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The Church of God |
The Wave Sheaf Offering – By: Don Roth |
THE WAVE SHEAF OFFERING
(Bible verses quoted are from NKJV unless otherwise noted)
(Pictures below were copied from istockphoto.com)
There are few professing Christian churches that understand
the significance of this important offering of the Old Testament, called the
Wave Sheaf. This writing will reveal the true importance to the New
Testament church—those called of the Father—and will resolve the
difficulties and misunderstanding of the first time the Wave Sheaf was
carried out.
Those who already understand the true importance of this day may have had
some difficulty in totally understanding the significance of
Joshua 5:10-12
in the past. This was the first recording of the Wave Sheaf
Offering.
These passages do not specifically mention the Wave Sheaf Offering, but the
resulting action of that day demands that the event did occur. (Just because
there is no mention of a Wave Sheaf Offering does not in any way mean there
was not one.)
Before addressing the difficulties of the above scripture, it is necessary
to clearly understand the significance of this to the believer. Those
raising barley in Israel were required to bring a sheaf of the first ripe
grain that they cut to the priest to be waved on behalf of those raising the
crop. The primary purpose for this was not to just receive a blessing of the
land and its crops for following God’s instruction, but it foreshadowed the
one who was to come—Christ. It also represented a purity that only the grain
in its simplest form could do; thus, foreshadowing the purity of Christ.
Hebrews 9:23
“Therefore it was necessary that the copies
(the
earthly tabernacle)
of the things in the
heavens should be purified with these,
(the blood of animals and grain
offerings)
but the heavenly things
themselves with better sacrifices
(Christ)
than these.”
One
of the main purposes of the book of Hebrews was to show the true relevance
of the rituals carried out in the temple by the priests to the actual
sacrifice of Christ. One of these was the Wave Sheaf Offering. In addition
to the representation of Christ, it was a marker for starting a count of
seven weeks to the next event to take place—Pentecost. This was also a wave
offering, but its symbols were two loaves of bread baked with leaven. For
additional information refer to the article “Pentecost—The
Forgotten Day.”
When
to begin the count to Pentecost represents a problem for some of those who
understand the Wave Sheaf Offering. The accepted method was to place the
Wave Sheaf Offering on the first day of the week, Sunday, following the
Sabbath that fell during the seven days of Unleavened Bread. Wasn’t this the
day that Christ was presented to the Father?
John 20:17
Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I
have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them,
‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’”
The
majority of the time this method resulted in the Wave Sheaf Offering
occurring during the Days of Unleavened Bread. The exception occurs when the
first weekly Sabbath of the Feast of Unleavened Bread falls on the seventh
day of that feast, such as in the creation year. This means that when the
fourteenth day (the Passover) of that year was a weekly Sabbath, and the
first Day of Unleavened Bread would occur on a Sunday, day one of the week
and the last Day of Unleavened Bread is the seventh day, or Sabbath.
If
the original formula was followed it would place the Wave Sheaf Offering
outside of the Days of Unleavened Bread on the following Sunday. Some have
realized that the typology of pure grain, representing the purity of
Christ’s life and death could not be offered outside of the days of
Unleavened Bread.
Why?
The answer lies in the correct understanding of what these days mean to true
believers. The past teaching was that they represent a picture of putting
sin out of our lives, in that leaven always represents sin when spoken of in
the Bible. Putting out sin is a 365-day goal, and not just for these seven
days of Unleavened Bread.
God
gives instructions about these days in
Exodus
12:19
“For seven days no leaven
shall be found in your houses...”
It is clear that the leaven must be
removed before the beginning of these seven days. If leaven represents
sin—and it does—it becomes clear that these seven days represent a sinless
period of time. Thus, they can only be fulfilled in the example of the
sinless life of Christ.
With
this knowledge it becomes clear that the rationalization that was taught in
the past was made in order to reject
Joshua 5
as the first Wave Sheaf Offering.
Since the metamorphosis of the Worldwide Church of God into the Synagogue of
Satan, and the resulting proliferation of the corporate Churches of God,
some have proclaimed that the counting of Pentecost for the year 2008 should
occur on the Sunday following the Days of Unleavened Bread, and that this
would be the true day of the wave sheaf offering. The teaching is that the
wave sheaf offering must be on the first day of the week following the first
weekly Sabbath that occurs during the days of ULB. This faulty reasoning
resulted in Pentecost being observed a week late.
The
correct teaching begins the count to Pentecost from the first day of the
week—the day that the wave sheaf was offered—that occurs
during
the days of ULB. Of course, it would follow a regular
Sabbath, in or out of the days of ULB.
Because the Passover of 2008 occurred on the weekly Sabbath (April 19 and
Nisan 14), they teach that the count begins on Nisan 22 rather than Nisan
15—the first day of the week during the Days of Unleavened Bread. This is
contrary to the examples and directions of the scriptures as we should
understand them.
The
1974 change to keeping Pentecost on Sunday has been challenged in a number
of ways. One is that those insisting on keeping it on Monday say that Mr.
