Get the Leaven Out!

Hebrew Chet "ח" = Letter of Life

As Passover approaches and the new year begins on God's calendar, I've been taking inventory of my heart, actions, and speech and looking for the "leaven" or those things which need to be purged before the day of observing our deliverance begins.

The practice of removing all Chametz (yeast, leaven, sourdough) from one's house is an ancient one. It is actually the source from which the practice of spring cleaning hails.

This year I caught myself thinking that since the ultimate practice is meant to examine our hearts and minds for sin, since Messiah came to illuminate all things in their fullness, perhaps the physical and symbolic practice wasn't necessary this year. After all, I have learned so much in the past two years, I have a much deeper understanding of the appointed times and purposes, maybe I should simply focus on the spiritual practice instead of clinging to the letter of the law. Nearly as soon as that thought crossed my mind, Yeshua: my Shepherd, my Redeemer, my Rabbi began to teach me a lesson.

"And this day shall become to you a remembrance. And you shall celebrate it as a festival to YHWH throughout your generations – celebrate it as a festival, an everlasting law. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. Indeed, on the first day, you cause leaven to cease from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that being shall be cut off from Israel. And on the first day is a set-apart gathering, and on the seventh day, you have a set-apart gathering. No work at all is done on them, only that which is eaten by every being, that alone is prepared by you. And you shall guard the Festival of Matzot (Unleavened Bread), for on this same day I brought your divisions out of the land of Egypt. And you shall guard this day throughout your generations, an everlasting law. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month in the evening. For seven days no leaven is to be found in your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, that same being shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether sojourner or native of the land. Do not eat that which is leavened – in all your dwellings you are to eat unleavened bread. ” Exodus 12:14-20

My Yeshua, my Rabbi = My Salvation, My Teacher

I had already casually gone through my main pantry and removed the dehydrated starters, yeast packets, baking agents and breads the week prior. I placed them on the counter to ensure maximizing usage until the day of purging would come.

A few days later, my husband, who works full-time from home, and my children, who attend school full-time from home, were unexpectedly invited to 'Bring Your Kids to Work' Day, followed by a baseball game. I cannot recall the last time I have been alone in the house for more than 30 minutes.

Before the paradox of choice, or analysis paralysis could overtake me with this unexpected chunk of undisrupted time, I was instantly pulled to my knees in praise and prayer. A mixture of groanings and thanksgiving, of singing and weeping. He was there with me and calling me to pay attention.

Once I pulled myself up and started to tidy up, I noticed a few moths that had started to increase over the past few days, and the phrase "where moth and rust destroy" kept echoing in my mind. So I decided it was probably the best time to get into my cabinets and figured out the source of them, and really clean out the heart of my home.

As I began to pull out the contents from every corner, cabinet and recess of the kitchen it dawned on me that the kitchen is fondly referred to as the "heart of the home" for a reason, and that this ancient ritual continues to have great relevance and wisdom even when you consider terms like this being used today.

Lesson one: You thought you got it all !

Should it have come to anyone's surprise that the ver first object lesson was a quick and simple one? That although upon initial inspection I assumed I had addressed all of the leaven only to find that nearly double of the initial purge was still hiding in deep places and behind other objects that wasn't seen? Of course not! This little revelation caused an instant and out-loud laugh and I then understood this was going to be the start of a larger teaching. Of course we think we know what our sins are, that we are self-aware and totally in possession of the flaws and spaces we need further sanctification, maturity and refinement, but the truth is, blindness is just that, blindness. We cannot see our blindspots, it doesn't matter how introspective we think we are for "the heart is deceitful above all things". However our Master Rabbi has given us the mirror to inspect ourselves. We are made in the image of God, and our assignment is to reflect Him upon the earth. James the Just, the brother of Yeshua understood this concept and pointed us to the mirror in his letter:

For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror— for once he looks at himself and goes away, he immediately forgets what sort of person he was. But the one who looks intently into the perfect Torah, the Torah that gives freedom, and continues in it, not becoming a hearer who forgets but a doer who acts—he shall be blessed in what he does. James 1:23-25

In the wilderness God ordered the tabernacle to be made and walked through in an exact mirror to our process of sanctification.

• Only one entrance into the courtyard (faith in Messiah), separated by white linen (purity/righteousness) from the unclean world.

• Immediately cleansed by the blood of a sin or guilt offering (blood of atonement)

• Followed by a washing in the bronze laver (being baptized and made into a new creation) in order to continue to approach the Holy place.

How illuminating it was to find out that Burnished Bronze which both the Altar and the Wash Laver are made from, were Mirrors. A blend of bronze and tin, and the women of Israel gave up these mirrors for the construction of the tabernacle vessels.

We enter into this faith by trust and devotion to Yeshua, and through His Word, His Torah, we are shown the true reflection of our image. The image we see when we come to the mirrored altar of repentance should be very different than the image we see when we then look into the mirrored wash basin after burying that old dead leaven and washing it away. It should look less and less like our own image and more and more like His each time we bring what we find to the altar of repentance. This altar is also known as the altar of Grace & Mercy and it has always been, that part never changed, only the revelation of the true blood by which this altar reconciles us.

