Unleavened Bread First Day Service

The Feast of Unleavened Bread is all about freedom from being slaves of sin. It is the account of how God sent his Firstborn, only begotten Son to destroy Satan’s hold over us and how He will teach us and lead us into ever greater righteousness and give us everlasting life in Paradise with Him.

The first Annual Great Day Sabbath is the first day of the Week of Unleavened Bread, which Jehovah commands us to keep:

‘These are the feasts of Jehovah, holy convocations which you will proclaim at their appointed times.

‘On the fourteenth day of the first new moon, between the evenings, is Jehovah’s Passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same new moon is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to Jehovah; seven days you must eat unleavened bread. On the first day you will have a holy convocation; you will do no customary work on it.1 But you will offer an offering made by fire to Jehovah for seven days. The seventh day will be a holy convocation; you will do no customary work on it.’” Leviticus 23:4-8

During the Exodus: The Passover lambs have been slain, their blood painted on the doorways. During the night they have eaten their Passover lamb and the Envoy2 of Death has passed over. Finally Pharaoh has released his hold on the Israelites and told them to go. This is the day that they begin their march from slavery into freedom. There will be more on this after lunch.

During the year that Jeshua was Impaled: Our Passover lamb has been slain, and Jeshua’s blood has been spilled for us. Jeshua is still in the grave. Nonetheless, Jeshua has paid the penalty for our sins in full and we are released from Satan’s control when we accept what Jeshua has done for us, as the following scriptures will show.

But first, let us review the events leading to the Sacrifice of Jeshua as recorded by Luke: (Luke 22:63 to 23:55)

Now the men who held Jeshua mocked Him and they covered Him. Then they struck Him on His face and they said to Him, “Prophesy! Who struck you?” And many other things and blasphemies they spoke against Him.

And when day had dawned, the elders, the chief priests and the scribes came together and they brought Him to their assembly place. Then they said to Him, “If you are the Messiah, tell us.” He said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe Me. And if I ask you, you will not respond with an answer to Me nor will you release Me. After this hour the Son of Mankind will sit on the right hand of the power of God.”

Then they all said, “Are you therefore the Son of God?” And He said to them, “You say that I am! I AM!”

And they said, “Why do we need witnesses again, for we have heard it from his mouth.” Then the whole crowd arose and brought Him to Pilate. And they became consumed with slandering Him, and they said, “We found this one seducing our people, and he forbids paying the head taxes, to not give them to Caesar, and he says about himself that he is the Messiah, the King.”

So Pilate asked Him, and said to Him, “You are the King of the Jews?” He said to him, “You have said it.”

Then Pilate said to the chief priests and to the crowd, “I do not find any fault in this man.”

But they were shouting and they said, “He stirs up our people, he taught through all Judea, beginning from Galilee and then to here.”

And when Pilate heard the name of Galilee, he asked if the man was a Galilean. And when he knew that He was under the authority of Herod, he sent Him to be before Herod, because he was in Jerusalem during those days.

Now when Herod saw Jeshua, he was very glad; for he had wanted to see Him for a long time, because of what he had heard about Him, and he hoped that he would see some sign from Him. Then he questioned Him about many matters, but He, Jeshua, gave him no answers. And the chief priests and the scribes stood and they were consumed with vehemently accusing Him.

Then Herod mocked Him, he and his servants, and when he had insulted Him, he clothed Him in a purple robe, and he sent Him to Pilate. And on that day Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for there had been enmity between them before that.

Then Pilate called the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, and he said to them, “You have brought this man to me as one who subverts your people. But behold, I have examined him in your sight, I have not found any fault in this man concerning everything of which you are accusing him; and neither did Herod, for I sent him to him; and behold, nothing worthy of death has been committed by him. Therefore I will chastise him and I will release him.” For it was the custom for him to release one to them at the Feast.

But the whole mob shouted, and they said, “Take this one away, and release Barabbas to us.” Because of sedition which had occurred in the city and murder, he had been thrown into the prisoner house.

But they were shouting, and they said, “Impale him!3 Impale him!”

And he said to them the third time, “Why, what evil has this One done? I have not found any fault that deserves death in Him. Therefore I will chastise Him and I will release Him.”

But they were urging him with loud voices and they were demanding that they should impale him. And their voices and those of the chief priests prevailed.

So Pilate commanded that it should be done as they demanded. And he released to them the one4 that they demanded, who for sedition and murder had been thrown into the prisoner house; but he delivered Jeshua to their will.

