Feast Of First Fruits

Leviticus 23:9-22

9 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

10 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:

11 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.

12 And ye shall offer that day when ye wave the sheaf an he lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt offering unto the LORD.

13 And the meat offering thereof shall be two tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire unto the LORD for a sweet savour: and the drink offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of an hin.

14 And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your God: it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

15 And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete:

16 Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD

17 Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD.

18 And ye shall offer with the bread seven lambs without blemish of the first year, and one young bullock, and two rams: they shall be for a burnt offering unto the LORD, with their meat offering, and their drink offerings, even an offering made by fire, of sweet savour unto the LORD.

19 Then ye shall sacrifice one kid of the goats for a sin offering, and two lambs of the first year for a sacrifice of peace offerings.

20 And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits for a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs: they shall be holy to the LORD for the priest.

21 And ye shall proclaim on the selfsame day, that it may be a holy convocation unto you: ye shall do no servile work therein: it shall be a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.

22 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the LORD your God.

 

Why is it called the Feast Of Pentecost?

 

Pentecost is a Greek word meaning fifty,  After the Sabbath of the Passover/Feast of Unleavened Bread we are commanded to count 7 Sabbaths (49 days) and then add one day. Pentecost will always land on the first day of the week (Sunday).

 

First Fruits under the Covenants

Under the old covenant Israel offered sacrifices and thanked the Lord for the ingathering of our crops, being obedient to the commandments of God.

 

Under the new covenant seeing that Christ became the sacrifice, we observe and present our bodies a living sacrifice which is our reasonable service.

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Romans 12:1

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

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1 Corinthians 15:20-23

20- But now is Christ risen from the dead and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

21- For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.

22- For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

23- But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.

 

As we celebrate the Feast of First Fruits, we express our gratitude to the Most High for the Anointed Saviour-Jesus Christ, who is God's first fruit.