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In ancient Israel, the beginning of the spring grain harvest was marked with an unusual ceremony - the waving of the first sheaf of grain to be accepted by God. This simple act holds great spiritual significance!
by Jerold Aust
he agricultural cycle of ancient Israel revolved around two harvests, one in the spring and the other in the autumn. Before any grain could be harvested in the spring, an unusual ceremony took place to inaugurate the spring harvest season.
This ceremony was the waving of the first sheaf of grain to be accepted by God. Instructions for this ceremony are detailed in Leviticus 23:10-14. No one was to eat any of the grain of the harvest until the first sheaf of the harvest was brought to the priest, who in turn waved it before God.
What was the significance of this ceremony?
Jesus Christ "the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep"
This first sheaf of grain was called the "firstfruits" (verse 10). It was the firstfruits of the barley harvest, the first part of the grain harvest. Thousands of years later, we find the same term used again in the Bible - describing Jesus Christ! "But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep" (1Corinthians 15:20, author's emphasis throughout).
We also find that Jesus Christ is called "the firstborn over all creation" and "the firstborn from the dead" (Colossians 1:15,18). The apostle Paul said that Christ was prophesied to be "the first to rise from the dead" (Acts 26:23).
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