The Counting of the Omer - One day at a Time
Counting the Omer may be a little foreign to some and it certainly was for me the first time I found out about it. I initially thought it was a Jewish tradition but you may or may not be surprised to know it is part of the yearly feast cycles and is a very important and significant part of Passover and Shavuot. It is a journey of counting up to the middle marker of our moedim and it connects the two seasons intrinsically – Passover to Shavuot[1]. It depicts the release from bondage to the heart of our Father – Egypt to Mount Sinai.
‘From the day after the day of rest — that is, from the day you bring the sheaf for waving — you are to count seven full weeks, until the day after the seventh week; you are to count fifty days; and then you are to present a new grain offering to Adonai. Leviticus 23:15-16
We are commanded to count these days but have you ever wondered what the significance of the counting is all about?
Shavuot can be seen as the reason for this season – deliverance for the sake of the revelation of the Torah and we are called to walk though a process of sanctification by engaging with each of the 49 days of repentance. Each day a blessing is recited in anticipation of Shavuot where we will come into the awesome presence of our El Elyon!
Counting the Omer is all about the preparation of Israel to receive the Torah to be restored unto our Heavenly Father! It is the journey of the wheat ripening. There is such intrinsic connection from the waving of the sheafs at First Fruits to the culmination of the wheat harvest at Shavuot. It is all about our growth, the shaking off of the things of Egypt and the walking towards the ways of our everlasting Elohim.
This walk is about being extremely intentional and focused on the redemption we are given through the blood of the Passover Lamb – Yeshua! Did you know that every one of Yeshua’s appearances after He rose again on the 17th of Nisan took place in the Omer count?
The count is 7 days for 7 weeks.
This makes me think of the 7 days of Creation, the links to the manifestation of the Holy Spirit and the 7 Churches. It makes for a great focus and study for each week in preparation for Shavuot. May our hearts be ready and in a state of deep teshuva by the time we get there. The world is speaking loud and clear to us, things are not good. What is evil is being called good and what is good is being called evil and we are fast approaching the Days of Noah – we need to get our hearts right. We need to start living for the next 1000 years in the New Jerusalem and that means taking our spiritual state of being so much more seriously than we have before! Here is our yearly opportunity among many during the cycle of moedim, let us take it with both hands as a gift!
May this Count of the Omer be significant and meaningful to each of you and may you receive the revelation and conviction that is necessary for living a life of sanctification and redemption. The Blood of Yeshua was a free gift – may we make it count!
The blessings recited for the counting of the Omer:[2]
Barukh ata
Eloheinu Melekh ha’Olam asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tizivanu al sefirat ha’omer.
Blessed are you, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the Universe, who has sanctified us with your commandments and commanded us to count the omer.
After the blessing, one recites the appropriate day of the count. For example:
Hayom yom echad la’omer
Today is the first day of the omer.
After the first six days, one also includes the number of weeks that one has counted. For example:
Hayom sh’losha asar yom, she’hem shavuah echad v’shisha yamim la’omer
Today is 13 days, which is one week and six days of the omer
Each week I will be looking at possible focus areas for you to consider that are connected with the day of Creation, the manifestation of the Ruach, the moed and one of the 7 Churches.
This week we will reflect back on week 1 of the Counting of the Omer that will end tomorrow.
Baruch Hashem to you all as you count and may your last days of Passover be blessed and filled with abundance!
Shalom blessings,
Michelle
[1] To find out more about the chiastic nature of the moedim and how they link together please go to www.thecreationgospel.com
[2] https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/blessing-for-counting-the-omer/