There are seven sabbaths legislated in the Torah (The Law). They are:

1. The Feast of Passover.

2. The Feast of Unleavened bread.

3. The Feast of Firstfruits. (Feast of Shavout)

4. The Feast of Weeks. Also called The Feast of Pentecost.

5. The Feast of Trumpets.

6. The Feast of Atonement.

7. The Feast of Tabernacles. Also called The Feast of Booths or The Feast of ingathering.

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FIRSTFRUITS - THE FEAST OF SHAVOUT AND CHRIST (The Old Testament Perspective)

Genesis 4:4: And Abel brought of the firstborn of his flock and of the fat portions. And the Lord had respect and regard for Abel and for his offering.

Firstfruits, Bikkurim, in the Hebrew language, means firstborn sons or male firstling of the herd.

Abel, the son of Adam, offered the firstborn, the male firstling of his herd -the firstfruit. (Genesis 4: 4). The writer of the Book of Hebrews wrote, “He offered a more excellent sacrifice”. (Hebrews 11: 4); the firstborn sacrifice of Abel was likened to sacrifice of Christ Jesus.

In the Book of Genesis, Abraham took his firstborn son, the firstfruit of promise (as Paul speaks of Isaac – Galatians 4) to the peak of Mount Moriah. On this peak, he prophesies that Jehovah would provide a lamb for Himself (Genesis 22: 8 ). Calvary, where Jesus Christ was crucified, is in the mountain range of Mount Moriah - the same spot Abraham had tried to offer Isaac, his firstfruit of promise, as sacrifice.

Joseph, the firstfruit of Jacob’s favoured wife, Rachel, was given the right of the firstfruit instead of Reuben. The right, symbolized by the coat of many colours, is translated as “cover of many colours” or “coat of atonement” by some scholars

The word “cover” is used initially to describe God’s action in the Garden of Eden; when He slew an animal and used its skin to “cover” the shame of Adam and Eve; thus, revealing God’s plan of salvation for fallen man. It is the same word used to describe the coat Hannah brought to Samuel, her firstfruit, yearly when she came to offer the annual atoning sacrifice to the Lord of Hosts at Shiloh.

On Joseph’s coat of many colours, his brothers shed on it the blood of a male firstling, a firstfruit of the herd, to mimic his blood; and they presented it to their father, Jacob. The blood of the firstfruit that Joseph’s brothers shed on the coat typified the blood of Christ which would be shed on Calvary.

Jehovah ordained seven Holy days or Sabbath days. The third of the seven being the Feast of the firstborn sons, the Feast of Firstfruits. He established for them, the Hebrews, the principle of the firstfruits in the feast of Unleavened Bread. (Exodus 13:11-16)

The LORD spoke to Moses (Lev.23:10-12), 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." He shall wave the sheaf before Jehovah for you to be accepted; on the day after the sabbath the priest shall wave it. And you shall offer on that day, when you wave the sheaf, a male lamb of the first year, without blemish, as a burnt offering before Jehovah.”
(Leviticus 23: 10 says, “The sheaf of the firstfruit is presented to the priest who raises it up in the presence of the congregation”.)

This “raising up” of the sheaf before the congregation typified the resurrection of Christ Jesus on the seventh day of the first month of the Jewish calendar - the day of the Feast of the firstfruit. On this day that Christ Jesus rose up from the grave was the same day Noah’s ark was lifted to the height of Mount Ararat (above the death beneath).

The twelfth and thirteenth verses of Leviticus 23 says, ”a firstling of the flock without blemish is offered and oil is poured on its meat“. Oil in the Old-Testament did not only refer to the sanctification of a person, it also referred to conferment of nobility to such a one anointed. This mingling of oil on the firstborn lamb finds its reality in Christ Jesus. Therefore, the writer of Hebrews wrote, ”Therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows” (Hebrews 1: 9).

Therefore, Christ Jesus is the firstfruit of the flock: He said, ”Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone: but if it die, it brings forth much fruit”. (John 12:24). Jesus was that corn of wheat - He planted His life in the earth to bring forth an abundant harvest - those who are consecrated in Him are the fats of Abel’s sacrifice.

(The Promise of God was fulfilled – God provided His own firstborn, His first fruit, His firstling, His lamb, as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of all men. This is all that the firstfruits sacrifice was - a sacrifice of atonement with God. The acceptance of Abel (Gen. 4:7) and the Children of Israel (Lev. 23:10-11) were in the offering of the Firstfruit.

To the glory of God, all saints are accepted in the offering of Christ (Eph.1:6-7))

The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29)




Acehart