Armstrong had been “duped” into making this correction by his son Garner Ted
Armstrong and the doctrinal committee—that he accepted an incomplete study
about the Wave Sheaf Offering without confirming it.
Part
of the 1974 change that Mr. Armstrong made was based on
Joshua 5
as a new starting point for counting Pentecost whenever the
Passover service falls on a weekly Sabbath.
In
addition to the above, the following rationalizations have been made in
order to
reject
Joshua 5
as the wave sheaf offering. One reason given is that
Joshua
5
does not specifically state that there was a wave sheaf offering.
They
claim that
Joshua 5
was
a second Passover, and that the circumcised men would have been in too much
pain to handle the killing of the lamb and preparing it for Passover. (No
wave sheaf offering is commanded for the second Passover.) Therefore, there
would be an unstated lapse of time resulting in this being a second
Passover.
The
additional case is made that Moses was not allowed to enter the Promised
Land because of the restriction God had placed on him for striking the rock,
contrary to God’s instructions.
Numbers 20:11-12
states
“Then
Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came
out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank. Then the LORD
spoke to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in
the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this
assembly into the land which I have given them.’”
The account continues in
Numbers 20:24
“Aaron shall be gathered to his people, for he shall not enter the
land which I have given to the children of Israel, because you rebelled
against My word at the water of Meribah.”
It
is also said that the Israelites were not in the Promised Land until they
crossed the Jordan River; therefore, there was no time to raise a crop for
the wave sheaf offering. Because the Israelites did not raise their own
crops for the wave sheaf offering, they would not be able to utilize the
grain of the land which was raised by Gentiles for this rite. This would be
considered a polluted offering and not acceptable by God, which is the
correct understanding.
In
addition, no work could be done to harvest grain after the wave sheaf
offering because
Joshua 5:11
depicts a high (annual) Sabbath—First Day of Unleavened
Bread (ULB). Therefore, the work of harvesting could not be done on a
Sabbath, so there would have been no grain to eat on that day, even though a
wave sheaf offering was made.
Finally, those proclaiming that the counting of Pentecost should begin from
the Sunday after the days of ULB reason that no sacrifice could be made
until the Promised Land was completely
occupied and a central place of worship established.
But
notice
Deuteronomy 12:10-11
says
“But when you cross over the Jordan and dwell in
the land which the LORD your God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you
rest from all your enemies round about, so that you dwell in safety, then
there will be the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name
abide. There you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings,
your sacrifices, your tithes, the heave offerings of your hand, and all your
choice offerings which you vow to the LORD.”
There could be no wave sheaf offering because they had no central place of
worship.
The
idea that no sacrifice could be made without the establishment of a
centralized place of worship is a misunderstanding of
Deuteronomy 12.
The direction is that a centralized place of worship is to be established
once the nation is at peace. It does, in no way, restrict sacrifices to God
prior to the time that all of the Promised Land was under their control.
There is the Passover of
Joshua 5, which required sacrifices in
addition to the individual lambs for each home.
Deuteronomy 23:8 and 12
so direct these sacrifices.
Joshua 8:30-31
also shows offerings being made
without this centralized place of worship. Did Joshua fail to understand
Deuteronomy 12:10-12
and act contrary to it? Obviously not,
as God continued to bless him.
The
booklet “Pagan Holidays or God’s Holy Days—Which?” was rewritten in 1976 by
Herbert W. Armstrong. In it he clearly points to
Joshua 5
as the defining clarification for the count to Pentecost having to start
during the Days of Unleavened Bread. On page 23 he writes, “This event, [the
wave sheaf offering] always occurred during the days of unleavened bread”
(see
Joshua 5).
To
understand this statement by Mr. Armstrong, it is necessary to begin in
Joshua 5:2-9
“At that time the LORD said to Joshua, ‘Make flint knives for
yourself, and circumcise the sons of Israel again the second time.’ So
Joshua made flint knives for himself, and circumcised the sons of Israel at
the hill of the foreskins.” And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised
them: All the people who came out of Egypt who were males, all the men of
war, had died in the wilderness on the way, after they had come out of
Egypt. For all the people who came out had been circumcised, but all the
people born in the wilderness, on the way as they came out of Egypt,
had not been circumcised. “For the children of
Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people who were
men of war, who came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they did not obey
the voice of the LORD—to whom the LORD swore that He would not show them the
land which the LORD had sworn to their fathers that He would give us, ‘a
land flowing with milk and honey.’” “Then Joshua circumcised their sons whom
He raised up in their place; for they were uncircumcised, because they had
not been circumcised on the way. So it was, when they had finished
circumcising all the people that they stayed in their places in the camp
till they were healed. Then the LORD said to Joshua, ‘This day I have rolled
away the reproach of Egypt from you.’ Therefore the name of the place is
called Gilgal to this day.”
THE SECOND CIRCUMCISION EXPLAINED
A
question occurs here: Why weren’t the children of Israel circumcised as they
traveled through the wilderness? There was no physical impediment to
performing this rite, including traveling, so what would cause this rite to
stop so abruptly?