Now as they took Him away, they seized Simon, a Cyrenian, who came in from a village, and they laid the stake on him that he might carry it behind Jeshua. And a crowd of the people followed Him, and women who mourned and lamented over Him.

But Jeshua turned to them, and He said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. Behold, the days are coming in which they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts which never nursed!’ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’ For if they do these things with green wood, what will happen with the dry?”

Two others were being taken with Him, evil-doers to be killed. And when they came to a certain place called the Skull,5 there they impaled Him and the evil-doers, one on His right and one on His left.

Then Jeshua said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided His garments and they cast lots for them. And the people stood and watched. Even the leaders were mocking Him and they were saying, “He gave life to others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah, the Chosen One of God.”

And the soldiers also scoffed at Him as they came near and offered sour wine to Him, and they said to Him, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself.” And an inscription also was written over Him in Greek, and in Latin, and in Hebrew: ‘This is the King of the Judeans.’

Then one of the evil-doers who was impaled with Him blasphemed Him and he said, “If you are the Messiah, save yourself and also save us.”

But his companion rebuked him, and he said to him, “Are you not also afraid of God, for you are also condemned with Him? And we justly, because we are deserving to be repaid according to what we have done; but this One, nothing bad was done by Him.” Then he said to Jeshua, “My Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”

Jeshua said to him, “Truly, I say to you, that day you will be with Me in Paradise.”6

And it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness on all the earth until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the Palace was torn apart from its middle.

Then Jeshua called out in a loud voice, and He said, “My Father, I place My spirit into Your hands.” He said this, and He expired.

Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, and he said, “Truly, this Man was the Righteous One!”

And the whole crowd which had gathered for this spectacle, when they saw what had happened, returned while they beat on their breasts. But all of Jeshua’s acquaintances, and the women who followed Him from Galilee, they all stood well back, and they watched these things.

And a certain man named Joseph, a member of the Sanhedrin from the Judean city of Arimathea, was a good and just man. This one had not consented to their decision nor to their act. And he was waiting for the Kingdom of God. This man came to Pilate and he asked for the body of Jeshua. Then he took it down and wrapped it in a winding sheet of linen, and laid it in an excavated tomb, in which no one had yet been placed.7

That was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning. And the women who had come with Him from Galilee approached, and they saw the tomb and the way in which His body was laid. Luke 22:63 to 23:55

John the Immerser had earlier prophesied about who Jeshua is and what He must do: (John 1:29-36)

The following day John saw Jeshua coming towards him, and said, “Behold! He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!8 This is He about whom I said, ‘After me will come a Man, yet He was before me, because He is earlier than me.’ And I, I did not know Him; but because He must be revealed to Israel, therefore I came here immersing in water.”

And John testified and said, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it rested upon Him. And I, I did not know Him, but He who sent me to immerse in water, He said to me, ‘The One upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and resting upon Him, He will immerse with the Holy Spirit.’ And I, I have seen and I testify that this One is the Son of God.”

Again, on another day, John and two of his disciples were standing, and he gazed at Jeshua as He walked, and he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!”

And John the Apostle tells us who Jeshua is, what He has done for us, and what He will do in the future: (Revelation 1:4-7)

John, to the seven congregations which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and was and is coming, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jeshua the Anointed, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. He who loved us and released us from our sins in His own blood, and He has made us a priestly kingdom to God and His Father. To Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.9

Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, and even those who pierced Him. And they, all the families of the earth, will mourn for Him.10 Yes! Amen.

We must focus on our walk with our Messiah. Our body of sin is dead and buried, and we are washed from our sins in the blood of Messiah. We are newly begotten in Jeshua, growing in a new and deeper relationship with our Anointed Saviour: (Romans 6:1-23)

Then what will we say? Will we continue in sin that grace may abound? It cannot be so! For those of us who died to sin, how will we live in it again? Or do you not know that all of us who were immersed into the Anointed Jeshua were immersed into His death?

We were buried with Him through immersion into death, and as Jeshua our Messiah rose from the dead through the glory of His Father, so we also will walk in new life. For if we have been planted with Him in the likeness of His death, in this way we will also be in His resurrection, for we know that our old person was impaled with Him, that the body of sin will be destroyed, so we will not serve sin again. For the one who has died has been freed from sin.

But if we died with the Anointed, we believe that we will also live with the Anointed, knowing that the Anointed, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death has no further dominion over Him. For when He died, He died to sin once for all; but now that He lives, He lives to God. So you also, count yourselves as dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in our Lord and Messiah, Jeshua.

