Context
Leviticus 23:9-14
The LORD said to Moses, (10) Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest. (11) He is to wave the sheaf before the LORD so it will be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it
on the day after the Sabbath [that falls within the week of Unleavened bread]. (12) On the day you wave the sheaf, you must sacrifice as a burnt offering to the LORD a lamb a year old without defect, (13) together with its grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil—an offering made to the LORD by fire, a pleasing aroma—and its drink offering of a quarter of a hin of wine. (14) You must not eat any bread, or roasted or new grain, until the very day you bring this offering to your God. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live.
Overview
- Each of the three major harvests had a feast associated with it:
- Barley - Spring - Firstfruits
- Wheat - Summer - Pentecost
- Fruit (grapes, figs) - Fall - Day of Trumpets & Tabernacles
- Firstfruits were offered as a sign to God that they were grateful for the harvest and that they trusted in Him for the remainder of the year’s harvest
- Only after the first fruits were offered was bread “allowed” (Passover) and considered “kosher”
Historical Fulfillment
- Noah’s arc lands on dry ground: a shadow of ressurection by successfully surviving death - Gen 8:4
- Crossing of the Red Sea - baptised by the water, putting death to the old life and rising out to a new one
- The miracle of manna ended on Nisan 16, allowing Israel to start eating of the Promised Land on the day of First Fruits
- Esther fasts for the time between Passover and Firstfruits (Esther 3:1-12, 16) and meets with the king on the day of First Fruits (Esther 4:16) to lay her life on the line to end Haman’s plot
Messianic Fulfillment
- Jesus’s resurrection fell on the same day as First fruits
Mark 16:9
Now after
He had risen early on the first day of the week, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene…’ 4
1 Corinthians 15:20-23
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead,
the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. (21) For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. (22) For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. (23) But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.
- Jesus was the first to be resurrected into his new body, the one that will never die
- Lazurus and the centurion’s daughter were resurrected prior but to their old, mortal bodies
- Jesus’s ressurection allows our resurrection to be acceptable (kosher)
Romans 4:25 ‘He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.’
Or, as Paul said: 1 Corinthians 15:17 ‘And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.‘
Our Future Fulfillments
1 Corinthians 15:41-44
The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor. (42) So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; (43) it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; (44) it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.
Romans 8:22-23
We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. (23) Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
Romans 12:1
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.
- The feast of Unleavened Bread spoke of being separated from sin/leaven
- The Feast of Firstfruits speaks of being separated from the world and into the Lord (consecrated).
Important
Question: What hope does the Feast of Firstfruits give us?For me, knowing that God called the shots going as far back as Moses - and potentially even Noah - is valuable. It helps prove that God is in controll and that some things he asks for may not make sense at the time but will later. To use Firstfruits as an example, Israel no longer celebrates this commmand (breaking the law) because the early church found this time of year to be their best teaching tool as Jesus so perfectly fulfilled the Feast of Firstfruits.