According to the Torah, no grain or produce from the new year's crops could be used or eaten until the first omer of grain to ripen was harvested and brought to the Temple. Barley is the first crop to ripen in Israel, so the omer was always a barley sheaf. The harvest ritual of gathering this barley omer was for a special first fruits offering to the LORD. The Hebrew word for sheaf is omer
First Fruits
Learn more in this article on Counting the Omer
by Guy Cohen, who leads the Acco congregation Harvest of Asher.
Today (written on March 29th) is the first day of a fifty
day period called the Counting of the Omer; ending on the fiftieth day with the
festival of Shavuot. It is the period between Passover and Shavuot, beginning
on the second day of Passover.
We read in Deuteronomy 16:9-12 and
Leviticus 23:10-16 where God instructs the nation of Israel to bring a wave
offering of a sheaf of grain which represented the first fruits of the harvest;
to the temple. During Yeshua's time the barley grain would be gathered from the
area around Jericho.
The counting continued until
Shavout, also known as the Feast of Weeks which
marks the wheat harvest. It is when an offering of the first fruits of
wheat would be made. Shavuot also represents the time of the giving of the
Torah to the Israelites on Mount Sinai. In addition Pentecost falls on the day
of Shavout marking when the prophecy in Joel 2:28-30 came to pass as accounted
in Acts 2.
If
we believe that the Torah is the shadow of things to come; we cannot put the
Torah aside. Yeshua is the Omer; the firstfruits of them that slept. 1
Corinthians 15:20 The Hebrew calendar is followed even today in Judaism for the
marking of biblical festivals. Accordingly, today would then be the day Yeshua
rose from the dead and now sits at the right hand of the Father.
Now we understand the times even
though there are still those who remain in unbelief until seeing with their own
eyes; as it was even when Yeshua walked before them in the physical. We have
this promise as written in Acts 2:22-24; given on the day of Pentecost.
22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Yeshua of
Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which
God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know— 23 Him, being
delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by
lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; 24 whom God raised up, having
loosed the pains of death, because it
was not possible that He should be held by it.
Even now,
death is what man mostly fears. However if we believe Yeshua defeated death and
that this life is temporary; if we live in Him, we will not fear. We should be
living differently because we are called to initiate change. Even though we are
living outside of the box and that is difficult for people to accept, that's is
how it should be; Yeshua operating in all aspects of our lives. Our mindset
should be one that is apart from that of the group or the worldview.
Believers
are facing a time of shifting gears; going in a direction where we may need to
change our thinking.
Guy Cohen, leads Katzir Asher, The Harvest of Asher Congregation in Akko
Harvest of Asher is a daughter congregation of Tents of Mercy and part of the Tikkun Global family. Donations: at Tikkun Global or see complete info on the Harvest of
Asher website.
Arrows from
Zion
Summarized
from the Weekly Summary of Prayer Requests
Israeli Ministries
The new Revive Israel Website is up and
running with articles, videos of worship, teaching & more. Here is one
example Passover Teaching Series by Asher Intrater. If you missed the Global Communion | Celebrating Passover April 1, watch it now on the
Revive our Facebook Page and YouTube Channel. Also,
free PDF download Passover e-BOOK | Passover:
Past Present Future: " This book is designed to share the story of a
unique, historic moment at the 2020 Global Passover and Last Supper alignment."
David and Josie Silver's Out of Zion Ministries sends David's Latest Video Update, a compilation of news reports to guide you as you pray for Israel &
the Jewish people for the week ending
March 26th. Also their son, Stefan, in pastoral ministry with Kerem-El,
God's Vineyard, offers a Passover Comment about what 'Passover' really
means. (subscribe to their newsletters here)
A note of thanks from Avi
and Hannah Tekel at Ohalai Rachamim, Tents of Mercy, as they were able to
provide 900 bags of food to residents of Kiryat Yam, the city they serve in
northern Israel. They send this short VIDEO recap of some of what they rightly call "holy work" they were able
to accomplish over the past two weeks because of the generosity of the
believers in the nation standing with them in the work.
Avner Boskey looks at Moses, Passover – the waters
of death and the waters of life.
"This year let’s consider the redemptive role of water in the Exodus
story. Both death and life are bound up in the waters of Egypt." Read it
online at David's Tent.
