Feast of First Fruit

Feast of First Fruit. As shown in Lev 23:9-14

The Almighty has given a wonderful gift to those who believe in him: The Feasts of the LORD.
The biblical feast days show us the “end from the beginning!” The very act of celebrating the Feasts of the LORD reveals the Almighty’s plan of salvation from prophecy, through Jesus’ first coming, to the blueprint for his return.

By celebrating these biblical feast days — Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Feast of First Fruit, the Feast of weeks, Shavuot (Pentecost), the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, the Feast of Tabernacles, The Last Great Day — we send a message to the world that we belong to our Messiah, that we are different than everyone else.

During the Feast of Unleavened Bread there is always a Sabbath (Saturday). The day after the Sabbath we are told to bring the “first fruits” of the harvest (the first ripe barley in the field) and raise it as a wave offering; this is the Feast of First Fruits. Rom 8:29 “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” This day pictures God’s Son.

50 days later is another emblematic Feast Day orchestrated for the sake of many Saints, (First Fruits also), when thousands were given the Holy Spirit upon baptism. Not the first of the first born, but first fruits of the many brothers and sisters nevertheless. The multitudes. (v.15)

Has First Fruit Been Fulfilled?

Yes! The year Jesus (Yeshua) was crucified, the Passover sacrifice (and the sacrifice of our Savior) occurred on a Wednesday. As the Bible states in Matthew 12:40, he was in the ground for three days and three nights (Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights; Thursday, Friday and Saturday days). At the end of the Saturday day portion, the 72 hr period would be complete. He was brought back to life at that time. By Sunday morning, the night being complete, he was already out of the tomb. This is the symbolic “lamb without defects”. And a sheaf of the first grain you harvest. This sheaf for the first grain was our Savior.

That leads us right to the end of the Sabbath and the beginning of the “morrow after the Sabbath,” the day of First Fruits! Jesus our Messiah, was raised late on the Sabbath and then, as the day portion of First Fruits began, he left the tomb, met with different people, and ascended to the Father sometime in the afternoon, then was back in the presence of his disciples. On that day Jesus was accepted by the father as the First of the First Fruits of the Saints. The symbolic day of ascending to the Father was on this “morrow after the Sabbath”. This symbolic day is mentioned in Lev. 23:9-14 and have overtones of Jesus, just like the other Holy Days do.

What Does It Mean?

There is no Temple and no priest serving in the Temple now to which we can bring our first fruits, but we can remember this command in other ways. The Bible instructs us to care for the widow, the orphan, the stranger and the Levite (Deuteronomy 26:12).

Consider donating money off the top of your budget (your “first fruits” before you spend money on anything else) to an organization that benefits those who need it. Or you may like to double a meal you make and give the first batch to someone who needs it, or buy someone’s groceries at the grocery store before purchasing your own.

When you celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Day of First Fruits, remember that, as 1 Corinthians 15:20 says, “Now is Messiah risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept.” He was the first born from among the dead (Revelation 1:5) and with the keys of death and the grave (Revelation 1:18), he raised the Son who was the first of the first fruits. This First Fruit offering was Jesus, the first of the first fruits, raised to his Heavenly Father.

Trust in the Lord
Prov 3:8
It will be healing to your body And refreshment to your bones. 9Honor the LORD from your wealth And from the first of all your produce; 10So your barns will be filled with plenty And your vats will overflow with new wine.…

Colossians 1:15
The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

1 Corinthians 15:20, 23 refer to Jesus as the "firstfruits" of those who will be raised from the dead. He is the firstborn Son of the Father, and His resurrection is the first of the promise that all who follow Him will also be raised. He is a guarantee of our future blessing. We read in 1 Corinthians 15:20 that Messiah Himself is the fulfilment of the Feast of Firstfruits.

Colossians 1:18
And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.

Ephesians 1:5
he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will--

Ephesians 1:11
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,

God Works In All Things
Rom 8:28And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.…

No grain was to be harvested at all until the firstfruits offering was brought to the Lord (Leviticus 23:14). The offering was made in remembrance of Israel’s sojourn in Egypt, the Lord’s deliverance from slavery, and their possession of “a land that floweth with milk and honey.” The day of the firstfruits offering was also used to calculate the proper time of the Feast of Weeks (Leviticus 23:15-16). (Pentecost for some)

In the New Testament, the firstfruits offering is mentioned seven times, always symbolically. Paul calls Epaenetus and the household of Stephanas “the firstfruits of Achaia” (Romans 16:5; 1 Corinthians 16:15). His meaning is that, just as the firstfruits offering was the first portion of a larger harvest, these individuals were the first of many converts in that region. James calls believers “a kind of firstfruits of His creatures” (James 1:18). Just like the sheaf of grain was set apart for the Lord, so are believers set apart for God’s glory.

