The Harvest of the Spirit: The Feast of Weeks Text: Leviticus 23:15-22
Introduction: God's Rhythms of Grace
We live in a secular age that is profoundly disoriented. It has lost its rhythm. Our culture is like a man who has been spinning in circles for so long that he has forgotten which way is up. We have forgotten the calendar of our Creator, and so we have forgotten who we are. We have exchanged the holy days of God for the hollow days of the state, trading Christmas and Easter for Memorial Day and Labor Day. We have traded feasts of gratitude for feasts of consumption. We have forgotten that time itself is a creature, and that it is meant to be ordered, consecrated, and offered back to God in worship.
The book of Leviticus, and this chapter in particular, is God's gracious antidote to this kind of temporal chaos. Here God lays out a calendar for His people, a recurring cycle of feasts and festivals that were to structure their entire year. These were not arbitrary religious observances. They were the very rhythm of covenant life. They were designed to teach Israel who God was, what He had done for them, and how they were to live in response. These feasts were prophetic picture-books, pointing forward to the great redemptive acts of the Messiah. God brought Israel out of Egypt so that they might feast with Him, and in these feasts, He was teaching them the grammar of salvation.
Our text today deals with the second of the three great pilgrimage festivals: the Feast of Weeks, or as it is known in the New Testament, Pentecost. This feast was a harvest festival, a celebration of God's provision at the conclusion of the grain harvest. But like all the feasts, it was far more than that. It was a shadow, and the substance is Christ. If the Passover pointed to Christ's death, and the Feast of Firstfruits pointed to His resurrection, then the Feast of Weeks pointed directly to that explosive day in Jerusalem when the ascended Christ poured out His Spirit on the church, and the first great harvest of souls was brought into the kingdom. Understanding this Old Testament feast is therefore essential for understanding who we are as the New Covenant church. It teaches us about God's perfect timing, the nature of the church He is building, the all-sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice, and the social implications of true worship.
The Text
‘You shall also count for yourselves from the day after the sabbath, from the day when you brought in the sheaf of the wave offering; there shall be seven complete sabbaths. You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh sabbath; then you shall bring a new grain offering near to Yahweh. You shall bring in from your places of habitation two loaves of bread for a wave offering, made of two-tenths of an ephah; they shall be of a fine flour, baked with leaven as first fruits to Yahweh. Along with the bread you shall bring near seven one year old male lambs without blemish and a bull from the herd and two rams; they shall be a burnt offering to Yahweh, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to Yahweh. You shall also offer one male goat for a sin offering and two male lambs one year old for a sacrifice of peace offerings. The priest shall then wave them with the bread of the first fruits for a wave offering with two lambs before Yahweh; they shall be holy to Yahweh for the priest. On this same day you shall make a proclamation as well; it shall be a holy convocation for you. You shall do no laborious work. It is to be a perpetual statute in all your places of habitation throughout your generations.
‘When you reap the harvest of your land, moreover, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field nor gather the gleaning of your harvest; you are to leave them for the afflicted and the sojourner. I am Yahweh your God.’
(Leviticus 23:15-22 LSB)
Counting to Fifty (vv. 15-16)
The instructions begin with a specific and deliberate act of counting.
"‘You shall also count for yourselves from the day after the sabbath, from the day when you brought in the sheaf of the wave offering; there shall be seven complete sabbaths. You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh sabbath; then you shall bring a new grain offering near to Yahweh." (Leviticus 23:15-16 LSB)
The timing here is everything. The counting begins "from the day after the sabbath" during the Passover week, which was the Feast of Firstfruits. On that day, a single sheaf of the first barley harvest was waved before the Lord, acknowledging that the entire harvest belonged to Him. This sheaf was a prophecy of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the "firstfruits from the dead" (1 Cor. 15:20). He is the guarantee of the full harvest to come.