Gilad Rosinger sends a way
for you to catch up with their latest Global
Shabbat Prayer Call on YouTube or Facebook. Join
them for the daily 8 Day Prophetic Journey
Through Passover on Radiant Israel Facebook page.
Our friend Norma Sarvis in Jerusalem has a blog called From this Mountain. For many years Norma has served the body
in Israel making special impact on the youth in all her years with Katzir
(Harvest) youth camps, also in women's leadership, and of course in prophetic
intercession in Jerusalem. Her spiritual insights are deep and her love for her
people is as well. Read her Passover blog post: throughout your generations
The Aliyah Return Center's Chaim
Malespin is preparing for the future with great optimism as he sends an
invitation to join their Sep 20 - Oct 10, 2021 Holy Land Restoration Tour. Watch this short promo
video. To
learn more about the tour, what's included in the price and to REGISTER click here. If you have any further questions, please
email nts@travelwithus.com.
Israel Pochtar pastors the Beit Hallel congregation in Ashdod and the Voice of Judah Israel outreach ministries. Pochtar is so effective that he is a top target of frequent religious persecution - but that is not what you usually hear about from him because he is busy pressing into God's calling on his life. Here is the continuation of Israel's video teaching series The Essence of Passover Part 4 & Part 5. Also an article Returning to the Biblical Roots of Passover. Last weekend they did a Passover outreach, pray for the seeds planted to burst forth with new life. Learn more by downloading the latest Voice of Judah Ministries PDF newsletter.
Messiah's Mandate Ron Cantor did a VIDEO with Joel C. Rosenberg, NY TIMES bestselling
author and Editor-in-Chief of www.allisrael.com. We discussed a wide range of
topics. Plus another short devotion on the funniest thing about Passover. Ron writes, " e are reaching Israelis with the message of Yeshua the Messiah though
our all-Hebrew digital TV Channel" —ShelanuTV. "Your gift will help us reach many more... it really is
that simple."
Dan Juster, a founder of the
Tikkun organization whose personal ministry is called Restoration from Zion
(Tikkun from Zion), is a Bible scholar, deep thinker and a Spirit-filled
theologian able to apply understanding of the Word of God to the issues we face
in the world today. Two of his recent articles Howard Zinn’s, People’s History of the United States which he
says is being used widely in American high schools and "would explain the anti-American slant of many young adults
today." Also CANCEL CULTURE, Will the Bible Be Canceled? It would be hard
for me to name a spiritual commentator that is better on getting to where the
roots of our issues lie. You can follow Dan's Facebook page or sign up for the monthly prayer and ministry email at the website
Orna Grinman, is also a woman
who ministers with deep insight into healing the wounds of "widows and
orphans" which she has learned through her study of the Tabernacle. Her
blog writing often touches places in my own heart so I can highly recommend her
latest, The Lessons of History. Here she notes that rabbinical Judaism
almost completely ignores the Biblical focal
point of Passover: the slaughtered lamb and God’s mighty Arm.
Hasdey Yeshua in Arad, sends a short inspirational teaching on Passover by elder Joe Finkelstein. Also news that they are have a "backs are
to the Red Sea and Pharaoh is coming." Demands on the new rental agreement
on their warehouse which is used for many of their congregational meetings and
needs, is "a bit like making bricks without straw" —unreasonable demands. Please pray for them, that God will help them in
renegotiating a new contract. Also the very sad predicament of one of the
Bedouin people they have been ministering to in a pretty horribly unique
situation. Suffice to say, God has an answer, and this person needs it
desperately. Also they write about congregants who are "Trail Angels"
for hikers who do an over 600 mile hike through Israel over 2 or 3 months. God has divine appointments for these young
people usually ranging from 18 to 24 years old. Also the congregation is
looking forward to being able to resume face-to-face outdoor services.
The weekly prayer points
from Maoz ministries often cover issues that are unusual (but solid!). That's
the case this week as Shani talks about the praying for the vulnerable that are
often not easily recognized as vulnerable —she calls them "the
creatives" and they are on her heart because of their work with the
worship musicians of Israel. As a writer who used to be connected to the music
world, I know she is on to something as there is a vulnerability in the
creative arts that hidden in the shadow of creative gifts. Shani writes, "Working
with creatives for years, we’ve found the more gifted and impactful they are,
the more prone they are to having significant struggles in some area of their
life and the more likely they are to be a target for attacks from the enemy." I love all of what she has written here including
this advice: Speak to Your shepherds so they will know how much pressure is too
much for the creatives in their congregation. The creative spotlight is a very
influential, powerful, and thus vulnerable place to be. Don’t send them out
there alone. If they are to live in the spotlight whether locally or globally,
raise up a support group of friends, family and prayer warriors around them so
they will not have to fight alone.
