Pharaoh and the Egyptians were subdued to such an extent that they actually drove the children of Israel out of Egypt (12:33, 39; 11:1). The Egyptians could not tolerate the presence of God’s people in their country any longer. When Moses and Aaron first asked Pharaoh to let God’s people go, Pharaoh refused. But by the time of 12:33, “the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste.”
This is not only a story in the Bible, but a principle that applies to our Christian experience. Sooner or later, our environment will encourage us, even compel us, to make our exodus from the world. Our wife, husband, or relatives may charge us to go out; they may tell us that it is better for us to leave the world than to remain in it. This means that the world will cast us out. If we are not willing to go, the world will drive us away. As long as we remain in the world, those in the world have no peace. Eventually they realize that only when we leave the world will they have peace and will we have joy. I can testify that this has been my experience. If I were to try to go back to the world, the world would beg me not to return. As far as the world is concerned, the farther away I am, the better it is. It is the result of the Lord’s strong hand that the world wants us to leave.
Because the children of Israel were driven out of Egypt, they had no time to bring leavened food (12:34, 39). We have pointed out that leaven signifies sinfulness and corruption. The fact that the children of Israel did not have the time to prepare leavened bread indicates that the Lord will deal with our environment to such an extent that it will give us no time for sinful things. If we still have time to prepare leavened bread, it will be difficult for us to get out of Egypt. This means that if we still have time for sinful things, it will be hard for us to make our exodus from the world. After God subdues our environment and causes us to be driven out of the world, we shall discover that no time remains for sinful things. Exodus 12:39 says, “And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened; because they were driven out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any food” (Heb.). This verse indicates clearly that the Egyptians did not give the children of Israel time to leaven their bread.
When I was a child in northern China, we ate a great deal of leavened bread. I learned that it takes much less time to bake unleavened bread than to bake leavened bread. Often before going to bed at night my mother would prepare dough with leaven and let it stand until morning. When my sister prepared the dough, sometimes she would forget to add leaven. In the morning, when my mother saw the situation, she would be displeased. She knew there was no time to make leavened bread, and she had to prepare something else for us to eat. This illustration shows that it takes time to prepare leavened bread. Just as it takes time to bake leavened bread, it also takes time to commit sin.
Thirty years ago, many of us moved in haste from the mainland of China to Taiwan. The environment was such that we did not have any time to spare. If we had tarried, we would have found ourselves without any means of transportation. Also, we were forced to leave many things behind. Before that time, we who ministered the Word tried to help certain people get rid of the “leaven” in their lives. But they were not willing to listen. Instead they held on to the sinful things, to the things that are “leaven” in the eyes of God. However, being forced to leave the mainland, they had no choice but to forsake all the “leaven.” When we arrived on the island of Taiwan, I was happy that so much “leaven” had been left behind.
Sometimes God may even use physical weakness or illness to separate us from our “leaven.” You may still want to practice certain sinful things, but because of physical infirmity you are no longer able to do so. God works in your environment to force you to leave your “leaven.”
The children of Israel left Egypt in a pure way, that is, without leaven. Many of us can testify that we also have left the world in a pure way. Because God dealt with our environment, it was not possible for us to take leavened bread out of the world with us. Rather, the environment compelled us to make our exodus in a pure way. Praise Him for purging out the leaven!