Numbers 14:33-34
shows that Israel refused to enter the
Promise Land. This results in God
rejecting them
“And your sons shall be
shepherds in the wilderness forty years, and bear the brunt of your
infidelity, until your carcasses are consumed in the wilderness. According
to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, for
each day you shall bear your guilt one year, namely forty years, and you
shall know My rejection.”
Their refusal to enter the Promised Land was a rejection of God and a breach
of the Covenant of Promise. It negated the covenant, which God then set
aside for forty years, until all the men of twenty years and older had died.
Circumcision could no longer be performed, it being the confirmation of the
covenant that God no longer accepted. This is an important fact, and it was
the reason why the Passover and Atonement rites were discontinued after the
second year.
UNDERSTANDING HOW THESE EVENTS OCCURRED
The
timeline of these two events can be traced through
Exodus 40:2 & 17. First, the tabernacle was erected on the first day of the
second year.
Leviticus 8:1-36
shows the consecration of Aaron, his sons, and the tabernacle.
This
rite is also recorded in
Ezekiel 43:26-27
“Seven days they shall make atonement for the
altar and purify it, and so consecrate it. When these days are over it shall
be, on the eighth day and thereafter, that the priests shall offer your
burnt offerings and your peace offerings on the altar; and I will accept
you,’ says the Lord GOD.”
This is an outline of the detailed account that
occurs in
Leviticus 8.
Numbers 9:1-5
records the Passover being kept in the
second year: “Now the LORD spoke to Moses
in the Wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they
had come out of the land of Egypt, saying: ‘Let the children of Israel keep
the Passover at its appointed time. On the fourteenth day of this month, at
twilight, you shall keep it at its appointed time. According to all its
rites and ceremonies you shall keep it.’ So Moses told the children of
Israel that they should keep the 6 Passover. And they kept the Passover on
the fourteenth day of the first month, at twilight, in the Wilderness of
Sinai; according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so the children of
Israel did.’”
It
would include the Days of Unleavened Bread, making it clear that the
Passover followed closely the consecration of the tabernacle, although it is
necessary to go to the book of Numbers for confirmation. It also shows that
the historical events that take place in the books of Leviticus, Numbers,
and Deuteronomy do not necessarily follow in a chronological order. It is
important to recognize the progression of events leading up to the setting
aside of the covenant by God in
Numbers 14:34.
Leviticus 16
is generally understood as a detailed
description of how to observe the Day of Atonement, but verse 34 makes it
very plain that it was literally carried out by Aaron:
“This shall be an everlasting statute for you,
to make atonement for the children of Israel, for
all their sins, once a year.” And he [Aaron] did
as the LORD commanded Moses.”
The
time frame for this event would be the tenth day of the seventh month of the
second year. This means the events of
Numbers 14:34
(the rejection) occurred after the seventh month. It demonstrates
that only Passover, Days of Unleavened Bread, and Atonement were recorded as
observed in the wilderness before the spies were sent out; the spies being
sent out around the time of Atonement. Pentecost and the Feast of
Tabernacles were not celebrated because there was no early grain harvest or
later harvest to reap. Thus, these days would not have been observed; and in
addition, there is no biblical record of these holy days being observed at
this time.
CIRCUMCISION REQUIRED
Joshua 5:2
was an order for Joshua to do what had been done in Egypt
before the children of Israel could partake of the first Passover since
leaving Sinai.
“At that time the Lord said
to Joshua, ‘Make flint knives for yourself, and circumcise the sons of
Israel again the second time.’”
Although there is no direct statement
of a first mass circumcision in the book of Exodus, it should be obvious
that there would have been one, the reason being that the mixed multitude
that accompanied Israel required circumcision before they could partake of
the Passover.
Exodus
12:48
states:
“… For no uncircumcised person shall eat it.”
The
importance of this act is made abundantly clear by the near death of Moses
in
Exodus 4:24-26. Zipporah had to perform this rite on
their son because Moses failed to carry out his responsibility. Thus, she
saved Moses from death.
The
foreskin can only be removed once. Therefore, all the male children below
the age of twenty who came out of Egypt were not circumcised in Joshua 5.
The number of males would have been large—at least equal to half of the
number of males coming out of Egypt (603,550).
Exodus
38:26. The point here is that there were more than enough pain-free men
to do all the work required to prepare the lambs for the Passover.
Another important point to remember is that God’s rejection did not occur
until after the Atonement celebration of the second year. All applicable
feasts were thus discontinued until the Israelites were once again accepted
by God. Joshua’s circumcision was that acceptance.
Joshua
5:9
explains
“Then the LORD said to Joshua, ‘This day I have rolled away the
reproach of Egypt
from
you.’ Therefore the name of the place is called Gilgal to this day.”
