Daily Omer Counting - Days 6, 7 and 8

"And from the day on which you bring [the omer], the sheaf of the elevation offering- the day after the Sabbath-you shall count off seven weeks. They must be complete: you must count until the day after the seventh week-fifty days; then you shall bring an offering of new grain to the Lord." Leviticus 23:15-16, NJPS This 7-week prayer journey will take you from thanksgiving for the past, to intercession for the future, to a final expression of worship as we contemplate the fulfillment of God’s purposes in Messiah.

Here's how to count the omer:

1. Recite the blessing,

Baruch atah Adonai Elohenu melech ha-olam, asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu al sefirat ha-Omer.

Blessed are You O Lord our God, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us by His commandments and commanded us concerning the count of the Omer.

2. Recite the count of the omer, saying:

"Today is the sixth day of the omer."

Week 1 April 20 – 26 (alternate 4/26–5/2 ): Honoring the Past: Deliverance from Egypt

Daily Omer Counting - Day 6, evening of Friday, April 25th

Scripture for Day 6:

For the Lord has chosen Jacob for Himself, Israel for His special treasure. He sent signs and wonders into the midst of you, O Egypt, Upon Pharaoh and all his servants. (Ps. 135:1-9)

Commentary:

"Z'man Cheruteinu...The Time of our Redemption..."

Psalm 135 speaks of the wonders of God, the chosenness of Israel, and of Yetziat Mitzrayim - our redemption from Egypt. Verse 9 further tells of "signs and wonders" amongst us. Everyday signs and wonders happen around us, but we don't often think of them as such. We often overlook small blessings that happen daily as just common happenstance. Not miracles, not works of God, and definitely not as signs and wonders. Yet they are!

God, in the fullness of wisdom, knew that we need all of these constant reminders of redemption. Yet sometimes we need extra reminders, something with a little more chutzpah. So HaShem has also given us the mo'edim - the appointed Festivals to relive the events of God's greatest wonders and miracles. This is especially true of Passover. In Hebrew, Passover is often called Z'man Cheruteinu...The Time of our Redemption. For the same God who delivered us from Egypt 3,300 years ago is the same God at work to bring deliverance to our lives today. During Passover, we don't just tell a historic tale - we relive redemption! We celebrate Passover in the here and now. For you this year, maybe deliverance is not from Egypt, or from physical bondage. But maybe bondage for you is something else? For there are always things we each need deliverance from. As such, maybe this will be the year for you. May signs and wonders happen for you during this Passover season, and may you experience God's fullest deliverance from exile.

Joshua Brumbach

Daily Omer Counting - Day 7, evening of Saturday, April 26th

Scripture for Day 7:

And He has exalted the horn of His people, The praise of all His saints—Of the children of Israel, A people near to Him. Praise the Lord! (Ps. 148:13-14)

Commentary:

The Psalmist describes the children of Israel as "a people near to Him." In Egypt, the Israelites were already God's people, included in His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but they were far from God, living in bondage to Pharaoh. But then, the Torah tells us, God heard their groaning, remembered His covenant, and told Israel: "I am the Lord; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. I will take you as My people, and I will be your God" (Ex. 6:6-7a).

God promises not only deliverance from bondage, but a renewed covenant. When God says, "I will take you as My people," it reminds us of a wedding ceremony, when two individuals take each other as husband and wife and become one. The wedding that God promises to Israel is scheduled for Mount Sinai, where the glory-cloud will serve as a chuppah (wedding canopy) and the Ten Commandments as the ketubah (wedding contract). At Mount Sinai, on Shavuot, God makes Israel a people near to Him.

This covenant renewal ceremony is a foretaste of the new covenant in Messiah Yeshua. As we count the days between our departure from Egypt and our arrival at Sinai-from Passover to Shavuot-may we have the anticipation of a bride counting the days until her wedding!

Week 2 April 27 - May 3 (alternate 5/3-5/9): Honoring the Past: Deliverance in Messiah

Daily Omer Counting - Day 8, evening of Sunday, April 27th

Scripture for Day 8:

Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people, And has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David… (Luke 1:68-73)

Commentary:

Zechariah, father of John the immerser, looks ahead to the coming of Messiah, the "horn of salvation," and he also looks back to the words of all the prophets "since the world began." The coming of Messiah will bring a whole new day to Israel and the nations, but it is a new day rooted in all God's dealings with Israel in the past.

Zechariah displays a spiritual balance that is a model for us as we pray together, eager for the new things that God may do among us, and at the same time rooted in what God has already done. This balance overcomes the opposition we often see between biblical tradition and spiritual renewal. We need both, especially in a Messianic Jewish community that honors the Jewish story at the same time as it recognizes that the story can only reach its true destination through Messiah Yeshua.

Honoring the past and embracing the future are inextricably linked. As we thank God for His past deliverance through sending Messiah, we prepare the way for greater deliverance to come through Messiah's return.