A First Fruits Victory
God's Plan for Redemption Since the Beginning
As we come to the time of year where Christians around the world are celebrating the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus I thought it appropriate to explore this story by diving into the topic of First Fruits. So, what is First fruits? A festival commanded by God in Leviticus, its purpose was to remind the Israelites of God’s provision. The First Fruits He commanded them to offer were the first reaping of the harvest. Likewise, Jesus is also called the first fruits of the harvest, a promise of his return to “reap” those who follow Him giving us hope for a resurrection and eternal life!
“But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are fallen asleep.” -1 Corinthians 15:20
This wonderful story of God’s plan for our freedom traces all the way back to the beginning when God created a pattern that He would repeat throughout history, until the climax with Jesus’ death and resurrection with promises of more to come! So, let’s dive into this story and see how God’s ultimate plan leads us to a greater hope today.
The Sfirat HaOmer
In Leviticus 23, God commanded the Israelites to bring the sheaf of the first gleaning of their harvest to the priest who will wave it to the Lord (Lev. 23 9-11). The harvest referred to would have occurred in early spring, close behind the feast of Passover, and most likely would have been a crop of barley or similar cereal crop. Sfirat Haomer, the Hebrew name for the feast of First Fruits described literally means, “Counting of the Sheaf.” This pretty much explains the meaning behind God’s command. He provided the Israelites with land and blessed them with a harvest, and to remind them of this, He commanded that they offer the first appearance of crop, the first sheaf ripened, to Him as a grain offering. Not only was this a way of remembering that God provides everything, but also an act of trust. By taking the very first part of the yield to God, the Israelites demonstrated their faith that God would continue to bless them with plentiful food for the rest of the year. Giving the first sign of the harvest to God instead of storing it in case of famine reminded the Israelites that God’s power overrides everything and actively demonstrated their faith in His provision.
First Fruits Observed
God’s Command of First Fruits observance isn’t the only place we see the words used. The phrase is mentioned several other times throughout the Old Testament, solidifying its presence and importance in God’s big picture. A few examples of this would be:
2 Chronicles shows King Hezekiah essentially reforming the Israelites after they turned from God once again, including the command for a tithe of first fruits. “And he commanded the people who lived in Jerusalem to give the portion due to the priests and the Levites, that they might give themselves to the Law of the Lord. 5As soon as the command was spread abroad, the people of Israel gave in abundance the first fruits of grain, wine, oil, honey, and of all the produce of the field.” (2 Chronicles 31:4-5).
In Nehemiah, when re-stating the covenant, the people pledge to observe the first fruits. “We obligate ourselves to bring the firstfruits of our ground and the firstfruits of all fruit of every tree, year by year, to the house of the Lord; 36 also to bring to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of our God, the firstborn of our sons and of our cattle, as it is written in the Law, and the firstborn of our herds and of our flocks;” (Nehemiah 10:35-36).
Many Psalms also include the phrase in several different contexts including Psalms 78 and 105. “He struck down every firstborn in Egypt, the firstfruits of their strength in the tents of Ham.” (Psalm 78:51). “He struck down all the firstborn in their land, the firstfruits of all their strength.” (Psalm 105:36). The wording here is quite intriguing: the psalmists refer to the firstborn of Egypt as the “firstfruits of their strength.” And who is born later on, also the firstborn? Jesus! (Rev. 1:5) Truly, the pattern repeated throughout scripture demonstrates God’s flawless plan, the wonder of it simply amazing!
Jesus’ Victory
So far, we’ve established that First Fruits is a common theme throughout scripture with its festival purpose to remind how God has ultimate power and to thank Him for his provision. Yet the tale doesn’t end in the Old Testament! Jesus, the only perfect human, fully God and fully man, continued the story when he died on the cross and was resurrected three days later as the first fruits offering, claiming victory over death! I’d like to expand on the idea of victory here, by, you guessed it, tracing some themes back to the Old Testament.
