We imagine that some readers may say
occasionally, “We do not come across the word dispensational, or rightly
divide, very much in this series; why
then does it use the title, “Fundamentals of Dispensational Truth”? We
desire to correct a wrong impression.
All truth is dispensational. The
whole circle of God’s aionian purpose
is subdivided into a series of dispensations.
The preaching of the gospel cannot be accomplished with clearness apart
from dispensational truth.
It was suggested to the Editor by those
responsible for another magazine, that they would accept a series of articles
on Romans if the dispensational side were
kept out! How could one ignore the
dispensational bearing of such passages as “To the Jew first”, and “My Gospel”? How could one deal with Romans v.,
ix.-xi., or xv.
without reference to dispensations?
The Scripture record of Adam or Abraham,
of Israel or the Church, is so written because God’s dealings with these men,
nations, or assemblies show the varying dispensations in which the purpose of
the ages is unfolded and accomplished.
The Passover is a part of dispensational truth, and to see where and how
it applies is to grasp the very fundamentals.
We must now give attention to the
associated feast of unleavened bread.
Throughout Scripture the truth set forth by the Passover and the
unleavened bread is constantly associated. Take for instance Eph. ii. 8-10, “for by grace are ye saved through faith . .
. . . not out of works”, this is the
N.T. doctrinal presentation of the truth set forth in the sign of the sprinkled
blood. “Created in Christ Jesus unto good works”: this is the equivalent to the unleavened
bread. The blood, outside, of the
unblemished lamb calls for the unleavened bread within.
“And they shall eat the flesh in that
night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it”
(Exod. xii. 8).
In the law given subsequently in Exodus
occurs this command:--
“Thou shalt not offer the blood of My
sacrifice with leavened bread” (Exodus.xxiii.18).
In
Lev. ii. 11 we read:--
“No meal offering . . . . . shall be made
with leaven.”
In the N.T. leaven consistently typifies
evil. Matthew xvi. 6-12:--
“Take heed and beware of the leaven of the
Pharisees and of the Sadducees … Then understood they how that He bade them
beware . . . . . of the doctrine of
the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.”
Luke xii. 1 adds the words:--
“Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees,
which is hypocrisy.”
I Corinthian v. 8 speaks of “the leaven of malice and wickedness”,
contrasting it with the “unleavened bread of sincerity and truth”. Summing up the evil that had corrupted the
simple faith of the Galatians, the apostle says, “A little leaven leaveneth the
whole lump” (verse 6). Leaven therefore
represents evil in doctrine and practice.
It is the purpose of God that His children should be “without
blemish”. As a result of the great
offering of Christ they shall one day be presented “holy and unblameable and
unreproveable in His sight” (Col. i. 22).
Notice the basis of the exhortation
of I Cor. v. 7:--
“Purge out therefore the old leaven, that
ye may be a new lump, as ye are
unleavened.”
In Christ the Corinthians were
“unleavened”. They are addressed as
“saints”, but their walk was far from being “as becometh saints”. They could not make themselves holy, but
being sanctified in Christ they can be urged to walk worthy.
Another associated meaning which Scripture
attaches to the feast of unleavened bread is connected with the pilgrim
character of those who first partook of it:--
“Thus shall ye eat it (the lamb, the bread
and the herbs), with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff
in your hand; and ye shall eat it in
haste” (Exod. xii. 11).
“And the people took their dough before it
was leavened, their kneading troughs being bound up in their clothes upon their
shoulders” (xii. 34).
“And they baked unleavened cakes of the
dough which they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened; because they were thrust out of Egypt and
could not tarry” (Exod. xii. 39).
The feast of unleavened bread speaks of
separation from Egypt, of a people who are not at home, whose hopes are beyond
and above.
It is evident that the observance of the
feast of the Passover lamb alone was not a sufficient memorial:--
“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 for an ordinance for ever” (xii. 17).
Redemptions saves from and saves to. The Passover not only saved Israel from the
destroyer, but from further contamination with or service to Egypt. The Passover naturally led to the Red Sea and
the wilderness. The lives of the people
had been made “bitter with hard bondage”.
This is easily forgotten, as can be seen in the case of Israel in the
wilderness. There, when the dreadful
experiences of the Passover and the Red Sea were things of the past, they
remembered “the flesh pots” and “bread to the full” (xvi. 3).
“We remember (said they) the fish which we
did eat in Egypt gratuitously; the
cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and garlick”
(Numb. xi. 5).
That is what they “remembered”, six
items! They soon forgot the wonders of
their deliverance and the bitterness of their bondage. Therefore added to the unleavened bread was
“bitter herbs”, “bitterness” as the Hebrew really is. God it is that appoints the bitterness of the
pilgrim’s path. Israel met it at the
beginning of their wilderness experience, and the first stage of their journey
is named Marah, or Bitter.
Let us accept these indications without
murmuring, for they are sent in love to wean us from the flesh pots of Egypt,
and to remind us of the bitterness of our former bondage. May we all rejoice in the redemption which is
in Christ Jesus, and experimentally realize the place and importance of the
feast of the unleavened bread.
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