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May 13 – Bringing Firstfruits
By Spally TaylorMay 10, 2018
Sunday School Lesson
May 13
Bringing Firstfruits
Devotional Reading: Ephesians 4:25-5:2
Background Scripture: Leviticus 2:14; 23:9-22
14 And if thou offer a meat offering of thy firstfruits unto the Lord, thou shalt offer for the meat offering of thy firstfruits green ears of corn dried by the fire, even corn beaten out of full ears.
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 for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
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.
Key Verse
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.—Leviticus 23:10
Lesson Aims
After participating in this lesson, each learner will be able to:
- Describe the firstfruits offering and its purpose.
- Relate the firstfruits concept to the new covenant.
- Adjust one behavior in order to live biblically as a firstfruit.
(Leviticus 2:14) Also if you bring a grain offering of early ripened things to the LORD, you shall bring fresh heads of grain roasted in the fire, grits of new growth, for the grain offering of your early ripened things. The LORD gave instructions for building a proper tent of meeting and rules for the priests in conducting worship, and the LORD also wanted the people to participate in providing for the tabernacle’s construction and in worshiping the LORD. After they entered the Promised Land and when they harvested their grain (the barley first and seven weeks later the wheat — on Pentecost), they were to worship the LORD by taking the firstfruits to the LORD as an offering of thanksgiving. The land belonged to the LORD and He had given them possession of the land to meet their needs and fulfill His promise to Abraham. The firstfruits offering was an expression of appreciation and thanksgiving to the LORD for meeting their needs as well as a demonstration of trust in the LORD that He would continue to meet all their needs. The Israelites offered flour and bread in various offerings and ways: crushed heads could become flour suitable for bread and roasted grain could be made into bread from proper roasting over a fire.
(Leviticus 23:9) Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, The LORD did not speak to the people directly, but through Moses as their leader and prophet. The LORD wanted Moses to teach them how to worship and prepare them to worship the LORD in the Promised Land.
(Leviticus 23:10) “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. An “omer” (KJV) or “sheaf” is a bundle of grain stalks laid lengthwise and tied together after reaping. Compared to an entire crop, a sheaf was a small amount to offer the LORD, but it represented the fact that all they harvested had been made possible by the LORD who met all their needs. The first grain was from their first day of harvest and would have been the most fresh and desirable grain to give to the LORD. The LORD deserves the best we have to give, and we have received from the LORD all we have to give. Priests resided in every tribe and town throughout the Promised Land to receive the offering of firstfruits.
(Leviticus 23:11) ‘He shall wave the sheaf before the LORD for you to be accepted; on the day after the sabbath the priest shall wave it. The priest would wave (or ceremonially present) the sheaf before the LORD for God’s people. Following these instructions would make their offering acceptable. They were not to just wave the sheaf themselves in some perfunctory way in the field to get it over with; they were to make the effort to formally go to a priest and express before God and others their thankfulness to the LORD with grateful hearts. They were to do this the day after the Sabbath (on a Sunday). Jesus rose from the dead on a Sunday, and in 1 Corinthians 15:20, Paul spoke of Jesus’ resurrection in the context of firstfruits: “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” Jesus often spoke of our work as evangelists, teachers, and believers as “harvest work.” In Luke 10:2, we read, “He told them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field’” As a result of teaching the truth in “harvest work,” the first new Christians in a new Church are sometimes called firstfruits. In 2 Thessalonians 2:13, Paul wrote, “But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth”
(Leviticus 23:12) ‘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. In addition to offering the sheaf, they were to sacrifice a lamb as a burnt offering. The lamb was to be perfect rather than a worthless castaway no one would want. The sacrifice of the lamb would point to the perfect sacrifice of Jesus as the Lamb of God. In John 1:36, we read “When John saw Jesus passing by, he said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God!’” When God the Father sent His Son into the world to sacrifice His life for us, God sent the very best He had to give to die in our behalf.
(Leviticus 23:13) ‘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. In addition, they were to offer oil from their olive trees and wine from their grapes. A “hin” was a measurement, perhaps of Egyptian origin since the LORD gave these instructions to Moses after they left Egypt before reaching the Promised Land. The people were to give what the LORD required and recognize the fact that all their blessings and provisions came from the LORD. Once again, the LORD emphasized that they were to give “the finest” flour. If they gave willingly and not under compulsion, their offerings would be a “pleasing aroma” to the LORD, for the LORD loves a cheerful giver.
(Leviticus 23:14) ‘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. The people were to bring their firstfruits offerings to the LORD before they ever took a bite for themselves. They were not to bring the LORD their “leftovers” or “only after they made sure their personal needs were met.” Their offerings involved faith and trust in the LORD.
(Leviticus 23:15) ‘You shall also count for yourselves from the day after the sabbath, from the day when you brought in the sheaf of the wave offering; there shall be seven complete sabbaths. The feasts and festivals in the Law of Moses reflect a primarily agricultural society. For this reason, by the time of Jesus the Messiah, travelers from far away would buy the sacrifices they needed when they arrived in Jerusalem (which led to abuses that influenced Jesus to cleanse the temple: see John 2:13-17). The Feast of Unleavened Bread lasts seven days and falls immediately after Passover. The firstfruits from the barley harvest were presented the day after Passover. The firstfruits from the wheat harvest were offered seven full weeks later during the Feast of Weeks, called Pentecost in the New Testament. Depending on the location and other factors, harvesting could begin before or after the feast of Unleavened Bread and end before or after the Feast of Weeks. As mentioned above, the sheaf of the wave offering was the first grain to be reaped from a harvest, which was also considered “firstfruits.” The wave offering reminded the Israelites of the fact that God’s grace and blessing were the cause of their land being productive. By waving a sheaf of grain, they thanked God for their harvest, and the offering was made the day after the Sabbath, the day Jesus rose from the dead. The firstfruits of the barley was offered; then seven full weeks later the firstfruits of the wheat was offered.
