SHAVUOT/PENTECOST
This is the time of year when the day, called "Pentecost," is celebrated. In the Hebrew language, the day was called “Shavuot.” In the New Testament, it is known as“Pentecost,” which most churches recognize. The word "Shavuot" means "Weeks" (7 weeks to be precise), and the next day, day 50, this festivity was celebrated. In Greek, the word "Pente" means 50. In Acts 2, we all remember the day of “Pentecost” as when the “Ruach HaKodesh” (The Holy Spirit) fell upon all the believers who were gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate this "Feast of Weeks."
Yet the “Feast of Weeks” (Shavuot) had been celebrated yearly for the past thousand years, ever since the day that Fire fell on Mt. Sinai. That was the very first “Shavuot”. When Moses and the People of Israel received the Torah from God at Sinai in the form of two tablets of stone,
It really goes back to Egypt when the Israelites were still slaves. YHVH made some promises to His people, and we remember those promises in the form of the 4 cups of wine during Passover.
1. “I am YHVH, I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians
2. “I will deliver you from their bondage..
3. will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.
4. “I will take you for MY PEOPLE, and I will be YOUR GOD.
The first three were accomplished in Egypt, then, at Sinai, on the day of Shavuot, the 4th promise was fulfilled. YHVH took the 12 tribes of Israel and united them as a NATION. God came upon Mt. Sinai with fire and smoke amidst the blasts of the shofar in Exodus 19:18,19. This was the day that God married the bride "Israel," and we, as born-again believers, are part of that bride being grafted into his beloved family
In Leviticus, we see the commandment to celebrate Shavuot in chapter 23:15-22. “7” sabbaths (49 days), were to be counted, and then the next day (day 50), would be celebrated. This time was harvest time. During the time of Passover, the barley harvest was ready, then 50 days later, the wheat harvest.
Two loaves of wheat bread were to be made and “waved” before YHVH (up towards heaven, down towards the earth, then to the North, South, East, and West) Blessing and thinking Adonai for the blessings from heaven (the rain that falls from Heaven down to the earth) blessing all the lands of the earth, those lands that are in the North, the South, the East, and the West. When it rains, the seeds come up, grow, and mature, then are harvested.
One thing to note, God said, “when you enter the land which I am going to give you and reap the harvest…) So, this was not done while the Israelites were in the wilderness, but when they entered Canaan! And settled that land.
The two loaves of bread were to be baked with leaven. We think of leaven as related to sin, but it is also a good thing; leaven is also related to teaching and instruction. Yes, we are all “leavened” with the “sin nature,” yet we are also “leavened” by God’s Word, His Torah, which should “grow” inside of us. So just as bread swells up and grows through leaven, so we grow through the “leaven” of God’s Word.
Together with the two loaves, 7 yearling lambs were offered, also a bullock, two rams, and a drink offering were presented as burnt offerings. The lambs symbolize “Yeshua,” who is the “lamb of God.” The number 7 symbolizes perfection. The bullock symbolizes the “strength” of Adonai, the two rams remind us of the substitute ram which took Isaac’s place on Mt. Moriah. Two rams, perhaps one for the Jews and the other for the Gentiles, with the understanding that Yeshua was the substitute and redeemer for both Israel and for the rest of the nations (HaGoyim). The drink offering was wine, which symbolizes the blood of Yeshua.
One can wonder why 2 loaves? One can only guess. One idea is that the number 2 in Hebrew can symbolize “union and division”. It takes 2 entities to make a covenant. In our case, Yeshua and us! Through his death, we are “united” in Him when we trust Him as our LORD and Savior, and we are “divided” from the lost world of perdition.
We can look at the number 2 as in the loaves of bread as things that come in pairs; 2 tablets of the commandments, transformation and resurrection, cleansing and purification, death and life illustrated by the believer’s baptism, but it also symbolizes the Jews and Gentiles.
We can also see parallels in Sinai and Yerushalayim; Fire came down on Sinai, and it also came down at Jerusalem. The fire at Sinai did not touch the people, and the fire during Jerusalem’s Pentecost DID touch each believer! At Sinai, the “Ruach Elohim” (Spirit of God) rested on Moshe; at Pentecost, it INDWELTED in every believer. At Sinai, the Torah was written on tablets of Stone and read to the people; at Jerusalem, the Torah was written on the tablets of the heart of believers. Both events took place on Shavuot, and both events were accompanied by languages. At Sinai, in Hebrew, at Jerusalem, in Hebrew, PLUS many, many other languages (some believe 70)
At Sinai, there was a mixed multitude (Israelites, Egyptians, and perhaps Nubians) at Jerusalem, people from all over the then-populated world. The Torah is the teaching, the Holy Spirit is the “teacher.” Pentecost at Jerusalem also fulfills Isaiah’s prophecy: “For out of Zion shall come forth the Torah and the WORD of Adonai, from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:3)
At Sinai, the people were kept away; at Jerusalem, the people were touched by God, and the glory of God came to each believer. In Old Testament times, the Spirit of God rested on only certain individuals, such as the Prophets. At Pentecost, it filled ALL BELIEVERS just as today, when a person receives Yeshua as LORD and Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell inside of that person.
