What is the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost in this passage?

The Feast of Weeks, also called Pentecost, is a harvest festival God gave to Israel. They were to count seven full weeks, fifty days, from the day after the Sabbath when they brought the first sheaf of grain. When the counting was done, they held a holy day. It marked the close of the grain harvest and was a time to thank God for His provision. On this day they brought special grain and animal offerings, rested from regular work, and gathered before God as a community.

Why did Israel have to count seven sabbaths and fifty days?

The counting of seven sabbaths, adding up to fifty days, linked this feast back to the earlier grain offering at the start of harvest. It created a set period between the first sheaf of barley and the later wheat offering. This showed that the whole harvest season, from beginning to end, belonged to God. The count also prepared the people for a special day of worship. By numbering the days, they were reminded that their times, their crops, and their work were under God’s care and command.

What is the meaning of the two leavened wave loaves?

The two wave loaves were made from fine wheat flour and baked with leaven. They were called firstfruits to the Lord and were brought from the people’s own homes. At Passover, Israel ate unleavened bread to remember leaving Egypt in haste. Here, at this later feast, the bread was leavened, like their normal daily bread. It was a way of thanking God for everyday food from the finished harvest. The loaves were waved before God and then belonged to the priest, showing they were set apart to Him.

Why are so many different sacrifices offered with the bread?

With the two loaves, Israel brought seven lambs, one young bull, and two rams for burnt offerings, plus a goat for a sin offering and two lambs for peace offerings. The burnt offerings, with their grain and drink offerings, honored God as the giver of the land and harvest. The sin offering admitted that the people were not worthy of these blessings and needed forgiveness. The peace offerings asked for God’s continued blessing and fellowship. Together, these sacrifices expressed thanks, repentance, and desire for peace with God.

What does it mean that this day was a holy convocation with no servile work?

A holy convocation means a sacred gathering of the people before God. On this feast day they were to stop ordinary labor and meet to worship. “No servile work” means they were not to carry on their usual working tasks. This set the day apart from the rest of the busy harvest season. Even though harvest time was demanding, God called them to pause, remember that He gave the harvest, and honor Him together. It showed that worship and rest were part of their life with God, not optional extras.

Why does the passage end with a command about leaving grain for the poor?

Right after describing the feast and offerings, God reminds Israel not to reap the corners of their fields or gather all the leftover grain. They were to leave this for the poor and for foreigners living among them. This shows that real thankfulness for harvest should lead to sharing. The people were not to squeeze every last bit for themselves. As they brought firstfruits and sacrifices to God, they also had to remember the needy. Worship and kindness went together, because God Himself cares for the poor.

What does this passage teach about God’s character?

This passage shows God as the giver of harvest and the one who sets times and seasons. He calls His people to thank Him openly, not just in private thoughts. It also shows God as holy, since the offerings and the day itself are set apart to Him. At the same time, He is compassionate and generous. He commands that some of the harvest be left for the poor and the stranger. God cares both about right worship and about mercy, and He wants His people to reflect both in their daily lives.

How can the instructions about harvest and firstfruits apply today?

While these specific offerings belong to ancient Israel, the principles still speak today. The passage encourages people to see their income and daily bread as gifts from God, not just the result of hard work. It suggests setting aside time to thank God and not letting work crowd out worship. It also connects thankfulness with sharing. Leaving “corners of the field” can look like choosing not to keep everything we can for ourselves, but deliberately leaving room in our budgets and schedules to help those in need.

Lev.23.15

Leviticus 23:15

King James Version (KJV)

¶ And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete:

Chapter:

Context:

The Feast of Weeks

¶ And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete:

Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the Lord.

Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the Lord.

And ye shall offer with the bread seven lambs without blemish of the first year, and one young bullock, and two rams: they shall be for a burnt offering unto the Lord, with their meat offering, and their drink offerings, even an offering made by fire, of sweet savour unto the Lord.

Then ye shall sacrifice one kid of the goats for a sin offering, and two lambs of the first year for a sacrifice of peace offerings.

And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits for a wave offering before the Lord, with the two lambs: they shall be holy to the Lord for the priest.

And ye shall proclaim on the selfsame day, that it may be an holy convocation unto you: ye shall do no servile work therein: it shall be a statute for ever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.

¶ And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the Lord your God.

Cross References

No cross references available for this verse.