Family Study Guides STUDY OF GOD S HOLY DAYS PASSOVER THE DAYS OF UNLEAVENED BREAD

Family Study Guides STUDY OF GOD S HOLY DAYS PASSOVER THE DAYS OF UNLEAVENED BREAD

Study of God s Holy Days Family Study Guide We understand from the Bible that God s annual festivals show the seven steps of His plan of salvation for all mankind. In this Study Guide we will study into the first two steps of that Plan. [This Family Study Guide contains lots of material, so concentrate on those areas you feel would be most helpful for your family studies. You do not need to cover every aspect, discussion or scripture presented in this guide. Select the aspects or principles most relevant or helpful to your family as you prepare for God s Holy Days.] Additional UCG Study Resources: God's Holy Day Plan: The Promise of Hope for All Mankind https://www.ucg.org/biblestudy-tools/booklets/gods-holy-day-plan-the-promise-of-hope-for-all-mankind Beyond Today: Christ Our Passover https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/beyond-todaytelevision-program/christ-our-passover Beyond Today: Is Spiritual Leavening in Your Life? https://www.ucg.org/beyondtoday/beyond-today-television-program/is-spiritual-leavening-in-your-life Jelly Learns the Feast Days https://www.ucg.org/jelly/jelly-learns-the-feast-days Teen Study Guide: God's Festivals & Holy Days https://www.ucg.org/bible-studytools/teen-bible-study-guides/teen-bible-study-volume-4-gods-festivals-holy-days What is Leaven? https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/bible-questions-andanswers/what-is-leaven Unleavened Bread Recipes https://www.ucg.org/members/recipes/unleavened-recipes PASSOVER THE FIRST STEP IN GOD S PLAN OF SALVATION Objectives: Discuss why the Passover is the foundation of the Holy Days and the first step of God s plan of salvation. To present the knowledge and understanding of Christ s sacrifice and explain why it was necessary. MEMORY VERSE: 1 Peter 2:24 Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins might live for righteousness: by whose stripes you were healed. These are the feasts of the LORD, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times. On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the LORD S Passover (Leviticus 23:4-5). 1

REVIEW OF THE FIRST PASSOVER (from Exodus 12-13) God used the 10 plagues to destroy the belief in the pagan gods worshiped by the Egyptians and even many Israelites. The Egyptians were a very religious people they had gods for everything. When God turned the waters of the Nile to blood, they feverishly prayed to Hapi, the goddess of the Nile. Only when Moses prayed to the true God did the crisis end. Each plague struck down another god. The 10 th plague was against Pharaoh. The Egyptians believed he was descended from the god Ra who was thought to be the source of life. That night, the lives of all the Egyptian firstborn were taken by the death angel sent by God. Pharaoh was powerless to save the life of his first born son. God removed all doubt in the minds of the Israelites as to who was the true God and which was the true religion. He was now ready to start teaching the Israelites about His plan of salvation. After the sun had set, while it was still light, each Israelite family began the first step of God s plan of salvation by sacrificing an unblemished male lamb of the first year. The lamb s blood was to be smeared on the doorposts of their homes as a sign to the death angel to pass over and spare their firstborn. With doors tightly shut, they hastily ate their roasted lamb, unleavened bread and bitter herbs so that they would be ready to leave Egypt at a moment s notice. They were instructed not to leave their homes that night and when the death angel passed over, the firstborn in those homes that had the blood of the lamb on their doorposts was spared. Because the Egyptians did not have the protection of the lamb s blood on their doorposts, the firstborn of both man and beast died even the firstborn son of Pharaoh. This convinced Pharaoh to let God s people go, that they may hold a feast to Him in the wilderness. Pharaoh was beside himself his oldest son was dead and the people were asking him to let the Israelites go. Fearing this was God s doing, he sent his swiftest messenger to Moses, commanding all Israelites to take their animals and leave Egypt at once. Morning finally came and according to God s command the Israelites went to the Egyptians demanded that they be paid with gold, silver, jewels and precious gifts for their long and bitter slavery. They were given whatever they wanted because God gave them favor with the Egyptians. The Israelites were now ready and that evening they began gathering at Ramses. Passover has great meaning. Putting the lamb s blood on the doorposts signifies the blood of Christ being applied to our lives. Christ our Passover gave His perfect, sinless life as a sacrifice to pay the death penalty we have all earned. And Israel coming out of Egypt is symbolic of our coming out of sin. This is a summary of events of the very first Passover. You can read the detailed account of the Passover with your family in Exodus 12. NEW TESTAMENT PASSOVER Jesus Sets the Example: Read the story from following verses: Mark 14:12-16 Notice that Jesus was directing his friends to prepare for the Passover, which he kept every year. John 13:1-17 Jesus set the example of humility, love and service through the symbolism of washing the disciples feet. 2

