TO GOY: Continued
REMOVAL OF LEAVEN!
Jesus Christ died in the first month of the Jewish year, just prior to
the annual sabbath known as the 1st day of the "Feast of Unleavened Bread."
LEV. 23:6-7 And on the fifteenth day of the same month
is the "Feast of Unleavened Bread" to the LORD;
7 days you must eat unleavened bread.
On the first day you shall have a holy convocation;
you shall do no customary work on it.
This feast started on the 15th and for 7 days the children of Israel were
required to abstain from leavened bread. To help prevent the accidental
eating of leavened bread all leaven and leavened products were to be
removed from their houses.
EXOD. 12:19 For seven days no leaven shall be found in
your houses, since whoever eats what is
leavened, that same person shall be cut off
from the congregation of Israel, ...
The removal of leaven took place on the day before the 7 day Feast of
Unleavened Bread began. It took place on the 14th, the day Christ died.
EXOD 12:15 Seven days you shall eat unleavened
bread. On the first[chief] day you
shall remove leaven from your houses.
For whoever eats leavened bread from
the first day until the seventh day,
that person shall be cut off from
Israel.
The word used for 'first', which is used twice in this verse, is Strong's
reference 7223. This word means "first in place, time or rank". In Exodus
12:15 the initial usage of this word is to be understood as 'first in
rank', ie 'chief'.
The chief day is 'Passover day', the 14th. The leaven was to be removed
on the 14th prior to the start of the "Feast of Unleavened Bread." This
made sure;
1) no leaven could be found in their homes for the
7 days mentioned in verses 18-19, ie 15th-21st;
2) the dire consequences of an accidental consumption
of leavened bread just prior to its removal was
not possible.
One of the verses defining the 'Preparation Day' refines further the
meaning of this term.
John 19:14 Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover,
...
The Passover is often thought of as a specific day (or more accurately
one of two specific days), but it was also a 7 day period of time which
started on the 14th and ended on the 20th.
THE SEVEN DAY 'PASSOVER'
The Preparation Day was not just the day the Israelites removed leaven
from their homes, but it was also the day the Children of Israel journeyed from Goshen to the city of Rameses (in PREPARATION for their
journey from Egypt).
SHALOM!
RAB