For seven days no yeast is to be found in your houses. And anyone, whether foreigner or native-born, who eats anything with yeast in it must be cut off from the community of Israel. The inclusion of the foreigner alongside the native-born in this law is significant: the Passover and its obligations apply to all who live within the community of Israel, regardless of ethnic origin. The alien who joins Israel is under the same covenant requirements as the Israelite. Numbers 9:14 makes this explicit for the Passover itself: the alien who observes the Passover must follow all its regulations. This principle of inclusive covenant obligation reaches its fullest expression in Galatians 3:28: there is neither Jew nor Gentile — the boundaries of covenant membership that were already porous in Exodus become fully open in Christ.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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