The firstfruits offering found its fulfillment in Jesus. “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20). Jesus’ resurrection has paved the way for our resurrection. Significantly, if Jesus was killed as our Passover, then His assention was symbolic—the Feast of Firstfruits. The sheaf of grain was set apart for the Lord.

The Day of Firstfruits – Yom Habikkurim

“The Lord said to Moses, “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. 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. On the day you wave the sheaf, you must sacrifice as a burnt offering to the Lord a lamb a year old without defect, together with its grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with olive oil—a food offering presented to the Lord, a pleasing aroma—and its drink offering of a quarter of a hin of wine. 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” (Leviticus 23:9-14).

The Offerings

When Israel entered the Promised Land, they were to celebrate Day of Firstfruits by individually bringing a sheaf of grain from their harvest. The sheaf was to be waved by the priest along with a burnt offering of a lamb, and a fellowship offering of fine grain mixed with olive oil and a drinking offering of wine.

For the burnt offering, a lamb without defect was presented to the Lord. Laying hands on the animal’s head was called semichah. It implied a physical ‘leaning’ on the animal so that the weight of the man was transferred to the animal. In effect, this was symbolic of transferring the identity of the man onto the lamb. In this way, the lamb represented him before the LORD. The blood of the lamb was splattered on the sides of the altar. Then the lamb was completely burnt up on the altar as a food offering and a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

The grain offering was a free will food offering his offering was to be from kernels from fresh ears and dry roasted with fire swathed in olive oil and frankincense or a fine flour mixed with olive oil and frankincense poured over it. A grain offering could be baked in an oven (bread, matzah), cooked on a griddle (pancake) or boiled in a pot (matzah ball). No grain offering was ever to be leavened because no leaven or honey was to go up in smoke

A hin of liquid was equal to about 1.5 gallons or 5.7 liters. The drink offering was a quarter of a hin of wine or close to one liter – the size of a modern-day Coke. It was to be poured out at the foot of the altar as part of the burnt and grain offering.

These three firstfruits offerings of the lamb, the grain, and the wine were shadows within the Passover that had occurred several days earlier, a memorial to the lamb of God, Yeshua’s broken body and blood. This offering was individually presented to the LORD by the priest bringing an individual atonement for sin.

“Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them” (Psalm 126:6).

There was another offering on firstfruits, a sheaf of grain. According to the command, a handful of sheaves from the spring harvest was to be brought to the priest. He became the intercessor between the individual and God. He was to wave it before the LORD so it would be accepted. No one was to eat any roasted or new grain until the firstfruits sheaf was accepted by God.

According to Zondervan’s Bible Dictionary, sheaves are the stalks of grain left behind by the reaper. It is gathered by the handfuls and bound by women or children in a joyful manner. Collected sheaves were carried by donkeys or on heavily loaded carts to the threshing floor. Some sheaves were left behind for the poor. This means the sheaves that were offered were only the amount that an individual could hold, a handful.

Yeshua

Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds” (John 12:24).

In order to have a sheaf of grain, there had to be a planting. One seed put into the ground would produce many more seeds on a sheaf, bringing forth a harvest. Yeshua was the seed, the kernel, that fell to the ground and died. Though he was only a single seed, he produced a sheaf of grain, and became the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

“But Messiah has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” (1 Corinthians 15:20).

Notice that he was the plural firstfruits of those raised from the dead, not the singular. According to the gospel of Matthew, at the moment of Yeshua’s death, when the temple curtain was torn in two, the bodies of holy people who had died were raised to life. A resurrection of the dead had occurred.

“At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Yeshua’s resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people” (Matthew 27:52-23).

The Day After the Sabbath

The Day of Firstfruits – Yom Habikkurim

The Offerings

When Israel entered the Promised Land, they were to celebrate Day of Firstfruits by individually bringing a sheaf of grain from their harvest. The sheaf was to be waved by the priest along with a burnt offering of a lamb, and a fellowship offering of fine grain mixed with olive oil and a drinking offering of wine.

