7 Fruits of Israel: Wheat 

Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe 

Deuteronomy 8: 7-8 "For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and date honey.” 

Parched grains of wheat were used for food in Israel (Ruth 2:14; 1 Samuel 17:17; 2Sam 17:28T) The disciples picked spears of wheat, rubbed them in their hands and ate the grain unroasted ( Matthew 12:1; Mark 2:23; Luke 6:1).  

Before any of the wheat harvest could be eaten, the first-fruits had to be presented before the Lord ( Leviticus 23:16-17): “Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath;( this is the time after the first fruit offering during the Passover season.) then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord. You shall bring from your habitations two wave loaves of two-tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven. They are the firstfruits to the Lord. 

From David Guzik: “Pentecost was a Jewish feast held 50 days after Passover. It celebrated the firstfruits of the wheat harvest. It was also called the feast of weeks (Exodus 34:22) and the feast of ingathering (Exodus 23:16). 

Leviticus 23:15-22 gives the original instructions for the celebration of Pentecost. As part of the public priestly sacrifices made for this feast, Leviticus 23:17 specifically says that two loaves of leavened bread were to be waved before the Lord. 

This was highly unusual. Generally, Israel could not offer any kind of leaven or yeast with a blood offering (Exodus 23:18, 34:25). But God encoded a hidden message into the ceremony for the feast of Pentecost. It was as if God said, “One day to come, on Pentecost, that which was thought to be unclean and unacceptable will be brought before Me, and I will honor that.” 

For centuries before the Pentecost described in Acts 2:1, Israel saw the leavened loaves waved before God in the ceremony commanded for this feast. Maybe they wondered what it meant. But we know; as the great English preacher Charles Spurgeon said, “Were there not two loaves? Not only shall Israel be saved, but the multitude of the Gentiles shall be turned unto the Lord Jesus Christ.”  

The unleavened bread of Passover pictures the sinless Body of Jesus. The leavened loaves of Pentecost picture redeemed believers, the Church, as the Body of Christ.  

Ephesians 1:22-23: “And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. 

1 Corinthians 12: 12-14 “For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.  For in fact the body is not one member but many.” 

 7 Fruits of Israel:  The Barley Offering 

Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe 

Deuteronomy 8: 7-8 "For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and date honey.” 

Barley is one of the first cultivated crops. In biblical times it was widely used animal fodder and was also considered as food for poor people. It came to symbolize God’s provision in the severity and harshness of life.  Barley is the first of the offerings for the Appointed Times of the Lord. It was offered at the Temple in Jerusalem during Passover. Barley is the first of the first fruits.  

During the earthy ministry of our Lord Jesus, another offering of barley is significant. In the recording of the feeding of the five thousand, the disciples brought a young boy who had 5 barley loaves and two fish. (John 6:9-13). Not only were 5,000 men fed, but there were 12 baskets of leftovers.  

Five is the number of grace. Twelve is the number of completeness. Though the offering seemed small, by the grace of God it was multiplied into not only completeness, but also into abundance. 

2 Corinthians 9:6-8: 6.  But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, have an abundance for every good work. 

When we cheerfully give from the heart, whether it is barley or gold, God, in His grace, will bless it into abundance.  

 7 Fruits of Israel: Ruth Gleaner of Barley 

Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe 

Deuteronomy 8: 7-8 "For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and date honey.” 

Barley is one of the first cultivated crops. In biblical times it was widely used animal fodder and was also considered as food for poor people. It came to symbolize God’s provision in the severity and harshness of life.  It pictures the severity and harshness of the life and death of Jesus Christ who “who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” (Philippians 2:7-9). 

Barley is a picture of Jesus humbling Himself to provide for our salvation and deliverance from the severity and harshness of judgment.  We receive victory when we humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord and allow Him to lift us up. (James 4:10) 

The book of Ruth focuses on the needs of an Israelite family depending on the servanthood of a Moabite woman.  A Moabite, Ruth was a descendent of Lot, Abraham’s nephew. She was not born to the covenant that God had made with Abraham. Ruth, like the matriarchs in Genesis, is a picture of the Church, the Bride of Christ.   

Ruth and her mother-in-law Naomi arrived in Bethlehem at the time of the barley harvest which occurs during Passover. (Ruth 1:22) 

Ruth’s gleaning was for a specific time. She gleaned from the beginning of the barley harvest to the end of the wheat harvest. (Ruth 2:23) In other words, Ruth gleaned from Passover to Pentecost. Pentecost is 50 days after Passover. 50 is the number of Jubilee when all debts are canceled, and all prisoners are set free.  

We cannot experience Jubilee until, like Ruth, we have experienced Passover, gleaned in the fields of our Lord, humbled ourselves at His feet, allowed Him to cover us with His blood of the Covenant and received His freedom in the fire of Pentecost on the altar of our hearts. 

The book of Ruth ends with the wedding of Boaz and Ruth. That wedding foreshadows the Wedding Supper of the Lamb. We are all invited. Our R.S.V.P. is in our acceptance of Jesus as our Lord as Savior. The guest list is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.