What other biblical feasts emphasize counting days or weeks for preparation? Starting Point: Counting in Deuteronomy 16:9 “You are to count off seven weeks from the time you first put the sickle to the standing grain.” Feast of Weeks – Seven Sevens to Celebration • Count: 49 days / seven complete weeks • Key texts: Leviticus 23:15-16; Deuteronomy 16:9-10 • Purpose: Moves worshippers from the first sheaf of barley (Firstfruits) to the wheat harvest, reminding Israel that every stage of provision comes from the Lord. • New-Testament echo: Acts 2 links this precise count to the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost. Counting the Omer – Day-by-Day Anticipation • Embedded within the Feast of Weeks. • Each evening a sheaf-measurement (omer) is numbered aloud—“Today is the first day… the second day…”—creating daily expectancy. • Spiritual takeaway: continual mindfulness of God’s daily faithfulness, culminating in joyful harvest. Unleavened Bread – A Complete Week of Purity • Count: seven consecutive days after Passover (Exodus 12:15-20; Leviticus 23:6-8). • Israel removes leaven for the full count, symbolizing a complete break with sin. • Preparation: the house is examined beforehand, then each day is lived in conscious purity. Tabernacles – Seven Days of Joy, Plus One • Count: seven days of booths, followed by an eighth-day assembly (Leviticus 23:34-36, 39). • Daily sacrifices are listed and numbered (Numbers 29:12-34), underscoring deliberate, measured worship. • The weeklong count highlights the completeness of God’s provision in the wilderness and foreshadows His future dwelling with His people. Sabbath and Sabbatical Cycles – Rest Marked by Counting • Every seventh day: Sabbath rest (Exodus 20:8-11). • Every seventh year: land Sabbath (Leviticus 25:1-7). • Counting sevens disciplines the nation to trust God’s supply instead of relentless labor. Jubilee – The Ultimate Counting Feast • After seven cycles of sabbatical years (7 × 7 = 49), the fiftieth year is proclaimed holy (Leviticus 25:8-12). • Freedom, debt release, and land restoration erupt at the end of an exact count, portraying redemption on a grand scale. Why God Has Us Count – Spiritual Lessons • Builds anticipation and focus: each tick of the calendar directs hearts toward His appointed meeting. • Teaches dependence: Israel waits for God’s timing rather than acting on impulse. • Embeds memory: rhythmic counting etches God’s acts into the national story. From weekly Sabbaths to the climactic Jubilee, Scripture weaves a pattern of deliberate counting that prepares worshippers to meet the Lord with ready hearts and grateful faith. |
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