Passover to Pentecost – One New Man        Week 7 Day 7

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 1 Corinthians 12: 27 (NIV)

His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two. Ephesians 2: 15 (NIV)

For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 1 Corinthians 12:13 (NIV)

From wherever you live, bring two loaves made of two-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour, baked with yeast, as a wave offering of firstfruits to the Lord. Leviticus 23: 17 (NIV)

Tomorrow is Pentecost (fifty days since Passover) or Shavu’ot.  This feast as recorded in Leviticus 23; 15 – 22 would have meant traveling to Jerusalem, a sacred assembly, sacrifice, and a day of no work.  It would have been the end of the wheat harvest and a time of bounty with joyful celebration, a day of remembrance.  The “new grain offering” is the first part of the sacrifice that is talked about.  Actually the entire sacrifice for the Feast of Weeks seems like it is quite large; with some of the offerings being burnt and some going to the priest. The offering requirements are listed and explained, a little differently, in Numbers 28: 26 – 31 and Deuteronomy 16: 9 – 12.

The new grain offering is very interesting.  It is to be baked with yeast, which is not

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challah

to be burnt as a sacrifice to the Lord.  There are also TWO of the loaves of bread. This could be typology for two different things: the two tablets that the Law was written on, or as the above verses elude too, they represent Jews and Gentiles.  These loaves of bread would have been a wave offering and went to the priest (v 20).

For the Jew this is the day that they were given the Law at Mount Sinai, this story is in Exodus 19 and 20.  For the Christian this is the start of the Church with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challah