Our new annual Scripture Reading Schedule for 2019-2020 with daily readings is available to download and print. If you are still working through 2018-2019’s Scripture Reading Schedule, the link will still be available on the right sidebar under “Helpful Links”. If you are using a mobile device or tablet, the link may be below, meaning you’ll need to scroll down instead.
Most of this week’s blog discussion points will be on these passages. If you have general comments or questions on the weekly Scripture readings not addressed in a blog post, here’s a place for you to post those. Just use the “leave a reply” link or the “share your thoughts” box below.
The full “Read Through The Scriptures In A Year” schedule, broken down by each day, can be found on the right sidebar under “Helpful Links.” There are 4 sections of scripture to read each day: one each from the Torah, the Prophets, the Writings, and from the Testimony of Yeshua. Each week, the Torah and haftarah readings will follow the traditional one-year reading cycle.
Weekly Blog Scripture Readings for 4/12 through 4/18/2020.
Chag HaMatzot (The Feast of Unleavened Bread): An Overview
Chag HaMatzot or the Feast of Unleavened Bread is the second annual festival on YHVH’s biblical calendar, and occurs on the fifteenth day of the month of the Abib, which is the day immediately following Passover (or Pesach, Lev 23:5–8). Because both of these feasts (Exod 34:25; Lev 23:2, 6) occur back-to-back, the Jews often refer to Passover and Unleavened Bread simply as Passover Week or some similar term that places the main emphasis on the Passover. But it must be noted that, though related, these two festivals are separate in meaning and purpose. Passover pictures Israel coming out of Egypt. Upon separating from Egypt, YHVH (the LORD) then commanded the Israelites to put all leavened food products out of their houses and to eat unleavened bread (flat bread) for seven days, hence the origins of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Additionally, the first and seventh days of this week-long event are Sabbaths, and YHVH commanded his people to hold a set-apart convocation (or gathering) on these Sabbaths.
What, you may ask, is the purpose of putting leavening out of one’s home and eating unleavened bread products such as matzoh for one week? This seems like a curious request by YHVH of his people. Not surprisingly, the Creator of the universe has a reason for everything. The spiritual implications are enlightening and highly relevant to the disciples of Yeshua. In commanding his people to de-leaven their homes and lives, YHVH is teaching us an object lesson that applies to us as much today as to the Israelites of long ago.
Eating unleavened bread for seven days is a memorial, remembrance or reminder (Exod 13:6–9) of our coming out of our own spiritual Egypt. But how did unleavened bread enter into this picture? The Torah tells us that the Israelites left Egypt early in the morning as they were making their daily bread, and because they left in haste the bread was not able to rise (Exod 12:34). Therefore, they were forced, by circumstances, to leave their leavening — a biblical metaphor for sin — behind in Egypt. Similarly, believers in Yeshua are commanded to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (1 Cor 5:6–8), which helps to remind us that we should have left our old sinful ways behind us in the spiritual Egypt of this world when we surrendered our lives to Yeshua. We are pressing onward to the Promised Land of YHVH’s eternal kingdom.
Not only did YHVH command his set-apart people to leave Egypt (a biblical metaphor for this world and its godless ways), but he wanted his people to separate themselves from and leave behind in Egypt the rudiments of this world, or sin, which defiles them and separates them from a set-apart and sinless Elohim (God). Leaven is a picture of this, as we will see more clearly below.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread was the next step in YHVH’s plan of redemption for his people. Israel had just left Egypt and we know that Egypt is biblically a spiritual metaphor for the world and Satan. It may have been easy for the Israelites to leave Egypt, but after their exodus, the arduous process of getting the sin or spiritual leaven of Egypt out them began! The same is true when we leave the spiritual Egypt of this world and endeavor to follow obey Yeshua through our spiritual journey in the wilderness we call life. The old sin habits die hard and often lie hidden in our lives waiting to be exposed and cast out from the recesses of our mind, will and emotions—or one’s spiritual houses. This is not an easy process, and is not unlike ridding our physical homes of leavening products, such as bread crumbs, which find their way into the nooks and crannies of our homes that the word of Elohim commands his people to do in order to properly keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Exod 12:14–15). Throughout Scripture, leavening usually represents sin, pride, hypocrisy, malice, bitterness and false religious doctrine (Pss 71:4; 73:21; Hos 7:4; Matt 16:6; Mark 8:15; Luke 12:1; 1 Cor 5:8–6; Gal 5:9).
