Today is Sunday, May 15, 2011, and by God’s calendar it is Nisan-Iyar 11, in the year 5771. Today is much more than a number on a calendar. It is Day 26 of the Counting of the Omer. “You shall count for yourselves -- from the day after the Shabbat, from the day when you bring the Omer of the waving -- seven Shabbats, they shall be complete. Until the day after the seventh Sabbath you shall count, fifty days.” (Leviticus 23:15-16) “You shall count for yourselves seven weeks, from when the sickle is first put to the standing crop shall you begin counting seven weeks. Then you will observe the Festival of Shavu'ot for the LORD, your God”(-Deuteronomy 16:9-10)
According to God’s instructions, we are obligated to count the days from Passover, to Shavuot (sha-voo-OAT – which is when God gave the Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai). Rather than make a paper chain and tear off a link every day, we count the Omer (OH-mer). An Omer is a unit of measure, (about 3.5 quarts). On the second day of Passover, an Omer of barley was cut down and brought to the Temple as an offering. God commanded that the Omer would be counted for seven Sabbaths and one day after the 7th Sabbath, exactly 50 days. Each individual is to count the Omer himself – “You shall count for yourselves…” For the pious and righteous, the counting takes place in the evening, following evening prayers and is combined with the reciting of the most Holy prayer, the Shema . Therefore, the evening prayer should go something like this ---
“ Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul,
and with all your might.
…. We exalt our Creator, Who commanded the counting of the Omer,
Today is the twenty-sixth day of the counting of the Omer,
which is three weeks and five days of the Omer.”
When the counting of the Omer is finished and we arrive at the 50th day, we find that we have reached Pentecost.
Originally, the Exodus from Egypt was intended to lead to the revelation of Sinai. The goal of Passover is the giving of the Torah (God’s instructions ). God took the Israelites out of Egypt so that they would be His own treasured people, holy and separated from the pagan cultures around them.
-----Passover (recently commemorated on April 19th) remembers the sacrifice of the Passover Lamb.
-----The first day of Unleavened Bread ( April 19 – April 26) remembers the Exodus from Egypt when there was no time to allow bread to rise.
-----The seventh day of Unleavened Bread (April 25) remembers the crossing of the Red Sea.
-----The counting of the Omer (beginning April 20th) recalls the fifty days before the giving of the Torah at Sinai.
-----Shavuot (June 8,9) remembers the giving of the Torah exactly seven weeks after the Exodus . Shavuot at Mount Sinai is sometimes considered the day on which Judaism was born, and when the nation of Israel accepted Yahweh’s marriage proposal when they agreed “We will do all that the Lord says”. Shavu’ot is also called the Feast of Weeks, since the seven weeks were counted and completed.
The counting may seem superfluous – especially if you don’t have an Omer of barley to count every day - yet, as with many of God’s commands there is deep meaning and benefit for us. The counting is intended to remind us of the link between Passover (which commemorates the Exodus) and Shavu’ot (which commemorates the giving of God’s commandments. The redemption from slavery was not complete until the Torah was received.
As usual, due to Biblical ignorance (and the error of Replacement Theology), we tend to overlook Scriptures that are in reality very significant. However, in depth Bible study reveals riches of wisdom and knowledge that bring us many blessings. The counting of the Omer reminds us that , in a way, Passover really isn’t over yet. A very long time ago God freed His people from slavery, and led them out of Egypt with many miracles. He then instructed them to keep track of the days until the weeks were completed, when he would make a mountain thunder and quake, and send His servant Moshe down with history-making stone tablets that He expects to be obeyed to this very day. As I consider the counting of the Omer, it feels like I am on a journey with the Israelites, freed from my own slavery to sin, trekking toward a sacred mountain of revelation that will enrich my knowledge of God’s Word and teach me how to obey Him. And someday, with all the deserts of the journey behind me, I will behold with my own eyes the Promised Land - flowing with milk and honey -that awaits me, and be seated at the wedding supper of the Lamb.
