Fri.’s Devo - The Harvests

Read: Leviticus 22:17-23:44; Mark 9:30-10:12; Psalm 44:1-8; Proverbs 10:19
The sacrifices they offered had to be spotless and without a blemish to represent the final sacrifice of Jesus who was sinless and perfect.
The seven feasts were divided into the three harvest times. The first three: Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits were in the spring during the harvest of the wheat. Jesus died on Passover as our passover lamb. He was buried on Unleavened Bread to show that our sins were buried with him and Jesus rose on First Fruits to represent the first fruit to rise from the dead. I believe that the “wheat - believers” will rapture on a Passover that God determines. “Wheat - believers” are the ones who are passionately following Christ and looking for his coming.
When they were to harvest their fields, they were to leave the corners for the poor. When the wheat are raptured, the lukewarm believers will be left for the poor. They will come alive and help others become believers.
The next harvest was at the fourth feast called Pentecost. This was the harvest of the barley and first celebrated when God gave Moses the law up on Mt. Sinai. There was lightning and thunder and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain quaked and fire came from its top. This was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost after Jesus died (Acts 2). The people became the mountain of God as he put his Holy Spirit inside of them. They shook and spoke with other tongues and fire was seen visibly on their heads. On this day the Church was born and the Gentile was added. On this celebration in the Old Testament they waved two loaves of bread to heaven. They could represent the Gentiles and the Jews celebrating together the Messiah.
The last three feasts happened in the fall: the Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Trumpets is the last rapture right before Jesus’ second coming. The Day of Atonement is also called Yom Kippor which is a ten day time of repentance before the last day and second coming of Jesus on the Feast of Tabernacles when Jesus will set up his Kingdom on Earth. This is the harvest of the fruit.
Jesus had to get frustrated with his disciples. He tried to tell them spiritual things and they want to crawl on the ground in the natural. He talked of his death and resurrection and they argue about who will be the greatest in his kingdom. Jesus tells them to welcome a child in his behalf. He gets the perfect example when they bring him news of a person who is using his name to heal. They are to welcome him as a child working on his behalf.
He warns them against encouraging someone to sin. If we don’t rid ourselves of sinful habits, they will be torched out of us by God’s fire of testing and trials. That is not the only reason we have trials, but they are God’s fire of purification.
Lord, may we allow the trials we face to be a fire that burns up what is not of you. May we be like gold tested in your fire.