Unleavened Bread and the meaning of

Yahweh’s Strong Hand

Four times in Shemot 13, where the people of Yisrael are instructed about observing the Feast of Unleavened Bread, reference is being made to Yahweh’s strong hand.

YAHWEH’S STRONG HAND REMINDS US …
  1. That He has saved us from every form of bondage – "And it shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ then you shall say to him, By strength of hand Yahweh brought us out of Mitsrayim, out of the house of bondage" (Shemot / Exodus 13:14).
  2. That He knows how to deal with stiff-necked people – "And Yahweh said to Mosheh, "I have seen this people, and see, it is a stiff-necked people … But Mosheh pleaded with Yahweh his Elohim, and said, "Yahweh, why does Your wrath burn against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Mitsrayim with great power and with a strong hand?" (Shemot / Exodus 32:9-11).
  3. That Yahweh our Elohim will always fight for us – "Do not fear them, for Yahweh your Elohim Himself fights for you. And I pleaded with Yahweh at that time, saying, O Master Yahweh, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your strong hand, for who is a mighty one in the heavens or on earth who does according to Your works and according to Your might?" (Devarim / Deuteronomy 3:22-24).
  4. That no truth is greater than the truth about Yahweh – "For ask now of the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that Elohim created man on the earth, and ask from one end of the heavens to the other end of the heavens, whether there has been a Word as great as this, or has been heard like it. Has a people heard the voice of Elohim speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and live? Or has Elohim tried to go and take for Himself a nation … by a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and by great fearsome deeds?" (Devarim / Deuteronomy 4:32-34).
  5. That we have every reason to observe our Shabbats – "And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Mitsrayim, and that Yahweh your Elohim brought you out from there by a strong hand and by an outstretched arm. Therefore Yahweh your Elohim commanded you to observe the Sabbath day" (Devarim / Deut 5:15).
  6. That therein lies the reason for our obedience to Torah – "When your son asks you in time to come, saying, What is the meaning of the witnesses, and the laws, and the right-rulings which Yahweh our Elohim has commanded you? then you shall say to your son, We were slaves of Pharaoh in Mitsrayim, and Yahweh brought us out of Mitsrayim with a strong hand" (Devarim / Deut 6:20-21).
  7. That we never need to question Yahweh’s love and faithfulness – "Yahweh did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more numerous than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples, but because of Yahweh loving you, and because of Him guarding the oath which He swore to your fathers, Yahweh has brought you out with a strong hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh sovereign of Mitsrayim" (Devarim / Deut 7:7-8).