Counting the Omer

How often have you said "I'm counting the days until ..."? We are in the middle of counting the days ... Today is twenty-eight days, which is four weeks of the Omer. While most Christians are totally unaware of "Counting the Omer," counting days is Biblical. We read about the requirement to count in Leviticus 23:15-16. There are fifty days from Passover to Shavuot, or fifty days from the spring harvest of barley until the summer harvest of wheat. The Jewish people count the days in anticipation. Actually, the count is not in anticipation of the wheat harvest. Although we enjoy wheat products, the count really anticipates the giving of the law at Mount Sinai. The Midrash Rabbah Parashas Emor explains that when the Children of Israel left Egypt they were told by Moses that 49 days after the exodus, they would be given the Torah. The Jews count the days in anticipation. When Moses came to Egypt he came into an unformed, dis-unified group of slaves. He worked to bring them together, leading them out of Egypt to the place where the law would be received. The people of Israel became a distinct people when they received the law at Mount Sinai. Many point to this as the birth of the nation of Israel. In Acts 1 there is a numbering of days. This is because Jesus told the disciples, "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." On the day that Jesus died, the disciples were disorganized. Fifty days later they became a distinct people with a mission through the giving of the Holy Spirit. Many point to this as the birth of the church.