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Get out the Leaven and keep out the Leaven
Lev 23:5-6
On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the LORD's Passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD; seven days you must eat unleavened bread
New King James Version
Leaven represents sin. The Israelites were told to take a lamb and inspect it for three days before Passover to make sure that is was spotless and blemish free. Later they were to eat the whole lamb, a lamb for a house. Jesus is the Lamb of God given for the taking away of our sin. He ministered for three years doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil. He called himself the bread from heaven. He told his disciples to eat his flesh just as the slaves of Egypt ate their lambs.
BUT FIRST they inspected the Lamb.
After the first Passover, the Israelites were told to inspect their houses for leaven and get it out. To this day many Jewish people meticulously sweep and scrub their cupboards, pantries, and their whole house so that they are sure that not one molecule of yeast, fermentation, or fermenting agent is within their house. Some even go as far as to have seperate sets of dishes just for this season.
As believers it is important for us to inspect our selves. We are the temple of God, individually and collectively. The days before Passover are for inspection, discernment , and seperation of anything that has come into our hearts to pollute or compromise the purity of the presence of Jesus Christ, the spotless Lamb of God within us. When we become believers, we "eat the whole Lamb" and there is nothing of evil in Him whatsoever. Our natural houses can become polluted with foreign things. The cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the sin that so easily entangles us can operate as leaven in our hearts.
We need to constantly check our hearts, this is certainly true, but here just before Passover, the Lord has given us a place where He wants us all (that is, the WHOLE CHURCH) to collectively inspect and seperate out sin (leaven) AT THE SAME TIME.
This kind of prayer, honesty, humility, and repentance has burst forth from time to time in various areas throughout the history of the Church, but I do not know of this happening in its fullness. Some of these events birthed awesome revivals and manifestations of God's goodness and power
But can you imagine every single believer and every fellowship group, denomination, church,and ministry doing this at the same time? Yet this is exactly what we are told to do during the days of preparation for the Passover.
We need to get the leaven out. This is something we have no ability to do BEFORE we are delivered from Egypt. But now, having been merged with God in covenant, and having taken Himself into ourselves as the bread of heaven and the whole Lamb, we have the ability to tell purity from pollution AND we have the authority within ourselves to caste it out.
We are to eat bread without leaven for seven days following this purging. Seven is the number of perfection, completion, and Holiness. By eating unleavened bread for seven days we are reminding our selves that this event of deliverance is to change the nature of our lives and our lifestyles forever. We are complete, perfect, taking nothing unholy into our selves.
Matt 5:48
Be perfect (complete, of full age), therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect(complete, of full age).
New International Version
Living in Christ we have everything pertaining to life and godliness, we have no need of any other food than the bread from heaven which is Jesus, our Messiah.
2 Peter 1:3-4
His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
New International Version
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