From that day of resurrection, Israel was to count seven complete sabbaths, a week of weeks, and then one more day, making fifty days in total. The Greek word for fifty is pentekoste, which is where we get the name Pentecost. This period of counting was a season of eager anticipation. They had the promise of the harvest in that first sheaf, and now they were waiting for the full bounty to be brought in. This is a perfect typological picture of the disciples between the resurrection and Pentecost. Christ had risen, the firstfruits had been waved before the Father in the ascension, and now they were to wait in Jerusalem, counting the days in anticipation of the promised Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-5).
This teaches us that God is a God of meticulous order and perfect timing. The outpouring of the Spirit was not a random event. It was precisely scheduled on God's liturgical calendar from the beginning. He waited until the "day of Pentecost was fully come" (Acts 2:1). Our God is never early, never late. He has "determined the times before appointed" (Acts 17:26), and His great redemptive acts unfold with breathtaking precision. This should give us immense confidence. The God who orchestrated the calendar of redemption is the same God who orchestrates the details of our lives.
Two Leavened Loaves (v. 17)
When the fifty days are complete, the offering is presented. And it is a peculiar one.
"You shall bring in from your places of habitation two loaves of bread for a wave offering, made of two-tenths of an ephah; they shall be of a fine flour, baked with leaven as first fruits to Yahweh." (Leviticus 23:17 LSB)
At the Feast of Firstfruits, the offering was a single, raw sheaf of barley. Now, at Pentecost, the offering is two loaves of bread, processed, ground, and baked. But most strikingly, they are baked with leaven. This is highly unusual. Leaven was almost always forbidden from offerings made on the altar because it was a symbol of corruption and sin (Lev. 2:11). At Passover, all leaven had to be purged from their homes. So what is going on here?
Leaven is not always a negative symbol in Scripture. It can also represent pervasive, potent influence, for good or for ill. Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman works into three measures of flour until it is all leavened (Matt. 13:33). Here, at Pentecost, the leavened loaves are a picture of the church. Why two loaves? It is a picture of the one new man, the church, being formed from two previously distinct groups: Jew and Gentile (Eph. 2:14-16). And why are they leavened? Because the church, this side of glory, is not yet perfect. The leaven of sin, though atoned for, is still present in our members. Unlike Christ, our sinless firstfruit, the church is a body of redeemed sinners, brought into the presence of God "from your places of habitation." We are brought just as we are, with the leaven still in us, yet accepted by God on the basis of a sacrifice outside of ourselves.
This is a profound statement of grace. God does not demand that we become perfect before we can be presented to Him. He accepts us, leaven and all, because we are presented with the perfect sacrifices that follow.
The Fullness of the Cross (vv. 18-20)
The leavened loaves are not offered alone. They are accompanied by a flurry of sacrifices that point to the all-sufficient work of Christ.
"Along with the bread you shall bring near seven one year old male lambs without blemish and a bull from the herd and two rams; they shall be a burnt offering to Yahweh... You shall also offer one male goat for a sin offering and two male lambs one year old for a sacrifice of peace offerings. The priest shall then wave them with the bread of the first fruits for a wave offering with two lambs before Yahweh..." (Leviticus 23:18-20 LSB)
Here we see the gospel in its fullness. The burnt offering signifies total consecration and dedication, ascending to God as a "soothing aroma." This is Christ's perfect, whole-life obedience, offered up to the Father on our behalf. The sin offering, the male goat, points to atonement. It deals with the guilt of the people, the very leaven in the loaves. The church can be accepted by a holy God only because Christ was made sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21). Finally, the peace offerings, the two lambs, speak of reconciliation and fellowship. Because of Christ's work, we who were enemies of God are now invited to sit at His table and feast with Him. Peace has been made by the blood of His cross (Col. 1:20).
