Exodus 13:7, commentary and pictures

Exodus 13:7 belongs to the Passover instructions given before the deliverance from Egypt, appointing the feast of unleavened bread as the first of the annual feasts to be kept seven days from the fifteenth to the twenty-first of Abib in memory of Israel coming out of Egypt. For those seven days unleavened bread was to be eaten after the lamb was slain and leaven was removed, with no leavened bread and no leaven to be seen in the homes and in all the territory. The eating of unleavened cakes memorialized the hasty flight when the dough had not risen and the Egyptians hastened Israel away, while the Passover itself remembered the destroying angel passing over Israelite dwellings when Egypt's firstborn died. Leaven is a type of corruption, fermentation and decay, so putting away all leaven meant coming clean before God by cutting loose from the sins of Egypt and of the flesh and worshiping with sincerity of heart. The feast is a memorial of deliverance from bondage distinct from the weekly Sabbath which commemorates creation, and its strictly unleavened setting shows the wine Jesus used at the Lord's Supper was unfermented.

Passover Setting and Observance

Exodus 13:7 belongs to the account of the Passover and Israel's departure from Egypt. The command to eat unleavened bread seven days and to keep leaven out of the homes and territory stands among the Passover instructions given before the deliverance. That ordinance is given in close connection with the departure, which culminates in the death of the firstborn and the hurried departure of the Israelites.

It belongs to the first and original form of the Passover as observed in Egypt, in the wilderness on the journey to Palestine, and for some time afterward, before the celebration was materially changed after the building of the temple. Exodus 12 and 13 give the original injunctions, while Deuteronomy 16:1-6 and Numbers 28:16-25 add injunctions not found in the former and hardly possible to carry out in the wilderness. Later observances also added wine, which was not enjoined in the Pentateuch, and the closing Hallel of Psalms 113-118, which was not required by the original instructions.

The Passover, also called the feast of unleavened bread, was the first of the three annual feasts or festivals instituted for Israel at the time of the exodus. It was to be observed annually from year to year in its season as a feast to the Lord throughout generations by an ordinance forever, because this was the day Israel came out of Egypt. It was kept seven days from the fifteenth to the twenty-first day of the first month Abib, also called Nisan, beginning on the fourteenth day at evening. For those seven days unleavened bread was to be eaten, and no leavened bread was to be seen and no leaven was to be seen in the homes and in all the territory. The seven-day feast followed the preparation associated with the Passover, when the lamb was slain and leaven was removed from the houses, and the unleavened cakes recalled that their dough had not yet risen when they baked it in their hasty flight.

The prohibition on keeping leaven in the homes during the seven days refers to the future annual celebration commemorating the deliverance. It does not refer to a requirement to remove leaven before leaving Egypt, when they had none because they were forced to depart quickly.

Memorial Meaning and Application

The ordinance was instituted as a fitting memorial perfectly adapted to the event it commemorates, the leading of Israel out of Egypt and out of bondage with a strong and mighty hand. It was to be kept as a feast to the Lord throughout generations by an ordinance forever, observed yearly in its season from year to year as often as the fourteenth day of the first month arrived, beginning on the fourteenth day at evening, because this was the day Israel came out of Egypt. It was to be kept as a sign upon the hand and a memorial between the eyes that the Lord's law may be in the mouth, with the appointed answer when sons asked its meaning that with mighty hand Jehovah brought Israel up from Egypt's land. The unleavened bread recalled the bread eaten in flight from Egypt.

The seven days of eating unleavened bread declare how the Egyptians in fear hastened Israel away, while the Passover itself remembers the destroying angel passing over Israelite dwellings when Egypt's firstborn were doomed to die. The unleavened cakes recalled that the dough had not yet risen when baked in the hasty departure, and the seven-day feast followed the preparation when the lamb was slain and leaven was removed from the houses. The account runs from Israel in oppression and bondage with the whole power of Egypt set against them to Israel's song of triumph beyond the Red Sea with Egypt's host overthrown, showing God's mighty work in saving them and creative power shown again, such work as was never done in saving any nation. The unleavened feast thus served as a yearly memorial of the work of stretching forth the hand to save.

Leaven is a type and sign of corruption, identified with fermentation and decay. Everything indicating corruption in any way must be put away so Israel comes clean before God. This means cutting loose from all the sins of Egypt and of the flesh and worshiping God with sincerity of heart, without retaining any old sins in the heart.

Because leaven and anything leavened or fermented were forbidden in the home during the Passover feast and no leaven was permitted in the homes during Passover week, the unleavened setting shows the wine used at the Lord's Supper was unfermented, in contrast to fermented wine.

The feast is a memorial of deliverance distinct from the weekly Sabbath, which commemorates creation. The weekly Sabbath was not designed as a memorial of the flight from bondage, since a weekly rest cannot fitly keep in memory a day that could come only once a year, making a rest a memorial of a rush.

The deliverance marks redemption by God's mighty hand after hundreds of years of slavery had left the people unable to comprehend God's great salvation and the character He required, so God gave them the sanctuary as a great, multiple object-lesson setting forth the whole plan of salvation by its various forms and rites. The account of the exodus was supervised directly by Moses, and it is no less factual and trustworthy than the history of creation.