THE FEAST OF FIRSTFRUITS (HAG HABIKKURIM)
During the feast of unleavened bread, there was another feast, a feast within a feast, the Feast of Firstfruits. The main passages in the T’nach that deal with this feast are Leviticus 23.9-14 and Numbers 28.26-31. The Levitical passage includes: “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. He shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted on your behalf; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it.” (Lev. 23:10,11) The timing of this day is clearly given, “the day after the Sabbath”. Which Sabbath? One interpretation is that it is the Sabbath that falls within the feast of Unleavened Bread. Since the feast of unleavened bread lasted for seven days, it had to include a weekly Sabbath, and the day following that particular Sabbath, was the day to celebrate the feast of Firstfruits and bring an offering to the Lord. The other interpretation is that it is the day following the feast Sabbath. This means it would always be on the 16th Nisan, that is, the Passover was celebrated on the 14th Nisan, the feast of Unleavened Bread began on the 15th Nisan (a feast Sabbath), and the feast of Firstfruits took place on the 16th Nisan.
This is not a feast that could have been celebrated in Egypt, nor in the wilderness. It was an instruction that took effect only when they reached Canaan, “the land which I give you”. This land, the land of Israel was considered more holy than all other lands, because they bring “from it the omer and the firstfruits, and the Two Loaves”.
The barley harvest was the first of the grain harvests, and the first sheaf gathered was to be offered to the Lord. It was a token that the first and the best belonged to the Lord. Israel could not enjoy any of the harvest until the firstfruits had been offered to YHWH. It was an expression of gratitude to God for blessing their land and supplying their daily bread. According to Seder Zera’im, the commandment included two things: “(1) the bringing of the first-fruit, and (2) a declaration to be made by him who brings it, that he owes everything to the kindness of God toward the Israelites, from the times of the Patriarchs up to the present day.” God gave to man the fruit of the ground as his portion. God said to Adam and Eve, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food”. (Gen. 1:29) Therefore, returning the firstfruits back to God is an acknowledgment that the harvest has come as His gift to us. As Newberry points out, the meat offering, of which the principle ingredient was grain (there was no meat in it) is really a gift offering, and acknowledges the gifts of God. Returning the firstfruits to God is the background to the text: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you”. (Matt. 6:33)
It is worth reflecting that the Genesis account, where God’s judgment is pronounced on Adam and his posterity, includes the declaration, “In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.” (Gen. 3:19) Here then, is a direct connection between man and the earth. Edersheim reports the teaching of the Rabbis regarding the dignity of labor, “that while becoming the servant of the soil, he wins from it the precious fruits of golden harvest”.
In addition to the first sheaf of the harvest, a male lamb, without blemish and without spot, was offered to the Lord, as well as a drink offering of wine, and a meal offering.
The situation of this feast, within the Feast of Unleavened Bread, identifies a nation that is in dependence on God, as well as in fellowship with God.
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