Leaven Lessons

How important is leaven to you? Bread, donuts, sticky buns, pizza crust, even some pastas have leaven. It is in most of the baked goods we consume. It is not a bad thing. It actually makes food it unites with better. For the most part I am not a big bread eater, unless it is pizza dough. Well, there is this really good rosemary, olive oil bread that makes amazing toast. I can sit for a moment, eyes closed, inhale deeply and allow my olfactories a moment of ecstasy. Most would admit that there is something comforting about the smell of fresh baked bread. Bread is one of those staples of life. Leaven helps make that possible.

God talks a bit about leaven, however, not always in the most complimentary ways. Yeshua told his disciples, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees" (Matt. 16:6). The Apostle Paul gave a similar warning in 1 Cor. 5:6-7, "Your glorying is not good. do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, as you are unleavened."

Leaven often refers to sin or impurity and always points to the nature of leaven to spread and permeate things it is joined with. We are warned how sin can do that to us. It tends to sneak in and then try to permeate who we are. But leaven is not always seen as evil. Yeshua borrowed the properties of leaven when speaking of His Kingdom: "Another parable spoke he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened" (Matt. 13:33). The promise is that God's Kingdom, in God's time, will permeate the world. The question is, are we being permeated by sin or by preparation for the kingdom?

Back in the days of Moses, God introduced a new use of leaven, or rather the non-use of leaven. Following Passover, when all leaven had been removed from the house, God's people were to observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Seven days of avoiding eating anything with leaven. Lots of Matzo. Technically, the passages only prohibit the consumption of leaven. It does not say that all you could eat was unleavened bread, so it appears that meat, fruits and vegetables might be allowed. However, many Jews restrict their diet to just Matzo for the week. As a Gentile I had not observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread. What benefit could there be in going a week without my usual fare of leavened products? Still, it was God's idea, so I thought I would join my Jewish friends and avoid leaven for a week. I did eat other stuff, like meats and vegetables, but avoided consuming anything with leaven in it.

It can be pretty amazing what your brain and body do when you decide not to eat something. Bread and pizza smell incredible. Even leavened stuff I never eat took on a strange appeal. Throughout the week I was reminded over and over again of the danger of sin mixing into my life. It made me consider everything I ate, from fruit to junk food. My mind reviewed the events of Passover several times a day. I thought more of God and sin and His deliverance that I had for a while. Just by avoiding leaven.

One of the lessons I was reminded of is the remarkable integration of my being. God did not design us with individual compartments. We often speak of our mind, will, emotions and body as almost separate entities. Our Lord said, "Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak" (Mark 14:38). Indicating that the spirit and flesh are connected. Weakness in our flesh has an impact on our spirit. What we do physically touches how we think and how we feel. A good physical workout can leave us mentally and emotionally refreshed. Not eating leaven put the integration of my being on display before me in a remarkable way. My random mental activity went something like this:  

"I am hungry, but don't eat leaven, by the way, how is your purity going? Okay, and I know I am delivered like Israel was... by the blood of the Lamb, who warns me of the dangers of sin while delivering me from death. Sooo, are you really hungry? Maybe a little fasting would be good for your body. Let's just have a glass of water. Put down the M & Ms and walk away. Take a moment and thank the Lord for all you have, rather than what you don't have. Remember the simple act of denying yourself is the call of Messiah on your life. What would Jesus do is more than a bracelet. Hmmm, maybe God has a bigger point to make in my life than just not eating leaven. Maybe that has always been the case."

My leaven-free week has actually been very encouraging. It has been mentally, spiritually, physically, even emotionally satisfying. It has reminded me of how every part of who I am is connected to every other part. My physical state touches my mind, spirit and emotions. My will, exercised in successfully passing over leaven, strengthened my will to pass over some of the temptations and attitudes that invade my life. There has been no "down side" to the unleavened week. I am grateful for the Spirit's prompting and my decision to give my will a bit of exercise for the week.

Now I wonder, "what has God hidden in all those other feasts and festivals in His Word." I am wonderfully saved by grace through faith alone. However, it seems the Lord may well bless us for simple observation of things He provided so Israel would not forget the God who delivered them from the hand of Pharaoh. There truly is a depth of riches in the memorials the Lord has given. Perhaps we are missing more than we think as we run from Torah. Maybe next year you too will be prompted to go "unleavened" for a week. In the meantime I am off to find some of that rosemary, olive oil bread.