Sabbath Thoughts & Reflections 10–The Day of Firstfruits or the Wave Sheaf Offering

by | Apr 11, 2015 | Podcasts

  9 ¶ Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
  10 “Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them, ‘When you enter the land which I am going to give to you and areap its harvest, then you shall bring in the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest.
  11 ‘And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD for you to be accepted; on the day after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.
  12 ‘Now on the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb one year old without defect for a burnt offering to the LORD.
  13 ‘Its agrain offering shall then be two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering by fire to the LORD for a soothing aroma, with its libation, a fourth of a 1hin of wine.
  14 ‘Until this same day, until you have brought in the offering of your God, ayou shall eat neither bread nor roasted grain nor new growth. It is to be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places. (Lev 23:9-14 NAS)
 
This is Sabbath Thoughts and Reflections–Episode 10–The Day of Firstfruits
A Sheaf of Barley
 
We are wrapping up the Spring Feasts of Yehovah–2015. We’ve just celebrated Passover Day or Pesach and as I’m recording and posting this episode of Sabbath Thoughts and Reflections, we are observing the last day of Unleavened Bread–this being a High Holy Day. The only remaining feast of the Passover season is Yom HaBikkurim or Day of Firstfruits and this is the primary topic of discussion for this episode.
 
Yom Bikkurim or the Day of Firstfruits
This Feast of Firstfruits in Hebrew is referred to as Yom HaBikkurim (meaning the Day of the First ripe fruits of a crop) or the Day of the Wave Sheaf. On this day, the cohen (aka priests) would wave a sheaf of the first fruits of the barley harvest before Yehovah. According to Batya Wootten in her book “Israel’s Feasts and their Fullness,” this would be the “first offering of the year.” Prior to entering the land of Canaan, the Children of Promise could not observe this day as they had no crops in which to harvest and Yehovah was providing them manna for food.
priest waving sheaves
 
NAS  Exodus 12:1 ¶ Now the LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of 1Egypt, 2 a“This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you. (Exo 12:1-2 NAS) This passage does not indicate which month it was. But a subsequent passages in the same book does provide the month in question:  4 “On this day in the amonth of Abib, you are about to go forth. (Exo 13:4 NAS)  15 “You shall observe athe Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the bmonth Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. And 1cnone shall appear before Me empty-handed. (Exo 23:15 NAS)  18 ¶ “You shall observe athe Feast of Unleavened Bread. For bseven days you are to eat unleavened bread, 1as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the cmonth of Abib, for in the month of Abib you came out of Egypt. (Exo 34:18 NAS)
 
The Day of the Wave Sheaf–Yom HaBikkurim
 
The following are specifics related to the Day of Firstfruits or Yom Bikkurim:
  • this was to begin once the children of promise entered into the land and began to reap a harvest
  • the first of their firstfruits the children of promise were to bring into the house of Yehovah (Exo 23:19; 34:26)
  • the children of promise were told not to delay to offer the first of their firstfruits, including their firstborn of their sons (Exo 22:29)
  • the children of promise were commanded to observe firstfruits (Exo 34:22)
  • when the first of the firstfruits was presented to the priest (the sons of Aaron) in the temple/tent of meeting, the sheaf of wheat/barley was to be waved before Yehovah to “be accepted for you”–that is “ratson” which means in Hebrew to be a pleasure, favor, delight (Exo 29:24; Lev 23:11)
  • Firstfruits was to take place on day after the Sabbath during the week of Unleavened Bread (Lev 23:11)
  • Yehovah deemed the firstfruit to be holy (Rom 11:16)
  • In addition to providing a sheaf of the firstfruits to the cohen to wave before Yehovah on behalf the family offering the firstfruit, the family was to bring a male lamb one year old without defect for a burnt offering (Lev 23:12)
Yom HaBikkurim–A Shadow Picture of Redemption and Salvation
 
NAS  Matthew 12:40 for just as aJonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so shall bthe Son of Man be cthree days and three nights in the heart of the earth.  (Mat 12:40 NAS)
1Co 15:20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. 
Rev 14:4 These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.
So What do we do with Yom HaBikkurim?
 
Thus Yom HaBikkurim celebrates Yeshua’s ascension to heaven where He presented Himself before Yehovah as the first of many who would become true sons and daughters of Yehovah for all eternity-
–NAS  Hebrews 2:10 ¶ For ait was fitting for Him, bfor whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to cperfect the 1dauthor of their salvation through sufferings. (Heb 2:10 NAS) How wonderful is it to celebrate such an amazing day with its tremendous symbolism. We are truly blessed.