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, to obey it in its lusts. Nor yield your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but yield yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin will not have dominion over you, for you are not under the Instruction but under grace.

What? Will we then sin because we are not under the Instruction but under grace? It cannot be so! Do you not know that to whoever you present yourselves to obey, you are bonded as slaves to him who you obey, if your ear listens to sin or if to righteousness?

But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you obeyed from the heart that form of teaching to which you were delivered. And having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

I say, as to the children of the house, because of the weakness of your flesh, that as you presented your members to serve defilement and evil, now also in this way present your members to serve righteousness and holiness. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.

But now, having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and in the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is everlasting life in the Anointed Jeshua, our Lord. Romans 6:1-23

Leaven, used here to represent sin, is to be removed from our lives. Jeshua warns us that false teaching is another form of leaven that we need to find and remove: (Matthew 16:11-12)

“How do you not understand that I did not speak to you about bread, but that you must beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.” Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Our new walk requires growth, adaptability and commitment: (1 Corinthians 9:19 to 10:17)

For though I am free from all things to everyone, I have subjected myself to the many that I may gain; and I am with Judeans as a Judean, that I may gain Judeans; and with those who are under the Instruction, I am like those who are under the Instruction, that I may gain those who are under the Instruction; and with those who do not have the Instruction, I am like one without Law, though I am not without Law to God but within the Instructions of the Messiah, that I may also gain those who are without Instruction;

I am with the weak as a weak one, that I may gain the weak. I am everything to everyone, that I may give life to everyone. Now I have done this, that I may be a partaker of the good news.

Do you not know that all of those who run in a stadium run, but one of them takes the prize? Also run like this so you may obtain it. Now everyone who competes restrains himself in all things. Now they run to obtain a perishable crown, but we for one that is imperishable. Therefore I run like this: it is not as if it is for something unknown. Thus I fight: not as he who fights the air. But it is my body I discipline and I bring into subjection, lest I, who have preached to others, I should become rejected myself.

Therefore, my brethren, I want you to know that all of our fathers were under the cloud, and all of them passed through the sea, and all of them were immersed by Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all of them, they ate the one food of the Spirit, and all of them, they drank the one drink of the Spirit. For they drank of that Rock of the Spirit which was with them, and that Rock was the Messiah. But God was not pleased with the majority of them, for they fell in the wilderness.

Now these things are examples to us, that we should not lust after evil just as they lusted. Nor should we serve idols as some of them also served. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.” Nor should we commit sexual immorality, as some of them committed fornication, and in one day twenty-three thousand of them fell; nor should we tempt the Messiah, as some of them tempted, and serpents destroyed them; nor should we complain, as some of them complained, and they were destroyed by the Destroyer.

Now all of these things happened to them for our example, and they were written for our warning, for the end of the age is coming upon us. From now on, whoever thinks he stands, let him beware lest he fall. No temptation has come to you except those of the children of man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make an escape, so you can endure it. Because of this, my beloved, flee from serving idols.

I speak as to the wise; you judge what I say. The cup of thanksgiving which we bless, is it not partaking in the fellowship of the blood of the Anointed? The bread which we break, is it not partaking in the fellowship of the body of the Anointed? Just as that bread is one, so are we all one body; for we all receive from that one bread. 1 Corinthians 9:19 to 10:17

Break for Eucharist (Thanksgiving) of Bread and Wine as Jeshua established at the Last Supper: (Matthew 26:26-29)

And as they were eating, Jeshua took bread, and blessed and broke it, and He gave it to His disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” And He took a cup, and He gave thanks, and He gave it to them, and He said, “Take, drink from it, all of you. This is My blood of the New Covenant, which is shed in exchange for the many for their release from sins.11 And I say to you, I will not drink of this product of the vine from this hour until that day when I will drink it with you anew in the Kingdom of My Father.”

Let us meditate upon these things and our readiness for taking the Bread and the Wine.

Now we will take the Bread and then the Wine according to Luke 22:19 and 20 [—using unleavened bread and red wine (or red grape juice).]

And He took bread, and He gave thanks and He broke it and He gave it to them. And He said “This is My body which will be given for your sakes; you will do this for My memorial.” Luke 22:19

[Rise up and offer the unleavened bread to Jehovah and give thanks for it, using Jeshua’s words above. Then break the unleavened bread into pieces and pass them around. Wait for everyone to receive their bread and eat it.]

