"Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning."- Ex 23:18

"For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption." - Ps 16:10

"Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.Another parable spake 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."- (Mt 13:31-33)

The Holiness and and absolute purity of our God is like a foundation of crystal or brilliant diamond on which scripture rests. His Word is Truth. There is no shadow of change or turning in Him. He is all light and in Him there is no darkness at all. This purity is reflected in the OT Law, both civil and ceremonial, through rich symbolism reflecting the character of Christ and His work. Just as Christ is foreshadowed in the Law, Christ himself foreshadows the Church, and reveals some characteristics of it that we know and struggle with - but may not have understood fully, and we hope that this weeks study may shed some light on those issues.

The passage from the Law is best understood in the following context. First of all, by design, ANY offerings to the Lord - that were placed on the altar - were not permitted to have any leaven in them. Leavened bread was permitted only when the offering was not to be placed upon the altar, but eaten by the priests (Lev_7:13; Lev_23:17; Lev_23:20). No leaven (symbolizing sin/corruption) was to be consumed in the holy fire of the altar, or come in contact with holy blood. Second, this was also an instruction for Israel to introspect on sin in their life during the holy week of Passover. The rabbis Jonathan and Jarchi interpret the first part of the text to be understood as follows "you shall not sacrifice My Passover while there is leaven in your houses". (Sidenote: The Hebrew here is absolutely unique in its usage). Not just the priests, but every citizen was to be diligent in rooting out leaven from their homes (and lives) prior to the slaying of the Passover Lamb. Lastly, any fat in any sacrifice made on the altar was automatically consumed immediately (it never stayed there till morning), so the instruction in the second half of the passage, refers to the flesh of the Passover lamb that was eaten in all the houses. None of it was to be left till the morning. Please also note that the Word says it is "MY sacrifice"... not your sacrifice/offering. It is referring to the one and only Lord's Passover, and His Lamb!
Now the text in Psalms comes to wonderful life! It not only prophesies the resurrection of our Lord, but also shows that in all respects, the Holy One of Israel, whether in symbology or in actual life, was to be kept from corruption in all forms - whether that was from leaven in the sacrifice or the decay of His flesh (Passover Lamb, and His actual body) !

Sadly, the same is not true for the Body of Christ in this world. Our Lord himself prophesied (in the two parables from Matthew cited above) that birds/leaven (both symbols of evil in the Word), would find a place in the tree and loaf of the kingdom. A symbolic and a literal example should help to make this clear.

Symbolic: The Feast of Pentecost was unique in that that - leavened bread - was required! "Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they -shall be baken with leaven-; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD" - (Le 23:17) Most commentators interpret this as showing forth the going forth of the Word and Spirit of the Lord to both Jew and Gentile at the time of Pentecost, and it certainly lines up with what we know to be true today, however, the coexistence and indwelling of the Holy Spirit with our mortal, corruptible flesh is certainly another dimension to consider here! First fruits baked with leaven... what a wonderful picture of the early church!
Literal: In the picture of the 7 churches we see in the book of Revelation Chapter 2, only 2 churches get an 'A' grade. Smyrna (symbolizing His Body that continues to be martyred), and Philadelphia (symbolizing His Body that truly keeps His Word and does not deny His Name). All the other churches have leaven/birds of some sort (busyness, doctrinal issues, corrupting influences, lukewarmness, worldliness) that are impacting them. Christ revealed to the apostle John that there would be leaven in His church!

This should help us all understand why there seems to be more sin and hypocrisy in the church than outside it. The enemy does not want to see a productive and useful church, and he will use mans fleshly weaknesses (pride, power, ambition, greed, even our good intentions!) to get us to be divided amongst ourselves and generate a poor witness. Instead of using the Word of God as a sword against the enemy, we see it being wielded in fierce legalism against fellow Christians in the name of doctrinal correctness. We see preachers cherry picking passages from the Word to support "their" message, instead of - trying to faithfully understand what our Lord may have intended - a particular - passage of scripture to mean, and looking to validate that understanding from other scriptures and passages. We see our Lord being represented as a panacea for problems (health, wealth, happiness) instead of learning to see Him as lovely and wholly desirable in and of Himself, and solely for Himself. Its like loving someone for their money or looks instead of who they are! If all He gave you was His assurance to be with you even it meant being killed for His Name's sake, would you still love Him?

Both Psalm 16:10, and chapter 2 of Revelation have a sobering message for us. The Psalm says that the Holy One will not see corruption, Revelation chap 2 says that a corrupt church will be uprooted (candlestick removed) unless it repents. Our Lord is patient and longsuffering - but His standards are clear and He will not lower them for anyone! If we are in Christ, we are to walk as He walked.

"Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." (Heb 10:19-31).