COUNTING the OMER- - -
50 days from Easter Sunday to
Pentecost Sunday
OMER
The 50 days between Easter and Pentecost are critical for
planting grains and crops. The ground must be made tender by
gentle rains, and the temperatures must be just right.
During these 50 days, we take a grain of barley and count each
day, with prayer, for a successful growth period and rain during
these unique 50 days.
Rain is God's blessing upon a land when we
turn to Him as the source for all of our food.
We pray to the Lord of the harvest:
"Blessed art thou O Lord God, King of the Universe, that
doth bring forth food from the ground."
When the people of the land stop calling upon God for their
sufficiency (no longer pray for a successful harvest), and when
agricultural-Sabbatical years are no longer observed, then
gradual judgements come upon the land. Deuteronomy Chapter
8
Rains are either withheld (drought, dust storms), or else the
deluge is so strong that the flooding is ruinous. Temperatures
can go to extremes.....from scorching heat and humidity, to frost
and freezing temperatures that wipe out crops. There are
tornadoes, hurricanes and fierce Spring storms, accompanied by
lightenings and thunderings that come at this critical time of
the year.
All the more reason to pray daily .
We are totally dependent upon God.
Modern man does not like to consider himself dependent upon
anyone or anything. He does not like to bow his head to a Supreme
Being. Modern man trusts in Science and Technology as the gods of
the farm.
By counting the Omer each day--- with prayers for God's
lovingkindness in regards to our crops----
we are acknowledging Creator God as the supplier of the food
chain and our Jehovah-Jireh, the God Who supplies all our needs.
It keeps us humble to pray.
.We, as Christians ,
count the Omer in the following manner.
First we go to our calendar and mark the count for each day. We
begin on EASTER SUNDAY and mark "1" on Easter Sunday.
Then a "2" on Easter Monday, a "3" on Easter
Tuesday and continue marking and counting that way. The number
"40" should fall on a Thursday and represents
ASCENSION THURSDAY.
Ten days later, the number "50" should appear on
a Sunday.... PENTECOST.
This is the Christian way to count the Omer.
The Orthodox Jewish people begin their counting on the day
following Passover.
The Counting of the
Omer
represents
the
anticipation
of the coming of the Promise : The Holy Spirit.
He
is our Comforter and Counselor. He reveals prophetic truths. We
are to be led of the Holy Ghost.
The Counting of the Omer also represents the anticipation of the final WHEAT Harvest when all the Church will be raised and
glorified.
The Christian anticipates the coming of the Holy Ghost in fire
and power at Pentecost. Acts 2.
The Jewish people anticipate the giving of the Torah on Mt.
Sinai. Exodus 19 and 20.
Both events are to be commemorated.
APPLYING the LORD's COUNT
In our home, we take two small containers (small Pyrex pudding
cups). In one, we place
50 grains of barley. Each day (starting on Easter Sunday) we pick
up one grain of barley and place it in the second container, and
we used to say, "This is the first day of
omer".
But because our Lord appeared on earth for 40 days after His
resurrection, we say,
"This
is the ___ day of the appearing of our Lord".
We say that up until the 40th day, which ends on a Thursday.
On that day, we say,"This is the glorious day of
our Lord's Ascension."
We continue with the following prayer each day until all 50
grains are in the second container.
By then we will have reached Pentecost Sunday.
Since the Holy Ghost supplies
the Believer with fruits and gifts, we ask each day
for an increase of the Holy Spirit in our lives ....such as :
"(
Sweet ) Holy Spirit, please rule over our soul.
May you increase in us the fruits
of your Holy Spirit.
May your gifts of the
Spirit bless us and our brethren, in Jesus name Amen. "
It is during these 50 days that we "stir up
the gift ' of tongues and apply ourselves more diligently
to speaking and singing in tongues in our prayer closets. Why do
we speak in tongues ?
Because tongues renews our inner strength to endure trials and
temptations. We build ourselves up in the Holy Ghost so that we
can be lights in a darkening world. We need the strength and
power that comes from the edification given to the individual
Believer by praying in tongues.
Our Christian "Lag
BaOmer" falls one week
before Ascension Thursday--the Thursday before being the 33rd day
of the count. Perhaps that one week advance notice helps us to
prepare for the august feast of the Ascension.
This is the way we count omer. It may not be standard procedure,
but it works for us. It helps us to have an excitement and a deep
anticipation for both Ascension Thursday and Pentecost (the Torah
and the Coming of the Holy Spirit to indwell Believers.)
Just like Christmas has an "Advent Calendar" to
heighten the anticipation of the longed-for day,
the Easter Season also has its OMER.... the soul's longing for
the Law (the WORD of God) and the Spirit Indwelling in the
Believer.
"God is a Spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in
Spirit and in Truth"
John 4: 24
Anticipating
the Resurrection and Rapture of the Bride and Body of Christ
Counting the Omer and
1 Corinthians 15
" Although many read this passage as
a commentary on the order of resurrection, Paul is actually
making a technical reference to the holy day of Sfirat Haomer
(First Fruits). It is not just that Yeshua was the first to rise
bodily from the grave, but that by so doing, He is the direct
fulfillment of the feast of First Fruits. We miss a very
important Biblical truth by not using the term "First
Fruits" as the name of this feast, because "first"
implies a second, third, fourth, and so on, and that is the real
meaning of this feast. We are not only celebrating the
resurrection of Yeshua of First Fruits, we are celebrating the
resurrection of the entire body of Messianic Believers, His
Church! We shall all be resurrected and go to heaven, just as the
L-rd did,
"Every man in his own order"
http://www.therefinersfire.org/first_fruits.htm
Jesus
IS our Omer
http://www.ortzion.org/omer14.html
The
significance of 33 days in the Bible : male birth ( any relation to
Yeshua firstfruit at Lag Boemer ?? )
Leviticus 12: 2-4
http://www.svic.net/carpenter/Christmas.htm
Counting the Omer from the Sunday within the week of Unleavened
Bread
http://hebrewmessianic.org/counting_shavuot.htm
Articles:
33
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/Jewish_Feasts/js003.htm
Salvation www.cybertime.net/~ajgood/sal.htm
Bible www.blueletterbible.org