The First Grain
- Reading Time: 7 minutes
"When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, 'Come and see.' So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, 'A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.'”
he book of Revelation—not Revelations, for it is a single revelation, is perhaps one of the most misunderstood books of the New Testament. Chalk-full of strange end time prophecies, terrifying visions of winged animals covered with eyes, and mind-puzzling rhetoric, Revelation has been cast aside; reduced to “the book of the Apocalypse.” That word, “apocalypse”. How greatly perverted its definition has become. It has, today, come to mean to many the destruction of the world. The mention of it congers images of the world ablaze, filled with rubble, and laying in waste. A far fall from its root word, “apokalupsis” which simply means revelation. In this way, the Book of Revelation has become synonymous with doom; rarely read and even more hardly understood. Yet, however, the Book of Revelation remains just as relevant to the modern Christian as any other New Testament book. It’s cryptic prophecies and mysteries, when fully understood, apply to our lives today more than ever before. This is what that this writing seeks to reveal, beginning with the first grain—barley.
Credit: Photo by Felix Mittermeier
“The flax and the barley were smitten and ruined, for the barley was in the ear and the flax in bloom. But the wheat and spelt [another wheat] were not smitten, for they ripen late and were not grown up yet.”
Of all the crops, grains, and cereals grown by the ancient Israelites, no two stand out as more important than wheat and barley. The Promised Land, famously termed the “land of milk and honey” was, in fact, also described by Moses as a “land of wheat and barley” (Deuteronomy 8:8). As is common with the deeply symbolic nature of the Scriptures, both wheat and barley stand as immensely powerful symbols of Yahweh’s hidden mysteries. It is then befitting (and in accordance with the law of first mention) that our first encounter of barley in the Scriptures sets the foundation for a deep understanding of this mystery. Barley was the first grain. As Exodus 9 so beautifully illustrates, barley, in the cycle of grain harvests was the first grain to ripen and subsequently the first to be harvested. Although the first , barley was regarded as the grain of the poor, food only eaten in famine, and in Solomon’s case, horse food no different from straw (1 Kings 4:28). On the other hand, ripening fifty days later than barely, wheat was considered a far more valuable grain. In the words of the prophet Elisha, “a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel and two measures of barley for a shekel.” (2 Kings 7:1 KJV) Fine flour, or wheat, was quite literally double the value and price of the humble, lowly barley.
"And when Gideon had come, there was a man telling a dream to his companion. He said, 'I have had a dream: To my surprise, a loaf of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian; it came to a tent and struck it so that it fell and overturned, and the tent collapsed.' Then his companion answered and said, 'This is nothing else but the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel! Into his hand God has delivered Midian and the whole camp.'”
Rhema, Yahweh’s inspired revelation, is often at times symbolic and allegorical in its message and delivery. Visions, and by extension dreams, are no exception of this. Sneaking down to the edge of the enemy’s camp and eavesdropping on a conversation, Gideon hears a man sharing his rather bizarre dream with a friend. A loaf of barley tumbling into the Midian camp, bringing down a tent with it. With almost no hesitation, the interpretation of this strange dream is made clear: by the sword of Gideon this whole camp would be destroyed and brought down to its knees. And so, unfolding before our eyes, the amazing parallels of this mystery slowly begin to become revealed. Gideon, from the poorest clan of the tribe of Manasseh, self-described as “the least of [his] father’s house,” is represented by barley, the common and humble grain (Judges 6:15). The very lowest and yet called by Adonai to deliver Israel. Truly, “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.” (1 Corinthians 1:27 ESV) Against the backdrop of human weakness and insufficiency, the Lord’s deliverance is made manifestly clear in this ignoble crop, barley.