Then He also took the cup after they had dined. He said “This cup is the New Covenant in My blood, which will be shed for your sakes. Luke 22:20

[Rise up and offer the wine to Jehovah and give thanks for it, using Jeshua’s words above. Then pour the wine into glasses and pass them around. Wait for everyone to receive their wine and drink it. Then thank Jeshua for offering us His body and blood for our healing, our salvation and our life, both for now and for everlasting life.]

Afternoon Service

For you, my brethren, you have been called to liberty; only do not let your liberty become an opportunity for the flesh, but through love you should serve one another. For the Instruction is all fulfilled in this one saying: “You will love your neighbour as yourself.”12 But if you bite and you devour one another, beware lest you be consumed, one by another!

So I say that you should be walking in the Spirit, and then you will never fulfil the cravings of the flesh. For the flesh craves everything that opposes the Spirit, and the Spirit craves everything that opposes the flesh; and they are both contrary to one another, so you aren’t doing everything that you want.

And if you are led by the Spirit, you should not be beneath the Instructions.13 For the works of the flesh are known, which are: fornication, impurity, whoring, idol worship, witchcraft, hatred, contentions, jealousies, rage, insolence, dissensions, schisms, envy, murder, drunkenness, revelries, and all such things. Those who commit such things, as I told you from the beginning, and now I say again; they will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, a sweet spirit, faithfulness, humility and endurance. The Instructions are not against these. And those who are the Anointed’s have impaled their flesh, with all of its sicknesses and cravings. Therefore, we will live in the Spirit, and we will surrender to the Spirit. And do not let us become empty of glory by putting one another down and envying one another.

My brethren, if any one of you is overtaken in a trespass, you who are in the Spirit restore him in the spirit of humility, and be careful lest you also may be tempted. And bear one another’s burdens, for in this way you fulfil the Instructions of the Anointed. For if anyone thinks that he is something, when he is not, he is deceiving himself. But each one should examine his work, and then his soul may rejoice to himself alone, and not to others. For every person must bear his own load.

And let him who hears the word share in all good things with him who preaches. Do not err, do not put God to shame; for whatever a son sows, that he will also reap. Whoever sows to the flesh will reap destruction from the flesh, and whoever sows to the Spirit will reap everlasting life from the Spirit.

And when we do what is good, do not let it become tedious for us, for there will come a time when we will reap, and that will not be tiring for us. Therefore, while we still have time, let us do good to everyone, especially to the children of the household of faith. Galatians 5:13 to 6:10

Now, let us go back in time and look at the events of this Day during the Exodus: (Exodus 12:43 to 13:22)

And Jehovah said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the statute of the Passover: No son of a foreigner14 will eat it. But every man’s servant who is bought for silver, when you have circumcised him, then he may eat it. A sojourner15 and a hired servant will not eat it.

“In one house it will be eaten; you will not carry any of the flesh outside the house, nor will you break one of its bones.16 All the congregation of Israel will keep it.

“And when an immigrant dwells with you and wants to keep the Passover to Jehovah, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he will be as one raised up in the land. For no uncircumcised male will eat it. One Torah17 will be for those raised up there and for the immigrant who dwells among you.”

Thus all the children of Israel did; as Jehovah commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did. So it came to pass, on that very same day, that Jehovah led the host of the children of Israel away from the land of Egypt.

Then Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, “Consecrate to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast; it is Mine.”18

And Moses said to the people: “Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand Jehovah brought you out of this place. No leavened bread will be eaten. On this day you are going out, in the new moon Abib. And it will be, when Jehovah brings you into the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, which He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, that you will keep this service in this new moon. Seven days you will eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there will be a feast to Jehovah. Unleavened bread will be eaten seven days. And no leavened bread will be seen among you, nor will leaven be seen among you in all your quarters.

“And you will tell your son in that day, saying, ‘This is done because of what Jehovah did for me when I came up from Egypt.’ It will be a sign to you on your hand and a reminder between your eyes,19 that Jehovah’s Instructions may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand Jehovah brought you out of Egypt. You will therefore keep this statute in its season from year to year.

“And it will be, when Jehovah brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as He swore to you and your fathers, and gives it to you, that you will set apart to Jehovah all that open the womb, that is, every firstborn that comes from an animal which you have; the males will be Jehovah’s. But every firstborn of a donkey you will redeem with a lamb; and if you will not redeem it, then you will break its neck. And all the firstborn of man among your sons you will redeem. So it will be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ that you will say to him, ‘By strength of hand Jehovah brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. And it came to pass, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that Jehovah killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore I sacrifice to Jehovah all males that open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ It will be a sign on your hand and an ornament between your eyes, for by strength of hand Jehovah brought us out of Egypt.”

