Dr. Lawrence Butler, The Bridge Church, Pembroke.
LEVITICUS 23:9-14 Observation: (Lev 23:10-11) “Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest: And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.” Again the Lord is giving Israel directions on proper worship, teaching them that they must remember to be thankful and give God the glory for all temporal blessings.
Interpretation: This activity occurred following the Passover and during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
The Passover spoke of redemption through the blood of the Lamb.
The Unleavened Bread observance reminded the Israelites of the critical importance of a clean, pure and obedient life. The blessings of God can only be received by living for Him in obedience. This feast occurred during the week of the Unleavened Bread celebration. In addition, the waving of the sheaf points to Christ’s death and suffering, and then His resurrection.
Correlation: This example is easily identified in the New Testament. Luke tells us that Jesus came “… to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). The cutting of the sheaf, as well as its drying out, represents the suffering of Christ. Then the waving of the sheaf spoke of life, the rising again of Christ. Not only did Jesus suffer, He gave us hope of a better life, abundant life as well as eternal life. He promised to prepare a place for us, and to return and receive us into the place of eternal happiness (John 14:2,3).
Application: The very expression “firstfruits” is a special one in the Bible. It is used to teach us to give our tithes and offerings first to the Lord (Ex.
34:26, Neh. 10:35, 12:44, Prov. 3:9, Eze.
44:30, 48:14). However, firstfruits also is used to speak of the resurrection.
“ But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming… But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept”( 1Co 15:20, 23). This is the ultimate blessing of the saints, to be either caught away with the Lord and skipping death, or to be resurrected from the dead to meet the Lord in the air. “ For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (I Thess. 4:16,17).