Another note: the Hebrew word KOLOT means both “voices” and “thunder”. At Sinai, the people heard “voices,” both thunder and the voice of God. At Jerusalem, the people heard the “voices” of those who were gifted with the different languages to preach God’s WORD.
The first fruits of the harvest can symbolize “Yeshua” and the “harvest” itself, ALL BELIEVERS who are part of it. Today, there is still much “fruit” to harvest, so we must get busy and teach the word and share the gospel with those who have an ear to hear and a heart to accept the same.
John 14:15 states the reason why the Holy Spirit was sent:
If you love me, you will keep my commandments, and I will ask the Father, and he will give you another comforter like me, the Spirit of Truth (HaRuach HaEmet) to be with you forever." (The Complete Jewish Study Bible)
Yeshua also stated in John 16:7, "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I don't go away, the comforting counselor will not come to you. However, if I do go, I will send him to you.
That is exactly what happened in Acts 2. The Spirit of God was sent! The pious Jews from all over the "then known world" were all gathered together at the Temple, all in prayer, reading Exodus when God came down in fire upon Mt. Sinai, and probably reading Ezekiel 26:36 and 37;
"A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them."
The Jews in the times of the Old Testament never imagined that the Spirit of God would live inside them personally. Yes, the Spirit came upon certain individuals, such as Moses, Aaron, the prophets of old, King David, and King Solomon, and probably other righteous kings, but never as a whole upon ALL people. Acts 2 changed everything.
The Spirit came down as "tongues of fire," and the disciples witnessed to all around them speaking in "foreign tongues" or "languages," miraculously through the Holy Spirit. Thus, all pious Jews received God's Word in their own languages.
Today, as soon as a person receives Yeshua as LORD and Savior, being "born again," he or she receives the Holy Spirit that will indwell in that believer's body, as the promised"comforter." The Spirit will comfort, teach, and convict, and will assure each believer of salvation. Yes, we can grieve the Holy Spirit through disobedience, and at times, we might feel that the Spirit of God has left us, yet the Spirit of God is still within us, beckoning us to repent and get back into fellowship.
So, we should all look forward to each "Pentecost Day" that commemorates that glorious day when God's Spirit was sent to indwell in EVERY BELIEVER. This year, according to the Jewish calendar, it came on May 22. Many churches celebrate Pentecost on the following Sunday. The Messianic congregations celebrate it on that Shabbat.
So, dear readers, you are not alone; God is with you all the time. Don't trust your feelings, feelings might change, trust in the promises of God, trust in HIS Word! Shalom to all.
This is the time of year when the day, called "Pentecost," is celebrated. In the Hebrew language, the day was called “Shavuot.” In the New Testament, it is known as“Pentecost,” which most churches recognize. The word "Shavuot" means "Weeks" (7 weeks to be precise), and the next day, day 50, this festivity was celebrated. In Greek, the word "Pente" means 50. In Acts 2, we all remember the day of “Pentecost” as when the “Ruach HaKodesh” (The Holy Spirit) fell upon all the believers who were gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate this "Feast of Weeks."
Yet the “Feast of Weeks” (Shavuot) had been celebrated yearly for the past thousand years, ever since the day that Fire fell on Mt. Sinai. That was the very first “Shavuot”. When Moses and the People of Israel received the Torah from God at Sinai in the form of two tablets of stone,
It really goes back to Egypt when the Israelites were still slaves. YHVH made some promises to His people, and we remember those promises in the form of the 4 cups of wine during Passover.
1. “I am YHVH, I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians
2. “I will deliver you from their bondage..
3. will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.
4. “I will take you for MY PEOPLE, and I will be YOUR GOD.
The first three were accomplished in Egypt, then, at Sinai, on the day of Shavuot, the 4th promise was fulfilled. YHVH took the 12 tribes of Israel and united them as a NATION. God came upon Mt. Sinai with fire and smoke amidst the blasts of the shofar in Exodus 19:18,19. This was the day that God married the bride "Israel," and we, as born-again believers, are part of that bride being grafted into his beloved family
In Leviticus, we see the commandment to celebrate Shavuot in chapter 23:15-22. “7” sabbaths (49 days), were to be counted, and then the next day (day 50), would be celebrated. This time was harvest time. During the time of Passover, the barley harvest was ready, then 50 days later, the wheat harvest.
Two loaves of wheat bread were to be made and “waved” before YHVH (up towards heaven, down towards the earth, then to the North, South, East, and West) Blessing and thinking Adonai for the blessings from heaven (the rain that falls from Heaven down to the earth) blessing all the lands of the earth, those lands that are in the North, the South, the East, and the West. When it rains, the seeds come up, grow, and mature, then are harvested.
One thing to note, God said, “when you enter the land which I am going to give you and reap the harvest…) So, this was not done while the Israelites were in the wilderness, but when they entered Canaan! And settled that land.
The two loaves of bread were to be baked with leaven. We think of leaven as related to sin, but it is also a good thing; leaven is also related to teaching and instruction. Yes, we are all “leavened” with the “sin nature,” yet we are also “leavened” by God’s Word, His Torah, which should “grow” inside of us. So just as bread swells up and grows through leaven, so we grow through the “leaven” of God’s Word.
