The Teaching Ministry of
Rev. Marjorie Kummrow
Bible Studies
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The Spring Feasts
The Counting of Omer
Part 13
The Counting of the Omer-Part 13
9 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 10 "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. 11 He shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted on your behalf; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. 12 And you shall offer on that day, when you wave the sheaf, a male lamb of the first year, without blemish, as a burnt offering to the LORD. 13 Its grain offering shall be two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering made by fire to the LORD, for a sweet aroma; and its drink offering shall be of wine, one-fourth of a hin. 14 You shall eat neither bread nor parched grain nor fresh grain until the same day that you have brought an offering to your God; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 15 'And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. 16 Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the LORD.
All of the Lords Feasts were designed around the agricultural seasons in Israel. The Feast of First Fruits is the time that the first sheaves of barley are seen standing. The Israelites were instructed to take one of the standing sheaves and take it to the Priest. The Priest would wave it before the Lord. It was called a wave offering. This wave offering was done at the Feast of First Fruits by waving a sheaf of Barley and it was done again at Pentecost by waving a sheaf of wheat. It was waved before the Lord in thanksgiving and in appreciation for the harvest of grain that the Lord brought forth from the earth.
Remember this festival is a dress rehearsal for the real thing. Firstfruits is a major theme throughout the word of God. The first born of man or beast belongs to the Lord. The first of every harvest belongs to the Lord. It was considered to be the choicest portion and therefore an offering to God for His blessing of a bountiful harvest. The harvesting of the grain would be produced into bread, the staff of live.
The precision of timing and dates for the Lords appointed times is very evident in the counting of the Omer. After the Hebrews left Egypt they were to begin the counting of the Omer from the barley harvest to the wheat harvest. The first Pentecost was after the Hebrews left Egypt. It was on the day of Pentecost that Torah, the instructions on how to live, was given to the Hebrews. Many in the Church believe that the first Pentecost was when the Spirit was poured out in the upper room. This is not true. Pentecost had been celebrated ever since the Torah was given to the Hebrews.
The Hebrew word for sheaf is omer. The counting of the Omer begins a 50 day countdown from the waving of the barley sheaf on the Feast of First Fruits to the waving of the wheat sheaf on Pentecost. The Hebrew word for Pentecost is Shavuot, or feast of weeks. From this 16th day of Nisan it would be 7 weeks to Pentecost. They were to count 7 weeks or 7X7 equals 49 days and then celebrate on the next day making it 50 days to Pentecost. This period of counting was to be a time of introspective and anticipation of the festival and harvest.
This countdown had been a dress rehearsal for the countdown of the Omer that was first fulfilled in the giving of the Torah, the word of God, and would have its second fulfillment in the year of the Messiah Jesus, who is the Word. Therefore let’s take a brief look at what happened during these 7 weeks of the completion of the counting the Omer, again starting with the Barley harvest of First Fruits and up until the wheat harvest at Pentecost.
1. During First Fruits On the 17th Nisan the Bread of Life, Yeshua (Jesus) was resurrected from out of the earth, as the First Fruit of many. Halleluiah!
1 Cor.15:20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
2. On the same day He appeared to Mary and the two walking on the road to Emmaus.
3. That evening Messiah appeared to His disciples behind closed doors.
4. On the ninth day of the Omer He appeared to Thomas
5. On the 17th day of the Omer eight days later He appeared to Thomas and His disciples behind closed doors again,
6. He was seen by 500 brethren
7. Then He appeared to James
8. Also during the counting of the Omer He appeared to His disciples again by the sea and cooked them breakfast
9. On the 40th day He spoke to them that they should not depart from Jerusalem but that they were to wait for the promise of the Father. Also on the 40th day of the count Yeshua ascended into the heavens.
10. Just ten days later on the Omer count of 50 the Holy Spirit was poured out in the upper room. It was the day of Pentecost.
To continue with Part 14 of this series, click on "From Passover to Pentecost"
If you have any questions, please feel free to email us.
Be Blessed,
Rev. Marjorie
marjorie@sweetmanna.org
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The 16th of Nisan during the seven days of Unleavened Bread, begins the Feast of First Fruits and the beginning of a 50 day countdown called the counting of the Omer. The instructions that were given from the Lord about this appointed time is found in Lev. 23:9-16 as follows:
Pronounced Omar, Omer, or Umar
