barley bread 2

Hi friends!

In my last article, we looked at the threshing of the firstfruits barley company to separate them from the witchcraft of Jezebel. Now let us dig further into what becomes of the firstfruits barley offering.

Lev 2:13  Every cereal offering you shall season with salt; neither shall you allow the salt of the covenant of your God to be lacking from your cereal offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt. Lev 2:14  If you offer a cereal offering of your firstfruits to the Lord, you shall offer for it of your firstfruits grain in the ear parched with fire, bruised and crushed grain out of the fresh and fruitful ear. Lev 2:15  And you shall put oil on it and lay frankincense on it; it is a cereal offering. Lev 2:16  The priest shall burn as its memorial portion part of the bruised and crushed grain of it and part of the oil of it, with all its frankincense; it is an offering made by fire to the Lord.

The mention of salt as being an obligatory part of this offering is a reference to the salt covenant between the Lord and His people and we learn from Num 18:19 and 1 Chron 13:5 that a covenant of salt is unbreakable and also, most importantly, that the blessings and portion attached to this covenant are trans-generational. In other words, your sons and daughters have a right to the same inherence as you in the Lord. What you have been contending for in the long season of preparation is also for your sons and daughters and their children. That makes all the warfare so worthwhile. The secret things belong to God but the things revealed belong to you and your children forever! This is why it is so important to ask for revelation.

The word translated ‘grain in the ear’ Lev 2:14 is the word ‘abib’, so we know that these instructions are for the barley firstfruits offering which was presented in the month of Abib or Aviv. When the Israelites were brought out of Egypt, they were described as the firstfruits of the Lord’s increase. They were His holy barley firstfruits, brought into marriage covenant with Him at Sinai:

 Jer 2:3  Israel was holiness unto the LORD, and the firstfruits of his increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, says the LORD. 

Centuries later, Jesus came forth out of the tomb as the firstfruits from among the dead; the first of the barley company who would walk in resurrection power. In the same way as Israel, the barley firstfruits company is holy to the Lord, being brought out of a church system that has become as Egypt or the world, in order to be brought into a marriage covenant with Him who is the Firstfruits from among the dead in the wilderness. They too will be endued with resurrection power.

Ten omers of barley ears are harvested for the firstfruits offering, but by the time the threshing, roasting, crushing and the sifting are complete, only one omer of flour is offered. This tells us that the barley wave offering represents one tenth, or the tithe company (referred to in Malachi 3) but more on this later. Edersheim gives an interesting detail of the process here – The ears were brought into the Court of the Temple, and thrashed out with canes, so as not to injure the grain; then 'parched' on a pan perforated with holes, so that each grain might be touched by the fire, and finally exposed to the wind. Beloved, the Lord ensures that you are threshed in a way which doesn’t injure you and very carefully exposes you to an individual portion of fire; just enough to remove all excess moisture and prepare you to release all the nutrition stored within you, before exposing you to the wind of the Spirit. Doesn’t this sound like the experience of the company in the upper room who were all in one accord? They too had the sound of a mighty rushing wind and flames of fire appeared on each head as they received an infilling of the Spirit – all of which was preparation to be His witnesses to the ends of the earth.

After this, the grain was ground into ‘fine’ flour. Edersheim relates that one of the treasurers would plunge his hands into the flour and if no flour stuck to his hands, he knew it was fine enough. In other words, when you have nothing in common with the flesh; when you are full of light and have no fellowship or kinship with darkness, then the grinding and sifting part of the preparation is over. Moses describes the next process in more detail in Lev 6:

Lev 6:15  One of them shall take his handful of the fine flour of the cereal offering, part of the oil of it, and all the frankincense which is upon the cereal offering, and burn it on the altar as the memorial of it, a sweet and satisfying fragrance to the Lord. Lev 6:16  And the remainder of it shall Aaron and his sons eat, without leaven in a holy place; in the court of the Tent of Meeting shall they eat it.

Here we see that a further separation in the barley firstfruits company occurs. One small portion becomes a memorial offering and the remainder of the fine flour is eaten by the priests in the holy place, in the form of unleavened bread. The word for ‘memorial’ is 'azkarah' and comes from a root word meaning ‘to mark (so as to be recognized), to remember, to mention’. In Malachi 3, we are told of those who fear the Lord and think on His Name; whose names are written in a Book of Remembrance - those who will be His jewels in the day He openly declares them. And He will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.