There were only two restrictions that allowed a person to take a second
Passover. 1—Being unclean by handling a dead body or having an issue (such
as infection, etc.). 2—Being on a journey. Neither of these applied to
Joshua 5
because the act of circumcision took them from a state of
uncleanness to that of being clean, or accepted.
Joshua 5:8-9
also implies a miraculous healing of
those circumcised. The word “healed “(#H2421 in Strong’s Concordance) is
more correctly understood as “revived.” When verse 9 tells us God rolled
away the “reproach of Egypt,” He restored His promises to Israel, one of
which was healing. The Ferrar Fenton translation of the Bible shows this:
“But whilst they were completing the
circumcision of all the nation they kept quiet
in the camp until they were restored. Then the
Ever-living said to Joshua, ‘Today (the day of
circumcision) I have rolled away the reproach of
Mitzeraim (Egypt) from off you...’”
These facts clearly make
Joshua 5
a
FIRST Passover in the Promised Land.
WHEN DID GOD’S REJECTION OCCUR AND WHEN DID IT END?
By
recognizing the time that Atonement occurred in
Leviticus 16, we see that
Numbers 14:34
had to occur after the tenth day of the seventh month. Additional
proof is that the spies brought
back
ripe fruit which occurs in our months of September and October.
In
order to understand the correct time frame, see in
Deuteronomy 2:14,
“And the time we took to
come from Kadesh Barnea until we crossed over the Valley of the Zered was
thirty-eight years, until all the generation of the men of war was consumed
from the midst of the camp, just as the LORD had sworn to them.”
Note
the forty-year trek did not directly apply to the men of war, but to the
sons being required to shepherd the flock in the wilderness.
Numbers 14:33
“And your sons shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years,
and bear the brunt of your infidelity, until your carcasses are consumed in
the wilderness.”
Thirty-eight years had passed since God’s punishment. This meant they had
completed thirtynine years and were starting the fortieth year.
(Thirty-eight years for the men of war to be
consumed, plus the first year in the wilderness makes thirty-nine years
complete.) This is
confirmed by
Deuteronomy 1:3
“Now it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month,
on the first day of the month that 8 Moses spoke to the children of Israel
according to all that the LORD had given him as commandments to them.”
In
Deuteronomy 2:16-18, Moses recounts for Israel their
history, pointing to the miracles God has done for them. “So it was, when all the men of war had finally
perished from among the
people,
that the Lord spoke to me, saying: ‘This day you are to cross over at Ar,
the boundary
of Moab.’”
GOD STARTS MOSES ON A MILITARY CAMPAIGN
God
then starts Moses on a military campaign to conquer the Promised Land on the
east side of the Jordan. This campaign begins sometime around the middle of
the sixth month. It is established through the following scriptures:
Numbers 20:29
“Now when all of the congregation
saw that Aaron was dead, all the house of Israel
mourned for Aaron thirty days.”
Numbers
33:38
“Then Aaron the priest went up into Mt. Hor at
the commandment of the Lord, and died
there, in the fortieth year after the children
of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the
first day of the fifth month.”
Aaron died at the beginning of the fifth month and was mourned thirty days.
Thus, they began their journey to the Promised Land at the beginning of the
sixth month.
Deuteronomy 1:2
shows eleven days were required to
arrive at Mount Horeb. Numbers
33:41-
49
records that the Israelites had a total of eight campsites during
these eleven days. The fourth
campsite after leaving Mount Hor puts them on the border between Moab and
the Amorites,
placing them at the border of the Promised Land, setting
the travel time at about half of the
eleven days.
GOD GAVE THIS LAND AS A POSSESSION
God
told Moses that He gave the land Amon to the descendants of Lot for a
possession.
Deuteronomy 2:5
shows God gave Mount Seir to the
descendants of Esau as a possession. Note in
Deuteronomy 2:31
“And the Lord said to me,
‘See, I have begun to give Sihon and his land
over to you. Begin to possess it, that you may
inherit his land.”’
God
gives the land of the king of Sihon as a possession to Israel. Next it is
seen in
Deuteronomy 3:1-2
“Then we turned and went up the road to Bashan; and Og, king of
Bashan, came out
against us, he and all his people, to battle at
Edrei. And the LORD said to me, ‘Do not fear him,
for I
have delivered him and all his people and his land into your hand; you shall
do to him as
you did to Sihon, king of the Amorites, who
dwelt at Heshbon.’”
God also gave this land to the
Israelites as a possession. As a confirmation, see
Deuteronomy 3:12-13.
MOSES IN THE PROMISED LAND
The
term “possession” as used by God denotes that the land was part of the
promises He gave to Abraham, meaning that Moses, along with the Israelites,
had entered the Promised Land, contrary to the universal belief that he
never did. Notice Deuteronomy 3:23-27
“Then I
pleaded
with the Lord at this time,
saying: ‘Oh Lord God, You have begun to show Your servant Your
greatness and Your mighty hand, for what God is
there in heaven or on earth who can do
anything like Your works and Your mighty deeds?
I pray, let me cross over and see the good
land beyond the Jordan, those pleasant mountains
and Lebanon.’ “But the Lord was angry with
me on your account, and would not listen to me.
