3rd feast of the Lord : the sheaf of firstfruits (4)

Wednesday June 16, 2021

3rd feast of the Lord : the sheaf of firstfruits (4)

Transmit these instructions to the Israelites : When you enter the land that I am giving you and harvest there, you will bring to the priest the first sheaf of your harvest... On the day you present the sheaf, you will offer as a burnt offering to the Lord a one-year-old lamb without blemish. Add to it an offering of four and a half liters of flowers of flour kneaded with oil, as an offering passed through the fire, the odor of which is pleasing to the Lord, and you will make an offering of one liter of wine. Leviticus 23:10-13

At the start of the Jewish year, barley is the first grain to ripen, while wheat is not harvested until later. So it was at this time that the Israelites offered the sheaf of the first fruits of their barley harvest, or sheaf of firstfruits, probably on the day following the Passover Sabbath, that is to say a Sunday.

Now it is on the first day of the week that Christ rose, conqueror over death : he is the true sheaf of firstfruits (1 Corinthians 15:20). The sheaf, which was to be presented before the Lord, thus tells us about all aspects of Jesus' work and his many glories. It was offered for acceptance of the Israelite, which speaks to us of Christ, risen for our justification (Romans 4:25).

Associated with this presentation of the wreath was a burnt offering, an offering of flour kneaded in oil and a liter of wine.

A holocaust, that is to say an entire sacrifice for God : it tells us about the entire consecration of Christ to God.

From the flower of flour kneaded in oil : in his humanity, Jesus, always led by the Holy Spirit, was perfect from the beginning to the end of his life.

A liter of wine : for the first time, it is prescribed to offer wine with the sacrifices. Joy, symbolized by wine, accompanies the resurrection of the Lord : The disciples were filled with joy when they saw the Lord (John 20:20).

To offer the sheaf of firstfruits, it was necessary to have entered the land of Canaan. Jesus' resurrection opens the way for all who believe in him to come out of the world of death and to enter into all the spiritual blessings that are in the heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3).

Source (Pleasing the Lord)