Then it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, “Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.” So God led the people around by way of the wilderness of the Soph Sea.20 And the children of Israel marched21 out of the land of Egypt. And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had placed the children of Israel under solemn oath, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you will carry up my bones from here with you.”

So they took their journey from Succoth22 and camped in Etham23 at the edge of the wilderness. And Jehovah went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night. He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people.24 Exodus 12:43 to 13:22

The Book of Numbers adds more detail to their itinerary and confirms that they began their march out of Egypt on the day after the Passover, which is this day: the First Day of Unleavened Bread: (Numbers 33:1-5)

These are the journeys of the children of Israel, who went out of the land of Egypt by their armies under the hand of Moses and Aaron. Now Moses wrote down the starting points of their journeys as the mouth of Jehovah told him. And these are their journeys according to their starting points: They departed from Rameses in the first new moon, on the fifteenth day of the first new moon; on the day after the Passover the children of Israel went out with boldness in the sight of all the Egyptians. For the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn, whom Jehovah had killed among them. Also on their gods Jehovah had executed judgements. Then the children of Israel moved from Rameses and camped at Succoth.

So, on the same day of the year that the Egyptians were burying their firstborn, Jehovah God’s First-born, Jeshua our Messiah, was lying dead in a tomb, where His followers had placed Him.

But we have been given hope. Jeshua had promised to rise from the grave on the third day. We will see that He does indeed rise on the Wave Sheaf Offering, held on the morning of the day after the weekly Sabbath during Unleavened Bread.

And let us remember: Though we are to remove leaven from our homes, that is only a physical reminder that we are to examine ourselves and remove sin from our lives. Just as the Israelites spent the days of Unleavened Bread escaping from Egypt, we are to escape from sin. Though Jehovah’s Holy Spirit will help us, we must take an active part in this. The entire Feast of Unleavened Bread is a special time that Jehovah our God has given to us so we can draw closer to Him.

Permission is given to copy and distribute this service provided it is copied entirely and distributed without charge.

Scripture quotes are from the CHCoG translation, based on the Aramaic Peshitta New Covenant.

2 In Hebrew and Aramaic this is מַלְאַךְ mal’ak, meaning envoy or representative, but is often mistranslated as angel from the Greek aggelos.

3 Impaling Jeshua means to nail Him to a post which is then fastened upright, where He is left to slowly die.

6 Note that he asked to be remembered when Jeshua returned in power, and that is what Jeshua promised him. Jeshua did not promise him an immediate resurrection into Paradise as many translations suggest.

10 Based on Zec 12:10, which focuses on Israel. Rev expands it to include the entire earth.

13 That is, your thoughts and actions are to be above those set by the Instructions. You should be doing better than what Jehovah requires from those who do not have His Spirit dwelling in them as you do.

14 This includes all foreigners, as they are all sons (or daughters) of a foreigner. It does not mean that the foreigner had to have been born among them.

17 Torah תּוֹרָה translates from the Hebrew as Instructions and signifies both God’s Laws and all of His Teachings. Hereafter Torah is usually translated as Instructions. The immigrants include gentile Christians who become grafted into Israel, though their circumcision will be in their hearts, through Jeshua (Rom 11).

19 These are the Marks of God: ‘between the eyes’ signifying that we know Jehovah’s Instructions and ‘the hand’ signifying that we keep them. This passage ties these signs to keeping the Passover. Others tie them more broadly to keeping and understanding all of Jehovah’s Instructions, such as Deut 6:8, Deut 11:8, Eze 9:3-6, Rev 7:3, Rev 14:1 and Rev 22:4. The Beast’s marks are similar: its marks on its followers’ hands and between their eyes means that they obey its commands and believe what it tells them (Rev 13:16, Rev 20:4).

20 Hebrew is Soph Yam, meaning “Sea of Ending”. Various Bible verses confirm this is the sea called the “Gulf of Aqaba” today, such as Exo 10:19 and 1 Kings 9:26. Solomon’s shipyard has been located at the northern end of this gulf and Israelis call it the Gulf of Elat(h) today. Soph Sea probably also includes all of the Rea Sea, the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf. See Fritz The Lost Sea of Exodus for more detail.

21 The Hebrew indicates that they marched out in an orderly manner organised like an army. There is nothing to indicate that they obtained weapons until after crossing the Gulf of Aqaba.