First Fruits

First Fruits
Words of Faith 1-19-2023
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2023
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Exodus 23
[14] "Three times a year you are to celebrate a festival to me.
[15] "Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in that month you came out of Egypt.
"No one is to appear before me empty-handed.
[16] "Celebrate the Feast of Harvest with the firstfruits of the crops you sow in your field.
"Celebrate the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field.
[17] "Three times a year all the men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord.

As part of the joyful walk with the Lord, God gave instructions for three agricultural festivals to be held annually. These fit into a group of seven feasts that would be part of observant life in Israel.
The first agricultural Feast was Unleavened Bread in March-April, about the time of the barley harvest. Passover and Unleavened bread were celebrated to memorialize the hasty Exodus from Egypt.
Next was the Feast of Harvest in the spring at the beginning of the wheat harvest when the firstfruits of the crops were to be given to the Lord. The feast of Harvest was also called the Feast of Weeks because it was celebrated seven weeks (50 days) after the Feast of Unleavened Bread. In the New Testament, it is called the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1; 20:16; 1 Cor. 16:8). Firstfruit offerings were made to the Lord in faith that the rest of the harvest would come in.
Finally, there was the Feast of Ingathering in early autumn. This was at the end of the agricultural year and was also called the Feast of Tabernacles or Feast of Booths (Lev. 23:33-36; Deut. 16:13-15; 31:10). The Feast was a remembrance of God's Faithfulness in the desert.
These agricultural feasts were constant reminders to Israel of God's provision for His people. Three times a year, all adult males in Israel were to worship at the Tabernacle (or later, at the Temple) with grain and animal offerings. Only the best of the crops' firstfruits were to be given to the Lord. The three Great Feasts were joyous high points in Jewish life. There were seven feasts to the Lord, but these three were times when all Jewish men were required to bring offerings.
These Feasts pointed toward the events of Jesus' life, death, Resurrection, and return. We find the fulfillment of all the feasts in Jesus.
The Feast of Passover was fulfilled in the death of Jesus as our Passover lamb (John 1:29, 36).
The Feast of Unleavened Bread was fulfilled in the burial of Jesus, the perfect or "unleavened" Bread of Life that would not be corrupted (1 Corinthians 5:7-8, Psalm 16:10; Acts 2:27).
The Feast of First Fruits was fulfilled when Jesus was raised from the dead as the firstfruits of the Resurrection that is to come (1 Cor. 15:20).
The Feast of Trumpets will be fulfilled at the return of Jesus when the trumpet sounds (Leviticus 23:23-25, Matthew 24:30-31).
The Day of Atonement will be fulfilled in the judgment and sentencing of Satan after his removal as "the god of this world" (Leviticus 23:26-32, Revelation 20:10).
The Feast of Tabernacles or Ingathering will be fulfilled at the return of Jesus and His first 1,000 year reign. (Leviticus 23:33-36, Revelation 20:2-4).
The Feast of the Last Day on the 8th day of the Feast of Tabernacles will be fulfilled in the physical Resurrection of the vast majority of humanity who were not resurrected at the return of Jesus Christ (Leviticus 23:39, Revelation 20:5,11-15).
When we celebrate "Easter," we more appropriately could call it Resurrection Sunday in the church. But this is, most importantly, the Passover. Biblically, we are celebrating our Passover Lamb, the Unleavened Bread of Life that was placed in a tomb, and the First Fruits-- the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus. In agriculture, the first fruit was always a sign of God's faithfulness to provide the whole harvest. We pray with thanksgiving that God is finishing what He started. He is fulfilling what He foretold. He is completing His plan in Jesus.

Hallelujah! I rejoice, O God, in the wonder of Your marvelous plan. I stand in faith, knowing that Jesus is the Firstfruit of a great Resurrection You have won for me. I give thanks for this day of sacrifice. I give thanks for the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. I give thanks for the Bread of Life. In Jesus' name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2023
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2023 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.