Monday October 1, 2012

How do you prepare for your Sonday meeting with God? Talk to your friends about this too and develop a plan of action

 

Read Leviticus 23:4-8

 

It’s not hard to postulate that though many believers, if not most believers, understand at least something of Passover, very few understand anything about the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This week we will delve into the fascinating world of Hag-Ha Matzot, the feast of Unleavened Bread as it’s called in Hebrew.

 

We know from our last week’s reading and sermon that Passover began on the 14th of the month of Nissan, which corresponds to our March or April, depending on the Lunar cycle. Hag-Ha Matzot begins on the 15th of Nisan and continues through for 7 days to the 21st of that month. For centuries now the Jews have joined Passover, Unleavened Bread and Firstfruits into the celebration of Passover. The word ‘Passover’ can be used to describe the 3 feasts together or just the Passover. Context is the only clue we have to know which one is being referred to.

 

The Feast is called The Feast of Unleavened Bread because it was celebrated with no yeast. All yeast had to be removed from the nation of Israel during this feast.  In the Jewish household the wife would scrupulously clean the house. When a father came home he would inspect the house to make sure all the leaven was gone. He would traditionally use a goose feather and a wooden spoon to sweep up any left over leaven he found. Sometimes the wife would deliberately leave a little bit of leaven lying around the house so the father had something to sweep up. For the children, it became a great fun game with dad as they sought out the remaining leaven.

 

As the festival ran it’s course the Passover lamb was killed and roasted, the meal was prepared and eventually celebrated and the redemption of God was recounted and re-experienced in much detail. This was more than story telling. It was a re-living of the original Exodus so that all future generations would be absolutely sure of what God had done.

 

Interestingly, it was as much about the preparation as it was about the celebrating. Notice that in all the gospel accounts of the Lord’s Last Supper the preparations are mentioned. Have a glance at Matthew 26:17, Mark 14:12 and Luke 22:8, 12. Why such mention of preparations? In our fast paced world we can easily miss the detail. When the disciples prepared the Passover meal for Jesus, they too would have cleaned out the leaven, among other things, from the upstairs room.  To meet with God we must make similar preparations. As we’ll see later on, we must remove the leaven (sin) from our heart by drawing into God’s presence and confessing our sins and making right any wrongs that are still outstanding.

 

Whether it’s a weekly church service, a Lord’s Supper or a festival to the Lord, making preparations is the best way to meet with God and to grow deeply in Him. Are you preparing to meet God this Sonday?

 

Prayer:

Write down your prayer points in the space provided. Use today’s reading to help you get ideas.

 

Adoration:

 

Confession:

 

Thanks:

 

Supplication:

¥ Pray that everyone in your congregation will be preparing to meet with God this coming Sonday. Pray that it will be an awe inspiring meeting with the living God.

¥ Pray that our brothers and sisters in Nigeria will meet with God each Lord’s Day and that these meetings will prepare people for the week ahead which could see persecution and attack.