Time to honor Firstfruits and
the Counting of the Omer =
Feast of Weeks
(If you missed the blog from last Friday on why all Jesus’ followers should be observing Passover, follow this link and read it too. It gives lots to think about, answers many questions, and
raises others for you to search out with the Holy Spirit.)
https://chosencrowned.one/dont-miss-observing-passover-2024/
What is Firstfruits?
The Firstfruits observance begins as a command from God that you can learn about in Leviticus 23. The Firstfruits represents Jesus. The wave sheaf mentioned in scripture below is symbolic of Jesus as our Firstfruits as He gave His life for us. Read these scriptures and it will make sense when you get to the verse about the spotless lamb required for this offering.
“And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest, and he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, so that you may be accepted. On the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. And on the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb a year old without blemish as a burnt offering to the LORD. And the grain offering with it shall be two tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, a food offering to the LORD with a pleasing aroma, and the drink offering with it shall be of wine, a fourth of a hin. And you shall eat neither bread nor grain parched or fresh until this same day, until you have brought the offering of your God: it is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.” Leviticus 23:9-14
Did you see the shadow-type of Jesus?
The spotless lamb (sinless Jesus),
flour (His body),
oil (anointing),
wine (His blood spilled out).
Jesus is clearly the Firstfruits of the harvest, the coming harvest of the souls that belong to Him. He is the Firstfruits on Resurrection day, and the Firstfruits for harvest day of those who are His. He is the Firstfruits of those who have slept; they will be resurrected when He sounds His trumpet.
How long did He say to observe this day? “it is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.”
“But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.” 1Corinthians 15:20-23
Our Messiah’s resurrection is the firstfruits promise of the Believer’s resurrection. His followers will be raised up to spend eternity with Him.
“Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die,
it abideth alone:
but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.”
John 12:24
He is our Firstfruit
We are His fruit
When is Firstfruits?
There are actually two Firstfruits. The Firstfruits celebration begins the day following the Sabbath that follows Passover.
- Passover is the 22nd.
- The first Sabbath after Passover is the 27th
- Early Firstfruits – Day 1 is the 28th
- Fifty days later is the Latter Firstfruits, the end of the Omer counting.
Those fifty days being the Omer or Feast of Weeks. Some call it the Counting of the Omer. All of this can be searched on the internet.
Day 1 of Feast of Weeks can begin near the end of Unleavened Bread Fast (7 days), at the end, or the next day after it ends. Depends on many factors. Don’t stress over anything, just don’t break your Unleavened Bread fast until after the seventh day of the Fast.
What is the Omer?
This is also called Counting of the Omer, and the Feast of Weeks.
How does this day relate to an individual who honors it?
The counting of the Omer, is a time of great anticipation for believers as they allow God to do great things in and through them. As you are committed to focusing on Jesus and putting Him “first” during this time, He is able to prepare you for who He created you to be. It’s a great time for pruning and refining, for soul-searching and healing for those who allow the Holy Spirit to move. During this cleansing process with the Holy Spirit, it can be a very emotional time while healing you and drawing you closer to Him but so rewarding. It can forever change your life if you wholeheartedly commit to Jesus during this time.
In Bible times, and as a farmer:
The Omer season was the days between barley harvest and the wheat harvest. Symbolically, it is a time for us to pray for what God wants to do between and during His harvest times.
Why would a follower of Jesus not want to observe that Feast once it is known? It’s such a gift and a great time for God to have the opportunity to show you how much He loves you.
When to start counting the Omer?
You start counting the Omer (fifty days) the day after Early Firstfruits. As I mentioned with Passover on the Calendar, it depends on which calendar and other factors that aim to determine the exact day. God gave us the exact day in scripture but since that time and the exile of Israel, the actual count could be off a day or two. Again, don’t get bogged down on an exact day, just observe it best you can according to what the Holy Spirit directs you to do for your family. God knows your heart.
Even though you most likely aren’t farming barley and wheat, you can use that fifty days to spend dedicated special time in prayer. This year, it would be an excellent time to really pray for what is going on in this world, and salvation for the lost. I have found in the last few years that I have been observing God’s Feasts, that during this Feast of Weeks, God does amazing things in me and through me as I dedicate myself to prayer and time alone with Him. I always find that I don’t want that special time together to end. It’s like being on a fifty day retreat alone with Him; I don’t want it to end. A better way to describe it may be that feeling you get when you don’t want your vacation time to end; except the time alone with God is too special to describe accurately.
As the Omer was coming to an end last year, I talked to God about not wanting our special time together to stop. That’s when God showed me the scripture that gave me permission to stay close to Him: Leviticus 10:7 = Stay in the tent! It meant so much to me that we even designed a t-shirt in our Shop with that encouraging scripture. I’m tempted to wear it everyday. You can view the logo here:
https://chosencrowned.one/product-category/stay-in-the-tent/
The Omer season is a great time to “stay in the tent” alone with the Holy Spirit and let Him work uninterrupted in you. As inspired by this scripture:
“Moreover, don’t leave the entrance to the tent of meeting, or you will die, because Adonai’s anointing oil is on you.” Leviticus 10:7
That scripture is a perfect picture warning us what will happen if we walk away from His covering of protection. Under His protection we are anointed with His oil and we are safe.
I pray you enjoy celebrating Firstfruits and your personal Feast of Weeks with the Holy Spirit counting the Omer with Him. Expect great things from your commitment to Jesus during this time and you will be greatly blessed.
In closing,
I pray that this week of blogs educating you on the basics of Passover Week and God’s Spring Feasts has been eye-opening, fun, educational, and life-changing for you. Hopefully you have allowed the Holy Spirit to teach you more about it and are hungry to learn more of His truth. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. Those who turn to Him and follow wholeheartedly are forever blessed now and for eternity.
The Feast of Shavout is after the end of the Feast of Weeks, I will post about that closer to time.
If you want to make sure you are on the right path with Jesus as you follow Him deeper into His Word, the Holy Bible, follow these steps:
Keep it simple. Whether you have prayed this before, rededicate your life today and go “all in” with Him. It’s time for a deeper relationship with your Creator, Adonai.
Do the ABC’s and repent today.
- A: Admit that you are a sinner. (Romans 3:23, Isaiah 64:6, Ephesians 2:8-9)
- B: Believe in your heart that Jesus is the son of God and that He died for your sins and rose from the dead for you. (John 3:16-18, 1Corinthians 15:1-4)
- C: Call on Jesus and repent of your sins and turn back to Him and ask Jesus to show you the way. (Romans 10:9-13, John 14:6)