To set the stage, notice in Exodus 12, where the Feast of Unleavened Bread was given by God before the people reached Mount Sinai; even before they left the land of Egypt they were told to keep it as an ordinance forever. "Seven days shall you eat unleavened bread; even the first day you shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. And in the first day there shall be an Holy Convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an Holy Convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you. And you 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 you observe this day in your generations by an ordinance forever. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even. Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eats 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. You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall you eat unleavened bread" (Exo. 12:15-20). In these six verses are seven commanded laws. (1) We are commanded to eat unleavened bread for seven days. (2) We are to put leaven out of our houses for seven days. (3) We are told that if we eat any leavened bread during that seven days, "that soul shall be cut off" from the congregation of Israel [the body]. (4) The first and seventh days are commanded Holy Convocations. (5) No work or ordinary pursuits of life are to be done on the first and seventh days. (6) We are commanded not to fast during these seven days. (7) The Feast of Unleavened Bread is a commanded ordinance forever. Ordinance is Strong's # 2708 taken from Gesenius Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon of the Old Testament and the New Brown Driver-Briggs- Gesenius Hebrew-English Lexicon: 1. Statute 2. Law 3. Practiced custom 4. Law given by God to man 5. Actual law of God.

Laws are not popular with those who are still hanging on to the fruits of the flesh. Law to them means: Strict, stern, uncompromising, unmerciful, ritualistic, rigorous, restrictive, repressive, hard, harsh, legalistic, solemn, iron fisted, negative and austere. That's what God's laws are, or so we have been told by atheists and those still wrestling with human nature. The word "law"has come to carry the connotation of unrelenting and cruel authority. Those that think like this have the attitude "God's not going to tell me what I can and can't do. He is not going to tell me what I can do on Saturday or any other day of the week." Why do people think like that ? Paul tells us why in his letter to the church in Rome: "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God [unyielding]: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be" (Rom 8:7). What is their fate in this human flesh? The answer is found in verse 6, " For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace" ( Rom 8:6 ). Many people believe that law, God's law and laws of the land, is tough, rough and very, very confining. The Hebrew word Decalogue or Pentateuch, translated "law" is Strong's # 8451, "Torah"in Hebrew meaning: God's statutes, direction, and instruction. The root comes from Strong's # 3384 in Genenius Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon of the Old Testament, meaning to teach, inform, instruct, and direct. Another word to help us understand the meaning of Torah is "tor" it is found in Strong's # 8447 meaning to turn like repent, change course or direction. Putting these concepts together we find that Torah means God's Laws is an order of teaching, and a course of instructions. The Torah God's Laws, charts man's course in God's Truth. This understanding is radically different from the stern, harsh, unmerciful and restrictive English word "law."

Another word that will help define "Torah" and what God's Law really is about is curriculum. Curriculum is the order of teaching or course of teaching. Teachers use curriculum to bring their student from point "A" to point "B." Example: the third grade "curriculum" is designed to bring students from the second grade level to the fourth grade level in ‘Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic.' God's overall "curriculum" is God's law. God's Torah is in the order of teaching and instructions. God designed this plan for the express purpose of bringing man from the carnal human level to the God level of thinking and living our life in Spirit and Truth. This is why the Old Testament and the New Testament work together, expressing physical laws and spiritual laws with the New Testament magnifying the way of God. Those Laws that do not need magnification are explained clearly in the Old Testament. The Bible is one complete book, with God its author. The Old and New Testaments support one another. Breaking God's laws as written, is a sin. Christ said "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets [in the Old Testament]: I am not come to destroy [to abolish, or annul], but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least Commandments, and shall teach men so [man's traditions], he shall be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven" (Matt. 5:17-19).

God created these Laws for all of us to literally become sons of God! This offends many people when they hear that. The Apostle John wrote, "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: Therefore the world knows us not, because it knew Him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifies himself, even as He is pure" (1 John 3:1-3). This means we are to remove sin out of our life if we are to continue being called, sons of God. We must purge out all old leaven [sin] and live our life in Sincerity and Truth (I Cor. 5:7-8).

People of this world do not understand us, nor the way we behave and do things; just as the world did not understand Christ when He was on earth. In one of King David's prayers he prayed, "As for me, I will behold Your face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with Your likeness" (Psa. 17:15). David believed in the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead and the reality of having a future life. Carrying on with King David's thought, we read of Christ's close relationship with God the Father and how the Jews two months before the Feast of Tabernacles picked up stones and wanted to kill Christ because of this same understanding. "I and My Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, many good works have I showed you from my Father; for which of those works do you stone Me? The Jews answered Him, saying, for a good work we stone You not; but for blasphemy; and because that You, being a man, makest yourself God. Jesus answered them, is it not written in your law, I said, you are gods?" (John 10:30-34). Did Jesus Christ inspire this to be written before ? Yes in the Psalms of Asaph. "I have said, you are gods; and all of you are children of the most high" (Psa. 82:6). It is in God's plan to reproduce Himself through human beings, we are made in God's image. In Genesis 1, we read of God the Father and Jesus Christ carrying on a conversation about whose image They will create man in! "And God [Elohim plural, more than one God] said, Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness:....so God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them" (Gen 1:26-27).