In Exodus 17, the Israelites are seen engaging in battle against Amalek. Verses 9 through 16, show Moses raising his hands holding the staff of God over the battle below. While his arms remained raised, the Israelites prevailed, but when his arms dropped Amalek’s army took the top. In the end, God proclaimed the victory and Moses built an altar, calling it Yahweh Nissi, “The Lord My Banner. “
During the Bible times, armies carried with them “banners” into battle to symbolize their identity. Unlike flags today, these banners were most often made of wood and carved into a shape instead of imprinted images. As observed, Moses proclaims God as his banner, symbolizing His power to declare victory over anything…even death itself. Jesus is the Lamb of God, sacrificed for our sin nailed to a wooden cross to atone for our sins. A wooden cross. Like the banners in the Israelite’s time. WHOA. So, we see, the pattern of God’s ultimate power displayed in the festivals He commands, and the symbols He includes all lead to the climax of Jesus’ glorious victory over death for all who believe!
If this still seems to be a little bit of a stretch check out Numbers 21:6-9 “6 Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. 7 And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So, Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.” The Lord essentially commanded Moses to create a form of banner symbolizing his power to save from physical disease like the snake bites as well as from their sin of complaining. As John recounts, Jesus points back to this in John 3: “14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” (John 3:14-15) The connection is clear: just like the bronze serpent was lifted representing God’s power, so Jesus was lifted up on a wooden structure/cross, resulting in God’s victory over death. Once again, God created a pattern in the beginning and painted it throughout scripture all the way to the climax of Jesus’ first fruits offering on the cross, symbolizing God’s power to save as in Numbers and His victory over death like His victory against Amalek.
Jesus as the First Fruits
And now my favorite part!!! At the start of this, I quoted 1 Corinthians 15:20: “But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are fallen asleep.” Now that we’ve covered the history of first fruits, expanded on the meaning of Jesus crucifixion in relation to his banner of victory over death and observed these throughout the Bible, it’s time to discuss the amazing truth Jesus gave. The interpretation of this verse, that Jesus is the first fruits of the resurrection carries so much meaning for us! The first fruits as mentioned before, were the first of the harvest, with the assumption that God would bring more as the season continued. If Jesus is the first fruit offering, then there is more to come! “22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15: 22-23). We who are a part of God’s family have the promise of resurrection after death because of Christ’s sacrifice! And even now, we also are resurrected from our sin when we turn to Jesus and repent, receiving new life on earth and eternally. When Jesus returns to reap the harvest (Revelation 14:14-16), we who are following Him will be swept up in victory!
Jesus’ death and resurrection are only the beginning…the new life we have in Him on earth and later with Him after death is such a gift! Isn’t it special to observe God’s big picture, His obvious plan since the start for our redemption through His grace? Jesus’ willingness to die for us and God’s power to raise Him as the first fruits offering that we may have hope for this life and the next is something to be overwhelmingly grateful for in this season of remembering Jesus’ story. I pray that your heart is overwhelmed with gratitude and that God would reveal His grace to you as you think on these points:
God’s plan for our redemption through the offering of Jesus as the first fruits is reflected all the way back in Leviticus when He commands the Israelites to offer the first of their harvest to Him.
Jesus Christ The Lamb of God is our banner of victory over death, lifted up like Moses lifted the serpent in the wilderness that all who believe may have eternal life.
Jesus’ Resurrection is only the beginning! Through His sacrifice, we now have hope on earth, washed from our sins by his blood, and eternally, the promise of a resurrection with Him!
What a great gift God has given! His sovereign design for our freedom since the very beginning and His grace woven through every chapter continues to amaze me every time I dig deeper. I pray that He would do the same for you as you thank Him for His mercy and study the wonder of His Word.
References:
God’s Appointed Times Barney Kasdan
Praying the Names of God for 52 Weeks by Anne Spangler