Rabbi’s Reflections – Sunday, April 28, 2024
Shavuah Tov,
Today we begin counting the Omer, in obedience to the Scripture. Leviticus 23:10 “Speak to Bnei-Yisrael and tell them: When you have come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you are to bring the omer of the firstfruits of your harvest to the kohen. 11 He is to wave the omer before Adonai, to be accepted for you. On the morrow after the Shabbat, the kohen is to wave it.
This we will do for seven weeks (a week of weeks). Leviticus 23:15 “Then you are to count from the morrow after the Shabbat, from the day that you brought the omer of the wave offering, seven complete Shabbatot. 16 Until the morrow after the seventh Shabbat you are to count fifty days, and then present a new grain offering to Adonai. On the 50th day we will celebrate Shavuot (the Feast of Weeks – aka Pentecost).
Day 1 of counting the Omer
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָֽׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו, וְצִוָּֽנוּ עַל סְפִירַת הָעֹֽמֶר
Baruch Atah Adonai Elohenu Melech Ha-Olam, Asher Kid’shanu B’mitzvotav, Vitzivanu Al Sefirat Ha-Omer.
Blessed are You O Lord our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us by his commandments and commanded us about the counting of the Omer. Today is no weeks and one day of the counting of the Omer.
Follow up that prayer by remembering a blessing from the Lord and give Him thanks.
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“Messiah…the Firstfruits”
By Jerry Miller
“But now Messiah has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20).
Earlier this week Rabbi Michael shared some thoughts about “counting the omer,” which is to begin the day after the Saturday Shabbat that comes in the week of Pesach. Today marks the beginning of this 50 days of “counting.” Connected with this day is a “firstfruits” offering, or in Hebrew, “Bikkurim.” The firstfruits offering in ancient Israel was brought as a faith proclamation, expressing expectation for the remainder of the harvest that was yet to come. The firstfruits offering was to begin when the Jewish people come into their land promised by God.
This has special relevance to us a Yeshua followers. Many Messianic believers see Firstfruits as the day Yeshua was raised from the dead. As we see in the verse above, Paul did see a connection between the firstfruits principle and Yeshua’s resurrection. In Paul’s thinking, Yeshua’s resurrection was a firstfruits resurrection, guaranteeing the future resurrection of all who have, and will, put their trust in Yeshua through the ages. As the firstfruits to rise from the dead, Yeshua is the Father’s faith proclamation for our resurrection that is to come at the end of the age. This is a glorious truth deserving of significant focus and reflection. But I would like to consider a broader approach that I hope can help us personalize these specific truths.
I believe we could say that the Bible essentially tells a story—a story of humanity created in God’s image for the purpose of relationship with Him. Adam and Eve lived in a perfect setting God created (Garden of Eden). But we know the story. They chose to go their own way, inviting sin into God’s creation, making relationship with Him impossible. I believe we could say that the Bible portrays God’s loving pursuit of humanity in order to draw us back into relationship with Himself. What we read from Genesis through Revelation is essentially the redemption story of humanity’s journey back to the Garden of Eden, which is where the Bible concludes in Revelation 22. Chapter 21 shows us the glorious picture of the transformation of all creation, as God brings forth the new heavens and new earth. God Himself will dwell forever with redeemed humanity. He will wipe away every tear, and death will be done away with, and God will make “all things new” (Revelation 21:5). Such is the awe-inspiring destination God has planned for all who have embraced salvation and put their trust in Him. But how does this broad picture relate to the feasts we are in the midst of right now? I believe this journey of humanity back to the Garden of Eden is pictured in may portions of the Bible. But I think it can especially be seen in the spring and fall feasts. So how might we see this in the spring feasts specifically? Let’s consider this briefly.
I think we could say that the central redemption event of the Hebrew Scriptures is seen in the Passover story. God gives instructions to Moses for the people to sacrifice the Passover lamb, which leads to the deliverance of Israel from slavery in Egypt. Israel’s rescue from Egypt, her deliverance, led her into new life as a nation—new beginnings. Now remember our earlier reference to Firstfruits, with the Firstfruits offering being connected to Israel’s rebirth into her own land and inheritance. We could say that, while the observance of Firstfruits was an expression of faith for the fullness of the harvest to come, it also reflected the fact that God had essentially resurrected the nation, so to speak, raising them up from defeat and death.
Then, considering the New Covenant Scriptures, clearly the central redemption event of the New Covenant is Yeshua’s death on the cross as the Passover lamb, paying the price for the forgiveness of sin. That was followed by His resurrection from the grave, providing for the deliverance of humanity from bondage to sin and death, for those who put their faith in Messiah. This leads to newness of life for humanity, with Yeshua’s resurrection opening the way to what we might call, a new exodus from spiritual death into new life. Remember, in 2 Corinthians 5:17 Paul describes our personal experience of salvation as becoming a “new creation.” And then, of course, on Shavuot (Acts 2), 50 days after the resurrection came the giving of the Holy Spirit, whom Paul refers to as “…the guarantee of our inheritance…” (Ephesians 1:14). The Spirit is our guarantee now of the ultimate inheritance awaiting us in the age to come. Well, what is our ultimate inheritance? It’s the return to the Garden of Eden, the new heavens and new earth, with God Himself dwelling in our midst for all eternity. And what is it that makes that possible? It’s Yeshua’s death on the tree, His resurrection from the dead and the giving of the Holy Spirit.
So in conclusion, what is the sequence we can observe? In the Hebrew Scriptures we see the sequence from Passover, leading to Firstfruits, leading to Shavuot. In the New Covenant Scriptures the sequence is parallel to the spring feasts. Yeshua dies on the tree, He is raised from the dead, and He pours our His Spirit. So our sin is paid for, as we are delivered from death and brought into newness of life, actually becoming a new creation in Messiah. And all of this points to that glorious day when God will make all things new!
In the feasts, we look back at what God did in Israel’s history, pointing to what Yeshua Himself would do for all who believe. Yeshua comes into humanity’s story, and He redeems it, providing opportunity for humanity to turn back to God and receive new life in Him, as well as the expectation for eternal life with God forever.
What a glorious salvation God has given! I pray your own celebration of this season will be filled with a joy beyond what you have previously known, and that God will give you fresh revelation of the inheritance that is yours now, and the inheritance yet to come.
Daily Bread, reading plan by Lars Enarson (https://www.thewatchman.org/)
20 Nissan Sunday 28-Apr-24 Pesach VI (CH”M) 1st day of the Omer
Exodus 34:1-25; Numbers 28:19-25 Isaiah 44 Proverbs 24 Matthew 12:1-21 2 Peter 3