The Feast of Unleavened Bread lasts seven days. The number seven in YHVH’s spiritual economy represents completion or perfection. YHVH has given man 7000 years on this earth to get rid of sin completely and totally in preparation for admission into his eternal kingdom as revealed in Revelation 21 and 22. For 6000 years, YHVH has left men on this earth to their own sinful devices. The seventh thousand-year time period, called the Messianic Age or Millennium (Rev 20:2, 3, 4, 6), will be different than the previous 6000 years, for during this time Yeshua will be ruling over the earth with a rod of iron as King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev 2:27; 12:5; 19:15; 17:14; 19:16), and Satan will be bound in the pit (Rev 20:2–3). All humans on earth will be taught the Torah-truth of YHVH Elohim without the evil influences of the devil and the world as we know it today. During the Messianic Age, the earth will be at peace and rest, and men will be taught to love YHVH with all their heart, mind and strength and to love their neighbor as themselves. This time of relative peace and rest is the seventh thousand-year time period of man’s tenure on this earth, which corresponds to the seventh day of the week—the Sabbath. It will be a Sabbath of rest and peace on this earth for 1000 years. The Days of Unleavened Bread picture this, for the first day is a Sabbath representing the first Sabbath when YHVH rested after creating a perfect, paradisiacal and sin-free world. The last day or seventh day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is also a Sabbath, which corresponds prophetically to the Messianic Age.
Isaiah 26:3, Peace. Heb. shalom. This word is spelled in its undiminished form (i.e. shin, lamed, vav, mem sofit) here containing the Hebrew letter vav (as opposed to other places in the Hebrew Scriptures where shalom is spelled deffectively [i.e. shin, lamed, mem sofit] without the letter vav denoting an incomplete or human-originated peace). What can we learn from this interesting anomaly that is not visible in our English Bibles?
This verse is referring to that deep and inner soul-quenching peace of Elohim that passes all understanding that comes through a relationship with Yeshua the Messiah (Phil 4:7)—the fruit of the Spirit, as opposed to human or earthly, temporal peace. This peace comes because of our salvation through Yeshua, which is our spiritual bulwark and wall as stated in verse one. This is the same peace that Yeshua talked about when he said, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).
If you don’t know this peace that calms the storms in your heart and mind, forgives sin, takes away all one’s shame and guilt and replaces it with love, joy, peace, hope and assurance of eternal life after you die, then now is the time to put your faith in Yeshua the Messiah, repent of your sins and love and obey him for the rest of your life. As the saying goes, know Yeshua, know peace; no Yeshua, no peace.
Acts 5:1–11, The deaths of Ananias and Sapphira. Why did Elohim kill them? It is because they committed the unpardonable sin in that they willfully and in a premeditated plot lied to the Elohim. There is no sacrifice or forgiveness for willful sin. YHVH was showing us that even in the age of the New Covenant, the so-called “age of grace,” Elohim’s grace doesn’t cover willful sin. Let us all fear YHVH Elohim and tremble before him all the time!
Some scholars suggest that YHVH killed them because they violated the Torah laws regarding the handling of devoted things, for which there was a death penalty (Lev 27:28–29). Perhaps so. Whatever the case, it’s interesting to note that YHVH struck Ananias and Sapphira dead after the cross in, what many Christians call, the dispensation of grace era when, in their minds, sin doesn’t carry the same severe penalty us under “old covenant,” law of Moses era. What we learn from this is that YHVH still views sin as sin, and the wages of sin is still death (Rom 6:23). This has never changed before or after the cross of Yeshua. Just because one isn’t struck dead immediately upon having sinned doesn’t mean one hasn’t incurred the death penalty. That death penalty is only waived when one repents of their sin and asks for YHVH’s forgiveness through faith in Yeshua whose death paid the death penalty price for our sins.