Notice the priest waves the leavened loaves with the peace offering lambs before Yahweh. Our imperfect, leavened selves are waved before the throne of God, but we are held in the same hands as the perfect, spotless Lamb. We are accepted in the beloved (Eph. 1:6). This is the heart of the gospel. The entire sacrificial system is a multi-faceted portrait of the one sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which was sufficient to secure our consecration, our pardon, and our peace with God.
A Holy Party and a Perpetual Law (v. 21)
The day itself was to be set apart for celebration and rest.
"On this same day you shall make a proclamation as well; it shall be a holy convocation for you. You shall do no laborious work. It is to be a perpetual statute in all your places of habitation throughout your generations." (Leviticus 23:21 LSB)
This was to be a "holy convocation," a sacred assembly. This was a day for corporate worship. God saves individuals, but He saves them into a people, a body. The Christian life is not a solo venture. The rhythm of God's grace includes the regular, joyful gathering of His people. On this day, they were to cease from their "laborious work." This is a picture of the gospel rest we enter into by faith (Heb. 4:9-10). We do not work for our acceptance; we work from our acceptance. The harvest is God's work. The sacrifices are God's provision. Our response is to cease from our own striving and gather together in joyful celebration of what He has done.
This is a "perpetual statute." While the specific ceremonial forms have been fulfilled in Christ, the principles endure. The church is still called to set aside time for corporate worship, to celebrate the finished work of Christ, and to rest in His grace. The Lord's Day is our weekly Pentecost, our holy convocation, where we cease from our labors and feast on the goodness of God.
Gospel Generosity (v. 22)
The chapter concludes with a command that seems almost out of place, but is in fact central to the meaning of the feast.
"‘When you reap the harvest of your land, moreover, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field nor gather the gleaning of your harvest; you are to leave them for the afflicted and the sojourner. I am Yahweh your God.’" (Leviticus 23:22 LSB)
Right in the middle of these instructions for a harvest festival, God commands His people to be intentionally inefficient with their harvest. They are not to maximize their yield by reaping to the absolute edges of the field. They are to leave the corners and the gleanings for the poor, the afflicted, and the sojourner. This is glorious. True worship and celebration of God's grace must overflow into tangible, open-handed generosity toward others.
This is not an optional add-on for the "socially-minded." It is woven into the very fabric of covenant worship. Why? Because this is what our God is like. He is a generous God. The harvest itself is a gift of grace. Our salvation is a gift of grace. We have been brought into a kingdom where we have received everything freely. Therefore, we are to give freely. A tight-fisted, uncharitable heart is a practical denial of the gospel we claim to believe. We cannot truly celebrate the grace of God in worship on Sunday and then live as though the world is a zero-sum game of scarcity and self-preservation from Monday to Saturday. The gleaning laws are the social outworking of Pentecost. The overflow of the Spirit's harvest in our hearts must result in an overflow of generosity from our hands.
Conclusion: The Ongoing Harvest
The Feast of Weeks was a prophecy that was gloriously fulfilled. On the day of Pentecost, fifty days after the resurrection of the true Firstfruit, the Spirit was poured out and a harvest of three thousand souls was brought into the church (Acts 2). The two leavened loaves were presented before God. The gospel went out to Jew and Gentile, and the one new man began to be formed.
But the harvest is not over. That first Pentecost was simply the firstfruits of a much greater harvest that has been ongoing for two thousand years. The Spirit is still at work, gathering God's elect from every tribe, tongue, and nation. The kingdom of God is still like leaven, silently and powerfully working its way through the whole lump of humanity.
And we are called to be part of that harvest. We are called to live as a Pentecostal people. This means we are to live in the rhythm of God's grace, marking our time with worship and rest. It means we are to embrace our identity as a people accepted in the Beloved, leavened though we are. It means we are to trust in the all-sufficient sacrifice of Christ for our consecration, pardon, and peace. And it means we are to be a people of radical, open-handed generosity, leaving the corners of our lives and our bank accounts for those in need. For we worship the Lord of the Harvest, and He has commanded us not only to celebrate His bounty, but to imitate it.