Credit: Photo by Shalitha Dissanayaka
No book, in both the Old and New Testaments, makes more reference to this symbolically prophetic grain, barley, than the book of Ruth. From the very first chapter, the Scriptures set the stage for this marvellous story of redemption: “So Naomi returned to her village with Ruth, her Moabite daughter-in-law. They arrived in Bethlehem just as the barley harvest had begun.” (Ruth 1:22 TPT) Recently widowed, weighed down by the burden of caring for her mother-in-law, and in a foreign land. The harsh, bitter reality stared Ruth in the face—she was poor and desperate. With seemingly no other option, Ruth turned to gleaning the fields of Boaz to find sustenance. During the harvest, the Israelites, commanded by Levitical law, would not harvest the grain on the edges of their fields or the grain that would fall as they harvested. This, instead, they left for the poor and needy (Leviticus 23:22). “So Ruth gathered barley there all day, and when she beat out the grain that evening, it filled an entire basket” (Ruth 2:17 NLT). Through what may be seen as the lowest moment of Ruth’s life, barley, becomes the fulfilment of El-Shaddai’s divine providence. And to this illustration, Boaz’s promise of redemption, with Ruth laying at his feet, adds that much more overwhelming beauty. Boaz, who we come to see as a typification of the Christ our Redeemer, upon promising to wed (redeem) Ruth, sends her to Naomi, but not empty-handed. “As Ruth was about to leave, Boaz said to her, ‘Here, bring me the cloak you’re wearing and hold it open.’ As she held it open, Boaz poured six measures of barley into it. He then helped place it on her head to carry, and she went back to Bethlehem.” (Ruth 3:15 TPT)
"There's a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?" Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted.
We see, before us now, an almost undeniable pattern of Jehovah’s mystery revealed through barley. Five thousand men (not counting women and children), hungry and without food. Even two-hundred denarii, more than half a year’s wages, would not have been enough to feed everyone with a piece of bread, much less a loaf (John 6:7). And yet, by the unselfish giving of a young boy of all people, God’s divine provision, once again, is revealed through two fish and five loaves of barley. For when Yeshua, the Christ, broke the barley loaves, gave thanks and shared it among the people, “they all ate as much as they wanted.” (John 6:11 NLT) Perhaps, even more marvellous than the feeding of over five thousand people with but only five barley loaves and two fish is what happens afterwards. The Messiah ordered his twelve disciples to gather up all the leftovers. “So they picked up the pieces and filled twelve baskets with scraps left by the people who had eaten from the five barley loaves.” (John 6:13 NLT) What more than half a year’s salary could not possibly do, Yahweh could (in abundance) with a mere five barley loaves.
Credit: Photo by Andrey Cherkasov
"When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, 'Come and see.' So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, 'A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.'”
Mounted on a black horse, and with a pair of scales in hand, the third of the four horsemen appears in the Apostle John’s glorious, awe-filled vision on the island of Patmos. This rider represents famine and economic hardship. At the entrance of the third horseman, a voice in the Heavens is heard by the Apostle John. “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius” (Revelation 6:6 NKJV) Wheat and barely, the two most important grains of the Israelites, priced at almost ten times their ordinary value. A singular quart (a little under one litre) of wheat for a denarius; a full day’s wages. (Matthew 20:2) Scarcity and inflation of the most basic commodities of society. Only enough barley, the crop of the poor, to feed one person at the cost of an entire day’s pay. Barely enough wheat for one meal at the price of a full day’s wages. Workers unable to feed themselves, let alone their families. Famine and economic hardship unlike any other.
נבואה
In coming times of economic hardship and famine, Elohim’s divine provision, symbolised by the barley grain, still stands for His children. Just as the deliverance of Israel came through Gideon, the barley loaf, so too shall those who call on the Lord be delivered. As Ruth found provision in a season of economic hardship through the barley of Boaz her redeemer, so too shall those who look to the Lord for they shall receive provision and redemption from famine. As the five thousand were fed by five barley loaves, so too shall Adonai’s children be fed with the smallest of provisions—one thousand times over. And as Elijah, in a three and a half year period of severe drought and famine, was fed by ravens at the Brook of Cherith, so too shall those who trust in Yahweh be fed by Him. (1 Kings 17:1-6) “Even in a time of disaster, with thousands and thousands being killed, you will remain unscathed and unharmed.” (Psalm 91:7 TPT)
Amen
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