(Leviticus 23:16) ‘You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh sabbath; then you shall present a new grain offering to the LORD. Using a lunar calendar, God commanded the Israelites to count off fifty days from Passover and Unleavened Bread to celebrate the Feast of Weeks (seven full weeks plus a Sabbath: 7×7+1= 50). The number seven represents a perfect number. In later Judaism, the Feast of Weeks celebrated the giving of the Law by God to Moses after the Exodus. After Jesus’ resurrection from the dead and ascension into heaven, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to His apostles and followers (about 120 people), which led to the salvation of 3000 people in one day: The Day of Pentecost (see Acts 2).
(Leviticus 23:17) ‘You shall bring in from your dwelling places two loaves of bread for a wave offering, made of two-tenths of an ephah; they shall be of a fine flour, baked with leaven as first fruits to the LORD. The Feast of Weeks was to be celebrated in Jerusalem; for that reason, many Jews from many nations were present and learned of the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the followers of Jesus, and many of these returned home as believers in Jesus the Messiah (see Acts 2:8-11). Notice: at this feast they did not wave a sheaf of grain; instead, they waved before the LORD two loaves of baked bread that must contain yeast (which made certain new yeast was used, because their old yeast would have been removed from their homes during the Passover celebration and Feast of Unleavened Bread). In the Bible, yeast does not always mean “evil” or “sin.” The LORD would never require an offering that included sin or evil. Yeast makes bread rise and pervades the entire loaf making delicious satisfying bread. When the Holy Spirit came upon and into Jesus’ followers, He cleansed them and filled them with the love, power, and guiding presence of the Lord Jesus Christ and through their testimony the Church began to grow and spread throughout the world even to this day.
(Leviticus 23:18) ‘Along with the bread you shall present seven one year old male lambs without defect, and a bull of the herd and two rams; they are to be a burnt offering to the LORD, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the LORD. On the Feast of Weeks, also called the Feast of the Harvest, the first things they sacrificed were to the LORD — in thanksgiving for a bountiful harvest that the LORD had given them. They did not credit themselves or their hard work; they credited the true God for their many blessings. With thanksgiving, they offered to the LORD animals that provided food and clothing and bore their burdens. They also offered a portion of their crops. These types of offerings indicated symbolically that they were giving all they had and all they were in consecration to the true God. Later, prophets condemned the fact that some rebellious Israelites and Jews celebrated this feast and also sacrificed to the pagan fertility gods, even sacrificing their own children to these idols. In Jeremiah 32:35, we read, “They built the high places of Baal in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to offer up their sons and daughters to Molech, though I did not command them, nor did it enter my mind that they should do this abomination, causing Judah to sin.”
(Leviticus 23:19) ‘You shall also offer one male goat for a sin offering and two male lambs one year old for a sacrifice of peace offerings. The male goat for a sin offering acknowledged the fact that they were unworthy to receive God’s blessings and they had not earned a good harvest by their good behavior and labors. God blessed them because of His love and grace. Later, as punishment for their sins, God brought drought and pestilence upon their land and crops in order to lead them to repentance. The Fellowship or Peace Offering was for the family and their friends to eat and enjoy at the one-day celebration, and indicated the celebrants had received the blessing, peace, and fellowship with God that accompanied their sacrifices.
(Leviticus 23:20) ‘The priest shall then wave them with the bread of the first fruits for a wave offering with two lambs before the LORD; they are to be holy to the LORD for the priest. The priests received their food and sustenance from the offerings of the people. For this reason, some of the festivals, including this one, required the celebrant to come to Jerusalem. People brought bread and meat for the priests (and made offerings at the temple). The wave offering indicated that the animal and bread were presented first to the Lord with thanksgiving and were not wholly burnt. The offering was food for the priests and their families to eat at the festival. Everything was consecrated to the LORD
(Leviticus 23:21) ‘On this same day you shall make a proclamation as well; you are to have a holy convocation. You shall do no laborious work. It is to be a perpetual statute in all your dwelling places throughout your generations. On this festive day, the Jews assembled for sacred purposes instead of pagan purposes and rituals that involved sin and rebellion against God. They were to do no work, but essentially to enjoy a time of rest after their busy harvest season concluded—about fifty days after their harvest season had begun. God ordained or commanded this sacrificial feast for their benefit, and to remind them “from Whom all blessings flow.” In addition, they were to be reminded to care for the poor in their midst. The festival provided the priests with an opportunity to teach about God, God’s laws, and their sacred history.
(Leviticus 23:22) ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, moreover, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field nor gather the gleaning of your harvest; you are to leave them for the needy and the alien. I am the LORD your The God.’” Apostle Paul wrote that a necessary condition for eating was being willing to work, and this provision was made possible with this command, while also providing charity for the needy. In 2 Thessalonians 3:10, we read, “For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: ‘The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.’” The poor were provided a way of working to support themselves and their families. In the Book of Ruth, Ruth fed herself and her mother-in-law from this provision in the law. Ruth was a foreigner (a Moabite) and her widowed mother-in-law was a poor Israelite. Boaz arranged for Ruth to be given more than she could glean in a day, which set an example for those who had farms to find additional ways to care for the needy from the material blessings that God had given them.
