The Spring Festivals of Israel – Prophecy Fulfilled
The Feast of Firstfruits
“Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “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. And 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 libation, 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.’” Levi 23:9-14.
The firstfruits marked the beginning of the cereal grain harvests in Israel. Barley was the first grain to ripen of those sown in the winter months. For the Firstfruits, a sheaf of barley was harvested and brought to the Temple as a thanksgiving offering to the Lord for the harvest. It was representative of the barley harvest as a whole and served as a pledge or guarantee that the remainder of the harvest would be realized in the days that followed.
Firstfruits was an early spring feast, the third in the Jewish festive cycle. Debate raged over whether the sabbath referred to was the weekly sabbath [Saturday], or the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The Pharisees concurred that it was the Feast day, which is described with exactly the same words as the weekly sabbath in terms of being a holy convocation in which no work was allowed. Since the Bible only said, “the day after the Sabbath”, it could mean either. The Pharisees chose the latter interpretation, making the feast day on the 16th of Nisan. On the Hebrew calendar, the 16th day of Nisan, the first biblical month [March or April] is only two days after the beginning of the Passover season. Scripture does not specify the actual calendar date of Firstfruits, but merely prescribed its time of observance to be “on the day after the Sabbath”. This led to various interpretations and considerable debate as to which sabbath was in view. However there are substantial reasons to believe it should be observed on the seventeenth day of Nisan.
History
On the seventeenth day of Nisan, the Israelites found themselves on the banks of the Red Sea after leaving Egypt. Before them was deep water, and behind them was Pharaoh’s army. They were between a hard place and the deep blue sea. The children of Israel became afraid, but Moses rose up and said, asit is written, “ . . . Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation [Yeshooah in Hebrew] , of the Lord. . . “ Ex 14:13. Yeshua in Hebrew means salvation or Savior. At thsi point the sea divided and the children of Israel crossed the floor of the Red Sea on dry ground while the Egyptian army, along with Pharaoh, pursued the Hebrews into the Red Sea and were drowed. The Bible says that the Lord’s right hand destroyed the Egyptians [Ex 15:6, 12]. The right hand is a term for the Messiah, Yeshua [Ps 44:3], 48:10, 63:8, 74:10-11; 89:13, 98:1, 110:1, 118:16, 138:7.
It is important to note that Pharaoh is a type of Satan. The Hebrews gave themselves over into the hand of Pharaoh in the days of Joseph, who then had legal ownership over them, just as satan has legal ownership over us until we give our lives to the Lord. When Pharaoh died in the Red Sea, the ownership was broken, and the Hebrews were free to go to the Promised Land. Similarly, the by the death of Yeshua, the legal ownership by satan is broken, and we are free to enter into the spiritual promised land of God and receive all the promises that He has promised us.
Other Important Historical Events of the 17th of Nisan
1) Noah’s ark rested on Mount Ararat. Genesis 8:4.
2) Israel crosses the Red Sea Ex 3:18, 5:3,14.
3) Israel eats the first fruits of the Promised Land – the manna that God gave from heaven during the days in the wilderness ceased the sixteenth day of Nisan after the people ate of the old corn of the land the day following was the seventeenth of Nisan, the day when the children of Israel ate the first fruits of the promised Land.
4) Haman was defeated. Haman plotted to kill all the Jews in Persia and Media. Haman had ten sons. By this, we can see that Haman is a type of the false Messiah [antichrist]. A decree was sent out on the thirteenth of Nisan that all the Jews would be killed. Upon hearing this news, Esther proclaims a three day fast which would have been Nisan 14-16. On the sixteenth of Nisan, Esther risked her life when she came to King Ahasuerus. The King asked her, in effect, “Tell me, what do you want?” Esther invited the King and Haman to a banquet that evening that she had prepared. Then, when the banquet was over, the King asked again what she wanted. She invited them to come again the following night to another banquet, which was on the seventeenth of Nisan. At that banquet, the King again asked Esther what she wanted, and she asked the King to spare her people. In his fury, the King ordered Haman hung on his own gallows, on which he had planned to hang Mordecai, Esther’s uncle.
The Theme of Firstfruits
We can see the theme of the importance of firstfruits by these things:
1) The resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah occurred on the 17th of Nisan. The firstfruits of the barley harvest represented Yeshua.
2) Yeshua is the firstborn of Mary. [Matt 1:23-25]
3) Yeshua is the first-begotten of the Father [Heb 1:6]
4) Yeshua is the firstborn of every creature [Col 1:15]
5) Yeshua is the first begotten from the dead [Rev 1:5].
