Week Four | The Feast of Firstfruits

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7 Feasts Online Biblical Study
Reading Assignment – Week Four (Pg. 118-147)
Listen to the Audio version | Reading Time: 4 minutes

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In the Fall of 2020, I facilitated a group of ladies through the study, “Jesus and Women” by Kristi McLelland. This study was life-changing and opened our eyes to how vitally important it is to read and study the Bible with a Middle Eastern Lens.

No longer could we deny that Jesus is better than we ever knew and yes, He is indeed Jewish.

We understood more clearly how being raised in a Jewish family influenced Him and if we wanted to know and love Jesus even more, it would behoove us to look further into the Jewish culture of Biblical times. This left us desiring Biblical studies which take Jewish Culture into consideration. 

As a result, I came across the “7 Feasts” study by Erin Davis and I took on the task of facilitating a study in, yes, the book of Leviticus. This Old Testament book oftentimes gets overlooked and neglected because of its intensity and heaviness on the Jewish rituals and culture. 

So.many.sacrifices! I can’t even imagine the scene and all of that blood. Aren’t you glad we live on this side of the cross!

I am so glad that my small group “woman-upped” and dove headfirst into this book, specifically this 23rd chapter. Now into the 4th week, aren’t you also glad that you “woman-upped” too? Are you NOT enjoying seeing how each of these feasts, given to the Israelites from God himself, point forward from the Old Testament to the Gospels of the New Testament!?

This week has brought us to the third feast, the Feast of Firstfruits.

Creation is Constantly Teaching Us the Gospel

I am so glad to know that “a green thumb isn’t required to love and learn from the Word of God.” (pg. 121 of 7 Feasts). If you are like me and you struggle to keep the hardest-to-kill house plants from dying in your home then you will agree. 

Erin writes,

“…to understand this feast, we do need to understand at least one simple gardening principle – the first fruit of the vine is worthy of celebrating.”

erin davis, Pg. 122 of “7 feasts”

Have you ever tried to grow a plant from a seed? Oh, the joy of seeing the plant starting to break through that tended soil, of eating the season’s first produce. I like how Erin reminds us of the importance of the dormant season of winter in the plant cycle. It not only is an essential part of God’s annual design for plants, but it correlates to the essential need for us to rest as well. She also reminds us that even before He gave His people instructions for the feasts, God commanded they have a Sabbath. 

Isn’t it comforting as we are now in the winter season of 2022 our lives can be in a natural season of rest? During this season, I am home and in my PJs much earlier in the evening than in spring or summer, or even fall. Can you relate? God can use the seasons to teach us the importance of rest, in the fall and winter,  and preparing ourselves for busier seasons, like spring and summer, in the coming year.

“Each winter, as creation goes dormant, it is telling the story of Christ’s burial…Spring is an annual reminder that Christ did not stay buried, bursting onto the scene as a celebration of new life.”

erin davis, Pg. 124 of “7 feasts”

“He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.”
Matthew 28:6, ESV

“God was showcasing the sacrificial system that would be fulfilled through Christ and turning Israel’s attention to the annual appearance of new life all around them.”

erin davis, Pg. 125 of “7 feasts”

Jesus Died on Passover, Rested on the Sabbath & Rose on the Feast of Firstfruits

See how these three initial feasts are beginning to tie together, as well as the sequential nature of them. Were you as awestruck as I was to see how God’s design and perfect plan are orchestrated during Holy Week to include these feasts? (Old Testament points forward to the New Testament). All four gospel accounts reflect how Christ was crucified on Passover, rested in the tomb on Sabbath, and He rose from the tomb on Sunday- which was the Feast of Firstfruits.

“God’s Word is masterfully ordered! In Leviticus 23, God outlined His calendar of redemption for the nation of Israel, and here in the Gospels, Jesus observed the first of three feasts as He was crucified, buried, and raised.”

erin davis, Pg. 132 of “7 feasts”

Jesus is Worthy of Our Very Best

Erin tells us straight up on Pg. 138, “The Feast of Firstfruits is first and foremost a reminder of the resurrection power found in Christ. But, there is another, more practical application of this feast. Because Christ is the firstfruit of all creation. He is worthy of our very best.” 

– our best time with our Bible reading/study, our best tithe, our best worship, our best prayers, our best service in the church, our best friendship with our sisters, our best with our families, our best representation of Him at work and in the market place… the list can go on. 

Isn’t He worthy of that? Yes, He is. 

If the Israelites, God’s chosen people, were required to give their best then we should not be any different.

TODAY WE LEARNED:
1. God’s design for our lives includes an essential need for rest and creation is our constant reminder of the Gospel.
2. “God’s Word is masterfully ordered” – the 7 Feasts of the Old Testament correlate with the New Testament Gospel message of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection.
3. Because God gave us His very best – Jesus Christ, we then must give Him OUR BEST in all things, all the time.

ANSWER THIS IN THE COMMENTS BELOW:
What was your reaction to learning that the events of Holy Week had ties to the 7 Feasts? What does this show you about God and His sovereignty and plan for sending Christ to be our Firstfruit?