Leviticus 23:9-21

Leviticus 23:9-21 outlines God's instructions for the wave sheaf offering, the seven-week count, the Feast of Weeks, or Pentecost. And when we understand the purpose of God's holy days and how they outline God's plan of salvation, we see that this entire period focuses on what the first of the firstfruits has made possible by preparing the saints for God's spiritual harvest. Now the full impact of the wave sheaf offering on God's people becomes clear when we recognize the importance of the counting required for observing Pentecost.

So the wave sheaf consisted of an omer of barley still on the stalk and cut at the start of the spring harvest. Now because it came from the very beginning of the firstfruits, it is called the first of the firstfruits. So each Israelite with a harvest was required to offer an offering. Then a priest would lift and wave each sheaf before God for acceptance. Now in the Old Testament, the wave sheaf offering represented a thankful acknowledgment to God as the Giver of the harvest. In this way, it was sanctified or dedicated to Him.

Now in the New Testament, the spiritual purpose of this offering is revealed. The Old Testament places God's festivals within the agricultural harvest. But in the New Testament, these agricultural harvests become types of God's spiritual harvest of people into His Kingdom. So this period begins with the offering of the barley sheaf symbolizing Christ and then ends 50 days later with two leavened loaves representing God's people, imperfect yet accepted into His Kingdom. Together, these elements illustrate the full scope of God's work with His firstfruits, from Christ's perfect sacrifice to inclusion of His followers in His Family.

Leviticus 23:17

In this instruction regarding Pentecost, one finds a church illustrated by two loaves of bread, and they have leaven in them. They were puffed up. It is very likely that the one represented those in the Old Testament that were converted, and the other loaf represented those in the New Covenant who are also leavened, and so we are looking at a picture of God's very young church. In fact it specifically said "the firstfruits."

We are really getting down to being specific of what those bread loaves indicate. They are symbolically shown as having leaven. I will not go into proving this statement at this time, because I know that you know it is true. My question for the remainder of this sermon is, "How much leaven?"

Leviticus 23:17

Verse 17 is the parallel of Leviticus 2:12. They are talking about the same thing, only in Leviticus 2 it is talking about the ordinary everyday meal offering. In Leviticus 23 it is talking about the offering on the day of Pentecost. But we are the firstfruits, and we are represented by these two wave loaves of two-tenth deals. They are the firstfruits of the LORD. Then He goes into verse 18 to show that this offering has to be made accompanied by other offerings. Verse 19 explains the same thing. Then in verse 20:

Leviticus 23:17

This shows us, in one respect. Firstfruits of God, but leavened because we have lived lives of sin. Though we have been forgiven of our sins and allowed to come into God's presence because of the blood of Jesus Christ, we still are leavened. We have not fully become unleavened, like Jesus Christ.