Three Shavuots This Year?

First of all, happy Shavuot! Today we celebrate the giving of the Holy Spirit, and the fulfillment of God's law that had been written on stone to the Israelites in the wilderness; now written on our hearts.

Last week, I posted a Shavuot/Pentecost greeting on Facebook, because all my Messianic/Jewish roots friends were celebrating.  And so were my Orthodox Jewish friends.  It didn't occur to me that it wasn't actually the biblical Shavuot until a Christian friend replied, "Isn't Pentecost next Sunday?"  

My whole point in that post was to point out that for much of Christendom, the holiday passes with nary a mention (even though Christianity claims that day as the "birth of the church").  But my friend's response was a good reminder for me to go back to the Word of God and do the math myself.

Leviticus 23 is the one place where all seven of the LORD's appointed times are listed together.  Let's look at that passage and do the math.

Verses 9 through 14 explain the feast of Firstfruits, which celebrates the barley harvest in Israel - the first harvest of the agricultural year.  The spiritual fulfillment of this feast occurred when Yeshua rose from the dead.  1 Corinthians 15:20 tells us, But in fact Messiah has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep (that means died).  He is the spiritual fulfillment of the first harvest of the year in Israel - barley.

Leviticus 23:15-16 continues into the next appointed time:  You shall count seven full weeks from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering.  You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath.  Then you shall present a grain offering of new grain to YHVH.

These 50 days are known as "counting the omer" (which means sheaf in Hebrew).  To count, you had to look back to the starting day, which is the Feast of Firstfruits, aka the resurrection of Yeshua.  He rose from the dead on the day after the regular weekly Sabbath that fell during the Passover/Unleavened Bread week.

The confusion arises due to different counting methods. Sometime between the resurrection of Yeshua and the destruction of the temple, the Pharisees began counting the omer from the day after the special Sabbath that occurs on the first day of Unleavened Bread - the day which follows the one-day commemoration of Passover - instead of starting the counting from the day after the regular weekly Sabbath.

This special Sabbath is explained in Leviticus 23:6-7:  And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work.

Understanding the biblical feasts is key here. 

Passover is one day long, and then Unleavened Bread is seven days long, creating a total 8-day celebration. The first day of the Unleavened Bread (the day after Passover) is the special Sabbath.  John 19:31 mentions this special Sabbath - Yeshua's body could not remain on the cross for that special Sabbath, which was to begin at sundown... Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away.

Are you confused yet?  I had to study this for a long time before I feel like I had a handle on all these dates.

The Jewish reckoning of Shavuot continues to this day by beginning their omer-counting on the day after the special Sabbath.  But this method disregards the context of the counting in Leviticus 23.  The context is seven regular Sabbaths!

I understand why the Jews who did not believe that Yeshua was the Messiah wanted to separate Shavuot from the Feast of Firstfruits, which so clearly points to Yeshua.  But I don't understand why Messianic Jews do it, too.

So this year (2021), Jews celebrated Shavuot on Sunday, May 16.  However, Passover this year began on the evening of Saturday, March 27 after sunset and lasted all day Sunday, March 28.  The special Sabbath of Unleavened Bread began after sundown Sunday and lasted all day Monday, March 29.  The day after that special Sabbath began Monday night and lasted all day Tuesday, March 30, which would have been their reckoning of the Feast of Firstfruits.  If you count 7 weeks and a day (50 days) from that day, Shavuot lands on Wednesday, May 19 (beginning at sundown the night before).  I'm not sure why the Orthodox and Messianic Jews moved it back three days this year.

(Are you totally confused yet? I totally understand!)

The church calendar, however, got it right this year.  Counting back 50 days to the Feast of Firstfruits (Resurrection Sunday) brings us to Sunday, May 23 - the day of this post.

And I am delighted to report that my pastor spoke of Pentecost/Shavuot today.

Shavuot (pronounced sha -vu OTE) is the celebration of the next harvest in the land of Israel - the wheat harvest.  Yeshua was the firstfruits of the barley harvest, and when Peter preached at the temple on that day in Acts 2, the new believers, 3000 of them, fulfilled the firstfruits of the wheat harvest.

Back to Leviticus to see what I'm talking about.

Chapter 23:17 says, You shall bring from your dwelling places two loaves of bread to be waved, made of two tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour, and they shall be baked with leaven, as firstfruits to YHVH.

