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This post actually represents an interruption in the flow of what was intended to be an ongoing narrative. The next several articles build upon the foundation laid in last week’s article: One Law. We’ll continue that line of dialogue next week, but this week, beginning at sundown Saturday, June 8th, is Shavuot (the Festival of Weeks) – otherwise known as Pentecost.
There is little likelihood that I’ll be able to do this topic full justice in a single article. As with all of the mo’edim (appointed times), it is layered with symbolism and meaning. Every biblical festival is deeply prophetic and I discover new meaning undergirding each with every passing year.
That said, I could not let this season pass unrecognized. I present this article both to recognize the day, and to offer a bit of insight to those not familiar with it.
Before we dive in, I want to put something forward that I found illuminating as I began to study the biblical festivals:
“God’s ways aren’t Jewish – Jewish ways are God-ish!”
Greg Hershberg – Beth Yeshua International
The point of this quote is something we all need to come to grips with. None of the festivals or observances prescribed in the Torah are “Feasts of the Jews”. These were, and are the appointed times of God:
The Lord spoke to Moses: “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘These are the Lord’s appointed times which you must proclaim as holy assemblies – my appointed times…”
Leviticus 23:1 – 2 [emphasis added]
The Torah makes it clear that the festivals and observances prescribed within, are God’s feasts. Each one is stated to be a “perpetual statute” … “throughout your generations” – telling us that these observances stand forever.
“For just as the new heavens and the new earth I am about to make will remain standing before me,” says the Lord, “so your descendants and your name will remain. From one month to the next and from one Sabbath to the next, all people will come to worship me,” says the Lord. “They will go out and observe the corpses of those who rebelled against me, for the maggots that eat them will not die, and the fire that consumes them will not die out. All people will find the sight abhorrent.”
Isaiah 66:22 – 24
Some translations render “From one month to the next…” in this passage as “From one New Moon to another…”, which points to proper observance of the Creator’s calendar. Research Rosh Chodesh for more on the biblical calendar and the New Moon.
Note also that this passage isn’t pointing only to the Sabbath and New Moon sightings, it’s pointing to observance of His mo’edim as a whole.
“All people…”
With all of this in mind, let’s cover some basics; there are seven mo’edim given in the Torah:
- Shabbat (the weekly Sabbath)
- Pesach (Passover) & Matzah (Unleavened Bread)
- Bikkurim (First Fruits)
- Shavuot (Pentecost / Festival of Weeks)
- Yom Teruah (Day of Trumpets)
- Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement)
- Sukkot (Tabernacles) & Shemini Atzeret (8th Day)
Know that there are three “pilgrimage festivals”. Three times a year, every Israelite had to go “up” to Jerusalem. They did so in order to keep the Lord’s command that they offer a sacrifice in the place of His choosing. These are:
- Pesach / Matzah (Passover / Unleavened Bread)
- Shavuot (Pentecost / the Festival of Weeks)
- Sukkot (Tabernacles, or the festival of “Booths”)
Three times a year all your males must appear before the Lord your God in the place he chooses for the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Temporary Shelters; and they must not appear before him empty-handed.
Deuteronomy 16:16
You can find a synopsis of each of the mo’edim in Leviticus 23. It’s kind of a ‘one-stop’ for information on the festivals of the Lord. The portion addressing Shavuot reads as follows:
“‘You must count for yourselves seven weeks from the day after the Sabbath, from the day you bring the wave offering sheaf; they must be complete weeks. You must count fifty days – until the day after the seventh Sabbath – and then you must present a new grain offering to the Lord. From the places where you live you must bring two loaves of bread for a wave offering; they must be made from two tenths of an ephah of fine wheat flour, baked with yeast, as first fruits to the Lord. Along with the loaves of bread, you must also present seven flawless yearling lambs, one young bull, and two rams. They are to be a burnt offering to the Lord along with their grain offering and drink offerings, a gift of a soothing aroma to the Lord. You must also offer one male goat for a sin offering and two yearling lambs for a peace offering sacrifice, and the priest is to wave them – the two lambs – along with the bread of the first fruits, as a wave offering before the Lord; they will be holy to the Lord for the priest.
Leviticus 23:15 – 22
“‘On this very day you must proclaim an assembly; it is to be a holy assembly for you. You must not do any regular work. This is a perpetual statute in all the places where you live throughout your generations. When you gather in the harvest of your land, you must not completely harvest the corner of your field, and you must not gather up the gleanings of your harvest. You must leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God.’”
A busy chunk of text to be sure… let’s take this in “bite-sized” portions.
First, Shavuot occurs seven weeks after Passover: “You must count for yourselves seven weeks from the day after the Sabbath…” At this point, Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread have been concluded. The presentation of the First Fruits has also been observed.
