Exodus Chapter 34, Verse 18

:18 “The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time of the month Abib: for in the month Abib thou camest out from Egypt.”

Once again, the LORD commanded that the children of Israel were to keep the feast of unleavened bread.  The parameters of this feast are outlined for us in the following passages of scripture:

    1.  Ex. 12:17 “And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever. 18 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even. 19 Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land. 20 Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread.” 

    2.  Lev. 23:6 “And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread. 7 In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. 8 But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD seven days: in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.” 

    3.  Deu. 16:16 “Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty:” 

Please note that all the males were to appear before the LORD in the place which he chose three times a year and the feast of unleavened bread was one of those times.  Also, note there were two Sabbaths associated with the feast of unleavened bread: the first day of the feast and the last day of the feast.  Elsewhere we find the Passover included in the feast of unleavened bread as no unleavened bread was allowed on the Passover.  However, technically, the Passover Day was not the first day of the feast of unleavened bread, but the day after the Passover was the first day of the feast of unleavened bread as no servile work was to be done on that day. 

Verses 19-20 

:19 “All that openeth the matrix is mine; and every firstling among thy cattle, whether ox or sheep, that is male. 20 But the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb: and if thou redeem him not, then shalt thou break his neck. All the firstborn of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before me empty.”   

The principal of the sanctification of the firstborn is set forth in this passage of scripture.  Please remember that the Lord smote all the firstborn of the Egyptians and of their cattle as judgment upon them.  The Egyptians made the observation, when their firstborns were slain, that they be all dead men.  In other words, the firstborn is the representative of the whole house.  

Just as a lamb was slain and its blood sprinkled in the Passover, so the firstborn was not slain of the houses of the children of Israel.  The firstborn of the house of God is Jesus Christ and he is the Lamb of God who died for the sins of his household and as their representative before God.  The above ordinance was to reinforce in the minds of the children of Israel their need of a redeemer (lamb) to take away their sins and satisfy the judgment of God.   

Verses 21-26 

:21 “Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest. 22 And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year's end. 23 Thrice in the year shall all your menchildren appear before the Lord GOD, the God of Israel. 24 For I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders: neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the LORD thy God thrice in the year. 25 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven; neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left unto the morning. 26 The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk.” 

In this passage the Lord sets forth the ordinances that the children of Israel were to observe in the land of Canaan.   

“Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.”  In this ordinance, the children of Israel were commanded to observe the seventh day Sabbath.  This Sabbath was to be observed regardless of the circumstances of their crops.  They were commanded to rest on the seventh day.  This was in honor to God’s work of creation.  Spiritually, this also points us to an even greater work that Christ accomplish for us in that he has saved us from our sins.  We now rest in the finished work of Jesus Christ. 

“And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest …”  The observation of the feast of weeks is spelled out for us in Deu. 16:9 “Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee: begin to number the seven weeks from such time as thou beginnest to put the sickle to the corn. 10 And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the LORD thy God with a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto the LORD thy God, according as the LORD thy God hath blessed thee: 11 And thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are among you, in the place which the LORD thy God hath chosen to place his name…” The feast of weeks was also known as Pentecost.  It began from the time when they began to put the sickle to the corn.  The ordinance pointed us to the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  For he arose early the first day of the week and then fifty days later the children of Israel observed Pentecost as outlined in Acts chapter 2.  It was a feast pointed to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which guaranteed the harvest of the crop, i.e., our resurrection in the last day.   

“and the feast of ingathering at the year's end…”  This ordinance is spelled out for us in Deu. 16:13 “Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine: 14 And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates. 15 Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD shall choose: because the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice.” This ordinance points to the final gathering of the crops.  Spiritually it points us to the resurrection of our bodies at the end of this time world. 

“Thrice in the year shall all your menchildren appear before the Lord GOD, the God of Israel. 24 For I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders: neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the LORD thy God thrice in the year.”  The children of Israel had the assurance of God that when all the males went to appear before the Lord in the place he appointed that no man would desire their land when they were gone.  That all the males would be gone, would seem to be an open invitation to the surrounding enemies to come and take and possess the land while the males were gone.  The children of Israel would not have to worry about that, because the Lord would see that no man would desire their land when they were gone. 

“Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven…”  leaven is associated in the scriptures with sin.  As the sacrifices ordained by God point to the Lord Jesus Christ, who had no sin, then leaven is not an appropriate offering with the blood of the sacrifice.  That is why in the church ordinance of today, the body of Christ is depicted by unleavened bread. 

“neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left unto the morning…”  This represents that the sacrifice was a completed work and accomplished its intended purpose.  Jesus came to save his people from their sin (Matt. 1:21) and he accomplished this work as he said just before he died on the cross: “It is finished.”   

“The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the house of the LORD thy God.”  Christ is the first of the firstfruits and he should be the central aspect of our preaching, of our worship, and of our service to him in the house of God, which today is the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

“Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk.”  I am still searching as to the significance of this.