Two loaves?  With leaven?  Messiah was a representation of Unleavened Bread.  He was without sin.  (Leaven often represents sin in scripture).

So here we are, at the next harvest, with those two loaves full of leaven.  Who do those loaves represent?  Jew and Gentile, sinful people full of leaven, yet redeemed by our sinless Messiah, who began to pour out His Holy Spirit on believers that day.

It is interesting to note that the Jewish people read the book of Ruth during Shavuot, even though the story takes place during the barley harvest - thus connecting the two celebrations. The relationship of Ruth the Moabite and Boaz the Israelite is such a beautiful picture of the bride of Messiah!  And Jew and Gentile together, no less!  

The Blessings of Obedience

In this post, I am going to try and collect some thoughts that have been swirling around in my brain.  Pardon any randomness that is sure to occur!

Recently, I had a friend ask me about Romans 8:1 and how it works together with Romans 14:22-23.  Upon reading the two passages, which have to do with condemnation and judgment, I asked her what version she was reading.  She was working with the NIV and the Amplified Bible.  I told her to read Romans 8:1 in either the KJV or the NKJV, which come from the textus receptus Greek manuscript (as opposed to the more recently-used critical text).  Here is the difference:

NIV: Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus

NKJV: There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

Well, that is quite a difference.  One version shows an action associated with it, and the other does not.  But in fairness, chapter 8 continues, and both versions highlight the same concept in verse 4: that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Ooo, suddenly we have a bit of context!  The passage is speaking of walking in New Covenant Law, which is governed by the leading of the Holy Spirit and not by the laws of the flesh that are written on stone tablets under Moses.  (New Covenant law boils down to this:  Love God and love people.)

Do you see how important it is to consider context, and the full counsel of scripture, versus taking one verse out of context?  A person could read 8:1 in the NIV (and most other modern translations) and simply concur that because a person believes in Jesus, they are good to go.  Nothing else required. 

Today in the church, there is much focus on the love of God, as it applies to ourselves.  You hear it quite often in our worship music - He is jealous for me.  Oh, how He loves me.  Oh, He chases me down.  Love is love.  Etc.

And it is true.  God is love.  Scripture says so.  But balance is so critical!  Look at 1 John 4:8: He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

Did you notice that this verse indicates a lack of action?  How about this one a few verses later? We love Him because He first loved us.  Action is demonstrated.  We can only truly love Him (and others) because of His great love that He showed us first.

How about the famous verse, John 3:16?  By itself, it seems that only belief is required, and nothing else.  But if you keep reading, you find that there is more:
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.  Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.  But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

True belief requires action.

Matthew 5:16 says this:  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

And James drives it home in James 2:20- But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?

In other words, don't just stand there, do something!

What we do matters!

Speaking of taking verses out of context, let's visit the book of Jeremiah (which I am currently reading).  There is a verse, beloved by many and claimed as their "life verse."  You know where I am going, right?

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Jeremiah 29:11.

This is a lovely verse and a wonderful promise.  In context, it was made to Israel's southern kingdom as they were getting booted out of the land for disobedience.  God was telling them to go ahead and relocate to Babylon, assuring them that if they obey His command to go, He would take care of them in a foreign land.

But what comes next is God's assurance of what would happen if they do NOT obey Him.  Nobody ever takes Jeremiah 29:17 as their life verse:
thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will send on them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like rotten figs that cannot be eaten, they are so bad. (The passage continues...) And I will pursue them with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence; and I will deliver them to trouble among all the kingdoms of the earth—to be a curse, an astonishment, a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have driven them, because they have not heeded My words, says the Lord, which I sent to them by My servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them; neither would you heed, says the Lord.

What we do matters.

Let's visit Deuteronomy 28.  The twelve tribes of Israel are standing on the mountains of Gerazim  (blessing) and Ebal, six per mountain, to hear what causes God's blessings and curses.  The first fourteen verses outline what will happen if they live their lives in obedience to YHVH.  It is lovely, full of prosperity and fruit and rain in season and blessed work and dominion over enemies.

BUT, starting with verse 15 and continuing all the way through 68, YHVH outlines the consequences of disobedience.   And it starts out bad and gets progressively worse.  Why is the warning of the curses so long and detailed?  I believe YHVH really wanted them to understand the price they would pay for disobedience.  The detailed list includes confusion, frustration, pestilence, wasting disease, blight, mildew, famine, defeat by enemies, boils, death, oppression, robbery, scattering, expulsion from the land, and captivity.  Oh, and starvation so bad you will eat your children.  

