Feast of Firstfruits

Illustration of Feast of Firstfruits

The Feast of Firstfruits was observed in ancient Israel as one of the annual appointed times outlined in Leviticus 23, taking place on the day after the Sabbath during the week of Passover. A priest would present and wave the first sheaf of ripe barley before the Lord at the sanctuary as a wave offering, accompanied by grain, oil, and wine, to consecrate the start of the harvest. This ritual acknowledged God as the true source of all agricultural provision and sought His continued blessing on the crops that followed. In the New Testament, the apostle Paul identifies the festivalโ€™s significance as fulfilled in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is described as the firstfruits of the dead, guaranteeing the future resurrection of believers.

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Details

Category
Spring Feasts
Hebrew Name
Bikkurim
Timing
Day after the Sabbath during Unleavened Bread (Sunday)
Calendar
Nisan, Sunday during Unleavened Bread
Season
Spring
Observance
Wave a sheaf of the first grain before the Lord, offer a burnt offering and grain offering.

Significance

Dedicating the first portion to God demonstrated faith that the full harvest would follow.

New Testament Fulfillment

Jesus rose from the dead on this exact day - the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. His resurrection guarantees ours.

Key Passages

The Command

Leviticus 23:9-14

A9nd the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

10 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, 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: 11 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. 12 And ye shall offer that day when ye wave the sheaf an he lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt offering unto the LORD. 13 And the meat offering thereof shall be two tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire unto the LORD for a sweet savour: and the drink offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of an hin. 14 And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your God: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

Christ the Firstfruits

1 Corinthians 15:20-23

B20ut now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christโ€™s at his coming.

Related

Characters

Timeline Events

Prophecies

Did You Know?

1

Jesus rose from the dead on the Feast of Firstfruits. He is the 'firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.'

2

The priest waved the first sheaf of barley harvest before the Lord. Jesus was 'waved' before the Father.

3

This feast always falls on the day after the Sabbath during Passover week. A Sunday.

4

Paul explicitly connects Christ's resurrection to this feast in 1 Corinthians 15:20-23.