The Counting of the Omer - Yah’s 50-Day Divine Appointment to Shavuot

The journey began 3,000 years ago with the Exodus from Egypt under Pharaoh. The blood of the lamb marked the Passover doors. On eagle's wings he brought them to shore. Pharaoh pursued with his chariots and men, seeking to capture and enslave the people again. Freedom came at the Sea of Reeds when God split the waters and set them free. Exodus to all the earth — from Egypt, from bondage, to liberty. Lord, set the captives free.

At Sinai, a marriage was formed between God and the people, with the Torah. The people sinned with a golden calf. Moses interceded on their behalf. After 40 days he made his descent with new tablets. The sin was forgiven. The Tabernacle was built in the desert sand. Forty years later, they entered the promised land. Exodus to all the earth — from Zion, from bondage, to liberty. Lord, set the captives free.

Once in the land, rebellion occurred against the Lord, breaking Torah. The city was burned and the people were taken into captivity in Babylon. After 70 years the decree was ordained for the people to return to the promised land. The Temple was built and the walls restored. God's promise kept, the faith restored. Exodus to all the earth — from Babylon to Zion, from bondage to liberty.

After the Aliyah, rebellion occurred again by rejecting the atonement for sin. Jesus prophesied destruction their way. Forty years later the Romans sealed their fate. The city was burned and the people were exiled throughout the earth. The nation was born again in 1948. Aliyah occurred at an unprecedented pace. Exodus to Aliyah — from the four corners to Zion, from bondage to liberty.

A day is coming for the final gathering, to fulfill all transgressions and bring eternal life. A beast will rise with a covenant of death, deceiving the people — even the elect. The Lion of Judah will roar from on high, saving the people again. The King's victory march will be the last Aliyah, placing his feet on the Mount of Olives. Exodus to all the earth — from bondage to Zion.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Exodus to all the earth — from the four corners to Jerusalem, forever in the promised land, one new body and one new man. Jesus set the captives free.

---

Shalom, everybody. My name is Chadwick Harvey, and you have reached Faithful Performance. Thank you very much for joining us today as we continue our journey in this Passover season toward the Feast of Shavuot through the counting of the omer. This is found in the Bible in Leviticus 23. It is a continuing journey after the resurrection — after the Feast of First Fruits, the resurrection of Messiah that we celebrated through the Passover season — through this 50-day count called the counting of the omer.

I also like to call this the season of our liberation, because it is a great time to follow the scriptures — to follow the Exodus account and the New Testament account with the disciples through the counting of the omer — to get a clear picture of what the Lord expects from all of us during this holy season from Passover to Shavuot. It is really one great, continuous season. This is something for us to identify with not only in the Exodus account but also in the New Testament account, as it brings purification and refinement. What the Lord is trying to get all of us to identify with during this season is the process of getting the leaven — the sin — out of our lives and getting into the righteousness of the Holy Bible. It is a time to understand his instructions, to be purified and refined. There is no other 50-day count, no other divine appointment like it on the biblical calendar. There is only one: this 50-day count from the Feast of First Fruits to the Feast of Shavuot, also known as Pentecost.

This is a very special time with the Lord — a 50-day divine appointment. There is no specific calendar date given for the Feast of Shavuot, and we should ask ourselves why. He was extraordinarily detailed with every other feast: Passover is Nisan 14, Unleavened Bread is Nisan 15, the Feast of Trumpets is Tishri 1, Yom Kippur is Tishri 10, the Feast of Tabernacles is Tishri 15. So why did he not give a fixed date to Shavuot? Because he wants us to count with him every single day of this journey, so that we can receive the divine appointment and the understanding he has for each individual day — so that we can be purified day by day, just as he purified the children of Israel.

He wants us to see what bondage we still carry from Egypt so that we can eliminate that bondage through this period. Whatever Egypt — whatever of the world — remains in us, we need to get it out, and that is the heart of the purification. That is exactly what Israel had to do when they left Egypt. They were filled with bondage, with idols, with unclean foods, with all manner of things. He had to purify them and refine them into the true ways of God to prepare them to receive the holy Torah at Horeb, at Mount Sinai, just as he had prophesied. This is an extremely important time for purification, for refinement, and for intimacy with the Lord.

Fifty days. He is not merely suggesting — he is commanding us to be with him for 50 days. And honestly, it should not even feel like a commandment. It should be a desire: "I want to be with the Lord for 50 days." Someone might say, "Chad, I am with the Lord every day anyway." And that is wonderful. But we need to understand that we must get into the trajectory of what he wants us to do, not what we want to do. We have to recognize the significance of these 50 days from his perspective. It is not enough to say that we worship him 365 days a year — beautiful as that is. We must place the proper prominence on his festivals, his divine appointments, and meet with him on those 50 days on his time, which he has commanded and expected of us.

Too many believers want to take God with them on the path they choose, celebrating on their own terms, rather than meeting him on his divine appointments as he has commanded. We have to make that paradigm shift and come to him on his calendar. If one is not familiar with the biblical Hebrew calendar, that is fine — this is a great time to begin. This is the calendar that God has anointed for this age. We have gone through this many times before: the lunar eclipses and the solar eclipses fall only on this calendar. If you are not familiar with it, just take it one month at a time. Track with the Lord in order: Nisan is month one, then month two, and so on.

We entered the month of Nisan 22 days ago — the beginning of the biblical calendar. Passover was on Nisan 14, marking the crucifixion, which fell last Saturday night. Note that this was not the Saturday when most of Christianity celebrated a week earlier. Passover was April 12th, the tomb was April 13th, the resurrection was Tuesday night, and then begins this beautiful counting of the omer that we find in the Bible. It is critical to follow this connector from Passover to Shavuot — from First Fruits and the resurrection to Shavuot, or Pentecost. This 50-day divine appointment is not a minor detail. The number 50 speaks for itself: it means liberty, jubilee, freedom. That is why it is called Pentecost — because "penty" means fifty. It is the 50-day count leading to Pentecost.

Think about it prophetically and historically, but also think about it personally. When you said yes to Yeshua — to Jesus — and he became your Savior, you had to go on a personal purification journey as well, because you and I were filled with idols, filled with bondage, filled with all the things of the world that we needed to remove. So we had to go on that purification journey with him, to become more like him and less like the world we were part of. This 50-day count is another expression of that same journey — a divine appointment that provides purification, revelation, and the opportunity to address whatever bondage, deliverance, unanswered prayer, healing, or provision we still need. This is precisely where he instituted the three great names of God that believers call upon throughout the year: Jehovah Rapha, meaning God is my healer; Jehovah Jireh, meaning God is my provider; and Jehovah Nissi, meaning he is my banner. If we call upon those names throughout the year, how much more important it is to identify with them in the very season they were given — during the Exodus from Egypt — when he proclaimed those names to give the people comfort and the assurance that he would be their healer, their provider, and their banner. The trajectory he had them on was leading them toward purification, preparing them to receive the holy Torah at Mount Sinai and go forward as the one new body and the one new man.

Regarding Christianity's tradition of Lent — 40 days before the resurrection — that is simply not found anywhere in the Bible. It cannot be found in scripture. It is a man-made tradition. The Bible, in Leviticus 23, instructs 50 days after the resurrection. Lent is a replacement of God's word with human invention, and it means nothing to God because it is not on his timeline. Replacing what the holy God has spoken with man-made tradition is something he stands firmly against. To replace what the Almighty himself spoke out of his mouth — that would be a very serious thing indeed.