Exodus 12:14-28 – We are saved to be sanctified

Judging from the number of times the Bible calls on us to remember events and things, has the unflattering inference that we believers can be a forgetful people. This is the likely reason why God instructed the people ever so often to set up memorial pillars to help them to remember what He had done for them. Here in Exodus 12:14-28, the Lord instructed them to set up a memorial feast to commemorate and remember their exodus. Israel’s deliverance was a significant event in the life of the people of Israel. God by His mighty hand brought the people out of the hand of an oppressive king. The effort it took to set the people free from the clutches of Pharaoh and the Egyptians made it an event worth remembering. God wanted them to remember this for life. By instituting a feast to commemorate it would ensure that His people would never forget what He had done to yank them out of their bondage. It’s a charge to remain faithful to God.

The Passover or the Feast of Unleavened Bread was a God instituted feast to be celebrated annually. In these 15 verses, God repeated three times that He wanted this feast to be celebrated and to be a permanent feature in their calendar. In verse 14 God said, “Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance.” Then in verse 17 God repeated what He had said, “You shall also observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt; therefore, you shall observe this day throughout your generations as a permanent ordinance.” Again, in verse 24, His words to the people of Israel were, “And you shall observe this event as an ordinance for you and your children forever.”  So, the children of Israel celebrated their first Passover in Egypt. Then they were reminded in Numbers 9:1-5 to continue observing this feast throughout their journey and they did. Then in Joshua 5:10-11 as they crossed into the promised land, they celebrated their first Passover at Gilgal.

Why the Passover? To help them relive the night they escaped from Egypt. God wanted this act to be a shared memory. This was to let the future generations know that it was God who had saved them. In Exodus 12:1-13, the instruction for the Passover was on the selection of the animal for sacrifice. And how its blood was to be smeared on the doorposts and lintel of the house to protect them from the angel of death. They were then told to roast the lamb and to eat it together with bitter herbs and bread baked without yeast. God repeated His instruction on the Passover in Exodus 12:21-23 slightly differently. But in between these two sets of instruction, God spoke about the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This had led some to conclude that God gave instruction for two feasts. But in reality, the Passover and Unleavened bread were one feast, a weeklong celebration. The whole Passover all the way with the Unleavened Bread paints for us a picture of the process of salvation. Being saved is just the first step, we need to be sanctified after the initial act so that we can begin to live a life increasingly free from the grasps of sin.  

Why the Feast of Unleavened Bread? In this weeklong celebration, God specifically told them to remove any yeast in their midst. Even the loaves of bread were to be baked without yeast. The reason why the Israelites were told to eat yeast free bread at the Passover was that they had to leave Egypt in haste and there simply wasn’t enough time for any yeast to rise. And the instruction for the Unleavened Bread was for all yeast to be removed. It also said that anyone who ate anything with yeast would be cut off from the community. Yeast has been a symbol of the corrupting nature of sin. Sin has a devastating consequence in our life. Its effect lingers longer than we want it to linger. It makes us pay more than we are willing to pay. And it stays longer than we are willing to let it stay. God wants them removed from our lives. The people of Israel had left Egypt but the mentality of Egypt, unfortunately, did not leave them for a long time. There must be a process of removing the sinful mentality. The Feast of the Unleavened Bread served to remind them that they must seek to live a sin-free life. We know that to have that life we need to submit ourselves to the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. At conversion, we are saved from the penalty of sin. Now progressively in the process of sanctification, the Holy Spirit assists us to be increasingly free from the power of sin. Ultimately, we will be saved from the presence of sin when we reach our eternal destination and experience our glorification. What a journey to look forward to!