There are 3 major feasts for the country of Israel. According to scripture today, the feast of unleavened bread, the feast of harvest and the feast of ingathering. Especially in Korea, they observed the 1st week of July as the feast of harvest. It is a sign representing that we have lived the first half of the year safely with God’s grace.

God has made all the feasts for special purposes. The feast of harvest is a feast of thanksgiving. God made the feast of the harvest to remind people who have lost thanksgiving. The fundamental sin of humankind is forgetting to give thanks to God (Romans 1:21). Are you still giving thanks for everything in your life? Most people consider those who have everything to be the happiest. In contrast, having everything doesn’t guarantee you happiness. A person might not have everything, but if he or she can give thanks in advance, then they are the one who has everything. May we be the ones who can truly give thanks to God for everything.

1. Thanksgiving has the power to soothe our minds and relieve stress

Christianity is also known as a religion of thanksgiving. What would happen if you have lost thanksgiving in your life? According to Psalms 50:22, for those who don’t give thanks to God, horrible things will happen. He who honours a sacrifice of thanksgiving honours me (Psalms 50:23). On the day of the feast of harvest, we have to give thanks.

God has given us so many things in life, and everything belongs to God (Deuteronomy 16:10, 1 Chronicles 29:15, Psalms 24:1). God had given us the ability to gain wealth on this earth as well. Therefore be reminded to give thanks to God during this feast of harvest.

2. Feast of Harvest represents Jesus Christ

The core of all feasts is Jesus Christ, it shows the features of Jesus Christ to us. On the day of the feast of harvest, they offer the first fruit of their harvest of grain (Colossians 2:16-17). The first fruit is such a precious thing, Jesus Christ is the first born of God and He is the first fruit of all creation, thus Jesus Christ is the most precious fruit (Romans 8:29). Jesus Christ is the first fruit of resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:20, 1 Corinthians 15:23). Jesus Christ became the very first precious seed and because of that many people will be saved. It means the death of Jesus Christ will save many souls (John 12:24).

3. The other name for Feast of Harvest – Pentecost

To calculate the date of the feast of harvest, it is 49 days from the barley’s first fruit. Counting 7 complete Sabbaths, the first day after is the 50th day (Leviticus 23:15). On the 50th day after Jesus’s death, the holy spirit came down upon those who prayed (Acts 2:1). On that day they receive the abundant blessing of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4).

The number 50 reminds us of the year of jubilee. It represents restoration, all lost things will return to the state before the fall. We have become slaves ever since we committed sin but we will recover to our original state. The blessing of freedom is related to the feast of harvest (Leviticus 25:8-10). The feast of weeks is the day after 7 Sabbaths, which is the 50th day. And the year of Jubilee is the 7th Sabbath year, which is the 50th year. Through the number 50, God is giving us a vision that all will be restored, and we need to look forward to it. Through the feasts, God is teaching us what will happen in future as well.

4. On the day of the feast of harvest, they offered bread with leaven (Leviticus 23:17)

Leaven typically has a negative connotation in Bible. It has the function of changing something, so in many places in the Bible, it has a negative meaning.
Why did you think God requested leaven? Leaven makes dough rise, it makes something small bigger. According to 1 Corinthians 5:6, just with a little amount of leaven, it leavens the whole lump, which means the word of God will be spread to the whole world. In every corner of the world, God is giving us His vision through this example.

In New Testaments (Acts 1:8), this word was actually fulfilled. And these incidents were recorded in Acts 2:41, 4:4, 6:7, 12:24, thousands who heard the Word of God believed. All these feasts were made by God with historical redemptive significance. The true meaning and purpose of these feasts are all fulfilled in the period of the New Testament. In the end time, it will also be fulfilled.

Conclusion

The feast of harvest must be filled with thanksgiving. On this day, God is ordering different types of offerings – grain offering, drink offering, burnt offering, sin offering and peace offering, so many different types of offering on this day (Leviticus 23:18-19). All the feasts must be filled with thanksgiving and we should not give thanksgiving offerings by force.

Feast in the original Hebrew language is ‘chag’ (חַג) which means festival. It also has the meaning of dancing. On the day of the feast of harvest, we should all dance. It is the place where we can dance by giving thanks to God for all He had done for us. Have a heart of thanksgiving especially on this day, that God has protected us so far in the year 2022 until today. Give thanks to God with the first fruit you acquire. Please believe that if you give thanks in advance, God will give a bigger blessing to you. God will greatly bless you, your family, business, and children. Have the visions of God and look forward to the day when everything will be recovered and restored.

AMEN.