Together with the two loaves, 7 yearling lambs were offered, also a bullock, two rams, and a drink offering were presented as burnt offerings. The lambs symbolize “Yeshua,” who is the “lamb of God.” The number 7 symbolizes perfection. The bullock symbolizes the “strength” of Adonai, the two rams remind us of the substitute ram which took Isaac’s place on Mt. Moriah. Two rams, perhaps one for the Jews and the other for the Gentiles, with the understanding that Yeshua was the substitute and redeemer for both Israel and for the rest of the nations (HaGoyim). The drink offering was wine, which symbolizes the blood of Yeshua.
One can wonder why 2 loaves? One can only guess. One idea is that the number 2 in Hebrew can symbolize “union and division”. It takes 2 entities to make a covenant. In our case, Yeshua and us! Through his death, we are “united” in Him when we trust Him as our LORD and Savior, and we are “divided” from the lost world of perdition.
We can look at the number 2 as in the loaves of bread as things that come in pairs; 2 tablets of the commandments, transformation and resurrection, cleansing and purification, death and life illustrated by the believer’s baptism, but it also symbolizes the Jews and Gentiles.
We can also see parallels in Sinai and Yerushalayim; Fire came down on Sinai, and it also came down at Jerusalem. The fire at Sinai did not touch the people, and the fire during Jerusalem’s Pentecost DID touch each believer! At Sinai, the “Ruach Elohim” (Spirit of God) rested on Moshe; at Pentecost, it INDWELTED in every believer. At Sinai, the Torah was written on tablets of Stone and read to the people; at Jerusalem, the Torah was written on the tablets of the heart of believers. Both events took place on Shavuot, and both events were accompanied by languages. At Sinai, in Hebrew, at Jerusalem, in Hebrew, PLUS many, many other languages (some believe 70)
At Sinai, there was a mixed multitude (Israelites, Egyptians, and perhaps Nubians) at Jerusalem, people from all over the then-populated world. The Torah is the teaching, the Holy Spirit is the “teacher.” Pentecost at Jerusalem also fulfills Isaiah’s prophecy: “For out of Zion shall come forth the Torah and the WORD of Adonai, from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:3)
At Sinai, the people were kept away; at Jerusalem, the people were touched by God, and the glory of God came to each believer. In Old Testament times, the Spirit of God rested on only certain individuals, such as the Prophets. At Pentecost, it filled ALL BELIEVERS just as today, when a person receives Yeshua as LORD and Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell inside of that person.
Another note: the Hebrew word KOLOT means both “voices” and “thunder”. At Sinai, the people heard “voices,” both thunder and the voice of God. At Jerusalem, the people heard the “voices” of those who were gifted with the different languages to preach God’s WORD.
The first fruits of the harvest can symbolize “Yeshua” and the “harvest” itself, ALL BELIEVERS who are part of it. Today, there is still much “fruit” to harvest, so we must get busy and teach the word and share the gospel with those who have an ear to hear and a heart to accept the same.
John 14:15 states the reason why the Holy Spirit was sent:
If you love me, you will keep my commandments, and I will ask the Father, and he will give you another comforter like me, the Spirit of Truth (HaRuach HaEmet) to be with you forever." (The Complete Jewish Study Bible)
Yeshua also stated in John 16:7, "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I don't go away, the comforting counselor will not come to you. However, if I do go, I will send him to you.
That is exactly what happened in Acts 2. The Spirit of God was sent! The pious Jews from all over the "then known world" were all gathered together at the Temple, all in prayer, reading Exodus when God came down in fire upon Mt. Sinai, and probably reading Ezekiel 26:36 and 37;
"A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them."
The Jews in the times of the Old Testament never imagined that the Spirit of God would live inside them personally. Yes, the Spirit came upon certain individuals, such as Moses, Aaron, the prophets of old, King David, and King Solomon, and probably other righteous kings, but never as a whole upon ALL people. Acts 2 changed everything.
The Spirit came down as "tongues of fire," and the disciples witnessed to all around them speaking in "foreign tongues" or "languages," miraculously through the Holy Spirit. Thus, all pious Jews received God's Word in their own languages.
Today, as soon as a person receives Yeshua as LORD and Savior, being "born again," he or she receives the Holy Spirit that will indwell in that believer's body, as the promised"comforter." The Spirit will comfort, teach, and convict, and will assure each believer of salvation. Yes, we can grieve the Holy Spirit through disobedience, and at times, we might feel that the Spirit of God has left us, yet the Spirit of God is still within us, beckoning us to repent and get back into fellowship.
So, we should all look forward to each "Pentecost Day" that commemorates that glorious day when God's Spirit was sent to indwell in EVERY BELIEVER. This year, according to the Jewish calendar, it came on May 22. Many churches celebrate Pentecost on the following Sunday. The Messianic congregations celebrate it on that Shabbat.
So, dear readers, you are not alone; God is with you all the time. Don't trust your feelings, feelings might change, trust in the promises of God, trust in HIS Word! Shalom to all.
