Dr. Lawrence Butler The Bridge Church, Pembroke.
LEVITICUS 23:15-22 Observation: “ 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” (Lev. 23:15,16). This is the fourth in the series of feasts commanded by the Lord. This is the one feast that is completely separated from the others. Fifty days separate it from the previous Feast of Firstfruits, and a long interval occurs until the next gathering.
Interpretation: According to verse 17 the people were to bring two loaves of bread as a wave offering unto the Lord. No longer was a sheaf to be used, but a loaf. Not a bundle of separate loosely bound growths, but a real union of particles which made up one body. This represented the birth of the church, the uniting of the disciples into one spiritual body. Leaven was used in the baking process, and was thus imbedded into the loaf, showing us that even in the church there are dysfunctional things. So we see that even in the New Testament church there remain imperfections.
Correlation: This feast symbolizes the birth of the New Testament church. This birth occurred on the Day of Pentecost, 50 days after the Passover at which Christ was slain.
The celebration day always fell on the first day of the week, known to us as Sunday. This probably played a role in the concept of Sunday as the first day of the week on our calendar. Verse 19 required a peace offering. This has been translated as a “fellowship offering” as well. The descent of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, as described in the book of Acts, established the Church of Jesus Christ with many members bound together in one body. Only the power of the Holy Spirit could bring such fellowship between people.
Application: We now live in the fulfillment of the typology of the Feast of Pentecost. The New Testament church has been established a long time. The gospel of Christ has been preached to many generations. We were saved because of this. We should all be filled with the Holy Ghost, the same power of God that fell on the people in Acts 2. If we are not, probably we are not seeking for it. The Spirit anointing strengthens us to do the work of God. Following this feast there was a period of 4 months before the next gathering occurred. This was the period of harvesting. This period probably represents the Church Age, the time when the lost must be reached by the church, and before the Trumpet sounds (next feast).