TODAY at DAWN BEGINS THE FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD. The Feast of Unleavened Bread begins is a special convocation always falling on Sabbath, the 15th of the first month, and for that reason, it is called a HIGH Sabbath. It is a seven day feast, lasting until the 21st of the month. There are special rules unique to this feast. During this time, no leavening is to be eaten. In a larger sense than just the Passover, it commemorates Israelite deliverance from bondage and, in turn, our deliverance from sin. Feast of Unleavened Bread is not a time one must take off of work, but it can be a time of special family togetherness, both at special family worships as well as planned family activities. Within the Feast of Unleavened Bread, there are three highlights: the first day of the Feast; the offering of the Wave Sheaf; and the last day of the Feast. First Day of Unleavened Bread Of any Sabbath in the year, the First Day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is the most solemn. It is the anniversary of the day on which Christ lay in the tomb. What a long day it is as one remembers the despair the disciples felt that day so many years ago! They did not understand that the Messiahs mission was to die, so at His death, their despair and sorrow, their heartbreak and discouragement knew no bounds. As the hours of this anniversary pass, one cannot help but think, again and again, of the desolation, the anguish and utter hopelessness felt by the first disciples. It is a memorial of the desolation and misery the whole world would feel if it were not for the love of the Father. Without a Saviour, the entire world would be lost without any hope. It is a very sober time and one begins to have a faint grasp of the immensity of sin. The law of Yahuwah is perfect. It is a written-out transcript of the very thoughts and feelings of the Eternal One. To change it would be to admit that there was some fault in the One whose character it described. This was why Yahuwahs holy law could not be changed to excuse sinners. However, because that holy law is the law of Love, Infinite Love found a way to save sinners: the sacrifice of Loves own Son to pay the price of the guilty. Satan in heaven had hated Christ for His position in the courts of [Yahuwah]. He hated Him the more when he himself was dethroned. He hated Him who pledged Himself to redeem a race of sinners. Yet into the world where Satan claimed dominion [Yahuwah] permitted His Son to come, a helpless babe, subject to the weakness of humanity. He permitted Him to meet lifes peril in common with every human soul, to fight the battle as every child of humanity must fight it, at the risk of failure and eternal loss.1 It was a very real battle onto which Christ entered and one which He could have lost. Had Christ, just once, consented to sin, even in His mind, the battle would have been lost. Satan would have won, and sin would have spread throughout the universe. Christ and the Father risked Christs own eternal existence in this fight. Had Christ sinned He would also have earned the wages of sin: eternal death. The heart of the human father yearns over his son. He looks into the face of his little child, and trembles at the thought of lifes peril. He longs to shield his dear one from Satans power, to hold him back from temptation and conflict. To meet a bitterer conflict and a more fearful risk, [Yahuwah] gave His only begotten Son, that the path of life might be made sure for our little ones. Herein is love. Wonder, O heavens! And be astonished, O earth!2 The Father risked everything to save us. We do not see the enormity of sin. We are comfortable with it. That Sabbath is an anniversary for our recognition of what it cost our Eloah and His Son to save us. Christ did not see through the portals of the tomb. The sense of guilt from the combined weight of the sins of the world was so great that He felt that He would never again be accepted back into His Fathers presence. It was the sense of sin, bringing the Fathers wrath upon Him as mans substitute, that made the cup He drank so bitter, and broke the heart of the Son of [Yahuwah].3 The love of the Almighty, Holy and Eternal Father was such that He was willing to risk everything to save sinners betrayed and deceived into sin. The love of Christ was such that He was willing to risk His own eternal existence to cooperate with His Father in this grand, expensive and risky venture. The stillness, the despair of the day on which Christ lay in the tomb is a faint representation of what the whole world would feel without its Saviour. Such love, so great and pure, melts the stony sinful heart. As a person realizes the depths and heights of self-sacrificing, divine Love, he realizes that it issafe to fully surrender into the control of Love that would rather cease to exist, than exist without him. Here is Love Here is love – vast as the ocean, Loving kindness as the flood! When the prince of life, Our ransom, shed for us His precious blood. Who His love will not remember? Who can cease to sing His praise? He can never be forgotten Throughout heavens eternal days. On the mount of crucifixion Fountains opened deep and wide. Through the floodgates Of Yahuwahs mercy flowed a vast And gracious tide. Grace and love like mighty rivers Poured incessant from above! And heavens peace And perfect justice Kissed a guilty world in love. Here is Love: (audio) Suggestions: The Feast of Unleavened Bread can be a very special time of family togetherness. Family worships can focus on the love of the Father expressed in the life of Yahushua. Special time set aside for family activities will make this a very special week in the lives of children and draw their hearts close to their parents with cords of love. While the days of the feast are not all Sabbaths, the last one is, although it falls on Preparation Day. Thus, the close of Feast of Unleavened Bread provides one of only two back-to-back Sabbaths in the entire year. Suggested readings: Calvary It is Finished
Posted on: Mon, 14 Apr 2014 10:45:00 +0000
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