It seems from this scripture that not all the Barley firstfruits company are included here. The memorial offering portion of the barley firstfruits company are those who are written in the Book of Remembrance. Out of the whole omer of fine flour, ONE HANDFUL is removed as a firstfruits of the firstfruits, anointed with oil and ALL the frankincense and then set on fire. Frankincense is always used with memorial offerings and symbolizes the fragrance emitted from the lives of those whose names are written in the Book of Remembrance. It is these who are appointed a baptism of fire, as their lives become a satisfying fragrance to the Lord. When Jesus came to be baptized, the Father said, “Behold My son in whom I am well pleased”. He pointed Him out and openly declared Him as His jewel. The askarah (memorial portion) become fragrant messengers of fire, dwelling on the altar of incense; their lives an offering of fiery worship to the Father.

Something else important to note is that the right hand was always used in taking this handful of fine flour. This is a reference to the sons of the right hand. Not all God’s sons are sons of the right hand. Jacob had 12 sons, but only one of them was named Benjamin, the son of the right hand. The barley firstfruits company are all sons, but not all are sons of the right hand. The right hand is the place of ruling; the hand that holds the scepter. Of the seven churches in Revelation, only the overcomers of the church at Thyatira are granted the right to rule the nations with a rod of iron. The overcomers of the other 6 churches receive other rewards.

Rev 12:5  And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. Rev 12:6  And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. 

Two different functions are described in the above verses – ruling and feeding. Kings rule. The manchild rules, but who is going to feed the woman in the wilderness? God tells us that the tithe company is brought into the storehouse in order that there may be meat in the house. In the same way, the rest of the firstfruits barley fine flour is mixed with oil and made into unleavened bread to feed the priests - and they are to eat it in the holy place in front of the lit menorah and the table of showbread. This is a picture of eating of the revelation of Christ, in the light of the seven spirits of God. This barley bread revelation is extremely powerful; it is meat as opposed to milk and the counsel of the seven spirits of God brings breakthrough and victory for the priestly Bride. Remember Gideon’s dream of the barley cake rolling down the hill into the enemy camp and flattening it? The unleavened barley bread provided by the barley firstfruits company will bring overnight victory, healing and breakthrough to the priestly Bride. This meat that is provided is preparation for release from the womb of the morning as a priestly company after the order of Melchizedek (psalm 110). It is not eaten outside amongst the general population of the people of God, but in the holy place, separate and hidden from sight. Psalm 36 says that the children of men take shelter under the shadow of God’s wing and feast on the abundance of His house, and in His light, they see light. Those outside the holy place do not receive light from the menorah (the seven spirits of God) and therefore have to rely upon their own understanding. This will not help them much in the days that lie ahead. Everything that can be shaken is going to be shaken and men’s hearts are going to fail them for fear of what is coming. How desperately we need the Spirit of Truth to lead us into all truth, to comfort and counsel us.  In a sense, the place prepared in Rev 12 for the woman to be fed and kept safe for 3&1/2 years is like the holy place. Rev 11:1,2 tells us that the outer court of the temple will be trampled during this time but the holy place and those who worship there will be protected and kept safe, because their lives have been measured and found pleasing to God.

In Ezekiel 44:15, we are told of the Zadok priesthood who remained faithful when other priests went astray. Because of this, God grants them the right to come near to Him to minister to Him. They also have the responsibility of judging or ruling in matters of dispute and also teaching the people the difference between the clean and the unclean (v 23,24). We see all these functions being carried out by various sections of the barley firstfruits company.

Whatever the Lord’s plan is for you as part of the Barley firstfruits company, you will play a vital role in the days ahead. All that you have been through has equipped and prepared you to rule or nourish others. Daniel 12 tells us that during the 3&1/2 years when severe persecution is unleashed on Believers, those who are wise will understand and instruct and teach many, leading them to righteousness. Beloved, endure the final preparations God is putting you through. Fine flour is what He is after. Let Him remove anything which prevents you reaching that place of readiness and receive the anointing prepared for you. He will anoint your head with fresh oil.

Selah