First Fruit of Harvest
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Handout
Looking forward to the arrival of the first fruit
Looking forward to the arrival of the first fruit
It is the time of year when many people plant their seeds, till their soil, and plan their garden. One of my favorite activities with my family is to attend the farmer’s markets to get the first ripened fruit and vegetables of the year.
It signifies the beginning of gatherings with family, outdoor activities and a general good time of celebration throughout the summer.
Pretty soon we will have swimming pools opened, barbecue grills going, and games being played in the backyard.
We have many traditions in our culture which celebrate important activities. Recently, we celebrated Easter in remembrance of the resurrection of Christ.
The Significance of Festivals
The Significance of Festivals
Do you think of the significance of the festivals you celebrate throughout the year?
Our celebrations often have a background story and meaning for which we celebrate. Whether it is to remember the independence we have, the rights we share, to those we remember, our festivities have significance.
We often share with our children the importance of why those celebrations are remembered.
There are songs we sing, parades, and many other activities surrounding the ways we celebrate.
Shavuot
Shavuot
One of the celebrations for the nation of Israel is Shavuot or Feast of Weeks.
Shavuot is to celebrate the first of something. It is the significance of the first grain harvested. The sheaves of the barley grain were waved as an offering which would then usher in a celebration.
Feast of Weeks
Feast of Weeks
Leviticus 23:10-12
“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land which I am going to give to you and reap its harvest, then you shall bring in the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest.
God directs the people to recognize that the abundance of food they were to look forward to in the promised land would be plentiful. While they were in the desert, God provided them the manna they needed to survive.
The giving of the first of the harvest back to God recognized that God provided them the way through the desert into Israel.
‘He shall wave the sheaf before the Lord for you to be accepted; on the day after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.
‘Now on the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb one year old without defect for a burnt offering to the Lord.
‘Its grain offering shall then be two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering by fire to the Lord for a soothing aroma, with its drink offering, a fourth of a hin of wine.
‘Until this same day, until you have brought in the offering of your God, you shall eat neither bread nor roasted grain nor new growth. It is to be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.
Moses Recounts the Feast of Weeks
Moses Recounts the Feast of Weeks
“You shall count seven weeks for yourself; you shall begin to count seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain.
“Then you shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks to the Lord your God with a tribute of a freewill offering of your hand, which you shall give just as the Lord your God blesses you;
Steinberg notes the waving of the omer, about two quarts of barley from the first harvest occurred on the second day of Passover. Then the people were to count off 50 days to when they were able to celebrate the Feast of Weeks.
Steinberg, Paul. Celebrating the Jewish Year: The Spring and Summer Holidays : Passover, Shavuot, The Omer, Tisha B'Av. Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society, 2009. Accessed May 15, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central.
Jesus Christ is the First Fruit
Jesus Christ is the First Fruit
Acts 1:3; 9
To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.
And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.
1 Corinthians 15:20
But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.
Paul’s reference to the first fruit would have resonated deeply with the people who recognized the significance of the agricultural harvest festival of Shavuoth. When the first grain of barley was raised, the harvest season was allowed to begin for Israel.
Rabbis studying the meaning behind the festival of Shavuot had many difficulties agreeing with the reason for the festival. (Steinberg, 2009).
Many have attributed the festival’s meaning to the giving of the Law at Sinai.
What are the differences between the first fruit and the later harvests?
What does Christ being considered the first fruit offering mean to you?
God does not hold back His firstborn from the offering. He gives His best to us through the recognition that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was not spared but given so that we may be saved.
This is not only an example for us to follow but this ushers something more.
Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.
Jesus is the first fruit offered for the harvest. Shortly after this, the apostles were given the charge to go out and harvest those who were willing to accept the good news.
When you read through the customs of the Jewish people in the Old Testament, you will recognize the significance of the festivals and the importance God placed on them during that time.
Once you look at Christ as the fulfillment of those festivals, the shadow they cast becomes clear in Him. You can see that the first fruit offering was the best offering that could be offered. It was the cleanest, purest offering required before any other offering could be given.
In understanding the historical application of the festivals, we gain further insight into who Jesus is and what He has accomplished.
Where there was practice before to remember what happened, God also makes a promise to His people to look to what He provides for them. Christ’s fulfillment of the festival of Shavuot is that He is the first fruit offering waved before the people.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
When we recognize the significance of how Jesus fulfills more than what we know now, we are able to grow closer in our relationship with Him.
Jesus’ fulfillment of all of prophecy, festivals, and promises allows us to see that the entire Bible is about Him. The depth of His works is beyond our comprehension.
This is why it is so important to study the word of God to see what Jesus has accomplished for us.
We as a church can grow together in understanding how Jesus was the first among many to come later. Only by His perfection was the offering acceptable. Our clothing ourselves in Him allows us to become part of the harvest later.
Be reminded that God giving His first as the fruit of the harvest during Shavuot is Him leading by example.
God’s blessings in our lives are to be used for His glory. When we give out of our first blessings, we are enabled to reach out throughout our lives to work to harvest or disciple those who are willing to listen.
While there are those who believe that Shavuot was only an agricultural festival, Paul’s words to the Corinthian people regarding Christ as the first fruit may indicate he meant much more.
If Shavuot was truly meant to be a reminder of the giving of the law, we should also remember that Jesus is the fulfillment of the law. Therefore, we look to Jesus as the fulfillment of this Festival as well and are reminded to look to Him for all understanding .