I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing;
therefore choose life   (Deut 30:19)

What we do matters.

This same theme is carried into the New Covenant on the Mountain of Beatitudes in Matthew 5, but with a New Covenant twist.  Interestingly, Yeshua spends most of his time on the blessings and not the curses.  Verses 3-10 tell us, Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, the pursuers of righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and those who are persecuted.  For theirs is the kingdom of heaven and they will inherit the earth. (note:  the kingdom of God will someday be on earth and the Messiah will be ruling from Jerusalem).

Now for the twist...  verse 19.  It simply blows me away:
Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Did you notice that the commandment breakers are not booted out of the kingdom?  Yeshua's death lifted the terrible curses that we saw in Deuteronomy 28, but there are still consequences to disobediece.  You'll get into the kingdom if you have placed your trust in Yeshua, but you won't have much of a position there.  Compare that to 1 Corinthians 3:9-15...
For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

In other words, by the skin of their teeth.

Now compare this to Yeshua's parables of the talents in Matthew 25.  The ones who use the talents given to him by God is rewarded greatly.  The one who basically does nothing with his gift is strongly rebuked and cast into the outer darkness (fringes of the kingdom) where he will gnash his teeth (experience deep regret).

What we do matters. 

1 John 5:2-3 confirm this concept: By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.

Not burdensome?  More like impossible, at least by our own power!

This is why the appointed time of Shavuot, or Pentecost, is so important.  The Jews have always celebrated the giving of the Torah - the laws of God that were written on stone tablets at Sinai - on this appointed day.  It was no coincidence then, that the Holy Spirit was given to indwell believers on this very same appointed day, when Jerusalem would have been full to overflowing with Jews on their annual Shavuot pilgrimage.

Without the power of the Holy Spirit that was given that day, accompanied by the spiritual gifts that are given to each believer, it is impossible to fulfill New Covenant Law.  

We must discover the gifts that the Spirit has given us, and use them for His kingdom purposes, if we want to hear His beloved voice saying, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

What we do matters.

Watchmen on the Walls

I just returned from my third trip to the place where the Lord God has chosen to put His name - Jerusalem.

At the beginning of the trip, I asked Him for eyes like the servant of Elisha - to be given a glimpse into the heavenlies and the spiritual warfare going on over His holy city.  Then I waited and watched.

Throughout this trip, we were interceding for Israel - through prayer, worship, dance, and supporting our friends here.

We were blessed to be here for the day they celebrate called Shavuot. Biblically,  this is one of the three pilgrimage feasts required in the Levitical law.  

For the Jewish people, it is a grand celebration of the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai. Many stay up all night studying Torah,  and the celebration continues all day. [Believers in Yeshua commemorate the giving of the Holy Spirit on this same appointed day of Shavuot, aka Pentecost, as recorded in Acts 2].  As the festival drew to a close, we joined the thousands of worshippers at the Kotel, or Western Wall. They were dressed in their best and had come to the Wall to pray.

As I was praying for the Holy Spirit and the revelation of Yeshua to fall on these chosen people, God drew my attention to two groups of birds at the Wall.

On the right side of the wall where I was, in the women's section,  four doves were nestled in between the stones, keeping watch. The stalwart doves did not move the entire time I was there. They silently kept watch.

Meanwhile, to the left, a loud contingent of noisy birds made a ruckus. They appeared to be causing trouble as they swooped back and forth to the wall, screeching loudly, darting and disappearing like cockroaches into small openings between the stones.

At first I thought they were bats, but a team member told me they were barn swallows. Loud little buggers.

I was in awe as I watched the picture of spiritual warfare going on right in front of me.  (The dove is a symbol of the Holy Spirit.)

Several nights later, we came again to the Kotel to pray.  The doves were still faithfully keeping watch in their places, unmoving and stalwart.  The loud, angry birds from the previous night were nowhere to be seen.  What a picture of God's steadfast watch over His chosen people, as He waits for His perfect timing to reveal Himself to them.  Meanwhile, the enemy noisily plots and schemes against them, all in vain.

 The Lord did not answer my prayer in the way I had asked Him.  Instead of giving me a glimpse into the spirit world, He chose to use the natural world to answer my prayer.  I know that the picture in the heavenlies is much bigger, but God in His mercy gave me what He knew I could handle.

Shavuot Shalom!

