Leviticus 23:11

Leviticus 23:11 

 

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.

a. NASB 1995: ‘He shall wave the sheaf before the LORD for you to be accepted; on the day after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.  [New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.]

b. NKJV: ‘He shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted on your behalf; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it.  [Scripture quotations marked "NKJV" are taken from the New King James Version®, Copyright© 1982, Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.]

c. Classic Amplified: And he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, that you may be accepted; on the next day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it [before the Lord].  [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

d. Stone Edition THE CHUMASH, Rabbinic Commentary: He shall wave the Omer before HASHEM to gain favor for you; on the morrow of the rest day the Kohen shall wave it.  [The Artscroll Series/Stone Edition, THE CHUMASH Copyright 1998, 2000 by MESORAH PUBLICATIONS, Ldt.]

e. ESV: And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, so that you may be accepted. On the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it.  [Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

1. “And he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted for you…”

a. [And he shall] wave [Strong: 5130  nûwph, noof; a primitive root; to quiver (i.e. vibrate up and down, or rock to and fro); used in a great variety of applications (including sprinkling, beckoning, rubbing, bastinadoing, sawing, waving, etc.):—lift up, move, offer, perfume, send, shake, sift, strike, wave.]

b. [Strong: 853 'eth ayth apparent contracted from 226 in the demonstrative sense of entity; properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely):--(as such unrepresented in English).]

c. [the] sheaf [Strong: 6016 ʻômer, o'-mer; from H6014; properly, a heap, i.e. a sheaf; also an omer, as a dry measure:—omer, sheaf.] 

1). The “sheaf” was not a bunch of stalks of wheat tied together, it was a measure of milled barley of about two liters.

2). Feasts of the Lord, Kevin Howard, Marvin Rosenthal: In the temple court 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 process until sifted very fine.  According to the Talmud, this sifting ceremony continued until one of the Temple inspectors could plunge his hands into the flour and remove them without any flour adhering to his hands. 

d. before [Strong: 6440 pânîym, paw-neem'; plural (but always as singular) of an unused noun פָּנֶה pâneh; from H6437); the face (as the part that turns); used in a great variety of applications (literally and figuratively); also (with prepositional prefix) as a preposition (before, etc.):— accept, a-(be-) fore(-time), against, anger, × as (long as), at, battle, because (of), beseech, countenance, edge, employ, endure, enquire, face, favour, fear of, for, forefront(-part), form(-er time, -ward), from, front, heaviness, × him(-self), honourable, impudent, in, it, look(-eth) (-s), × me, meet, × more than, mouth, of, off, (of) old (time), × on, open, out of, over against, the partial, person, please, presence, prospect, was purposed, by reason of, regard, right forth, serve, × shewbread, sight, state, straight, street, × thee, × them(-selves), through ( -out), till, time(-s) past, (un-) to(-ward), upon, upside ( down), with(-in, -stand), × ye, × you.]

e. [the] LORD [Strong: 3068 Yᵉhôvâh, yeh-ho-vaw'; from H1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jeho-vah, Jewish national name of God:—Jehovah, the Lord.]

f. [to be] accepted [for you] [Strong: 7522 râtsôwn, raw-tsone'; or רָצֹן râtsôn; from H7521; delight (especially as shown):—(be) acceptable(-ance, -ed), delight, desire, favour, (good) pleasure, (own, self, voluntary) will, as...(what) would.]

1). Prophetically, Christ is the firstfruits, a prophetic foreshadow of the resurrection of Christ from the dead.that the whole human race would be according to the Hebrew, that we would become “accepted”, his delight, his favored His good pleasure.   

a). 1 Corinthians 15:20-23  But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

15:21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.

15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.

2). In light of Christ being our firstfruits, all of the above cited translations say the same thing in different words. The firstfruits sheaf [omer: two liters of milled barley] was waved for the following purpose: NASB 95:”for you to be accepted”. NKJV: “to be accepted on your behalf”. Classic Amplified: “that you may be accepted”. Chumash: “to gain favor for you”. ESV: “so that you may be accepted”. When Christ our firstfruits was raised from the dead it was because we were justified.

a). Romans 4:25 [NKJV]: Who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.

b). Romans 4:25 [NASB 95]: He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.

c). Romans 4:25 [ESV]: Who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

d). Romans 4:25 [Classic Amplified]: Who was betrayed and put to death because of our misdeeds and was raised to secure our justification (our acquittal), [making our account balance and absolving us from all guilt before God].

