SEASONS - COUNTING THE OMER WITH A BAPTIST TWIST

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

Even though I grew up Baptist but now lean toward all things original and Hebraic, I have come to realize that so many Messianic and Hebraic thoughts and practices were taught to me by those dedicated Baptist Sunday School teachers and preachers who were very serious about their knowledge of the scriptures and the gospel of salvation.

For instance, back in those days in the little Baptist Church where I attended we constantly sang a song called “Bringing In The Sheaves.”  This song to these sincere Baptist people simply related to bringing a harvest of souls to salvation, which was an absolutely correct metaphor; except that now in my own life, with added Hebraic thoughts, there is also SO MUCH MORE to this story of the sheaves that was not known or taught, or at least never publicly shared in that little baptist congregation.  Yet, you might say in the Baptist Church I received the basics, and since then God has graciously shown me more of the story.  I'm sure there are baptist that receive MORE than the basics in their worship; I am simply relating my own personal experience.  I was young and still learning, but those BASICS were so vital to any more growing I had to do.

Now as  I contemplate the basic truths learned about salvation and the gospel message I was taught as a young girl in the Baptist church, I am able to realize that the “sheaves” referred to in this song were the “first fruits” of the early spring harvest that relate to the Counting of the Omer in the time period between the Jewish Passover Festival and the Jewish Feast of Pentecost.   With this further knowledge, the song really comes alive for me! These things were not specifically taught or talked about a lot the Baptist Church, but this is a Torah commandment given in Leviticus 23: 15 – 16.

 “You shall count seven full weeks from the day after the Sabbath (Passover, The High Sabbath) from the day that you brought the sheaf (omer) of the wave offering (Day of Early First Fruits).  You shall count 50 days to the day after the 7^th Sabbath.  Then you shall present a grain offering of new grain unto the Lord.”

I was taught that it is good and proper to bring offerings unto the Lord, and I was taught that The Holy Spirit descended on Pentecost; but nothing specific was given in the teachings that addressed these particular feast days or this particular offering (The Omer of First Fruits), which appears to be pretty important to God in the scriptures.

So, now that I know this fact; I’ve taken it to heart!  Every year starting on the day of Early First Fruits during the season of Passover I say a prayer/blessing and declare the day of the Counting of the Omer.  It makes that old worn-out and heavily used Baptist scripture of  “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” found in Philippians 2:12, come alive for me!  This harvesting experience has become the way of the season at our house now, and we (like a lot of other Jewish, Protestant and Catholic believers) count the days up until Pentecost (49 days with Pentecost being the 50^th day)  and participate in The Counting of the Omer.

Studying the Hebraic Feast Days of Passover and Pentecost has made these days that are sandwiched in between them so much more significant in the journey of life.  I never knew until I just stepped out in faith on my own and took God at his word and just started doing what I had learned, how significant these days would be in changing my life and bringing me closer in my walk with God.  It is so helpful, and believe me – I am one of those people who always needs a lot of help.  When the 49 days,(seven weeks) are complete it is customary to say another prayer/blessing: 

“O Compassionate One may He return for us the service of the Temple to its place speedily and in our time. Amen.  Selah.”  

Having the Messianic meaning of “temple” (fits right in with my Baptist upbringing too) I know I am walking around in the temple of the latter days.  Christ dwells in me through The Holy Spirit and my body has become a temple.  It is my place to do all I can to keep my temple holy and acceptable to God so that one day, He will return for me.  

One way that I attempt to do this is to study and meditate on the seven fruits of the Spirit that are focused on by Jewish and Hebraic thinking people along with miscellaneous others (like nondenominational Christians such as myself) during The Counting of the Omer. 

Each day is devoted to learning more of the attributes of God.  At first they seemed a little silly and really strange to me, but the more I studied and listened to God, the more they exactly showed me the things that God wanted me to change about my temple (my body) and my life (my soul and my spirit) so that I could better be of service to Him in His Kingdom as I walked the earth.  These seven attributes which correspond directly to the fruits of The Spirit I studied all my life, starting early in the Baptist church, are really cool.  These seven attributes of God’s Divine Character help us to overcome the attributes of our human nature that are directly opposed to God’s will.  These seven attributes we meditate on in The Counting of the Omer are:   

                         (1)       Chesed – Loving Kindness

                        (2)       Gevurah – Strength and Power

                        (3)       Tiferet – Harmony and Peace

                        (4)       Netzach – Victory and Triumph

                        (5)       Hod – Glory and Majesty

                        (6)       Yesod – Foundation

                        (7)       Malkut – Sovereignty

It seems that each of the seven ancient patriarchs of Israel possessed a portion of these characteristics when we look at their combined lives.  The life of Abraham teaches us Chesed.  The life of Isaac teaches us Gevurah.  The life of Jacob teaches us Tiferet.  The life of Moses teaches us Netzach.  The life of Aaron teaches us Hod.  The life of Joseph teaches us Yesod.  The life of David teaches us Malkut. 