Maoz Shani also addresses the Arab party Ra'am that chose to try to benefit their
people rather than the terrorist groups in the last election. "Suddenly,
this small party’s 4 seats could hold the keys to a 61-seat majority coalition"...
and other issues surrounding Israel's 4th election in a little over a year.
Also she shares new video of Shilo Ben Hod’s song “Before.”
Some sad news from Dov Bikas
of the Aviv Ministry about the manager of their rehab center who stumbled and
returned to drugs. They are sad he has stumbled and is now in an even worse
state than he was before he came to them at first...but the rehab work
continues and now has a new manager who is a mature believer and a former
addict who has been clean for 10 years. When the former manager failed, half of
their residents left the rehab. Dov says it was mostly those who weren't strong
yet. Pray for the 7 out of 13 who remained. This work is hard on the emotions
of the ministers who work with them. Anyone with an addict or two in your
family knows how hard it is. Pray God will be with these men and those
ministering to them. The outreach Aviv Center in Tel Aviv continues and more
people are asking to be taken to rehabs. Pray for Eduard the Aviv Center's
manager, who just recovered from Covid. Also pray for the Women's (and their children)
shelter as lives are slowly being rebuilt. And also pray for Olga, Dov's wife,
who is still in a slow recovery process. See more in the Urgent Health needs
section below.
Ronit Bender is a people
lover willing to used anywhere and anytime God wants someone's life to be
touched with His kindness shed abroad in her heart. That makes her a real people
magnet —even for the difficult people who don't
easily warm up to the kindness of others. Writing this month she encourages us
all just to smile at people as we are walking through our daily lives because
it is a door opener. Everyone likes to be validated by being recognized and
nothing does that like a smile. Ronit writes of the Divine encounters she has
had lately and invites you to write her with the kind of appointments God is giving
you. It sounds like Ronit is really
enjoying being out and about again as Covid restrictions in Israel have eased
up considerably.
A post from Fields of Wheat
showed the setting where 50 teens would be arriving for a 1-day mini camp as
the Katzir (Harvest) camps are finally able to meet again after being shut down
completely for over a year. There is still now sleeping on site and it is
restricted to 50 in an outdoor gathering, but they are excited for time
together in fellowship again. Pray for the teens, as teens all over, including
Israeli teens, have been so impacted by the isolation of Covid restrictions.
Pray for great breakthroughs as the Katzir camps are again able to function
again in ministry to them.
Urgent HEALING Needs: Life and Death is in the power
of the tongue
Please keep in prayer
the Israeli believers who are fighting for their lives or other urgent health
needs:
Pray for the Silvers: David's knees and Josie's back pain | Rachel Netanel who is recovering from a broken ankle. She asks prayers for healing and for the pain to subside. Living in a home with lots of stairs makes it all the more difficult| A prayer request for Naomi, for a dear family that is a part of Israel Pochtar's pastoral team, who was diagnosed recently with colon cancer. "Despite what this battle entails, we are confident in God’s unfailing Word and promises." Read in her own words| Ronit Bender wrote, I am feeling pretty good, but do have trouble climbing stairs and walking is getting tougher for me because of my heart situation. My cardiologist was changed by my health provider. He is very unpleasant and I want a new one. | Rachel Netanel wrote, Please pray for me as well. I have very high blood pressure and the doctors have sent me to have a number of tests. The results won’t come for a while but please pray that all will be well. I do have peace in Yeshua. | Please continue to pray for Jacob Damkani for the LORD's mercies over Jacob and his dear wife, Elisheva | Olga Bikas is slowly recovering from a broken ankle (after her back surgery!) The recovery process is slow, but, praise the Lord, she is getting better and stronger, can already walk for 20 minutes and do some physical The recovery process is slow, but, praise the Lord, she is getting better and stronger, can already walk for 20 minutes and do some physical exercises. Please keep praying for Olga
donna@israelprayer.com or donna@d10r10.com
THANK
YOU to those who support this ministry with donations. ♥
Donations appreciated | on PayPal
donna@israelprayer.com
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