So the Lord said to me: ‘Enough of that! Speak
no more to Me of this matter. Go up to the top
of Pisgah, and lift your eyes toward the west,
the north, the south, and the east; behold it
with your eyes for you shall not cross over this
Jordan.’”
The
above scriptures show that Moses had pleaded with God to allow him, not only
to enter the Promised Land, but also to pass through its entirety. God
relented from His original restriction and allowed Moses to enter the
Promised Land east of the Jordan, but empathetically refused his appeal to
cross the Jordan. Moses, being east of the Jordan, was allowed to see the
Promised Land. All the land that he sees, to the north, south, and east is
predominantly on the east side of the Jordan; therefore, Moses is standing
in the Promised Land when he views it from the top of the mountain.
THE PROMISED LAND ON BOTH SIDES OF THE JORDAN
As
further proof, make note of
Genesis 13:3; 14-15.
The land that Abram (Abraham) views is the Promised Land. God tells him to
look north, south, east, and west. So, when he looks east, he is looking at
the land on the east side of the Jordan River—the same land that Moses took
from the two kings. Note: Abram was fifteen miles from the Jordan River at
this time, making it plain that the Promised Land lies on both sides of the
Jordan.
Genesis 15:18-21
explains,
“On the same day
the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying; ‘to
your descendants I have given this land,
from the river of Egypt to the great river, the
river Euphrates— the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the
Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the
Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the
Girgashites, and the Jebusites.’”
In
the above scriptures, God shows that the land to be inherited includes that
of ten nations. Two of these nations occupied the land east of the Jordan.
As already shown, the land of the Amorite kings Sihon and Og was captured by
Moses and declared an inherited land by God. In addition, they would inherit
the land of Rephaim. The Rephaim’s land was also east of the Jordan (Genesis 14:5). Their city, Asheroth, is about 20 miles east of the sea
of Galilee, proving that once they crossed the Arnon river, they were in the
land of Promise as specified as a covenant by God to Abraham.
WHAT TIME OF THE YEAR?
The
campaigns against Sihon and Og were quick and decisive.
Deuteronomy 2:34, 3:6-7, and Numbers 21:25 & 35
further explain that they took
immediate possession of the land. Numbers32:1, and 5 show that they saw the
land at the time they conquered it, and observed that it was desirable for
their needs.
“Now the children of Ruben
and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of livestock: and they
saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, that indeed the region was a
place for livestock. Therefore, they said, ‘If we have found favor in your
sight, let this land be given to your servants as a possession, and do not
take us over the Jordan.’”
There
would be no reason for them to wait since they had an
immediate need to pasture their animals.
The
intervening account in the book of Numbers of Balak and Balaam was not
chronological and would not affect either the time of their request for the
land nor Moses’ decision to grant the request. They are parallel accounts.
Deuteronomy 3
shows that the land east of the Jordan
was granted to them following the defeat of Sihon and Og. The previous
scriptures show that the capture of the land east of the Jordan occurred
during the latter part of the sixth month of the fortieth year.
In
the book “The Antiquities of the Jews” Chapter 5 page 258, Josephus writes
“For it was the summer season.” This agrees with the biblical timeline as
previously described.
WHY THE ISRAELITES NEEDED TO PLANT
At
this time Israel was basically an agricultural nation with different
emphasis on diverse types of crops and animals. Those settling on the east
side of the Jordan were primarily raising herds and flocks. These tribes
took possession of lands that had already been organized to raise animals.
Deuteronomy 2:35 and 3:7
confirm this.
As
part of the agreement to occupy the east bank they were to provide a
fighting force of 40,000 men as shown in
Joshua 4:13,
to lead in the battle to conquer the land west of the Jordan. It should be
noted that the census of
Numbers 26
shows that these combined tribes accounted for 110,000 men over the age of
20. Sixty thousand were left with the families and animals to provide
protection, and to do the work required to sustain their livelihood and
support the brethren who were going to claim the land across the Jordan.
When
gaining this land these tribes had a definite list of needs to prepare their
families for their absence. Remember, they were required to provide 40,000
men of war. Those who remained needed housing, which was ostensibly left by
the defeated nations, although some repairs would have been 11 required as a
result of the war. Also, stock-pens needed to be built or repaired. However,
their most pressing need was that of food—grain. Why would this be when they
had manna to eat? God had provided manna as a grain substitute for Israel
because there was no provision for grain to be grown in the wilderness.
Notice
Numbers 11:7-8
“Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its color like the
color of bdellium. The people went about and gathered it, ground it on
millstones or beat it in the mortar, cooked it in pans, and made cakes of
it; and its taste was like the taste of pastry prepared with oil.”
The
Israelites knew that this would cease once they had reached the Promised
Land so they could provide this basic food item on their own.
Leviticus 23:10
“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you come
into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall
bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest.’”