3). What a wonderful prophetic picture. Glory to God.The Apostle Paul wrote that Christ had “become the firstfruits” thus revealing that the resurrection of Christ Jesus fulfilled the prophetic meaning of the firstfruits (1 Corinthians 15:20), just as his death fulfilled Passover (1 Corinthians 5:7). Jesus rose from the dead the day after the first Sabbath after Passover.

a). Matthew 28:1-6  In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.

28:2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.

28:3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:

28:4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.

28:5 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.

28:6  He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

3). Likewise, the firstfruits of the Old Covenant were shadows of images in the New Covenant, none of which had anything to do with money

a). The firstfruits of the Spirit: Romans 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

b). The first people saved in an area: Romans 16:5 Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Salute my well-beloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ.

c). “Christ the firstfruits” referring to the order of his resurrection: 1 Corinthians 15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.

d). “The firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb”, in Revelation 14:4, refer to the 144,000 of Revelation 14:1. 

4). The firstfruits were to be totally set apart to God as the passage in Revelation reveals and as James writes we are to be a kind of firstfruits. Notice the descriptions tha passage gives. They ‘follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth”, “in their mouth was found no guile”, and “they are without fault before the throne of God.” We need to be like them.

a). Revelation 14:1-5 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.

14:2 And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:

14:3 And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.

14:4 These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.

14:5 And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God. 

2. “...on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.”

a. [on the] morrow after [Strong: 4283 mochŏrâth, mokh- or-awth'; or מׇחֳרָתָם mochŏrâthâm; (1 Samuel 30:17), feminine from the same as H4279; the morrow or (adverbially) tomorrow:—morrow, next day.]

b. [the] sabbath [Strong: 7676 shabbâth, shab-bawth'; intensive from H7673; intermission, i.e (specifically) the Sabbath:—(+ every) sabbath.]

c. [the] priest [Strong: 3548 kôhên, ko-hane'; active participle of H3547; literally one officiating, a priest; also (by courtesy) an acting priest (although a layman):—chief ruler, × own, priest, prince, principal officer.]

d. [shall] wave it [Strong: 5130  nûwph, noof; a primitive root; to quiver (i.e. vibrate up and down, or rock to and fro); used in a great variety of applications (including sprinkling, beckoning, rubbing, bastinadoing, sawing, waving, etc.):—lift up, move, offer, perfume, send, shake, sift, strike, wave.]

1). The Feasts of the Lord, Kevin Howard, Marvin Rosenthal.:  Firstfruits was an early spring feast, the third in the Jewish festive cycle. On the Hebrew calendar, it occurred on the 16th day of Nisan, the first Biblical month (March or April), only two days after the beginning of the Passover Season… Ancient Jewish interpretation agreed with this interpretation. Josephus, the first-century Jewish historian, wrote: “But on the second day of unleavened bread, which is the sixteenth day of the month, they first partake of the fruits of the earth, for before that day they do not touch them. (Antiquities of the jews 3.10.5). 

2). The Feasts of the Lord, Kevin Howard, Marvin Rosenthal.: The regulations for Firstfruits were outlined by the LORD in Leviticus 23:9-14. A sheaf (Hebrew omer, meaning “measure”) was to be brought to the priest at the Temple who would wave it before the LORD for acceptance. There were to 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.

a). Leviticus 23:9-14 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

23:10 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:

23:11 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.

23:12 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.

23:13 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.

23:14 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.

b). There are two firstfruit offerings. The first on the Feast of Firstfruits in Leviticus 23:9-14 & the second on Pentecost 50 days later, Leviticus 23:21. Because the first firstfruit offering of Leviticus 23:9-14 consists of raw grains, it was then that the offering of the Firstfruits described in Deuteronomy 26:1-11 occurs. The first fristfruit offering in Leviticus 23:9-14 marked the beginning of the barley harvest. The second fristfruit offering of Leviticus 23:15-21, consisting of 2 baked loaves of wheat flour, marked the end of the barley harvest and the beginning of the wheat harvest.   

3). The Feasts of the Lord, Kevin Howard, Marvin Rosenthal: The ritual for the Firstfruits ceremony was detailed in Deuteronomy 26:1-11.

a). Deuteronomy 26:1-11 And it shall be, when thou art come in unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possessest it, and dwellest therein;

26:2 That thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name there.

26:3 And thou shalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days, and say unto him, I profess this day unto the Lord thy God, that I am come unto the country which the Lord sware unto our fathers for to give us.

26:4 And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand, and set it down before the altar of the Lord thy God.

26:5 And thou shalt speak and say before the Lord thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous:

26:6 And the Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage:

26:7 And when we cried unto the Lord God of our fathers, the Lord heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labour, and our oppression:

26:8 And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders:

26:9 And he hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey.

26:10 And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land, which thou, O Lord, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the Lord thy God, and worship before the Lord thy God:

26:11 And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you.