Don’t stumble over the use of “first-fruits” within the cited passage however – these are separate observances. The principle is that you are to give God an offering from among the first, and best “fruits” of your land. The festival of First Fruits stands as a distinct observance and holds a wealth of symbolism, meaning and prophetic insight all its own.
Within Shavuot, we see symbolism of abundant provision from the God of the Universe. Our offering is a thanksgiving for the grain the land yields, which is the gift of the Almighty. We also find, included here, requirements for burnt offerings, drink offerings, a sin offering and a peace offering. This points to the holiness of the people before the Lord.
The second paragraph begins with a command to assemble and that this day is to be treated as a Sabbath (a day of rest); “‘On this very day you must proclaim an assembly; it is to be a holy assembly for you. You must not do any regular work.“
Take note also of the command to leave provision for the poor:
“… you must not completely harvest the corner of your field, and you must not gather up the gleanings of your harvest. You must leave them for the poor and the foreigner.”
Leviticus 23:22
Here we can readily see the principle Yeshua so eloquently highlighted:
… “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
Matthew 22:37 – 40
Jewish & Rabbinic tradition holds that Shavuot also marks a commemoration of the giving of the commandments at Sinai. Here too, we see the hand of provision from the God of the Universe. In these commands, we find a multitude of blessings. Consider the words of Psalm 119:
How blessed are those whose actions are blameless, who obey the law of the Lord. How blessed are those who observe his rules, and seek him with all their heart…
Psalm 119:1 – 2
I rejoice in the lifestyle prescribed by your rules as if they were riches of all kinds.
Psalm 119:14
Though rulers plot and slander me, your servant meditates on your statutes. Yes, I find delight in your rules; they give me guidance.
Psalm 119:23 – 24
Teach me, O Lord, the lifestyle prescribed by your statutes, so that I might observe it continually. Give me understanding so that I might observe your law, and keep it with all my heart. Guide me in the path of your commands, for I delight to walk in it. Give me a desire for your rules, rather than for wealth gained unjustly.
Psalm 119:33 – 36
Your word is a lamp to walk by, and a light to illumine my path.
Psalm 119:105
There are certainly more citations to be had from this Psalm alone, but it isn’t my desire to belabor the point. The sentiment found in Psalm 119 is a theme to be found throughout scripture; that the law, statues, commands and precepts of God are a blessing.
Through this lens, we can see that a celebration of provision is most appropriate. Not only from a standpoint of the physical harvest of grain, but for the spiritual harvest to be had from His instruction in righteousness.
What most Christians know regarding Shavuot, or Pentecost, is recorded in the events of Acts 2. Here we see a manifestation of Gods provision and empowerment well beyond “natural” or “rational” explanation.
Now when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like a violent wind blowing came from heaven and filled the entire house where they were sitting. And tongues spreading out like a fire appeared to them and came to rest on each one of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them.
Acts 2:1 – 4
The text goes on to explain that there was a multitude of Jews from every nation in Jerusalem at this time. We can understand why, given that Shavuot is one of the three pilgrimage festivals.
Following the commotion and subsequent jeering of some of the onlookers, Peter stands up and explains what has just transpired, citing the prophet Joel as he does:
After all of this I will pour out my Spirit on all kinds of people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your elderly will have revelatory dreams; your young men will see prophetic visions. Even on male and female servants I will pour out my Spirit in those days. I will produce portents both in the sky and on the earth – blood, fire, and columns of smoke. The sunlight will be turned to darkness and the moon to the color of blood, before the day of the Lord comes – that great and terrible day!
It will so happen that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be delivered.
Joel 2:28 – 32
The record goes on to tell us that, as a result of Peter’s message, “about three thousand people were added.” (Act 2:41). We have seen Shavuot in the light of physical provision, instruction in righteousness and now we see in it, salvation and the empowerment of new life through the Holy Spirit.
Hopefully you are starting to see the significance of this very special day.
I’ve only begun to scratch the surface. The truth is that books could be written for each and every one of God’s mo’edim. So steeped in meaning are they, that one can spend years observing them without remotely exhausting the revelations they contain.
As a final thought, I see specific, prophetic meaning for this year. I’m sure I’m not alone in having heard the cries of many prophetic voices within the body who have been predicting a great shifting – a fulfillment of promises made by God to His people on both corporate and personal levels.
I do not believe in coincidences. My God is quite deliberate in His actions. It was therefore with no sense of surprise – but a healthy does of expectancy and hope – that I came upon this article over at Elijah List: “The Camels Are Coming…”
I’ll let you read that for yourself and ponder the implications therein.
חג שמח – Chag Sameach – Joyous Festival
שלום עליכם – Shalom Aleichem – Peace Be Upon You