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Jewish Heritage Revival
One Heritage United by Messiah Feast of Shavuot (Pentecost) - The Giving of God's Commandments and the Birth of God's Church As we have discovered during our study of the first three Feasts of God (Passover, Unleavened Bread and First Fruits), there is more than one meaning or significance for His Feasts. Shavuot / Pentecost is no different. It is set apart, between the spring Feasts and the fall Feasts. This is a day that all within God's Congregation should know about. It is unfortunate that in today's church more emphasis is placed on the celebrations of christmas and easter then in this Feast of Shavuot...a Feast with enormous significance, not only to Jewish (both believer and non-believer in Messiah) but also to the non-Jewish world within the church. The significance of this Feast will become apparent as you continue to read and see how our God is a God of design and planning. We will look at this Feast in the following manner:
Historical Biblical Account We find the ordinance of Shavuot, given to Moses in Leviticus 23:15 - 22: And you shall count unto you from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering (First Fruits); seven Sabbaths shall be complete. Even unto the morrow after the seventh Sabbath shall you number fifty days, and you shall offer a new meat offering unto the Lord. You shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven; they are the first fruits unto the Lord. And you shall offer with the bread, seven lambs without blemish of the first year and one young bullock, and two rams: they shall be for a burnt offering unto the Lord, with their meat offering, and their drink offering, even an offering made by fire of sweet savour unto the Lord. Then you shall sacrifice one kid of the goats for a sin offering and two lambs of the first year for a sacrifice of peace offerings. And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the first fruits for a wave offering before the Lord with the two lambs: they shall be holy to the Lord for the priest. And you shall proclaim the selfsame day, that it may be an holy convocation unto you: you shall do no servile work therein: it shall be a statute for ever in all your dwellings throughout your generations. And when you reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shall you gather any gleaning of your harvest; you shall leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the Lord your God. The ordinance for this Feast is also found in Deuteronomy 16:9 - 12 “You shall count seven weeks for yourself; begin to count the seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the grain. Then you shall keep the Feast of Weeks to the LORD your God with the tribute of a freewill offering from your hand, which you shall give as the LORD your God blesses you. You shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite who is within your gates, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are among you, at the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide. And you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and you shall be careful to observe these statutes. Our first encounter with this Feast can be found in Exodus 19:1 where the children of Israel are in the wilderness at Sinai - "In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. For they had departed from Rephidim, and had come to the desert of Sinai, and had encamped in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount. And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain saying, Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; You have seen what I have done to the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if you will obey my voice and keep my covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure to me, above all people, for all the earth is mine. And you shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel. And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him. And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord has spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord." Exodus 19:1 - 8 The fourth holy day of Israel is not calendar specific but is based on counting 7 Sabbaths + 1 day from the Feast of First Fruits, during the Passover season, as referenced above in this passage of Leviticus 23:16. The timeframe (Gregorian calendar) in which this Feast occurs is during the months of either May or June, depending on the Jewish calendar. The term Shavuot is Hebrew meaning weeks. Other terms associated with this Feast that you will want to be familiar with are:
At the Feast of First Fruits, during the Passover season, (what we know as our Messiah's resurrection) an offering of barley is brought to the Temple. This offering was an omer...a measure of barley. From the time of this offering, 50 days are counted until Shavuot. This period of time is also called the omer. This Feast is also associated with the summer harvest, specifically the wheat crops and signify the beginning of the summer wheat harvest. Shavuot is a time of thanksgiving for the summer harvest. To show thanksgiving for the summer harvest, a wave offering of two loaves of bread, made with leaven are waved before the Lord. (see above) At times there would be confusion in that the Feast of Shavuot, would also be known as the Feast of First Fruits, similar to the First Fruits Feast during the Passover season. Please note that even though they may be construed as First Fruits Feasts, the harvest is very different. The harvest during the Passover season was the spring harvest of less hardy crops, such as barley, while the harvest during the summer is for more hardier crops such as wheat. There will be a third harvest Feast that we will look at later called The Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles), that is celebrated during the fall harvest season. It is at this time in the desert when Moses receives God's Commandments (Torah)...for it is stated