Jesus changes the Passover Symbols: What are the two new symbols of Passover that Christ used in place of the old symbols? Luke 22:14-15 When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. 15 Then He said to them, "With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; 16 for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God." Luke 22:19 And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me." Luke 22:20 Likewise He also took the cup (of wine) after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you. Unleavened bread symbolizes Christ s body which was horribly beaten on the day of Passover. The wine symbolizes Christ s blood that was shed on Passover. All this was done so our sins can be forgiven. Comparing the New Testament Symbols to the Old Testament Story: Learning by doing is one of the many ways God uses to teach us about His plan of salvation. In the Old Testament, when God began to teach Israel His Plan of Salvation He told them certain things they were to do so that the death angel would pass over them. On the 10th day of the first month, they were to select an unblemished male lamb and sacrifice it at sunset on the 14th day. In the Old Testament, the unblemished male lamb represented Christ, who was sinless. The killing of the lamb symbolized the sacrifice of Christ. This was a foreshadowing of the time when Christ would be sacrificed or crucified. In the New Testament, leavening was symbolic of sin and the unleavened bread represented the perfect sinless body of Christ. Christ broke the unleavened bread, picturing that He would be bruised and beaten for the complete healing of our sufferings that are caused by our sins. By law, the shedding of blood was necessary for the forgiveness of sin. In the Old Testament, the priesthood sacrificed unblemished animals. This served to teach of the future sacrifice of Jesus Christ when the pouring out of His blood would pay the penalty for everyone s sins. In the New Testament, Christ instituted the use of wine to represent His shed blood. The shedding of His blood represented by wine signifies that Christ has entered into a new covenant or agreement with us. Christ s giving of His life also makes it possible for us to pray directly to God the Father. Baptized members observe the Passover and follow Christ s command: Do this in remembrance of Me. Thus we learn by doing. What is used to represent Christ in the Old Testament? What is used in the New Testament? What was used in the Old Testament to represent Christ s sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins? What is used in the New Testament? Why do we need the Passover? God has given us spiritual laws that show us the right way to live a happy, abundant life. Whether it is God s law, man s law or rules that are made by your parents, there is always a penalty that has to be paid if the laws or rules are broken. The breaking of God s law is sin and a penalty must be paid. Romans 6:23 tells us what the penalty is for breaking any of God s laws: For the wages of sin is death. Everyone who has ever lived has sinned by breaking God s law. As you have read before, the shedding of blood was required for the forgiveness of sin. Instead of each person paying with their own lives for their sins, Christ paid the penalty for all of mankind with His life. Only Jesus Christ was great enough to pay for the sins of mankind. His blood was shed so that our sins may be forgiven and we may inherit eternal life. 3

Without the sacrifice of Christ there would be no need for the other Holy Days. The Passover lays the foundation for the balance of God s plan for the saving of mankind. We are to celebrate the Passover each year to keep us mindful of the great love Christ has for us by paying the penalty for our sins. So why do we need the Passover? We need the Passover the sacrifice of Jesus Christ so that our sins may be forgiven and we may inherent eternal life. Possible Family Discussions or Activities: This lesson presents the knowledge and understanding of the Passover the first step in God s plan of salvation. Take turns with your family members reading John 13:1-17 and Matthew 26:17-30. When you read about the foot washing and Christ changing of the symbols of Passover, explain to your child that it is a memorial to the death of Christ; therefore it is a solemn occasion. Talk about the foot washing, the unleavened bread and the wine and the singing of a hymn at the end of the service. Family Discussion Activity. Discuss the foot washing ceremony. Questions to discuss: ü How do you think the foot washing creates an atmosphere of love, service and humility? ü What other daily activities are a sign of love? ü What other daily activities are a sign of service? ü What other daily activities are a sign of humility? ü Which activities are included in all three areas? Family Discussion Questions: ü What is unleavened bread? ü What are the symbols used in the Passover service? ü What does the wine represent? ü What does the unleavened bread symbolize? ü What do we learn through foot washing? Write down the events surrounding the first Passover in Egypt on the left side of a piece of paper. On the right side write down the events surrounding the last Passover Christ kept with His disciples. Discuss the events using the Study Guide and Bible. One of God s many qualities is planning. You can help the family develop this quality. 1. Get a large yearly calendar. 2. Mark or circle each festival for the year on the calendar. 3. As a family write a plan or make a list for each Holy Day. Detail what you will need to do in order to be prepared. (This will help eliminate last minute rushing around or forgetting something.) Some things will be general and can be used for each Holy Day for example, get clothes ready; polish shoes; get Bible; get offering envelope ready; have notebook, pen or pencils ready; etc. There are also specifics that need to be done for each Holy Day. For the Days of Unleavened Bread, help remove leavening from the house and the car, help mom in preparing unleavened lunches, etc. For the Feast of Tabernacles, get school assignments, help in getting clothes and others items ready for packing, etc. 4. Post each list next to the appropriate Holy Day. 5. When each Holy Day approaches, encourage your child to follow through on his/her planning. The good results of being prepared will reinforce the idea of planning. 4