The Torah is God's Law and curriculum that leads us from point A to point B. This charts man's course toward the light of God's truth. We are reminded by Luke, ".... that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God" (Luke 4:4). These life giving words of God are found in both the New Testament and the Old Testament. We can read evidence of this in Paul's letter to the Ephesus brethren, "Now therefore you are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles [New Testament] and prophets, [Old Testament] Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone [author]" (Eph 2:19-20)." The apostles learned from the prophets of old, and the teaching and example of Jesus Christ. Just as we must learn from both the prophets, the apostles and Jesus Christ bringing all things into obedience to Him. "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5). We cannot think in terms of getting the cart ahead of the horse if we do we will jackknife and crash.

Jesus Christ was sent in the flesh as the Messenger to introduce God the Father and to be the firstborn of the future firstfruits. Many sceptics do not believe that! They reject Christ as the Messiah, their Savior. When searching the scriptures we find they testify of Christ. "Search the scriptures; for in them you have eternal life: and they are they which testify of Me" (John 5:39). We must prove Christ by bringing Him through the door of the Old Testament. Notice verse 46 of John 5 what Christ told the Pharisees during His earthly ministry, "For had you believed Moses, you would have believed Me: for he wrote of Me. But if you believe not his writings, how shall you believe My words?" (John 5:46-47). This is talking about the Torah [God's laws], the first 5 books in the Bible. If we today cannot know and believe the things Moses wrote to be true, how can we believe Christ's words to be true?

Let's do some curriculum comparison, starting in Isaiah, proving that Jesus Christ was the son of God, the Messiah and Saviour. "Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His Name Immanuel" (Isa. 7:14). Christ was to have a human mother but not a human father! And His name was to be Immanuel, translated "God with us." Was this fulfilled? Looking in the book of Matthew we read of an angel talking to Joseph prior to Christ being born. "But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, fear not to take unto you Mary your wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she shall bring forth a son, and you shalt call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, "God with us" (Matt. 1:20-23). Emmanuel does not represent a title. It is a characterization. Emmanuel shows that He really was ‘God with us,' meaning joined or attached [Strong's # 1694]. Continuing in chapter 2 of Matthew, "Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is He that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen His star in the east, and are come to worship Him. And when Herod the King had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born."(Matt 2:1-4). How would the chief priests and scribes know where Christ should be born? In verses 5 and 6 we read the answer, "And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel" (Matt 2:5-6). Micah writes about the coming Messiah, "But you, Bethlehem Ephratah, though you be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall He come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting" (Micah 5:2). Reading that same verse from the Amplified Bible "But you, Bethlehem Ephratah, you are little to be among the clans of Judah, yet out of you shall one come forth for Me who is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from ancient days eternity."

We should begin to see how God's curriculum ties the Old Testament with the New Testament: We have found that Christ is the Ruler of Israel and was born in the flesh in Bethlehem of Judea, born of a virgin. Another convincing chapter is in Isaiah, "Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: He has no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected of men; a Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. Verse 8: "He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare His generation? for He was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was He stricken. Therefore will I divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong; because He hath poured out His soul unto death: and He was numbered with the transgressors; and He bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors"(Isa. 53:1- 5,8,12). This is a very clear description of Christ that is represented by the unleavened bread we ate last month.

Even with this clear evidence He is rejected by some of the largest church groups like Judaism, Buddhism, Muslims and even the Catholics who claim to be the Vicar, are displaying and rejecting the true Christ. These people, who profess to accept religion, teach another gospel altogether different than what's written in God's word. The Apostle John wrote of other spirits that we need to be warned about, "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know you the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof you have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. You are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world" (I John 4:1-4).

Scriptures provide a reliable standard by which to test all claims. The Old and New Testaments will harmonize with what God has already revealed. The apostles learned from the prophets of old how to conduct their lives and to identify Jesus Christ as the Messiah, just as we must learn now from the New Testament and Old Testament how to conduct our lives, if we are to receive the gift of eternal life and become members of God's family. Jesus Christ said, "I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6). We must prove our willingness to obey God and strive to keep the spiritual leaven of sin out of our lives. Eating unleavened bread last month for 7 days should have reminded us of this.