Lesson two: it's not always leaven

Inspired by the great revelation of the insane amount of unrecognized leavening agents, I was moved to look into cabinets and cupboards that would never contain leaven. Realizing that I probably have not scoured these cabinets since we moved in over four years ago, this was a timely venture. I was disgusted at the amount of expired goods I found in our baking aisle, and I am talking about way way past expiration dates!

Even though these items weren't technically "leaven" these represented old, unusable, unfruitful things long neglected or needing to be let go of that have no ability to nourish or create anything good. I thought about what things still occupy my attention, time, and resources that are not His things. How much of my identity is still anchored in the physical rather than the spiritual, and how much of that is taking up precious space inside of my heart and mind that could be used for more of Him to pour into me.

Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word! Psalm 119:37

Lesson three: Deception & Bad Doctrine

Leaven is described as the "Hypocrisy of the Pharisees, and also as The Kingdom of Heaven." So how do we reconcile this? Leaven is actually Doctrine, and Good or Bad - "A little leavens the whole lump!" Once I made my way to my 'health' cabinet the real horror began. Clutching the proverbial pearls the entire way through, I endured the hell that is meeting yourself from just five years ago while in there.

Supplements I now know are gimmicks, substitute ingredients that have now been proven just as unhealthy as the thing they were substituting, powdered replacements for real and true nourishment. My former life as a seeker in the flesh was the most cringe-worthy stop in this day of learning with my Maker.

But oh what clarity comes with conviction! The humbling reality of who we really are compared to Him. That we will never possess God, as we are but simple and blind in our current state and circumstance. That if we keep the humble and lowly heart of the seeker of being His Possession, that we will be made complete on The Great and Terrible day of YHWH.

Lesson four: Don't despise your journey

The final discoveries were perfectly timed to complete a perfect teaching by the Perfect Teacher as I found the remnants of false gods, manmade traditions, and pagan worship practices that were dressed up as sentimentality and familial bonding. Practices that demanded time, money, energy and devotion at the altar of culture. Shadows of lifeless adversaries of He who Created Me, which I would bow in front of with my family year after year. A whirlwind of obligation that never once took me to a place of deep fellowship with the Father or the Son.

The contrast I now have experienced, after following what are His days, His feasts and His rest has proven to be the well-fitted yoke and lighter burden.

Had I not wallowed in the former, I wouldn't have the comparison, it wouldn't be a felt and known experience in my body and my spirit. This is the same experience I had coming out of the secular world. Justification is the freely offered gift, but sanctification is a lifelong process.

Being pulled out of murky waters into less murky waters is a refreshing and purifying experience, but it must continue over and over again until we see Him.

Just as Noah was delivered by the Ark and was called out of it in order to join God in repopulating the earth, many of us have been called into salvation through a physical representation that is not quite the fullness of the reality of who actually saves us and we are called out of Babylon, a representation of mixing the Holy and the Profane, the blending of His things and the worship of other nations and their gods.

For many, the very thing that drew us near to Him, is what we are called out of to be with Him when He reveals Himself to us. In His mercy, He knows how far off we really are from His Holiness, and He makes a way that draws us nearer and nearer with each day that we accept the fuller picture of what it means to be a pleasing and radiant bride to Him. A call that for most of us, is too far off for us to accept when we first encounter Him. So this is the beauty of the journey, of the process of sanctification. It is both learning more about Him and about ourselves.

Through the mirror of the Word of God, we see more of who He is which is our goal, and more of who we are, which is what we need to shed.

He will not be unequally yoked :

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers.For what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness? What harmony does Messiah have with Belial? 2 Corinthians 6:13-15

Lesson five: The mirror is for you to hold up to you, not others

This should be pretty self-explanatory. If you're reading this and all you can think of is the litany of ways you hope that I see the faults you see in me, or that someone else needs to see, then you're missing the point of the exercise.

I write this not for you the reader, but for me, a way to galvanize this beautiful moment of correction and conviction from my creator.

Lesson six: We are not beyond the need of Object Lessons:

This experience was a reminder that "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works."

2 Timothy 3:16-17

It was a reminder that Messiah "did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it."

God's instructions were not removed at the cross - our rap sheet was.

This is what allows us to continue to come into communion with Him as He teaches us, convicts us, and gives us the fulfilled and perfect complete sacrifice of Himself by which we are to lay our guilt upon in the manner of the tabernacle.

It was another reminder that these things are written for us to walk as He walked in order to become like Him. It was an immediate call to remember that although He came in the flesh and revealed the ultimate meanings of these practices and commandments, we are still but infants in our ability to walk them out, and the eternal nature of the Appointed Times and Commandments are there for us to be instructed by Him as we prepare for the wedding feast.

And to Summarize at a perfect lesson seven:

God's calendar, instructions & shadows are all there for our benefit, it is crucial to remain in a state of humility to God in all things, never thinking we "have" Him figured out, never "comfortable" in our faith. In all things, working out our salvation in fear and trembling, lest we wander outside the dividing wall of that which keeps us under the covering of the Blood of the Lamb.