that the time is the third month. The first month being when the Passover occurs. Counting forward from First Fruits, seven Sabbaths, we are now in the third month. Even though we do not know the exact day, as we have seen in our study on the Passover, God has a prophetic plan for His Feasts. Shavuot is no different. By faith we believe that God gave His Commandments to Moses on this day. Our God is not a God of chaos or chance...He is a God of purpose. It is also at this time that the golden calf is being made and worshiped to by the children of Israel. Exodus 32 The result of this terrible event would result in the death of 3000 for this transgression. Now when Moses saw that the people were unrestrained (for Aaron had not restrained them, to their shame among their enemies), then Moses stood in the entrance of the camp, and said, “Whoever is on the LORD’s side—come to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him. And he said to them, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘Let every man put his sword on his side, and go in and out from entrance to entrance throughout the camp, and let every man kill his brother, every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.’” So the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And about three thousand men of the people fell that day. Then Moses said, “Consecrate yourselves today to the LORD, that He may bestow on you a blessing this day, for every man has opposed his son and his brother.” Exodus 32:25 - 29
Current Celebration In order to truly understand the origins of how the current celebration of Shavuot would require an additional article on the history of Israel and what transpired over the centuries. For the purposes of this article, we will include some key historical events in a table format, that will provide the need perspective in how we got from point A (Historic Biblical account) to point B (current synagogue celebration of this Feast)
The results of this meeting were to take focus away from the harvest aspects of this Feast and focus on historical events, in order to keep the Feast alive. It was at this time that emphasis was placed on the giving of Torah to Moses. As stated previously, even though the days are not recorded, the month is (Exodus 19:1) As stated previously, the Feast of Shavuot was not given a specific date, as the other Feasts were, but was calculated from the Feast of First Fruits during the Passover season. Today, Shavuot is celebrated on the 6th day of Sivan. Traditional foods eaten during this Feast are dairy. It is said that the Rabbi's had suggested that Torah is the equivalent to milk and honey for the soul. Some of the dishes include cheese blintzes (cheese rolled in pancakes and fried), kreplach (dough pockets stuffed with cheese). In keeping with the biblical references found in Leviticus 23, it is also tradition to bake two loaves of hallah (bread). During this Feast, it is customary within the synagogue to stay up the entire night and study the opening and closing verses of each Sabbath reading, opening and closing passages for each book of the Tenach, and the entire book of Ruth. In Israel, many will go to the Western Wall where the Temple once stood and recite the Amidah prayer (standing prayer) with its 19 blessings:
Prophetic Meaning Pentecost is the Greek term for Shavuot and is also known as the "Feast of Weeks" in that it is seven weeks (plus one day) after First Fruits, that Shavuot is celebrated. Along with Passover and Sukkot, it is one of the pilgrimage Feasts that were celebrated in Jerusalem, when the Temple was still standing and are ordained by God as Feasts that are to be kept forever. Within the New Testament writings, the Feast of Weeks is known as Pentecost. The term Pentecost is of Greek origin and simply means 50th. As we have seen throughout this article, the calculation of Shavuot is seven Sabbaths (49 days) plus 1 day after the last Sabbath, thus equaling 50 days. The animal sacrifices that were required during the Feast of Pentecost are no longer required in that our Messiah offered Himself a sacrifice, once for the remission of all sin. There is also no sacrifice today in that the Temple is no longer standing. No longer are animal sacrifices required in that our Messiah has brought forth the New Covenant as proclaimed by Jeremiah. "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they broke, although I was an husband unto them saith the Lord. But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor and every man his brother, saying Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity; and I will remember their sin no more." Jeremiah 31:31 - 34 Imagine what the scene during the time of our Messiah, after His resurrection. He spends forty days with His disciples, teaching them of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God: "Until the day in which He was taken up, after that He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments unto the apostles whom He had chosen: To whom also He showed Himself alive after His passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God: And being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but "wait for the promise of the Father, which saith he, you have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit, not many days hence."" Acts 1:3 - 6 What a Bible Study that must have been. Our Messiah was raised on First Fruits and taught his disciples for forty days. His disciples remained in Jerusalem as commanded, waiting on the promise that Jesus spoke...Ruach Ha Kodesh (The Holy Spirit). Further imagine the anticipation leading up to Shavuot...another Feast is to come, what will happen next? You have seen Messiah after His death; He brought God's Word alive, teaching of the mysteries that were hidden, regarding the Kingdom of Heaven, and then ascends into the clouds. The buzz, the excitement that must have been going through the Apostles and followers of our Messiah. He specifically instructed them to wait for