The second feast that the Israelites were instructed to celebrate was called the Feast of the Harvest or the Feast of the First-fruits. This took place when the grains were ready to be harvested. According to Leviticus 23:10-11, the people were told “...when you enter the land which I am going to give to you and reap its harvest, then you shall bring in the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest. He shall wave the sheaf before the Lord for you to be accepted; on the day after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.” It was to be their way of recognizing and admitting that the whole harvest came from the Lord. After that Sabbath when they waved the sheaf, seven full weeks were allowed to pass. On the fiftieth day, they would bring an offering to God. That’s the reason this feast is also known as the Feast of Weeks. Along with this offering of leavened bread, they were also required to make sacrifices described in some details in Leviticus 13:17-21 and Numbers 28:26-31. It was a time they joyfully celebrated and rested from their works. It was a way of praising and thanking God for His provision and meeting their bread.
In the second half of verse 16, we see the third feast that they were told to celebrate. This is the Feast of the Ingathering, also better known as the Feast of Booths or the Feast of the Tabernacle. It was to be celebrated at the end of the year usually around the months of September-October or the seventh month of their calendar. During this week the Israelites would live in makeshift booths made out of leaves and branches. This event was for them to look back at the time God saved them from Egypt, when they had to live in tents during their wandering in the wilderness. In reliving their past experiences, they would then be assured of their salvation.
So, we see the three feasts as a timely reminder of the grace of the Almighty God. The Feast of the Unleavened Bread speaks of their salvation. Connected to the Passover, this feast points us to Jesus Christ our Passover Lamb. The Unleavened bread was a time when the people partook of yeast-free bread. It signifies the call to live a sanctified life and the removal of sin in one’s life. The Feats of the Harvest points to the Resurrection of Christ. At least this was how the Apostle Paul puts it in his first letter to the Corinthians in chapter 15 and verse 20. He said, “But Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.” This helps us to look forward to our own ultimate resurrection. The culmination of the Feast of the Harvest was on the 50th day after they had first waved their first sheaf to the Lord. In the New Testament, Pentecost took place 50 days after Jesus became the Passover Lamb that was the sacrifice. In the Book of Acts, we are told that on the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came bringing great rejoicing to the early believers. The Feast of the Ingathering or Tabernacle was referred to in the Gospel of John in chapter 7. Here Jesus called Himself the water of life, signifying that He is the source of our spiritual fulfilment.
So, the three feasts God instructed the Israelites to celebrate point us to Jesus Christ. He is the Passover Lamb who was slain for our salvation. In the Feast of the Unleavened Bread, we are called to live a sanctified life rid of sin. In the Feast of the Harvest, we are pointed to Pentecost, where God poured out His Spirit, who came alongside believers to empower and enable them to live a full and joyful life. And the Feast of the Ingathering points us to Jesus the ultimate sacrifice, who now has become our ever-flowing spring and source of living water. Let us gratefully live for Him!
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