he firstfruits of its barley harvest, usually with a cord, and on the morning of the 16th day brings the firsfruits to the Temple, along with a lamb or, if the family is poor, two turtledoves or young pigeons for a burnt offering. The man who brings these – the head of the household – might say with great feeling, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.”
- As the priest holds the lamb or the turtledoves, the man confesses his sins, and then the priest, in accordance with Lev. 1:10-17, kills the sacrificial animal(s).
- Standing face-to-face with the priest, the man repeats the familiar Firstfruits prayer: “Today I acknowledge to the Lord your God that I have entered the land the Lord swore to our fathers to give us” (Deut. 26:3).
- The man then hands the priest a basket containing the omer of barley as his Firstfruits offering. The priest places his hands under the basket and slowly waves it before the Lord as the offering bearer continues his prayer: “My father was a wandering Aramean. He went down to Egypt with a few people and lived there. There he became a great, powerful, and populous nation. He led us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. I have now brought the first of the land’s produce that you, Lord, have given me” (Deut. 26:5,9-10).
- The priest then takes a handful of the grain and tosses it into the fire. The offering bearer falls on his face and worships the Lord.
- With the requirements now fulfilled, the man rejoins his family.
The Modern Observance
The sacrifices and offerings of Firstfruits are not offered today since there is no Temple. The only surviving ritual is the counting of the omer, the days from Firstfruits to the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost).
Jesus rose from the dead on the third day of Passover season (Nisan 16), on the day of Firstfruits, completing the prophetic picture the spring feasts painted of His work of redemption: death (Passover), burial (Unleavened Bread) and resurrection (Firstfruits). Paul proclaims in 1 Cor. 15:20-22: “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man [Adam], the resurrection of the dead also comes through a man [Jesus]. For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.” As Kevin Howard and Marvin Rosenthal point out, “The resurrection of Jesus is the guarantee and the beginning (firstfruits) of the final harvest, or resurrection, of all mankind. The Messiah fulfilled the prophetic meaning of this holy day by rising from the dead to become the firstfruits of the resurrection, and He did it on the very day of Firstfruits.” (The Feasts of the Lord: God’s Prophetic Calendar from Calvary to the Kingdom, p. 86)
Next: The Feast of Weeks (Pentecost or Shavuot)
Copyright 2008 by Rob Phillips