6) Yeshua is the firstborn of many brethren [Rom 8:29]
7) Yeshua is the beginning of the creation of God [Rev 3:14]
8) Yeshua is the preeminent One [Col 1:18].
9) The natural is before the spiritual [1 Cor 15:46]
10) Israel was God’s firstborn; the gentiles came later
11) The gospel was preached to the Jew firs and then to the non-Jews [Rom 1:16]
12) We are called to seek first the Kingdom of God
13) Yeshua was the first to rise from the dead [Acts 26:23]
14) The early believers were a kind of first fruits [James 1:17-18]
15) Those who arose from the dead with Yeshua during His resurrection became the first fruits of tall those who would rise from the dead [Matt 27:52-3; Eph 4:8; 1 Thess 4:13-18]
16) Yeshua first loved us, and He is to be our first love [1John 4:9, Rev 2:4]
17) Yeshua is the first [Aleph] and the last [Tov]. [Rev 1:8]
Regulations for Firstfruits
In Leviticus 23:9-14, the Lord outlined the requirements for the observance of this important feast. A sheaf [or an omer, in Hebrew] was to be brought to the priest at the Temple who would wave it before the Lord for acceptance. There were also to be accompanying sacrifices: an unblemished male lamb of the first year, a drink offering of wine, and a meal offering of the barley flour mixed with olive oil. The people were forbidden to use any part of the harvest in any way until after the firstfruits were offered to the Lord. To neglect these firstfruits offerings was considered robbery of God according to Scripture [Mal; 3:8]
The Observance of Firstfruits
During Yeshua’s life, the barley harvest was the first harvest of spring. Spring comes much earlier in Israel than it does in Cincinnati, so the days were warm and bright at this time of the year. Seventy days before the Feast of Firstfruits, the barley was planted. No artificial fertilizer or water were added. A few days before the Feast, the best sheaves were selected and marked.
At sundown on Nisan 15, the beginning of the new Jewish Day of Nisan 16, three men from the Sanhedrin, accompanied by a multitude, went and positioned themselves before the selected sheaves. A series of questions followed: “Has the sun set? With this sickle? Into this basket? On the Sabbath? Shall I reap now?” When affirmative answers were given, the sheaves were gathered and placed in baskets until an ephah of barley was obtained – about 2/3 of a bushel. In the Temple, the grain was threshed with rods rather than oxen-drawn sledges so that the barley corns would not be injured. It was then parched over an open flame and winnowed in the wind to remove the chaff. Finally the barley was milled and put through an intensive sifting process until sifted very fine. On the morning of Nisan 16, the firstfruits were presented to the Lord. One omer [about five pints] of the barley flour was mixed with ¾ pint of olive oil, and a small amount of frankincense was sprinkled upon it. This became the Firstfruits offering. The priest waved it before the Lord, and burned a small amount on the altar. The remainder was given to the Levites.
Because the Israelites are no longer an agricultural society, and because there is no Temple, the Feast of Firstfruits is no longer observed, except it is the day from which counting begins to the feast of Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks.
The Fulfillment
Like the other feasts, Firstfruits found its prophetic fulfillment in the work of Messiah’s first coming. Paul proclaimed this when he said “But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” 1 Cor 15:20. Yeshua rose again on the third day (literally, the third day of Passover season, Nisan 16), on the day of the Firstfruits. But his resurrection had far greater implications. The resurrection of Yeshua 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. Yeshua explained it like this: “Do not marvel at this, for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth – those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.” Jn 5:28-29. Just as there are two parts to the harvest, the grain and the chaff, there will be two parts to the final harvest. Some will inherit eternal life and dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Others will inherit eternal separation from God, confined forever to the Lake of Fire. They that belong to the Messiah, who have by faith trusted in Him, will be resurrected unto life at His coming.” 1 Cor 15:23. Yeshua proved the ironclad guarantee when He rose from the dead. It will happen, of that we are sure, because “now is Christ risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”
The harvest represents all who would put their faith, trust and confidence in the Messiah Yeshua. So the sheaf is the first of the first fruits. Since a sheaf in the Bible is used to typify a person or persons, a sheaf spiritually represents people who accept the Messiah into their hearts.
Sources, Howard and Rosenthal, The Feasts of the Lord, pp. 75-87; Chumney, The Seven Festivals of the Messiah, pp 67-75.
