Five chalk tally marks on a black chalkboard; counts background.

So what should we count when we count the Omer? The first thing we count are the days. We are counting the days between the Passover and Pentecost. In Old Testament times, the Jewish people received God’s Law fifty days after the Passover. Through the Ten Commandments given to Moses, the people received God’s Word.

Each day represents a spiritual journey toward receiving God’s Word. When you were younger, did you ever have an extended vacation that became a journey? Think in terms of Chevy Chase’s family heading toward Wally World. If you were like me, you began counting things way before the vacation actually started. How many days till we leave? How many books do I need to take with me? How much spending money will I need to have?

One the journey started, my father would have us count things to help us pass the time and to keep us from asking, “Are we there yet? How much longer?” We would often count Volkswagen Beetles or keep track of how many different license plates we saw. It was always a thrill to find either Alaska or Hawaii. When we count things, the journey seems to pass more quickly.

What Counts? God’s Fingerprints

Here are a couple of spiritual things you can count while you progress on your journey during the next seven days. First, count the number of times you notice the fingerprints of God upon your life. Perhaps you barely escaped becoming involved in an automobile accident, or you were recently amazed when you noticed the vastness of the universe when you were gazing at the stars.

One day this week, everything that I did on my computer was crawling at a snail’s pace. Seven times the computer crashed during the day, each requiring a lengthy re-boot. But at the end of the day, when things had to be done, the computer put together 52 solid minutes of work without a crash – its longest streak of the day. I don’t believe it was Bill Gates watching over me – do you?

What Counts? Your Offerings

Next, count the times and ways you give back to God this week. Of course, count the money you give at church or to the charity, but be more creative in your counting. When did you show an act of kindness when you didn’t have to? When did you forgive your pesky, bothersome neighbor – again? When did you show the grace of Jesus to someone, when the stronger temptation was to demonstrate a demonic display?

What Counts? Your Prayers

Finally, count the times you stop to pray. Do you pray each morning and before bed at night? Do you pause before meals or special occasions? Are your prayers always requests? When was the last time you paused just to say, “I love you, Lord”?

Try to give yourself an accurate “count” this week; not like how you count your score on the golf course. Don’t wait until the end of the day and try to look back. “Yeah, Bobby, I had a four on that hole.” Count as you go – and even count the mulligans that you flubbed.

Count them – name them one by one – and it might surprise you, what the Lord has done.

Palm, Omer

Between the time of the Passover and Pentecost, the Jews developed a tradition called “Counting the Omer.” The tradition came from a passage telling the faithful to count the days and the weeks following the Passover. Let’s set the stage just a bit to help us understand.

My grandmother had a habit of counting things. “Count to ten,” she would say.

Whenever I would forget something (which was often) and have to go back inside the house to retrieve it, she would say, “Count to ten before you go.” Counting was supposed to help me make sure I hadn’t forgotten anything else.

Whenever I was about to lose my temper and get angry (which was often), she would say, “Count to ten before you do anything.” Counting was supposed to help me cool off before I said or did something I would later regret.

If I was having a difficult time falling asleep, she would say, “Count your sheep.” Counting sheep was supposed to be boring and put me to sleep. I have no idea where the sheep came from, how they orderly jumped over a fence, or where they went after they were counted.

Counting Slows Us Down

Counting things makes a hectic lifestyle slow down so that you can pay attention to the details.

Faithful Jewish believers have a habit of counting things also. Every spring they perform a ritual of counting the Omer. The Omer is a period of seven weeks – 49 days – from the Passover Seder to the holiday of Shavuot.

Since the Second Temple was destroyed, Jewish tradition has evolved so that the days are counted each evening in a particular way. Non-Jews, like myself, are invited to join with all of Israel with a little modification. At the close of the column, we will craft a ritual that we Christians can recite. Here are the steps in counting the Omer.

  1. Jews proclaim the blessing: “Blessed are you, LORD our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us by his commandments and commanded us concerning the Counting of the Omer.” (Gentiles would not recite this sentence.)
  2. Declare the count:”Today is April 11th, nine days, which is one week and two days, of the Omer.”
  3. Pray for the Temple to be rebuilt: “May the Merciful One restore unto us the service of the Beit HaMikdash to its place, speedily in our days. Return your Dwelling Presence to Zion, your city, and send us Yeshua our Messiah. Let him reign upon the throne of David in Jerusalem, your holy city. Amen. Selah.”
  4. Read Psalm 67.
  5. Pray for purification and sanctification in preparation for Shavu’ot.