By meditating and dwelling on these seven attributes of God’s character during the seven weeks of counting the omer while waiting for Pentecost, we participate in a process of overcoming that consists of seven stages of spiritual growth and development.  This is God teaching us how to overcome our own human nature that drags us down and keeps us from entering and/or presently living in The Kingdom of God.  These seven attributes of God’s personality offset the seven natures of our own humanity that Paul spoke to us about and called “the works of the flesh.”  (Galations 5:19-21).  Peter listed the characteristics of God for us to help us overcome these when he said:  “Giving all diligence add to your faith virtue (spiritual power), to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness and to brotherly kindness love.  For if these things are yours and abound you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of Our Lord Jesus Christ.  For he who lacks these things is short sighted, even unto blindness and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.  (II Peter 1:5-9). 

How many times did I hear those teachings as I sat a child and a young adult in the Baptist pews?  Over and over they were taught.  Now in counting the omer and meditating on these attributes and trying to overcome daily by putting them into my life as we approach the Day of Pentecost, I am able to begin to live out what I was taught.  Not to say that we will ever be perfect (far from it), only Jesus was perfect!  With His blood covering my sins though, I am better able to open my eyes to the things of life that are worthy and worth while for God’s Kingdom.  I am constantly being “born again” into this new place of where God created me to be! Like a child growing in the mother's womb; I love and need this process and this time.  Only God could have commanded something so perfectly fitting and valuable for teaching a sinner like me to overcome. The scriptures clearly say that those who "overcome" will be the ones who enter the kingdom after they come out of the great tribulation.  Our world is beginning to groan with the pains of tribulation even now, and help for living out these days in a godly manner is welcome food for my soul.

The days of The Counting of The Omer are simply all about growing in the womb of the attributes of God’s character and learning how to better become His child.  This is one of the first process, after salvation, baptism and the receiving of The Holy Spirit, to being "born again."   It is an exciting and fulfilling process that I am thankful to have discovered.  As I go through these days now an old song comes to mind that I haven’t sung in a long time.  I catch myself singing that old hymn called “Bringing In The Sheaves.”

The words are suddenly so much more profound:

“Sowing in the morning, sowing seeds of kindness, Sowing in the noontide and the dewy eve;Waiting for the harvest, and the time of reaping, We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves."

The old song was written in 1874 by a man named Knowles Shaw.  How I would love to have a conversation with him! I am told by what little witnesses there are, that he was inspired by Psalms 126:6; “"He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." 

“Sowing in the sunshine, sowing in the shadows, Fearing neither clouds nor winter’s chilling breeze;By and by the harvest, and the labor ended, We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves”  

These wonderful old words perfectly describe the journey through life with Christ living inside us and being led by The Holy Spirit.  It paints a beautiful picture of the aspect of overcoming; of accepting the good with the bad and staying faithful until the times of harvest, learning, loving, trusting, rejoicing as we go!

"Going forth with weeping, sowing for the Master,
Though the loss sustained our spirit often grieves;
When our weeping’s over, He will bid us welcome,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves."

I guess that little conversation with Mr. Shaw will have to wait until we are in eternity together, but I do intend to look Mr. Shaw up on the other shore!  I also find it amazing how the Spirit of God advertises the kingdom sometimes.  These simple yet profound lyrics that most people do not have a clue how to understand have been used in a million and one movies, tv shows and books.  All of our bad media sources have unknowingly used them in the strangest ways and all of them have from time to time burst out in one big chorus of the songs refrain:

"Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves;
Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves."

 One of the most astounding places I’ve found the lyrics repeated was in the southern American writer Eudora Welty’s novel called “Losing Battles.” 

Robert Mitchum sung it as he portrayed The Reverend Harry Powell in “The Night Of The Hunter.” 

A three piece marching band played it in “Batman and The Bomb” scene in 1966 from “The Batman Movie” staring Adam West. 

Granny of the Beverly Hillbillies loved to sing this song! 

In a real ironic twist, Faye Dunaway sings it while bathing Dustin Hoffman in the movie “Little Big Man.” 

The church congregation of The Andy Griffith Show sang it in “The Church Organ” episode, not to mention the time Barney Fife lulled Otis (the town drunk) to sleep by humming it in another episode of the same show.

The children in "The Children of The Corn" sang it before chasing the main character into the corn field, yet another most ironic use of the song.  

Each time I see this song used in a bad way, a way that really wasn't intended and at first think it should have been edited out of a musical, tv show or video, the thought finally occurs to me; this is just God's way of seeping into our bad and bringing His good.  If we don't turn, He comes to us in our dirt and grime and states truth in a way that we will understand it.   It is like he is playing a joke on his mischievous children and teaching them something in a different way, a way that He knows they will relate to and come back to in their minds later after they feel the contracting emotions of that wrong way twist, and turn from the bad because of the good words heard within the bad.

You can see this old song has has been used a million different ways by a million unlikely sources over the years!  

Now I sing it with a Hebraic heart, loving the words that speak to me of a better future in a land where we are always surrounded by the beautiful attributes of God, Our Father and the mercy, grace, love and truth of Yeshua, Our Messiah.