The
requirement of planting on their arrival in the new land is implicit. You
cannot have a wave sheaf offering, or grain to eat, without planting the
grain first. It also speaks to the fact that they would be expected to
provide their own grain from their own labors. God was not running a welfare
state. Every man is expected to provide for his own sustenance.
II Thessalonians 3:10
explains “For even when we were with you, we commanded you
this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.”
Joshua 5:12
reads
“Then the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the produce
of the land; and the children of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate
the food of the land of Canaan that year.”
This scripture tells us that is
exactly what happened. They knew this was
going to happen and they prepared for
it as God commanded in
Leviticus 23:9-11,
14.
“And the LORD spoke to Moses,
saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you come
into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall
bring a sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest. He shall
wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted on your behalf; on the day
after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it… You shall eat neither bread nor
parched grain nor fresh grain until the same day that you have brought an
offering to your God; it shall be a statute forever throughout your
generations in all your dwellings.’”
THE BASICS
By
not understanding the requirements and accompanying practices of raising
small grains (barley and wheat) would prevent those who are teaching today
from realizing the natural way that this would have occurred, thus resulting
in a twisted teaching of the events and timetables leading up to
Joshua 5. The scriptures cited have shown that the Israelites were
in control of the land before the fall planting season. It is imperative to
know that barley and wheat are planted in the fall, and barley requires only
five months to harvesting. The past custom was to graze these crops in their
early stages of growth, which was a perfect fit for the herds and flocks.
Lacking this information, one could not see the reality that they would have
had an acceptable sheaf of grain to cut and for the priest to wave. It
should be noted that
Genesis 37:5-7
supports the practice of raising small grains and shepherding flocks.
“Now Joseph had a dream, and he told
it
to his brothers; and they hated him even more.
So he said to them, ‘Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: There we
were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also
stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my
sheaf.’"
These scriptures show that though shepherding was the
main occupation, they also raised small grain.
The
additional point that no grain could be harvested because this was a Sabbath
would not apply because this Sabbath was a high day. Work required to
prepare food for a high day is acceptable according to the word of God. Yet,
it would have required an unacceptable amount of work to harvest grain for
more than two million people in one day. Remember, the manna had not ceased,
so they had both manna and grain to eat on the second day of Unleavened
Bread once the offering of the wave sheaf had taken place in the morning.
A CHANGE IN DIET
To
the Israelites it was an important event. They had had a forty-year diet of
manna and they wanted a change. Less than a year earlier they endured the
plague of fiery serpents because of their complaints of the tiresome diet of
manna.
Numbers 21:5-6
states:
“And the people spoke against God and against
Moses: ‘Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?
For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless
bread.’ So the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the
people; and many of the people of Israel died.”
Despite their desire for change, they waited until the requirements of
Leviticus 23:14
were met. What restrained them from
eating the grain that was there? It was that they lacked the required wave
sheaf offering and they did not want to go through another plague by
breaking what God had commanded.
It
is interesting to look at the gathering of manna. What time of the day was
it to be gathered? In the morning before the sun had warmed the land and
melted it. They could only realize that it had stopped by looking for it in
the morning. So the term, “on the day after” in
Joshua
5:11
would refer to the daylight hours, not the night portion of that
day. On the sixth day of the week, a double portion was gathered to provide
a workless Sabbath for Israel. As already pointed out, a high day Sabbath
allowed for food preparation and would have included the gathering of manna.
This resulted in their declaring that there was no manna to gather the
following day.
In
addition, the term “on the day after” is a combination word in Strong’s,
#H4480 and #H4283, clearly meaning the “following numbered day,”
not
“the next morning.”
Numbers 33:3
uses the exact same wording and shows
that this is the correct understanding for this terminology:
“They departed from Rameses in the first month,
on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the day after the Passover the
children of Israel went out with boldness in the sight of all the
Egyptians.”
A
complete listing of this term can be found in “The Englishman’s Hebrew
Concordance of the Old Testament,” which always indicates that it is the
next day—never the morning of the night before. This would make it the same
day, a day being sunset to sunset. Refer to page 731 for #H4480 and page 690
for #H4283.
RESPONSIBILITY FOR CUTTING THE SHEAF
Too
many have been duped into thinking that the priest or his appointees had to
go out after the Sabbath, the evening of the first day of the week, and cut
the grain to be waved—a tradition that the Jews established. This was not
the instruction given by God.
Leviticus 23:10, 14
states
“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to
them: ‘when you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its
harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to
the priest… it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all
your dwellings.”
These directions are addressed to the nation in general and specifically to
those having control of the harvesting of the fields. Using the pronoun
“you” and “your” gives each individual the responsibility to bring a sheaf
of grain from his own field (a cut handful) for the priest to wave. It had
nothing to do with the priest or his appointed ones, but it was those
responsible for growing and harvesting who brought in the sheaf.
WHAT DID GOD COMMAND?
Due
to the distances, sometimes requiring more than a day of travel from their
fields to the location of the tabernacle, it would have been cut sometime
prior to being waved. Then it would have been brought to the priest ahead of
time for him to wave on the appointed day. There can be no doubt about this
clear instruction. The
individual
had
the responsibility to cut and bring the sheaf to the priest.