The inclusion of both the day (nine days) and the week (one week and two days) stems from a rabbinic argument about whether the Torah mandates counting days or weeks. The text of the Old Testament instructions both (“you shall count fifty days” and “you count seven complete weeks”) so this compromise position makes sure both bases are covered.

Omer Refers to Offerings to God

Why is counting the Omer significant? The period of time always marks a transitional moment from the season of spring into the season of summer. When the Temple still stood in Jerusalem, this was the period of time when Jews brought the “first fruits” of the new barley crops as a sacrificial offering. The word “omer” literally means “sheaf” (remember the old hymn, “Bringing in the Sheaves”) and refers to these offerings.

But the Omer is bigger than just the crops from the farms. The Omer connects the anniversary of the Exodus (the Passover) with the festival that remembers the giving of the Torah (the Ten Commandments) on Mount Sinai (Shavuot).

Count the Omer with Me

So, are you ready to count the Omer with me? Counting will slow down our lives and help us remember the blessings God has given us – especially through His Law. Each Saturday, we will count how many days we are from April 2nd on until we get to 50. We will have a prayer of blessing borrowed from the Apostle Paul, a counting of the Omer, a peek at a Scripture from Psalm 119 about God’s Law, and a prayer for the Lord’s Return. Here is our count for today:

  • “He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Even so, Lord Jesus, come quickly!
  • Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ and to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen!
  • Today is April 11th, nine days, which is one week and two days, of the Omer.
  • We are grateful that the God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth. He does not live in temples build by human hands but istead delights in His dwelling among us.
  • Psalm 119:7 – I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws.

counting the omer - the days between Passover and Shavuot, the giving of the Law

Thirty days in May. Growing up in Indianapolis, those words were shouted on the radio and plastered in the newspapers. Thirty days in May. My grandfather loathed counting thirty days in May.

Thirty days that you couldn’t shop at the Topp’s Discount Store (Walmart wannabe) in Speedway because of the crowds. During these thirty days the price of gasoline was hiked to forty-two cents a gallon. For thirty days you couldn’t ride your bicycle to the 40 Motel to get a bottle of Grape Crush because the crowd there was “unsavory.” But mostly thirty days that the Indianapolis Indians were on the road instead of at Bush Stadium because baseball couldn’t compete with Andy Granatelli’s turbine engines.

Grandpa loved baseball and particularly the minor league Indianapolis Indians. If the Tribe played an eight game home stand, it was not unusual for him to attend six of the eight games. During the thirty days of May, Grandpa was like a lost child wandering for glimpses of home. He would listen to the road games on his radio, an old tube-filled Westinghouse. He would sit in his chair by it, leaning his head and ear close, so that he could hear the play-by-play over the static. But he longed for the day when he could again see them in person.

counting the days to shavuot

Grandpa had a calendar in his bedroom upon which he wound up counting the days. A big red X marked through each passing day along with the number of the thirty days remaining. He always knew how many days had passed and how many days were left until the Indians returned to town.

Did you know that counting days in May has a biblical flavor? The Jews were instructed to count the days from the Passover forward for seven weeks. Each day was considered a measure of time – an omer to be counted. An omer was an ancient Hebrew measure of grain that equaled a little over three and a half liters. The measured days following the Passover carried both a spiritual and a practical significance for the Israelites.

From a practical standpoint, those seven weeks were in the spring as the people were planting and growing their crops. While those days provided a time celebrating the anticipated bountiful harvest, it was also a somber time of reflection. Agricultural communities were dependent upon successful harvests. Changes in the weather patterns or a harsh weather event could spell disaster for the entire community. This was a precarious time when the farmer spent many hours in prayer for God’s blessing over the growing season.

The seven weeks also carried an important spiritual significance. Seven weeks after the first Passover, the people of Israel were camped at the base of Mount Sinai. It was here where God spoke directly to Moses and he received the Ten Commandments and the giving of the Law. The lives of the Israelites would never be the same because God spoke. They counted each word as important. They remembered the number of days they spent awaiting His words.

principles for counting

The Israelites were to learn two very important principles by counting. First, they were to see that in spite of all the preparation and planning, the daily events of life like planting and tending the fields were really not completely in their control. Without the blessings of God, the things they counted on as necessities of life were as fickle as the wind.

Second, if the Israelites were to hear God’s words, they had to prepare their hearts and their ears. They were camped at Mount Sinai for three days before God spoke. Many of the people spent the entire time awake – prayerfully anticipating what God would say.