the promise. The fulfillment of that promise is recounted in Acts 2: "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Acts 2:1 - 5 It is at this time, during Shavuot, that we identify the birth of the Church. Unlike the Church as we know it today, the first Church was comprised primarily of Jewish believers. There may have been a few gentiles in attendance, such as the Centurion at the crucifixion, but the first church was very Jewish. It wasn't until we read about Cornelius in Acts chapter 10 that salvation is first truly offered to gentiles. The Schofield Study Bible offers an interesting commentary regarding the Feast of Pentecost and the birth of the church. "The foreshadowing of the Feast of Pentecost is the descent of the Holy Spirit to form the Church. For this reason, leaven is present, because there is evil in the Church. Observe, it is loaves and not a sheaf of separate growths loosely bound together, but a real union of particles making one homogeneous body. The decent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost united the separate disciples into one organism. Pentecost took place fifty days after the offering of first fruits, coming at about the beginning of summer. This is the precise period between the resurrection of Christ and the formation of the Church during Pentecost, by the baptism of the Holy Spirit." Therefore, unlike the Passover sacrifice and a sheaf offering that is waved before God, being without leaven (sin), (as our Messiah presented Himself before God), the offering of loaves on Pentecost are not without leaven or sin. Therefore, there was (and is) no sin or evil in our Messiah, but from its birth, sin and evil are present in the church, and remain there to this day. One homogeneous body!!! This is what the church is supposed to be. Is it that way today? Far from it. We have a multitude of denominations offering various doctrines. Many are supported by God's Word, while many are not. The churches that offer supported doctrine, do not always offer the full scope of God's Word, but rather, pick and choose, what "church leaders" deem acceptable. The birth of the Church was of unity...for it is written in Acts 2:1 "...they were all with one accord..." There was no division, but, a unity of believers in our Messiah. How are we able to witness to unbelievers when our house is not in order? (we are trying to remove a speck from our neighbor's eye, while the church has a log in its own eye) In talking with many unbelievers, they bring up the many devastating events, that make up church history, and ask why? Events such as the holocaust, the plague, the inquisition and the crusades remain a major stumbling block for the church. Then, you bring in the many denominations and doctrines, and you have an unbeliever who is confused and considers the current church structure to be a vast contradiction. God can and does prepare the way for our path to unbelievers, but why do we still hinder our own progress, by offering contradiction of God's very Word? Shavuot, like Passover is a Feast of God that is ordained FOR EVER. It did not pass away when our Messiah fulfilled the requirements for the remission of our sin. If anything, Shavuot, like Passover is even more relevant today, in that it is the day in which the church was birthed. Therefore, as the body of Messiah, we should be continuing to celebrate this Feast as it is commanded by God...if not for the harvest, for the birth of God's Church (congregation) of believers in Messiah and the fulfillment of His promise in sending His Comforter, The Holy Spirit. As we have seen with both the giving of God's commandments and the birth of the Church, in neither are we made perfect by them. It is not by Torah or being a church member that redeems us. "Is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the gentiles? Yes of the gentiles also: Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and the uncircumcision through faith. Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yes we establish the law." Romans 3:29 - 31 Before our Messiah came and died, the children of Israel were living by faith, looking forward to the coming of Messiah. Today we are living through faith in that what our Messiah did is sufficient for our redemption. In living through faith, Paul states that we establish God's law...we don't do away with it. Another Feast of God that is ordained for ever. Again, a Feast of the Lord has been used for two extremely significant events, that were part of God's plan from the beginning of time. The giving of His commandments as found in Torah and the giving of His Ruach Ha Kodesh (Holy Spirit). A truly generous and gracious God is He... The Word to live by, and the power (through His Spirit) to do so!!!
Conclusion We have journeyed through God's Word and have seen the relevance of Shavuot, not only to the Jewish people, but also to the church. A Feast that unfortunately, the church knows very little about, and at times seems to be apathetic towards it. The significance of this Feast to the Church is enormous. In essence it is the birth of God's Church under the new covenant described in Jeremiah 31:31, yet they don't seem to care very much about it. The Pentecostal churches of today center on the verses found in Acts 2, yet do little to recognize this Feast as a yearly celebration...unfortunate. God's Word is very clear about this Feast...it is to be celebrated for ever. Many in the church will say that it is for Israel only. This just isn't true. The fulfillment of this Feast, doesn't mean that you should be done with it, but rather you should continue to recognize what our God has done by giving us His Holy Spirit. You have been grafted into the vine, in which the original branches are Israel and therefore have received all the promises associated with the covenants given to Israel. Why not honor God as He has commanded? It is never too late to start honoring God through His Feasts.
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