It
should be noted that when the stalk or stem that supports the head of the
grain dries, the cereal stops growing. Unlike today, the grain was cut
before it could be threshed, then bundled, leaving it in the field to dry.
If the grain was left too long before cutting, it would fall to the ground
and be lost.
Leviticus 23:11-14
gives us the rest of the requirements
of the wave sheaf. The only restriction placed on them was that no one was
to eat of the grain before the wave sheaf offering. In fact, verse 13 means
that God expected them to have harvested the grain ahead so that they could
make this offering.
Leviticus 23:11-14
“He shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted on your
behalf; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. And you shall
offer on that day, when you wave the sheaf, a male lamb of the first year,
without blemish, as a burnt offering to the LORD. Its grain offering shall
be two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering made by
fire to the LORD, for a sweet aroma; and its drink offering shall be of
wine, one-fourth of a hin. You shall eat neither bread nor parched grain nor
fresh grain until the same day that you
have brought an offering to your God; it shall
be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.”
Remember, these were directions given to all those raising that crop. This
was a mini celebration, allowing them to eat of the new crop, or the first
crop of their field, upon entering the Promised Land.
Deuteronomy 16:9
is cited as a direction that prohibits
the sheaf from being cut prior to the wave sheaf day.
“You shall count seven weeks for yourself; begin
to count the seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the
grain.”
The
word “begin,” Strong’s #H2490, is the hiphil (infinitive) of this verb. The
dictionary definition of infinitive is as follows: “Infinitive—meaning,
unlimited or indefinite: applied to a certain mode or form of the verb (by
origin a verbal noun and in English commonly preceded by the preposition to)
which expresses the general sense of the verb without restriction to person
or number.”
The
Englishman’s Hebrew Concordance of the Old Testament cites four places on
page 432 where the word is used in the infinitive. (1)
Genesis 11:6, “… this is what they begin to do; …” (2)
Deuteronomy 16:9
“… from [such time as] thou
beginnest.” (3)
I Samuel 3:12
“…when I begin, I will also make an end.” (4)
II
Chronicles 31:10, “Since [the people] begin to bring.”
This
makes
Deuteronomy 16:9
a general instruction about the
beginning of the counting for the Feast of Weeks, and in no way prevented
the general cutting of the grain before the wave sheaf offering day. The
emphasis is on the number of weeks to be counted, not the starting point.
If
Deuteronomy 16:9
was followed with the requirements of
Leviticus 23, they would have waited until after
sundown of the Sabbath, cut a handful of grain and traveled whatever
distance from the field to bring the sheaf to the priest for waving. After
waving they would have returned home and cut and threshed more of the crop,
then hurried back to the place where it was waved to make an offering of
two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour as an additional offering. This would
have been ridiculous when laid out as this timeline would demand.
Remember, they needed grain that the Israelites had grown for this offering
as well as the wave offering. The inability to comply with
Deuteronomy 16:9
and follow the instructions of
Leviticus 23
supports the point already made about
the general sense of time meant by the word “begin.”
Christ tells us in
John 10:35
that
the scripture cannot be broken. With the correct understanding these
scriptures do agree.
The
wave sheaf was cut first; then the grain that was ripe was harvested in
preparation for the wave sheaf offering, just as
Leviticus 23
requires. This chapter also prohibited the Israelites from eating
the grain of the land until the wave sheaf offering.
Joshua 5:11
tells us that they did eat of this grain; so, the wave
sheaf offering
had to have been made.
Verse 12 shows that God confirmed that all was done with His approval by
stopping the manna the next day—without any punishment or sign of His
disapproval for not following the implicit instructions of
Leviticus 23:10-14.
Not following those instructions would have been a breach so
serious as to bring immediate punishment by the Eternal. They ate and God
blessed them with the conquering of Jericho.
It
should now be clear that God’s people were in the Land of Promise with
adequate time to raise the small grain crop and wave it on the day following
a weekly Sabbath. This allowed the sheaf to be waved during the Days of
Unleavened Bread. This requirement places an important stamp of approval on
it as representing the sinless life of Christ.
THE ESSENCE
The
Days of Unleavened Bread do not picture the putting out of sin. That had to
be done prior to the first day. These days picture life without sin, and
Christ is the only one to fulfill this prerequisite. Therefore, the
simplicity and purity of the sheaf was a representation of the sinless
Christ. It had to be waved during the days that pictured the purity of a
sinless life. No other concept is acceptable!
Placing the wave sheaf offering on an ordinary day, outside of the Days of
Unleavened Bread, is subtly saying that Christ’s life was with sin, negating
His sacrifice that was accepted by the Father for us.
The
accusation that Mr. Armstrong did not do a sufficient study into this
subject, but accepted it on its surface, was in part the thrust of this
writing. By looking at the statements below it can be seen that Mr.
