Messianic teacher Kevin Williams invites us to look deeper at the countdown to Pentecost.

Of all 613 of God’s instructions in the Hebrew Scriptures, Leviticus 23:15 has got to be one of the easiest and least inconvenient. No work to perform, no offerings for the layperson. Just words.

“You shall count from the next day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed” (Leviticus 23:15).

Memorial Tablet and Omer Calendar by Baruch Zvi Ring (1904).
Image: Wikimedia Commons

It’s referred to as “Counting the Omer.” Immediately following Passover, observers count off the 49 days leading to Shavuot/Pentecost. Day 1, day 2 … day 49, Pentecost. Takes less than a minute per day. Again, this has to be among the easiest of the Most High’s instructions.

So what? What’s the big deal, who cares, and what’s the spiritual benefit for a Christian?

Benefit v. obedience is a good topic for a separate article, but let’s see how we can polish this biblical gem.

“My word that goes out of my mouth: it will not return to me void, but it will accomplish that which I please, and it will prosper in the thing I sent it to do” (Isaiah 55:11). For the Christian, that’s a healthy perspective, not just about Leviticus 23:15, but the entirety of the Bible.

Quick diversion to make a point. Jesus said, “Therefore, whoever shall break one of these least commandments and teach others to do so, shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven …” (Matthew 5:19). Counting the Omer is, as I mentioned, ridiculously easy to do—perhaps one of the “least commandments,” which ought to say something right there. But I digress, Jesus goes on to say, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery;’ but I tell you that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart” (Matthew 5:27-28).

Adultery, a weightier commandment, yes? Under the terms of the Law of Moses, pretty simple—don’t sleep around. But the Messiah brings it closer to home and lifts it out of the physical to reinforce the Torah and highlight its spiritual application. Just looking with lust renders you guilty, a transgressor of God’s instructions.

Ah, not so simple after all. In fact, everyone is guilty of breaking God’s instructions under this perspective. The commandment has gone from an act and something you do or do not do in the physical world and has been amplified into a much deeper, more profound application with spiritual consequences. Boy, this commandment really drives home how badly we need a Savior (see Galatians 3:24)!

So back to Counting the Omer. It’s easy to do. Incorporate it into daily devotions or some such and check off the box. Done.

Yea … but no. That would fulfill the physical act, but still misses the spiritual application.

God’s Word does not return to Him void. And in Matthew 5, Jesus shows example after example that the Torah—God’s instructions—are not merely a list of exercises. They have a point and yield spiritual consequences.

So what spiritual applications are there, might there be around the exercise of counting off 49 days?

Wheat sheaves
Image: Trish Steel/Wikimedia Commons

God instructs us to count the days—which should end all debate. God said it, that settles it. But humans have a natural disposition to resist being told to do anything, even when the Sovereign Most High, King of the Universe says, “This is a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations” (Leviticus 23:21).

But sometimes our thinking is askew. Inside we want to know “What’s in it for me?” Spiritually, this is lustful thinking. Following God is never about what you get, but what glory God receives from you. It’s about surrender and abandon, not rewards and gratification.

Counting the Omer is a very simple means by which to demonstrate that God is in charge, not you, and that you are committed to living a faithful life. This glorifies Yahweh.

As long as it is approached as just a box to check off, there is little to no personal investment. To what does the Omer count? Pentecost (aka Shavuot), the birthday of the Church. They are 49 days of anticipation, looking forward to one of God’s moadim—appointed times that commemorates the giving of the Torah and the giving of the Holy Spirit—two monumental spiritual events! The days of Omer can be anticipatory, a daily escalation of joyful anticipation.

If God instructs us to count these days, and we do, we can rest assured that—as far as this activity is concerned—we are in harmony with God’s word and will, and that is no small matter. In a world driven to distract, staying the course can be an accomplishment in its own right.

Certainly, this is the least we can do for one of the least of the commandments. Can we give God our least? Is He worth at least that?

This year’s topic of the CLF was to be “Flooding the Darkness with Light.” Several of the speakers and discussions strayed out of topic and centered on the issue of Church unity and ecumenism, a fine topic indeed, but one covered last year. Left uncovered was any mention of spiritual warfare – which most certainly will be the theme of next year’s CLF meeting.

The woman playing the violin is Ladonna Taylor, who has a special anointing in her music.

Two speakers were especially instrumental in shaping the course of the meeting and acting as vehicles of the Holy Spirit. The first was the Rev. Carolyn Moore. She is a Methodist pastor who has led the exodus of many orthodox Methodist churches out of the United Methodist Church and into the Global Methodist Church. Her presentation of the separation from the UMC especially touched me as I, as a former Episcopalian, was forced to tread the same route into the (orthodox) Anglican Church in North America.

Moore’s presentation was pertinent to many in the Church today. She described the decline and division of the UMC as the result of the ascendancy of Liberal theology which at its root denies the divinity of Jesus and the trustworthiness of scripture. For those embracing this movement, pluralism and inclusivity became more important concepts than upholding the unique claims of Jesus as the Son of God and Savior and other doctrines essential to Christianity. A great insight she shared was that ecumenical dialogue is good for the Church, as Christians get to understand and appreciate Christians in other denominations, but pluralism crosses the line into heresy by claiming that all viewpoints are equal and thus truth is unobtainable. This happened to the UMC (and to the Episcopal Church decades earlier).

Praying over Rabbi Marty

The second speaker and the one who made the greatest impact was Rabbi Marty Waldman. He refuses to call himself a Christian, rather he calls himself a Messianic Jew – a true Jew who believes in Jesus as his Messiah and the New Testament as part of the Word of God.

