(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 7th 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 50th 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."
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."
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.
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.
