COUNTING OF THE OMER DAY 30

27 May 2024
19 Iyar 5994

“And He shall be like a tree planted by the rivulets of water, which will give its fruit in it’s season, and it’s leaf will not wither, and all which he does will prosper. Not so are the wicked, but they are ONLY AS CHAFF which the wind drives about.”
Psalm 1:3-4

The imagery of chaff is the exact opposite of the rooted and unwithered tree that represents the blessed. Chaff, of course, is the outer husk that must be removed from grains before they can be eaten. Harvesters would do so by first threshing the grain to loosen the husk and then winnowing it to remove the chaff. To winnow the grain, the harvester would toss the grain into a light wind, which would carry the chaff away as the grain fell back to the ground. Thus, chaff was so insubstantial that the slightest wind was enough to blow it away from the useful grain.

This is the picture of the wicked. They are not rooted in the eternal streams of Yahweh’s unfailing Word as the blessed are. Instead, because their highest counsel comes from sinners and scoffers, they are doomed to be “tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes” (Ephesians 4:14). Even when the wicked appear to prosper, we should remember the truth that Asaph confessed: “Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin” (Psalm 73:18).

Because chaff is driven away by the wind, it was often used to describe something that was useless. Compare such chaff with the fruitful tree of verse 3. Again, we should remember that a tree does not bear fruit for itself but for others, which is the fruit that the gospel works in us. Just as Yahshua “came not to be served but to serve” (Mark 10:45), so does Paul command us to “do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4). Again, the wicked are not so. They do not yield fruit in season for the benefit of others; instead, they only hinder the good of others until they are at last driven away.

Which describes you? Are you like chaff? Can others only enjoy the grain whenever you have been removed from the equation? Or do you imitate Yahshua’s resolve to serve others, to bear fruit for their good? Let us ponder on this question during this Omer Counting of Day 30 and ask Yahweh to help us identify the spiritual chaff that is not of Him and to remove it in all areas of our lives until we are useful grain, ready to be a living sacrifice.

Song for the week
“Love will remain”
(James Block)

Let the counting of the Omer count for you too!

Shalom, Mattaniah