The fifty days of counting the omer are done, and Shavuot has come.  What is Shavuot, and how is it fulfilled by Yeshua?

We know that Shavuot, called Pentecost in Greek, is commemorated as the birth of the church in the Christian world.  It is the day that the Lord poured out His Holy Spirit on the disciples who were waiting for the promised Helper.

The Jewish people celebrate Shavuot as a commemoration of the giving of the law on Sinai, when the commandments were written on stone tablets by the finger of God.  However, in Jeremiah 31:33, and reiterated in Hebrews 8:9, the Lord promises that the law will be written on their hearts.  From stone tablets to our hearts - this is another fulfullment of Shavuot!

Shavuot had been kept by the Jewish people for 1500 years prior to Yeshua's appearance.  It was one of the three commanded pilgrimage feasts, for which the Israelites were required to journey to Jerusalem.  (Passover, Shavuot, and Tabernacles are the three). 

It is amazing that God arranged for Jerusalem to be FULL of His chosen people while Yeshua was literally fulfilling His spring feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, and Passover.  Even so, it was missed by so many!  

Back at the time of the first Shavuot, the giving of the Torah, 3000 died following the golden calf incident.

Isn't it interesting that when Yeshua fulfilled Shavuot by sending His Holy Spirit, 3000 were saved on that day.

Shavuot was also the celebration of the firstfruits of the wheat harvest.  Yeshua had risen on the feast of Firstfruits of the barley harvest.  So this is a different harvest.  The offering was to include two loaves of bread, of fine wheat flour, with leaven.  Remember that leaven represents sin.  The loaves signify that we can come as we are!  He will clean us up. 

Throughout scripture, you will see that there is a requirement of at least two witnesses in order to establish a matter.  In Matthew 18, Yeshua sent out His disciples two by two.  The two loaves are a beautiful picture of Jews and gentiles, unified together in Messiah!

Shavuot's Coming!

Here comes Shavuot, or "Pentecost" in Greek.  What is it?  It is the fourth feast that is commanded in scripture.  We saw how Yeshua perfectly fulfilled Passover, Unleavened Bread, and Firstfruits, and we are currently in the process of "counting the omer" for 50 days until Shavuot.  Today is day 45.

This is the only feast out of the seven that is dateless.  Why is that?  We are to count 50 days from the extremely significant feast of Firstfruits - the day that Yeshua was raised from the dead.  As we are counting, it causes us to look back upon that Precious Day!  Day 5 since Firstfruits.... day 17 from Firstfruits, day 26 from Firstfruits, etc.  Firstfruits is the feast that changed the world, so it is no wonder that God would give us a special way to focus on it.

If you missed my posts on Firstfruits, go back and read them if you have time.  What the gentile church calls "Easter" is really a beautiful scriptural feast day that was foretold and commanded in the book of Leviticus, and offers a magnificent picture of the resurrected Messiah.

Note:  The Jewish people today calculate Shavuot from the day after Passover, which is why on the Jewish calendar, Shavuot begins this year on June 7.   However, Leviticus 23 tells us how to correctly calculate Shavuot:  ‘And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: (Firstfruits) seven Sabbaths shall be completed.  Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord.

I had just returned from Mexico on Yom HaAliya, which is the Ascension Day of Yeshua, and was unable to post.  But I have been pondering it.  Why did Yeshua ascend on Day 40, during the counting of the omer?  What is significant about the 10 day period between the ascension and Shavuot, which occurs on Day 50?

In scripture,  the number 40 is very significant and occurs many times.  The number can mean generation, probation; trial; discipline.  Yeshua was on "trial" or "probation," appearing during this time to over 500 people to prove His resurrection. 

After He ascended on Day 40, there was a 10-day period of waiting.  Could the 10 possibly signify the 10 commandments, the commandments that were written in stone on Sinai and commemorated annually on Shavuot since that time?  Could those 10 days be preparing the disciples to have the commandments written on their hearts?  Ten is a number of completion or divine order, as well as responsibility on earth.

And 50!  Well, 50 represents Jubilee, perfect deliverance; (7 x 7 + 1)  - continued deliverance following the perfect consummation of time.  If that isn't a picture of Shavuot, I don't know what is.  Watch for more on Shavuot this week.

By the way, thanks to Maranathalife.com for their wonderful insight on symbolic meanings of various numbers, objects, and substances.
http://www.maranathalife.com/teach-ot/simbolos.htm