The Firstfruits Sheaf Offering

In Leviticus 23:9–11, God instructed the Israelites regarding the firstfruits sheaf offering:

And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ₁₀ “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest, ₁₁ and he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, so that you may be accepted. On the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. (ESV)

Given that the previous passage is about Passover (vv. 5–8), the “day after the Sabbath” refers to the Sunday after Passover Evening (v. 11). On that day, the Israelites were to bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of their harvest to the priest, who would then offer it as a wave offering to God.

This firstfruits sheaf offering is often called the “Feast of Firstfruits” by Christians, even though the Bible does not actually call it a feast. So then, what is the significance of this firstfruits sheaf offering?

First and Best

The firstfruits are the first and best part of the harvest. Indeed, the Biblical Hebrew terms for “firstfruits” denote priority of order and of quality.

In Numbers 18:12, God told Aaron,

All the best of the oil and all the best of the wine and of the grain, the firstfruits of what they give to the LORD, I give to you. (ESV)

Here, the term “firstfruits” is used in parallel to the “best” of the produce of the land. Exodus 23:19 specifies that the Israelites were to give to God not only the firstfruits, but the “best” of the firstfruits. The Hebrew word for “best” in these two passages is also a term for “firstfruits”.

By giving the first and best part of their produce to God, the Israelites honoured him as their priority (Prov. 3:9).

The Whole

The firstfruits of the harvest implies that there was a full harvest. After all, there could only be a “firstfruits” of a harvest if there is the rest of the harvest!

The Apostle Paul referred to this principle when he wrote,

If the firstfruit is holy, then also is the mixture. (Romans 11:26)

The “mixture” here refers to the firstfruits dough offering in the biblical law (Num. 15:20–21). When the Israelites offered the firstfruits of their dough to God, not only did the firstfruits become holy, but so did the whole dough mixture where the firstfruits came from.

By offering the firstfruits of the harvest to God, the Israelites acknowledged that the whole harvest actually belonged to God, and they were reminded to be faithful stewards of the rest of the harvest that God had entrusted them with.

God’s Promises

Ultimately, the firstfruits offering reminds us that God will eventually fulfil all his promises in Jesus Christ. If God has given us the firstfruits of his promise at Jesus’ first coming, then we can expect that we will receive the rest of the harvest when Jesus comes again.

For example, the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:20–23:

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. ₂₁ For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. ₂₂ For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. ₂₃ But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. (ESV)

Jesus Christ rose from the dead as the firstfruits of the dead (v. 20). This gives us confidence that the rest of the full harvest will also come: All those who trust in Jesus will also be raised from the dead when Jesus comes back (v. 23).