The period on Israel’s calendar following Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread—the time in which we presently find ourselves—speaks powerfully to our identity in Messiah. And yet, this time is often overlooked and underutilized.
A Season of Counting
In Deuteronomy 16:9-10, Moses says, “You shall count seven weeks for yourself; you shall begin to count seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain. Then you shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks to the Lord your God….” According to Leviticus 23:10ff, a sheaf (Hebrew: omer) of grain (barley, actually) from the beginning of this harvest is to be waved before God as an offering shortly after Passover, thus marking the beginning of the counting period—the “counting from the Omer.” This forty-nine-day counting period leads directly into Israel’s summertime single-day feast—the Feast of Weeks (known in Hebrew as Shavuot)—which marks the beginning of the harvest for wheat.
