Dear Family,

Today is Tuesday, March 30, 2021. This is Day 3 of Week 1 in our Counting toward
Pentecost.

In Leviticus 23 God gave a command for His people to count or to number 50 days, as well as 7 Sabbaths (Leviticus 23: 15-16). This counting or numbering clearly ties the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread with Pentecost, also referred to as the Feast of Weeks.

Exodus 34:22 And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat
harvest We find in some religious groups that great significance is placed on Passover and “counting the omer,” as many Jews refer to it. Sometimes we humans can participate in so much tradition and focus on HOW to do something that we lose sight of why we do what we do.

The offering of the wave sheaf is the key occurrence that marks the beginning of the
counting. And, the wave sheaf itself has tremendous meaning. For ancient Israel, the wave sheaf offering marked the beginning of their early harvest. For the Church of God today, the wave sheaf is a symbol of our Savior, raised to eternal life by God the Father, and accepted by God. God was truly “well-pleased” with His Son. Jesus became the
FIRSTBORN from the dead.

Let us all realize that the particular kind of resurrection Jesus experienced had NEVER
occurred. Yes, the Bible records that there had been resurrections from the dead; however, in each of these situations, there were ONLY resurrections back to human life.
The Father resurrected His only begotten Son to an ETERNAL existence. And, the wave sheaf being offered just prior to the grain harvest is a prophetic representation that there is more to God’s spiritual harvest. The risen Jesus Christ was the FIRST. His resurrection to eternal life was only the beginning. Jesus was the first of the firstfruits. Paul understood this connection and wrote of it in 1 Corinthians 15:20-23.

In this daily and weekly counting that we carry out each year, let us put some thought and effort into preparing ourselves to be part of God’s upcoming spiritual harvest. Passover provides for us as Believers the necessary sacrifice required so that we can be forgiven. We partake of the unleavened bread as a symbol of the sinless, divine nature of God in Jesus Christ, the True Bread of Life. Then, at Pentecost (Feast of Weeks), God has provided the power for us to become the sons of God (John 1:12).

May God bless each of us as we partake daily of unleavened bread, symbolic of our Savior, Jesus Christ!

Ben Faulkner, Pastor
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