Friday, April 10 marks the ninth day of the counting of the omer. What is the counting of the omer and what difference does it make for followers of Yeshua-Jesus today? Leviticus 23:15-17 states: ¹⁵ ‘And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. ¹⁶ Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord. ¹⁷ You shall bring from your dwellings two wave loaves of two-tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven. They are the firstfruits to the Lord.

You might ask, What’s an omer? One for Israel defines an omer in the following way: An omer is a unit of measurement and is about three and a half litres, or just over fifteen cups of dry commodities. In this case, barley. Sometimes an omer is translated as sheaf, since it is about the amount of barley or grains that you would need to bundle into a sheaf.

One for Israel explains the significance, or the “why” of counting the omer: Just as any woman who has given birth knows exactly how long nine months feels, the Jewish people know exactly how long it feels from Passover until the feast of Weeks (called the feast of Shavuot in Hebrew, which means weeks, also known as Pentecost because of the 50 days) because they have to count the days off every year. Fifty days. Seven weeks. Every day, the omer is counted.

Following the crucifixion of Jesus, and Passover, every Jewish person would have been counting. One for Israel adds: He was crucified at Passover, and raised on the morning of the third day which is when the counting starts, and ascended ten days before the Holy Spirit was poured out at the feast of Weeks. For forty of those fifty carefully counted days, Yeshua was walking around, hanging out with friends, eating with them, talking with them, freaking them out from time to time. Especially at the beginning.

Now this counting is significant for several reasons:

1. Firstfruits. Got Questions defines firstfruits in the following way: Firstfruits was a Jewish feast held in the early spring at the beginning of the grain harvest. It was observed on Nissan 16, which was the third day after Passover and the second day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Firstfruits was a time of thanksgiving for God’s provision. The day of the firstfruits offering was also used to calculate the proper time of the Feast of Weeks. The firstfruits offering found its fulfillment in Jesus. “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20).
2. Harvesting of Grain. Firstfruits signaled the beginning of the barley harvest. Barley grain made up the poor man’s bread. It was coarser than wheat, and crumbled easily after being baked into bread. Why is that of significance? Following Jesus resurrection from the dead He made appearances for forty days to His Disciples and followers providing convincing proofs that He had been resurrected from the dead.

Isa. 55:11 states: So also is My Word. I send it out and it always produces fruit. It shall accomplish all that I want it to and prosper everywhere I send it.

Now imagine counting every Scripture you have ever read, every verse you’ve ever heard, every sermon, and teaching you’ve been exposed to – and counting to see if it has produced fruit. Imagine having to provide proof of its potency in your life. What firstfruits would come from your harvesting of the grain of His Word? What firstfruits could be offered as thanks for this word? How can you make His Word count?