If you are a Christian leader of any stripe, pastor, youth leader, blogger, etc. make plans to attend next year’s CLF. They are held in late February, but check out the CLF website at CharismaticLeadersFellowship.org

God’s Appointed Times: A Practice Guide to Understanding and Celebrating the Biblical Holidays, By Barney Kasdan

© 1993, Lederer Messianic Publications, Baltimore, MD. ISBN# 1-880226-54-5

Written by the leader of one of the largest Messianic Jewish congregations in the world, this is more than a “how to” manual. In a simple, yet meaningful fashion, Kasdan leads the reader through biblical references and ancient observances, tying them nicely into word pictures of the Messiah. For those interested in going a step further, Kasdan outlines how a believer today might celebrate the feasts, including songs, recipes, and crafts for children. 136 pages, paperback.

God’s Appointed Customs: A Messianic Jewish Guide to the Biblical Lifecycle and Lifestyle, By Barney Kasdan

© 1996, Lederer Messianic Publications, Baltimore, MD. ISBN# 1-880226-63-4

Similar to God’s Appointed Times, this book dives into the life of the children of Abraham. Kasdan takes a cursory look at circumcision, the bar mitzvah, the Jewish wedding, as well as customs such as the mezuzah, the prayer shawl, and phylacteries. Readers gain a working knowledge of the biblical root, ancient observance, modern meaning in the life of a Jewish believer, and potential application. 160 pages, paperback.

Both Times and Customs are available at your local Christian bookstore, or by ordering directly from Lederer Messianic Publications at 1-800-410-7367

Messianic Foundations
Artwork by Steve Grier © 1997 RBC Ministries. Used by permission.

“… all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” (Luke 24:44 NAS)

These words of Jesus are both wonderful and mysterious. It is easy to see the messianic implications of a passage such as Psalms 22 or Isaiah 53, and the Savior’s great work in bringing those promises into reality.

Certainly even, we can comprehend passages of the Torah (the five books of Moses) which clearly refer to the Christ. No one can doubt the intent of Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15: “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him.” Even the Jewish sages—who do not yet recognize Jesus as Redeemer–acknowledge that Moses was speaking of the coming king of Israel, the Messiah.

Yet, what about a complex book like Leviticus? Do these pages truly speak of the Savior of all mankind? In Luke 24:27 we are told, “And beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, [Jesus] explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.” Our challenge in this document is to find Jesus, even in such a difficult and arduous book as Leviticus.

“Leviticus” in the Hebrew Bible is rendered Vayikra, which means, “and He called.” We leave Exodus with a Tabernacle emanating the awesome power of God with such intensity, that not even Moses could approach. Many rabbis teach that Vayikra began immediately where Exodus ends; that amidst the spectacular manifestation of His Shekinah glory—Vayikra, “and He called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting.” (Leviticus 1:1)

Only three times in Scripture does God call out to Moses. He often spoke with His servant, but in forty years of leading Israel from Egypt to Israel, rarely did He call to him. In each case, the matter for which Moses was summoned was deeply significant. In the case of Leviticus 1:1, the Supreme Being wanted to detail the ritual and regulations of the sacrificial system. A seemingly crude and barbaric service of bloodletting by today’s sterile, steak-wrapped-in-cellophane FDA standards, but a magnificent picture of the coming work of the Messiah.

While we may not appreciate the concept of sacrifices, they were the means by which our Creator brought life and light into the world. They should never be confused with occult ritual which is at war with the Kingdom of Life. “What fellowship has light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14)

With that said, let’s move ahead in our examination to discover Jesus in the book of Leviticus. Chapters 1-5 reveal five different types of sacrifices and, therefore, five different characteristics of the sacrificial system. There is a great deal of documentation on how the offerings where to be made, what was acceptable and what was not. We want to focus on why.

Messianic Foundations
Artwork by Steve Grier © 1997 RBC Ministries. Used by permission.

This being the first installment on Messianic Foundations, it seemed prudent to first ask the question, “Why?” Why study the Scriptures from a Messianic perspective, or more appropriately, from a Messianic Jewish perspective?

A lengthy dissertation could ensue on the theological reasons and potential benefits to be derived. But rather than get bogged down in those details, let’s keep it simple. The Bible is not nearly as complex as man often makes it out to be. Instead, let’s take a look at the euphemism, “To know where you’re going, you must first know where you’ve been.” Hindsight it is said, is always 20/20, but this is true only if you stop long enough to take an introspective look into the past. It is by design of the Almighty that the word “remember,” appears 31 times in the first five books of the Bible. Twenty-one other times we are commanded to “make a memorial.” Without constant repetition and review of biblical principles and history, we forget.

Galatians 3:29 states that believers who are not Jewish-born are adopted children of Abraham, “heirs according to promise.” Obviously, the lion’s share of that inheritance is our justification through faith in Jesus. Yet an inheritance often encompasses so much more—the passing on of a legacy. Unfortunately, ask many Christians today what the full blessing of the legacy of Abraham is, and you would probably witness a set of shrugged shoulders.

In many ways, we have become like the prodigal son. We have left our Abrahamic legacy to pursue other matters, but with unrelenting hope, our Father vigilantly watches the horizon waiting for our return to His inheritance. Not in some legalistic fashion, to take up the yoke of a works-oriented faith, but rather to understand the fullness of what has been preserved for us, and to reclaim it as our birthright.

God does nothing in a vacuum. Everything came out of something. This is true throughout the Word of God, from Genesis through Revelation. In the beginning, the Spirit of God hovered over the waters and light was created. Every step of creation grew out of the one before it. Even man, created out of the dust of the earth, had a pre-existent form or quality. Likewise Eve, was formed—not out of thin air—but out of Adam. There is always some element in place that God works through, whether creating the earth or feeding the multitudes with fishes and loaves. It is likewise true in our Spiritual life. We had a being before coming to Christ, and now we are a new creation—formed out of the old one.