Activity: Throughout the Bible God uses symbols to teach or explain His truth. His Holy Days are rich in symbols. When we think of Passover, we think of an unblemished lamb which is symbolic of Christ, the Lamb of God. When we think of the Days of Unleavened Bread, we naturally think of unleavened bread or leavening which is symbolic of sin. The Feast of Trumpets brings to mind the silver trumpets and the shofar. But there is another kind of symbolism that God uses. It is called symbolic narration or allegory. God uses those events that happened to the Israelites long ago, to give us a deeper, fuller, understanding of His plan of salvation. Read the four events as a family and then read the three different answers. Have your child correctly tell you what it pictures a, b or c. 1. The Israelites were instructed to kill an unblemished male lamb and smear its blood on the doorposts as a sign to the death angel to pass over and spare their firstborn. a. God gave these instructions to see if the Israelites would obey. b. Jesus Christ was sacrificed of so that our sins can be forgiven by His shed blood. c. The doorposts had to be marked with blood so that the death angel could see it. 2. God parted the Red Sea, and Moses led the Israelites across dry ground with water high on each side. a. God wanted to impress the Israelites with His power. b. God parted the Red Sea to show the Israelites that He could protect them by giving them a way of escape from Pharaoh. c. The Israelites crossing of the Red Sea was symbolic of baptism. 3. Pharaoh and his army followed in hot pursuit. God said to Moses, Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen. Moses did as God told him, and the two walls of water rushed together destroying Pharaoh s army all at once never to trouble the Israelites again! a. Pharaoh realized that if he let the slaves go there would be no one to do the work so he pursued them to get them back. b. God drowned Pharaoh s army because they kept the Israelites in slavery. c. God destroyed Pharaoh s army to teach the Israelites to rely on Him alone and not their strength or wisdom or planning. 4. God asked Moses to tell the Israelites, If they obey My laws, they will become a special people that I will treasure above others. They shall become a kingdom of priests and a holy nation! a. In the first resurrection God s people will be made kings and priests and will reign on the earth. b. Those who obey God s laws will be treated as special. c. As a reward for being obedient, God will give you treasures and a kingdom. ANSWERS: 1. b; 2. c; 3. c; 4. a 5

DAYS OF UNLEAVENED BREAD THE SECOND STEP IN GOD S PLAN OF SALVATION Objectives: Add knowledge and understanding of the second step of God s plan of salvation. Reinforce that all family members can help prepare for the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread. Describe the meaning behind the physical lesson of removing leaven and eating unleavened bread. MEMORY VERSE: Leviticus 23:6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD; seven days you must eat unleavened bread. Leviticus 23:6-8 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; seven days you must eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it. But you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD for seven days. The seventh day shall be a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it. As the sun set, the First Day of Unleavened Bread began. That night was a Night to Be Much Observed. The Israelites were free from slavery and had much for which to be thankful. They brought no leavening with them and for the next seven days they would eat bread that was flat and not puffed up. Leavening symbolizes sin during the Days of Unleavened Bread. Eating unleavened bread for seven days symbolizes continuing to avoid sin after having our sins forgiven by Christ s sacrifice. Pharaoh regretted having let the Israelites go and immediately pursued them. He caught up with them on the sixth day, just as darkness was setting in and the Last Day of Unleavened Bread was beginning. Pharaoh thought he had them trapped the Red Sea was in front of them and there were mountains on each side. The cloud that had guided them by day became a pillar of fire at night and this night it moved between the Israelites and Pharaoh and his army. That night God miraculously parted the Red Sea and Moses led the Israelites across dry ground. As the day dawned, Pharaoh could see the Israelites in the far distance crossing the dry seabed with water billowing high on each side. Losing no time, Pharaoh and his army followed in hot pursuit, but were stopped in their tracks when God caused the chariots to lose their wheels. As the last Israelite climbed up out of the dry seabed onto the shore, God said to Moses, Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen. Moses did as God told him, and at daybreak the two walls of water rushed together destroying Pharaoh s army all at once never to trouble the Israelites again! (Exodus 14:13, 17-18, 23, 26, 28, 30) DAYS OF UNLEAVENED BREAD OBSERVED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT Through Moses, God began teaching the Israelites His plan of salvation. The Passover was to be observed on the 14th of the first month of the year with the Days of Unleavened Bread beginning the very next day. God s Holy Days were to be a memorial and a statute forever, throughout their generations, in all their dwellings. Down through the centuries the Israelites would drift away from God s laws and Holy Days and God would raise up a judge or a prophet to restore the knowledge of God. 6