Likely, such divine judgments still occur in our day more frequently than we realize. It may not involve the death of the individual, but rather sickness, demonic attacks, financial setbacks and other adversities that occur to us. The problem is that because of human pride and spiritual deafness and blindness, most people fail to recognize the cause of their problems. We attribute them instead to random circumstances and time and chance instead of to YHVH’s hand of judgment against us because of our sin, which we fail to recognize and repent of.
Paul addresses this issue in 1 Cor 11:27–32 with regard to those who eat of the communion elements in a careless or indifferent manner.
Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.
Many of you who are new to this blog may also be new to the biblical festivals, which Yeshua and his disciples, including the book Acts believers, all celebrated in accordance with the Creator’s (that’s Yeshua) life-giving, blessing-producing commandments.
Over the years, Hoshana Rabbah not only through this blog, but through our website and You Tube channel have produced numerous resources to help you to understand as well as to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the biblical way. Today is the first of seven days
Below are some free resources that will help you to do just that.
Happy studying, and as you come to understand better the biblical roots of our faith, may you grow in your spiritual walk and your love for the Word of Elohim and Yeshua our Messiah!
Tomorrow, Wednesday April 8, is Passover. Tomorrow (Wednesday) evening, my family and I will be celebrating Passover by conducting a gospel, oriented, Yeshua-centered Passover seder including in our home including the taking of communion and a foot washing service as Yeshua did with his disciples at his last supper.
Some people choose to eat their Passover meal at the earlier time when Yeshua did it (Tuesday evening), while others choose to eat their Passover meal at the end of Passover day when the Torah commands it and when the children of Israel kept the first Passover in Egypt. Our family chooses to eat the Passover meal at this latter time, for this is when Yeshua would have kept Passover with his disciples if he had not been hanging on the cross at the same exact time BEING THE PASSOVER LAMB. Whenever you choose to eat the Passover meal, whether at the beginning of Passover or at the end of Passover and overlapping into the first high holy day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, we encourage you to JUST DO IT as the Bible commands!
Here are some resources to help you to celebrate your own Passover at home with your loved ones.
Passover Resources Page including a free and printable Passover Haggadah (order of service) to help you to celebrate your own Yeshua-centered, gospel-oriented Passover seder at home. https://www.hoshanarabbah.org/pesach.html
After the death of the last apostle, and as time went one, the early church fathers took on a more strident tone against the Jews and their beliefs including the law of Moses. Here are several examples of this:
Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch (98-117A.D.) – Epistle to the Magnesians
“For if we still live according to the Jewish law, and the circumcision of the flesh, we deny that we have received grace” (chap 8).
“Let us therefore no longer keep[ the Sabbath after the Jewish manner…But let every one of you keep the Sabbath after a spiritual manner…After the observance of the Sabbath, let every friend of Christ keep the Lord’s Day as a festival, the resurrection-day, the queen and chief of all the days [of the week]” (chap 9).
“It is absurd to speak of Jesus Christ with the tongue, and to cherish in the mind a Judaism which has now come to an end. For where there is Christianity there cannot be Judaism” (chap 10).
Epistle of Mathetes to Diognetus, chap 4 (A.D. 130)
“But as to their scrupulosity concerning meats, and their superstition as respects the Sabbath, and their boasting about circumcision,and their fancies about fasting and the new moons, which are utterly ridiculous and unworthy of notice” (chap 4)
Ignatius Bishop of Antioch (98–117A.D.) — Epistle to the Philadelphians
“But if any one preach the Jewish law unto you, listen not to him” (chap 6).
Ignatius Bishop of Antioch (98–117A.D.) — Epistle to the Philippians
“If anyone celebrates the Passover along with the Jews, or receives the emblems of their feast, he is a partaker of those that killed the Lord and his apostles” (chap 14).
Justin Martyr — Dialogue with Trypho (Between 138A.D. and 161 A.D.)
Justin claims that the Scriptures no longer belong to the Jews, but to the Christians, thus asserting anti-Semitic replacement theology (chap 29).
Historical Notes on Marcion of Sinope
Since the writings of Marcion of Sinope (c. 85 – c. 160; e.g. Antitheses or Contradictions) have been lost, Tertullian’s five books refuting Marcionism as recorded in Antitheses is our best source of information on Marcion’s teachings.
