Christ in all the scriptures Pentecost

 Christ in all the scriptures

A new grain offering  Leviticus 23v15-21

Scripture references: Exodus 23v16, 34v22; Leviticus 23v15-21; Numbers 28v26-30; Deuteronomy 16v9-12; 2nd Chronicles 8v13; Acts 2v1.

Described in Exodus 34v22 as "The feast of weeks, of the first fruits of wheat harvest...", this was one of three mandatory feasts to be attended by all males each year in Israel.  

"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: even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number 50 days; and ye shall offer a new meat (grain) offering unto the Lord".

The detail of this is awesome.  From the waving of the sheaf of firstfruits to Shavuot (the feast of weeks) was exactly 50 days, counted through seven sabbaths.  We noted that firstfruits represented the resurrection of Christ; we now note that Shavuot (feast of weeks) represents the ascension and exaltation of Christ, and the consequent coming of the Spirit on believers at Pentecost.  The Greek for fifty days is Pentecost.  The ritual is pointing to the outpouring of the Spirit at the birth of the Church, and this took place exactly fifty days after the resurrection.  Note the accuracy of scripture:

Acts 1v3 "To whom also He showed Himself after His passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God"

Acts 1v5 "Ye shall be baptised with the Holy Ghost not many days hence."

Prophetically, and historically it was ten days after His ascension that this Baptism of the Spirit took place...40+10=50 days, fulfilling the O/T prophecies, spoken more than 1500 years before, precisely!

Acts 2v1 "And when the day of Pentecost (Shavuot-50 days) was fully come, they were all together in one place".

Many a year had seen the celebration of Pentecost, for it was a pivotal day in Israel's calendar.  It marked the beginning of the wheat harvest, and anticipation of a full harvest to come.  The day of Pentecost was a pivotal day for believers as it marked the spiritual birth of the Church, and the beginning of the age of grace.  It was also pivotal in world history, and should be central to our individual belief, that the God, in whom we have placed our trust, can fulfil to the very day every promise He has ever made!  Jesus appeared to the disciples by MANY INFALLIBLE PROOFS, and ascended to heaven, sending the Spirit on the very day predicted centuries ago.  This means that our testimony is not based on human opinions, (of ourselves or others), but on the infallible truth of God.

The feast of firstfruits was at the beginning of spring (barley) harvest; the feast of weeks was at the beginning of the summer (wheat) harvest; the feast of tabernacles was at the autumn ingathering of the great harvest for the year.  The link between them, spanning both ends of the calendar year, is of harvest, of God's provision, of satisfaction, of celebration of the goodness of God.  God's annual calendar for His people involved full provision for their every need from His bountiful hand.  That, being true in the material sense, what shall we say of His spiritual provision for His people whom He has delivered from the slavery of sin?!  We can trace the sense of this in reading Acts chapter 2.  This was an event of something absolutely new, the likes of which had never been seen before.  This was a Divine outpouring, so vivid that in hearing and seeing it could not be ignored.  The sound of a rushing mighty wind; the vision of cloven tongues of fire resting on followers of Christ; ordinary people speaking in tongues, where everyone present heard the same message without interpreters in their own language.  There were visitors in Jerusalem from "every nation under heaven"-at least 17 nations were listed, and they heard the disciples speak in their own language!  The fruits from the preaching of Peter was a firstfruits harvest of 3000 souls who believed.  The believers then gathered in Jerusalem to form the first church, in submission to the apostles doctrine and the practice of worship and prayer.  Those from foreign countries returned to their adopted countries spreading the gospel far and wide.  The result was that within 30 years the most of the habitable world was evangelised and has resulted in the ongoing harvest until the present day.  Thus a new work of God was commenced as prefigured in Leviticus 23-the NEW MEAT (grain) OFFERING, consisting of two wave loaves.  This is interpreted by Paul in Ephesians chapter two.  In Christ God has created "out of twain ONE NEW MAN", so that Jew and Gentile are blessed together by the sin-forgiving sacrifice of Christ-refer Ephesians 2v14, "He hath made both one"; v15 "He hath made of Himself of twain, one new man"; v16 "...that He might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross"; v18 "For through Him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father".   This is the two wave loaves of the one new meat offering, created at Pentecost, and still producing nigh on 2000 years later!

We note one distinction between the meat offering which applies to Christ, and the new meat offering which applies to the Church.  The wave loaves  were to be baken with leaven, unlike the meat offering which had no leaven.  The absence of leaven reflects the moral and spiritual perfections of Christ, and distinguishes Him from His church in which there are the imperfections of the flesh which will be present this side of eternity.  We will be perfected one day, but the potential for corruption will remain with us in this life.

In verse 22, during the times of harvest, they were to leave the corners and edges of their fields to the poor and to the stranger in their midst.  God would have His redeemed people, who have been endowed with rich heavenly blessing, to be a GENEROUS PEOPLE.   He is a giving God, and wants His people to be witnesses His kindness to those on the fringes or externals of their existence.  A reading of the book of Acts will reveal that God's people were marked by unity, sanctity, and generosity.  We could do with more of the same!

Between v22 and v23, there is a gap of four months, during which there would be continuous growth for ingathering at the end.  Surely, this is the period in which we are now living, a pause in time of God's specific dealings with Israel, a gap called the dispensation of grace, during which God is saving both Jew and Gentile, and creating His Church, the body of Christ.  We should understand the nature of this time period in which we live; it is the day in which God is primarily dispensing grace to sinful humanity.  That is the overriding character of God's dealings with the world, in the present day, and we should recognise it.  The most important work today is evangelism of all nations and that must be our focus.  All other considerations are secondary to this, whether of politics, or business, or personal pleasure.  God is doing a work today which is superior to everything else in the world, and we are privileged to be part of that.  It should be emphasised, that of all the ages of time, the present age of grace has already exceeded in time all other ages of time.  How like God that is, He extends the greatest age in which He is dispensing mercy and grace to all; already it is almost 2000 years and counting, for our God is longsuffering, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance!  This is God's programme today, it should also be ours.  Are we in tune with our God?

We, the members of the Church, the body of Christ, are the new meat offering to the Lord.  With all our limitations, and faults, and failures, nevertheless God is using us in this greatest of all His works.  He will complete it soon, and He will also perfect us eternally.  We can almost hear the sound of the trumpets, the subject of our next study.