“The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord thy God." (Ex. 23:19) "When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest; and he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it." (Lev. 23:10-11)
"Now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept." (1 Cor. 15:20)
The third of the feasts of Jehovah followed the Feast of the Passover very closely, and was kept at the same time as the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This was the Feast of Firstfruits. It was kept on the morrow after the Sabbath. The Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread had first been observed in Egypt and afterward in the wilderness. But the Feast of Firstfruits could only be kept in the Land of Promise.
The wilderness was not the place that God had chosen for Israel. The land of Canaan was their own proper home. Even now "our citizenship is in heaven," (Phil. 3:20 literal); and even now God "hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ." (Eph. 1:3); and in Him "we have obtained an inheritance. (Eph. 1:11). So that although our pathway still lies through this wilderness world, our hearts are already at home in heaven, and so we also may keep the Feast of Firstfruits.
In that "good land," the land of Canaan, "a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig-trees, and pomegranates," (Deut. 8:7-9) they lacked nothing. But in that good land, before they touched any of that rich harvest themselves, they must bring this sheaf of firstfruits to be accepted "The first of their firstfruits." "Ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your God." (Lev. 23:14). That offering was a sheaf reaped from the ripe fields of grain in the land of Canaan, and carried to the priest, to be waved before the Lord to be accepted for them, followed by the burnt offering, meat offering, and drink offerings; but please notice there was no sin offering. This first sheaf, was a sample of the great harvest that was to follow. The Spirit of God has been careful to tell us the meaning of this feast also, as we read in 1 Cor. 15:20, "Now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept"; and again, "Every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at His coming." (1 Cor. 15:23). Alas, Israel did not understand that Christ was the Passover Lamb, nor did they understand that Christ was the sheaf of firstfruits.
Please consider once again that Passover Lamb slain more than 2000 years ago. His body was taken down from the tree and in the evening before the Sabbath was laid in the grave. All through the Sabbath it lay in that grave, with the great stone rolled against the door, and sealed, so that none might open it. But now very early on the morrow after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, behold there was a great earthquake; for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. (Matt. 28:1-2).
The Lord had risen, the Sheaf of Firstfruits had been reaped, presented to God, accepted by Him, the sample of the great harvest that would follow. In Jerusalem, in the temple, the people of Israel were bringing their first sheaves, and the priests were waving them before the Lord, but outside that city was the Great Sheaf, in Whom God found all His delight.
Exactly on the Feast of the Passover the Lord Jesus died, and exactly on the day of the Feast of Firstfruits, the Lord Jesus rose from the dead. Just as the Feast of the Passover is a picture of the death of the Lord Jesus, so the Feast of Firstfruits is a picture of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus from among the dead.
We saw Him hanging on the cross, bearing our great load of sin. We have heard Him cry "It is finished," and we have seen His body go into the grave. Will that sacrifice be sufficient to take away our sins? Will that sacrifice be accepted before God? Yes, the Feast of Firstfruits answers these questions. God Himself says, "He shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted for you." The resurrection is the proof that God has accepted that Sacrifice for sin. The resurrection is the receipt that proves that all my debt is paid, and that I am free.
That Sheaf was a sample of all the harvest that would follow, and when that sheaf was accepted, all the harvest fields of Canaan were accepted with it. And since that day how many sheaves have been reaped from those harvest fields! Not of Canaan only, but from the white harvest fields of every part of the world. "Christ the firstfruits, afterward they that are Christ's at His coming." (1 Cor. 15:23). And soon that day will come when all the sheaves will be gathered Home "at His coming," sleeping saints and living saints all gathered Home together, all "accepted in the Beloved.”
And you remember the "two men.... in white apparel" told the disciples that "This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven." (Acts 1:11). He is that Sheaf of Firstfruits. He is the "sample" of those who shall follow. And He is "the same Jesus," no stranger: but the "same." Even so, our loved ones who have gone before us, will also be the "same." They will be glorified, it is true, but they will still be the same dear ones we have loved down here.
The Father's love to Him is the measure of the Father's love to them. (John 17:23). They are part of the field, of which He was the sample. "As He is, so are we in this world." (1 John 4:17). They are as near and as dear to God as Christ is. Wonderful truth! Well may we sing
“So dear, so very dear to God,
More dear I cannot be:
The love wherewith He loves the Son
Such is His love to me.”
(See John 17:23)
And Israel's fields also, in a coming day, will give rich sheaves for the joy of the Great Husbandman. They will then recognize the true Passover Lamb, and then they will keep the true Feast of Firstfruits, and not just an empty form, as they did on that resurrection morning long ago.
But what about the wicked dead? What about those who have rejected Christ? Will they not rise again? Yes, surely they will. But the resurrection of the saints is a "resurrection from among the dead." All round Jerusalem lay the graves of those who had died, but Christ, the Firstfruits, rose from among the dead He was "the Firstborn among many brethren." (Rom. 8:29). He was the "Firstborn from among the dead." (Col. 1:18 N.T.). And with Him, after His resurrection many bodies of the saints rose also. But not one grave of an unbeliever was stirred to let him rise.
Many people tell us there is to be a general resurrection of the just and unjust. The Bible does not tell us this. On the contrary, the Bible plainly says, "The rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished." (Rev. 20:5). Then they rise to stand before the Great White Throne, to be judged according to their works, and to be cast into the Lake of Fire. Solemn truth! Dear reader, the Bible says, "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection; on such the second death hath no power." (Rev. 20:6). Please let us ask, "Have you part in this 'first resurrection'?”
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ; according as He has chosen us in Him before the world's foundation, that we should be holy and blameless before Him in love; having marked us out beforehand for adoption through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He has taken us into favor in the Beloved...” Eph. 1:3-6 (J.N.D.)