Armstrong placed a particular emphasis that many have not considered:
“On
the morrow after the Sabbath, during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the
priest waved the Wave Sheaf, and none could be used until this was done”
(Letter from “THE GOOD NEWS,” Herbert Armstrong, 1940.)
“Jesus, the great Antitypical Lamb, and His resurrection, the Antitypical
Wave Sheaf was presented before and accepted of God on the marrow after the
WEEKLY Sabbath, during the Days of Unleavened Bread, A.D.31”
(Letter from “The GOOD NEWS,” Herbert
Armstrong, 1943.)
“This event (the Wave Sheaf) ALWAYS occurred during the Days of Unleavened
Bread. (See
Joshua 5.) This fulfillment of the Wave Sheaf offering actually
occurred on Sunday, the marrow after the Sabbath during the days of
unleavened bread.” (Pagan Holidays or God’s Holy Days — Which? Herbert
Armstrong, 1976 Edition page 24).
“The
third is the Feast of Firstfuits, called in the New Testament “Pentecost,”
because it came fifty days after the cutting of the Wave Sheaf during the
Days of Unleavened Bread” (Never Before Understood, Herbert Armstrong,
1981).
By
examining this declarative statement, what should be seen as the imperative
to be carried out? The Sabbath marking the waving of the sheaf should occur
during the Days of Unleavened Bread, or that the sheaf is to be waved during
the Days of Unleavened Bread?
Some
think that the seven days of Unleavened Bread picture putting sin out during
these days, when the scriptures clearly show that it was to be removed
before the commencement of these days.
Exodus 12:19
“For seven days no leaven shall be found in your
houses, since whoever eats what is leavened, that same person shall be cut
off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of
the land.”
This
is confirmed in Paul’s instructions in
I
Corinthians 5:7-8
“Therefore
purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are
unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover was sacrificed for us. Therefore
let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice
and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”
The
purging occurred prior to these days, so that they are to be kept sinless as
Paul points out in these verses. This is the perfect picture of Christ being
presented to the Father as a sinless offering during these days.
It
should be recognized that Mr. Armstrong was under no pressure to justify the
wave sheaf occurring as he stated because of the occasional times when the
Passover occurred on the Sabbath, and so he did not. The body of believers
accepted his pronouncement. The whole thrust of this article is to show the
correctness of that decision. This should not detract from the basic truth
that Christ was a sinless offering. Therefore, He would have to be offered
during the Days of Unleavened Bread, which picture a time devoid of sin. Of
all the points, this one should be so fundamental as to wipe away all doubts
as to its occurrence.
Obviously, Mr. Armstrong had a thorough understanding of these biblical
events, and made the change of accepting
Joshua 5
as the wave sheaf offering based on them. We should also accept this as the
correct understanding as hereby shown.
Once
one gleans the biblical history that led up to
Joshua 5
you can understand that they complied with the requirements of
Leviticus 23, which allowed them to eat the grain of the land, this
being the wave sheaf offering.
•
It was not a second Passover.
•
Moses and the Israelites were in the Promised Land before
they crossed the Jordan.
•
They were in part of the Promised Land with more than
adequate time to raise the small grain crop required for the wave sheaf
offering.
Coupled with the above information, we have the additional understanding
that Christ’s sinless life had to be accepted during the very days that
depicted living a sinless life—the Days of Unleavened Bread!
Finally, we see that God has placed His stamp of approval on what Joshua
accomplished.
Joshua 11:15
“As the LORD had commanded Moses his servant, so Moses commanded
Joshua, and so Joshua did…”
Joshua left
nothing
undone of all that the LORD had commanded Moses!
ADDED ON DECEMBER 28th, 2009
When
one presents a study of a subject, based on information gleaned from past
teachings, supported by what appears as a logical progression of events that
are described in a series of biblical passages to support a belief, it then
becomes imperative to correct that writing when a proof is found that
destroys a part, or all of the evidence that was presented. It is incumbent
upon me to correct the error of placing the Passover on the weekly Sabbath
in
Joshua 5.
Since the writing of this article, I have studied God’s Sacred Calendar to
determine the mathematical proof of it by establishing a calendar
constructed in seven-day weekly Sabbaths, beginning with creation. Once this
was done, and it showed the Passover of Joshua 5 occurred on the sixth day
of the week rather than the Sabbath, the correction to this article was
made.
Looking at
Joshua 5:10-11
in the King James Version it says,
“And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal,
and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the
plains of Jericho.”
The year here is 1488BC_2559AM. Passover was March 31—a
Friday, making “Thursday evening” the Passover.
Verse 11 reads:
“And they did eat of the
old corn of the land on the morrow after the Passover, unleavened cakes, and
parched corn in the selfsame day.”
This was a double Sabbath; the first
day of unleavened bread, and the seventh day weekly Sabbath. Thus
Joshua 5
cannot be used as a biblical example to prove that the
first Day of Unleavened Bread fell on a Sunday. (Revised 11- 25-18)
Don Roth (Revised June 15, 2021)