However, there would always be some people who remained faithful to God and His laws. During the time of Jesus, people were still observing the Days of Unleavened Bread. They removed the leavening from their homes and ate unleavened bread with their meals during these seven days. They still observed the wavesheaf offering on the day following the weekly Sabbath during the Days of Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23:10-14). A sheaf of barley was waved by the high priest to be accepted by God before the spring harvest could begin. The sheaf of barley represented Jesus as the first of the firstfruits to be accepted by God before the spiritual harvest of people could begin. The morning after He was resurrected He went before God the Father to be accepted. Jesus fulfilled the symbolism of the wavesheaf offering; therefore it is no longer practiced. Were the people still observing the Days of Unleavened Bread during the time of Jesus? What did the wavesheaf offering symbolize? Meaning of unleavened bread: Yeast, baking powder and baking soda are forms of leavening. Leavening causes dough to rise or puff up. Because leavening has the ability to spread throughout a lump of dough and cause it to gradually change by being puffed up, God uses it to symbolize sin. Sin also has the ability to spread throughout a person s character and then influence others. This gradual change takes time and if not checked will destroy the distinctive qualities of a godly person. Unleavened bread has no leavening, symbolic of being without sin. Unleavened bread eaten at Passover pictures the sinless body of Christ. The unleavened bread eaten during the Days of Unleavened Bread pictures putting sin out of our lives. Put Sin Out and Righteous Ways In: The Days of Unleavened Bread help to focus our minds on not returning to the sins that Christ paid for with His shed blood. God will help us remove and avoid all types of sin symbolized by leaven in every area of our life. Watch for sinful thoughts and actions and avoid them. Through the knowledge and understanding of God s laws we become conscious of sin conscious of right and wrong. Knowing that breaking God s laws is sin and that there are consequences. Fill your life with God s righteous ways and there will be no room for sin. ü What kinds of thoughts and actions are we to watch for and avoid? Why seven days of unleavened bread? God has given instructions that we are to eat unleavened bread whenever we would eat bread during the seven Days of Unleavened Bread. Seven is God s number symbolizing completeness. Passover pictures the forgiving of our past sins and the seven Days of Unleavened Bread picture the complete putting away of sin. ü Why do we avoid leavened bread for seven days? ü What does the eating of unleavened bread for seven days symbolize? PENTECOST is the third step in God s Plan of Salvation. We will study that later. 7

Possible Family Discussions or Activities Discuss why God uses leavening to symbolize sin. What will sin do if it is not checked? Discussion Questions: ü Why do we keep the Night to Be Observed? ü What does unleavened mean? ü What does leaven represent in our lives? ü How many days do we observe the Days of Unleavened Bread? ü Talk about ways your family can try to put sin out of your lives. Explain that just as we can be fooled that some products may be unleavened, it is just as easy to be fooled by the appearance of sin. Satan makes things that are bad for us have a good appearance. Many times they look very attractive and can seem good. Discuss as a family where to look for leavening. [Give them help whenever they get stuck. Should we vacuum? Where should we vacuum? What about under the cushions of the sofa and chairs. What about sweeping and mopping? What about the areas where crumbs might fall like the drawers just below a countertop. Don t forget the toaster, oven, microwave and car anyplace where one might have crumbs.] Welcome your child s help in de-leavening your home. It will reinforce what he or she has learned. Together as a family bake some unleavened bread. Maybe share some of your wares with others in the church. 8

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ANSWER: Message hidden in Word Search: BREAD AND WINE Secret Decoder: JESUS IS THE LAMB OF GOD! 12