These three firstfruits offerings of the lamb, the grain, and the wine were shadows within the Passover that had occurred several days earlier, a memorial to the lamb of God, Yeshua’s broken body and blood. This offering was individually presented to the LORD by the priest bringing an individual atonement for sin.

The Sheaf of Grain

“Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them” (Psalm 126:6).

Yeshua

Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds” (John 12:24).

“But Messiah has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” (1 Corinthians 15:20).

The Day After the Sabbath

In the beginning, when God rested on the Sabbath, the ‘day after the Sabbath’ would have represented eternity. Unfortunately, eternal fellowship with God was cut short by sin and death. God promised One who would have victory over death and restore eternal life to the world. God gave that vision in the sheaves that were to be brought to the priest on the ‘day after the Sabbath.

Over the centuries a lot of confusion has developed over the meaning of the ‘day after the Sabbath’ because the first and last days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread are also called ‘sabbaths’. God never called these days Sabbath. This is a tradition of men that has caused the Feast of Firstfruits to fall on whatever day of the week the ‘sabbath’ of Unleavened Bread begins. This has blurred the differences between Unleavened Bread and Firstfruits putting less significance on the Day of Firstfruits. If the sheaf were to be waved by the priest on the day after the weekly Sabbath after Passover during the week of Unleavened Bread, this would put the Day of Firstfruits on the ‘first day of the week. What a powerful shadow to the coming reality of another of God’s ‘appointed times!’

“When the Sabbath was over, on the first day of the week when it was still dark, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so they might go anoint Yeshua’s body. Just after sunrise, they were on the way to the tomb and they asked each other, ‘Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?’ When they arrived at the tomb, they saw the stone had been removed from the entrance. They entered, but they did not find the body of Yeshua. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ Then they remembered his words. ‘Go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead…” They told this to the apostles, but they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Yeshua’s’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed” Matthew 28:7-10, Mark 16:1-3, Luke 24:1-8, John 20:1-8 15-16).

Yeshua’s Sheaf

“Yeshua said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God’” (John 20:17).

In order for the sheaf of grain to be accepted, the priest had to wave it before God. This physical sheaf n the Temple was a foreshadowing of Yeshua who life and death became an acceptable offering to God. As our High Priest, Yeshua ascended to his Father to offer his sheaf of firstfruits in our behalf. Once his sheaf was accepted, the spiritual harvest could begin.

“…Because those whom he knew in advance, he also determined in advance would be conformed to the pattern of his Son, so that he might be the firstborn among many brothers… (Romans 8:29).

While the priests were preparing for the firstfruits offering in the Temple, the women found the empty tomb, met with angels, and spoke with their risen Lord. While the women ran to tell the disciples that Yeshua had risen, the men of Israel began to offer their lambs, grain and wine. As the individual sheaves of grain were taken by the priests, Yeshua ascended to his Father and presented himself as a sheaf offering. As the sheaf of grain was being waved, a gentle breeze drifted throughout the Temple. Yeshua’s offering to His Father was accepted. The disciples entered the empty tomb and saw the strips of linen and the cloth that had been wrapped around Yeshua’s head separate from the linen. They believed he had risen from the dead. The Day of Firstfruits had been fulfilled; it was time to begin counting the days to the celebration of the final spring harvest.

Somewhere around AD 33, the firstfruits of an even greater harvest issued forth, for it was on the first day after the Sabbath that occurred in the midst of the Passover celebration that Jesus rose from the dead (Matt. 28:1–10). Lest there be any doubt that His resurrection fulfilled the Feast of Firstfruits, Paul tells us explicitly that Christ is the firstfruits of those who will be raised from the dead (1 Cor. 15:20–23). Just as the firstfruits offered to God under the old covenant anticipated the fuller harvest to come, the resurrection of Jesus anticipates the bodily resurrection of His people first promised under the old covenant (Job 19:25–27).

Fifty days after the Feast of Firstfruits was the Feast of Weeks, or Pentecost (from the Greek term pentekostos, or fiftieth), which was the grand celebration at the end of the grain harvest. On this occasion, the offerings of food and animals to the Lord were more lavish (Lev. 23:15–22), an appropriate way to thank Him for the tremendous bounty He had provided. Tomorrow we will look at Pentecost in more detail.