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By: Jim Josephsen
Jewish history informs us of a practice prevalent during the time Jesus Christ walked the earth. On the night of, the beginning of the 14th day of the first month, just after the sunset of the 13th, many of the families throughout Judah would search diligently for leavening. Just prior to the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover (Luke 22:1), Jewish families would take a candle and diligently search their houses, looking for any and all leavening. The fathers of each family could be heard encouraging the children to look hard and search well and find any leavened product, even the smallest crumbs. The families would do so and clean and collect all the leavened foods and bundle them together to be burned. The house was then deleavened and made ready for the Days of Unleavened Bread of which God said, “Seven Days shall there be no leaven found in your house …” (Exodus 12:19).
Here the Jews performed a physical activity in order to prepare for the Spring Holy Days. Yet in this physical exercise is contained a wealth of knowledge for us today.
When one searches, one looks meticulously, attentively, carefully with the desired outcome of finding. We in God’s Church know we are to search our physical homes prior to the Days of Unleavened Bread. Like the families of Judah, we are to make sure our homes contain no leavening so that during the seven days of Unleavened Bread there is no leaven found in our houses. But is that all we (who are under the New Covenant) are to search for in preparation for the Spring Feast?
Consider Paul’s instructions to the Corinthian Church pertaining to the partaking of the New Covenant symbols. Paul said before one eats of that bread and drinks of that cup, one is to examine himself (1 Corinthians 11:28). Jesus Christ introduced the symbols of the New Testament (Covenant) (Matthew 26:26-28) “in the night He was betrayed” (1 Corinthians 11:23). Following that night, then as the morning passed, and into that afternoon of the 14th (called the preparation day; known as the day of the Passover sacrifice), Christ died about the 9th hour, as our Passover Lamb sacrifice (1 Corinthians 5:7). Then on the night of the 15th all the families of Judah ate the Passover meal which commenced the First Day of Unleavened Bread. So naturally even before the seven days of unleavened bread commenced, Paul told the Corinthians they were to examine themselves. And so we today are to continue the same practice not only as we prepare to eat of that bread and drink of that cup but in preparation of the Days of Unleavened Bread.
Our bodies are the temple of God, the house of God, in which resides God’s Spirit mixed with our spirit (1 Corinthian 3:16; Romans 8:16; 1 John 4:13). God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son dwell in those who are converted and baptized (Acts 2:38; John 14:23). Just as the Jews searched for leavening in their physical houses, so are we to search for leavening in our spiritual house, ourselves. Leavening is symbolic of sin, of wickedness and malice, of hypocrisy, of unrighteousness, of behavior unacceptable to God (Matthew 16:11-12; I Corinthians 5:8; 1 Johns 3:4). God does not dwell where there is sin (Isaiah 59:1-2), rather he dwells where righteousness and obedience are prevalent (1 John 3:24).
When we examine ourselves we are measuring ourselves up to the standards Christ has set (2 Corinthians 13:5). When we examine ourselves we should consider the attitude David had as an attitude we should have. Notice Psalm 26:1-2. “Judge me O Eternal for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the Eternal; therefore I shall not slide. Examine me, O Eternal and prove me, try my reins and my heart.” Notice Psalm 139:1 and 23-24. “O Eternal thou hast searched me and known me … Search me, O God and know my heart: try me and know my thoughts and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.” With God’s guidance we are to examine ourselves to see if sin and wickedness dwell in us and what we must remove. Even the smallest of crumbs or as David would call them “the secret faults” (notice Psalm 19:7-13) are what we must look for and remove. The candle light we use to examine ourselves, to search our spiritual house is the Word of God, the Laws of God (Psalm 119:105; Proverbs 6:23).
As the Days of Unleavened Bread approach,
now is the time to begin our search. Certainly you need to search and
keep your physical house free from leavening but more important,
search your heart, your life, your mind, your spiritual house.
Find the pieces of sin, even the smallest flecks of sin that dwell in
you. Remember a little leaven leavens the whole lump (1 Corinthians
5:6). What you may consider inconsequential, what you simply excuse
as behavior everyone does, like the little white lie, may be the speck
of sin that grows and puffs up and ultimately overcomes you. Hold up to
you the candle of the law; pray for God’s guidance and correction,
search yourself and remove sin from your life, change and begin to eat
the true and righteous unleavened bread of life.
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