Leaven out, Healing in…

What is leaven? In simplest terms it is YEAST. It is a living microorganism that multiplies rapidly in the presence of warmth and moisture. It is the organism that causes bread to rise. In Exodus chapter 12 we are warned about having leaven in our homes seven times during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Why? Because leaven is a Biblical symbol for the sin of PRIDE which causes humans to become puffed up and think more of themselves than they ought to. All of the sins of the world can be grouped into three categories; They are; the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and PRIDE (1John 2:16). Pride, is the worst since it can keep us from admitting the other two and dealing with them.  You can find these three sins in Eve’s temptation in the Garden of Eden, and in Yeshua’s temptation in the wilderness. Eve succumbed, but Yeshua overcame them.   We diligently remove all traces of leaven from our home as we prepare to celebrate the Lord’s Feast known as Passover. Since the Feasts are the spiritual curriculum we use to teach our children about God’s nature, we involve them in a search for a few pieces of carefully hidden leaven. We do this the night before the Feast. Each year the children learn what God did for us way back then, so they will know what he can do for them today, and for their children in the future.   Yeshua also cleansed His Father’s house of leaven before the Passover celebration just before He was to be the final Passover Lamb. The scriptures tell us: “Then Yeshua went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’”(Matthew 21:12-13)   Do you know why there were “money changers” and people “selling doves.” They were an integral part of the Temple scene. Jewish people were coming from many neighboring countries to obey the “three times each year” commandment. (Deut. 16:16) They couldn’t bring the animals for their sacrifice with them, so they bought them at the Temple. They couldn’t use the coins from their native country for the purchase, so they had to visit the “money changers.” All of this was normal business. Unfortunately, both groups had become infested with thieves. Money changers not giving the proper exchange rate, and vendors selling animals with defects. Yeshua gets the “leaven” out of His Father’s house and: “Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.” (Matthew 21:14) This is the first instance of Yeshua healing in the Temple. It tells us that: The power of God will be released when we get the leaven out of His house.   Today is a great day to Get the Leaven out of our lives and out of our homes.