We would do well to learn the lessons of counting. Life is bigger than we are. It isn’t left just left to chance or fate. Our best efforts to control it don’t even corral it. And if we want to hear the whispered words of truth over the boisterous shouts of life, we must purposely lean our heads and ear to the source in order to hear the sound over the static.

From today on, let’s count the seven weeks – and we will add a day because of the newspaper’s schedule. We will examine what God is doing through nature. Let’s count the blessings that He graciously provides for us. Our minds will reflect on the things that are important during this particular season of life. Let’s count the words of truth that God provides.

We notice the number of steps of our journey. Perhaps we will measure the goodness of the moments. Let’s long for the day when gasoline was forty-two cents a gallon. And at the end, we’ll celebrate by riding up and getting a Grape Crush. I’ll buy.

counting the Omer

Thirty days in May. Growing up in Indianapolis, those words were shouted on the radio and plastered in the newspapers. Thirty days in May. My grandfather loathed counting thirty days in May.

Thirty days that you couldn’t shop at the Topp’s Discount Store (Walmart wannabe) in Speedway because of the crowds. During these thirty days the price of gasoline was hiked to forty-two cents a gallon. For thirty days you couldn’t ride your bicycle to the 40 Motel to get a bottle of Grape Crush because the crowd there was “unsavory.” But mostly thirty days that the Indianapolis Indians were on the road instead of at Bush Stadium because baseball couldn’t compete with Andy Granatelli’s turbine engines.

Grandpa loved baseball and particularly the minor league Indianapolis Indians. If the Tribe played an eight game home stand, it was not unusual for him to attend six of the eight games. During the thirty days of May, Grandpa was like a lost child wandering for glimpses of home. He would listen to the road games on his radio, an old tube-filled Westinghouse. He would sit in his chair by it, leaning his head and ear close, so that he could hear the play-by-play over the static. But he longed for the day when he could again see them in person.

counting the days to shavuot

Grandpa had a calendar in his bedroom upon which he wound up counting the days. A big red X marked through each passing day along with the number of the thirty days remaining. He always knew how many days had passed and how many days were left until the Indians returned to town.

Did you know that counting days in May has a biblical flavor? The Jews were instructed to count the days from the Passover forward for seven weeks. Each day was considered a measure of time – an omer to be counted. An omer was an ancient Hebrew measure of grain that equaled a little over three and a half liters. The measured days following the Passover carried both a spiritual and a practical significance for the Israelites.

From a practical standpoint, those seven weeks were in the spring as the people were planting and growing their crops. While those days provided a time celebrating the anticipated bountiful harvest, it was also a somber time of reflection. Agricultural communities were dependent upon successful harvests. Changes in the weather patterns or a harsh weather event could spell disaster for the entire community. This was a precarious time when the farmer spent many hours in prayer for God’s blessing over the growing season.

The seven weeks also carried an important spiritual significance. Seven weeks after the first Passover, the people of Israel were camped at the base of Mount Sinai. It was here where God spoke directly to Moses and he received the Ten Commandments and the giving of the Law. The lives of the Israelites would never be the same because God spoke. They counted each word as important. They remembered the number of days they spent awaiting His words.

principles for counting

The Israelites were to learn two very important principles by counting. First, they were to see that in spite of all the preparation and planning, the daily events of life like planting and tending the fields were really not completely in their control. Without the blessings of God, the things they counted on as necessities of life were as fickle as the wind.

Second, if the Israelites were to hear God’s words, they had to prepare their hearts and their ears. They were camped at Mount Sinai for three days before God spoke. Many of the people spent the entire time awake – prayerfully anticipating what God would say.

We would do well to learn the lessons of counting. Life is bigger than we are. It isn’t left just left to chance or fate. Our best efforts to control it don’t even corral it. And if we want to hear the whispered words of truth over the boisterous shouts of life, we must purposely lean our heads and ear to the source in order to hear the sound over the static.

From today on, let’s count the seven weeks. We will examine what God is doing through nature. Let’s count the blessings that He graciously provides for us. Our minds will reflect on the things that are important during this particular season of life. Can you count a different blessing each day? Let’s count the words of truth that God provides. Each day we will look at a verse of Scripture from Psalm 119.

We notice the number of steps of our journey. Perhaps we will measure the goodness of the moments. Let’s long for the day when gasoline was forty-two cents a gallon. And at the end, we’ll celebrate by riding up and getting a Grape Crush. I’ll buy.

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