First Fruits to YHWH בִּכּוּרִ֖ים לַֽיהוָֽה

In our chapter God is laying out the feasts his people are to observe. We have already looked at all of these previously as they have come up in earlier chapters. What we have been looking at in this chapter 23 of Leviticus is some of these feasts are specifically referred to as being “to YWHW”. The last couple days we have looked at the phrases Sabbath to YWHW and Passover to YWHW. Let’s look at the last phrase to YWHW in our chapter. We are in chapter twenty-three of Leviticus with our word for today which is a phrase. בִּכּוּרִ֖ים לַֽיהוָֽה first fruits to the LORD or to YHWH. It is used 2 times in the Old Testament. We find our phrase used in the context of the grain offering. Leviticus 2:14-15 If you offer a grain offering בִּכּוּרִ֖ים לַיהוָ֑ה of firstfruits to the Lord, you shall offer for the grain offering of your firstfruits fresh ears, roasted with fire, crushed new grain. And you shall put oil on it and lay frankincense on it; it is a grain offering. The other use that is in our chapter for today is in the context of the feast of weeks. Leviticus 23:15-17 You shall count seven full weeks from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering. You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath. Then you shall present a grain offering of new grain to the Lord. You shall bring from your dwelling places two loaves of bread to be waved, made of two tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour, and they shall be baked with leaven, בִּכּוּרִ֖ים לַֽיהוָֽה as firstfruits to the Lord. The Holy Spirit connects this feast and offering to Jesus himself in the context of conquering death. I’ll close with this great passage. 1 Corinthians 15:20-26 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.