.

II Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

In the Bible the word leaven is used to represent sin, pride, arrogance, and false teachings. Just as a small amount of leaven (yeast) eats through a whole lump of dough, sin in our heart can eventually consume us and be our downfall or a stumbling block to others.

I Corinthians 5:6-8 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

We are cleansed by the blood of our Lord and Savior, the Messiah, Jesus Christ. We through faith are forgiven of our sins. We are made righteous. Righteousness is our God given ability to stand in his presence without a sense of sin, guilt or condemnation.

John 3:14-21 (14) And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: (15) That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. (16) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (17) For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (18) He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (19) And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. (20) For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, least his deeds should be reproved. (21) But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be manifest, that they are wrought in God.

John 10:27-30 (27) My sheep (believers) hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: (28) And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. (29) My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. (30) I and my Father are one.

I pray that God opens the minds and hearts of all people to know and understand his word, his love, and his gifts of salvation and grace.

Written By: Lisa Collier Clewis, April 13, 2014