Spick and Span
Today’s Verse:
Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. ~Exodus 12:15
I think the majority of people enjoy a clean home. Some are meticulous about cleaning their home every day. Others might clean their home weekly or at other intervals. A clean home encourages us to live healthy. A clean home discourages the breeding of germs. However, a clean home requires lots of work, detail, and time. In today’s devotion, we see God mandating Israel to do a thorough house cleaning once per year. Everyone in Israel was required to cleanse their house of any traces of leaven or else they would be cut off from Israel.
There is the purpose of leaven.
Leaven is an agent that, when added to wheat that has been grounded into flour, causes dough to rise. Leaven transforms dry, flat bread into doughy, soft, and tasty bread. However, leaven ferments or corrupts whatever it has been added to. Thus, leaven that is added to flour to make bread will eventually result in the bread becoming moldy and unfit for eating. Leaven is a corrupting agent that will lead to spoiling.
There is the picture of leaven.
Leaven is a picture of sin. Jesus said to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. Paul equated malice and wickedness with leaven. Leaven, in its connotation, speaks of sin that has not been dealt with. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. In other words, it does not take much leaven to make the dough rise. Similarly, it does not take a lot of sin to make you defiled. A little sin will hinder your conscience, your judgment, and your usability. Just one speck of leaven is bad. Just one sin will keep a sinner from entering into Heaven.
There is the penalty concerning leaven.
God told Israel to purge their homes of any leaven prior to celebrating the Feast of Unleavened Bread. God told them that if anyone ate leavened bread during that feast time, that soul would be cut off from Israel. Being careless about leaven would lead to a loss of fellowship and, worse, a loss of one’s future. A person who refuses to repent of his sin and by faith accept Jesus as Savior is cut off and condemned to an eternity in Hell. A Christian who lives with unconfessed sin is living out of fellowship with God. There is always the wages of sin.
There is the precept concerning leaven.
Put away the leaven out of your house! This involves the principal of the home all the way down to the youngest member. Are there idols in your home that need to be put away? Is there a collection of magazines, music, or other entertainment in your home that dishonors God? Are there programs that are consistently being watched on your television or computers that are filled with sinful profanity and images that are corrupting your thinking? Whatever it may be, our homes need cleaning from the leaven that is corrupting us.
There is the practice after the leaven is purged.
We are to eat of the unleavened bread. This speaks to us about partaking of Christ Who is our Passover. We are to have close and sweet fellowship with Jesus!
Does your life need cleaning? Let’s purge our heart from sin through repentance and confession. Be spick and span in your conscience and heart!
Have a leaven-free God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: Judges 19-21