It is interesting to note how often God uses physical things to teach us spiritual lessons. In the Passover ceremony, we eat bread and drink a small amount of wine—real, physical bread and wine. These are consumed as symbols pointing us toward one of the most profound spiritual truths in the Bible—the fact that Christ died for our sins. Unleavened Bread is a whole week of being reminded of spiritual principles through physical actions. During the Feast of Tabernacles, we live (physically) in “temporary dwellings” to learn lessons about the coming Kingdom of God. And God’s word contains instructions to do all of the above (1 Corinthians 11:27-29), (Exodus 12:14-20), (Leviticus 23:34-36) for just a few of the origins and/or applications.)
As parents, we seek ways to help our children understand and appreciate the Holy Days by using the same principle. We make the time memorable and enjoyable with gifts, special foods, and traditions. When my children were young, I came across a practice associated with Unleavened Bread. For very small children it was fun and exciting, and it went something like this: You strategically place some rather large breadcrumbs in a few places in the house. Then you give the child or children a large feather and a wooden spoon. You accompany them with a lit candle and have them search for the crumbs. (It is obviously better to do this at night). The children locate the crumbs and sweep them on to the spoon thereby learning to help with the deleavening process. It is with the help of such games that we could remind our children of the purpose of removing leavening from our home and diet for 7 days.
We understand that leavening is a symbol for sin in our lives during this seven-day period and consequently needs to be put out. (1 Corinthians 5:8.) We learn about sin even in the deleavening process before the Days themselves. When we begin looking for leavening, we see how all-pervasive it is in our own lives. We can also begin to realize how difficult it can be to “get rid of it”—just like sin. We find leavening in places that we would never have suspected before—as we will with sin when we begin analyzing ourselves.
In the past, not everyone has found it easy to strike a proper balance between the physical deleavening of our homes and the “getting out” of sin in our lives. Suffice it to say that the spiritual aspect is, of course, the more important, but the physical should not be looked upon as unimportant—else why would God have told us to do it. Done properly and with balanced diligence, the physical will invariably lead us to more spiritual understanding.
We should all be encouraged by observing the Days of Unleavened Bread and very thankful that God has given us the opportunity to learn more about Him and His way through them. The deleavening process has been an important lead up to the actual observance of the seven-day period. The most important lessons to remember are the spiritual principles which it has taught us and to carry them forward throughout our lives as followers of Christ.
Cliff Veal