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Shavuot, aka Pentecost, is connected historically and ceremonially to the annual memorials of Pesakh (Passover) and Matzot (Unleavened Bread) by the 50 days in between.
God’s instructions for Shavuot are connected to a harvest, but we can glean deeper meaning from its thematic linkage to Pesakh, to the giving of the Ten Commandments at Sinai and to the widespread outpouring of the Spirit on the 120 believers of Yeshua haMashiakh (Jesus the Christ):
- Pesakh: Be freed from bondage. (Justification)
- Matzot: Be purged of the mindset from the former life. (Sanctification)
- Shavuot: Learn what it means to be be adopted into the family of the Bondage-Breaker, live it out and offer the invitation to others. (Sanctification)
The message of freedom from the past, contentment in the present and strength for the future is for the whole world — not just Israel.
Pentecost/Shavuot is one of the three annual pilgrimage festivals in the Torah. The people were commanded to attend and come together for this festival.
Shavuot: Many names, one khag
- חַג הַקָּצִיר בִּכּוּרֵי מַעֲשֶׂיךָ khag ha-qatsir bikkurey ma’aseykha (Feast of the Harvest of the Firstfruits of Your Labor; Ex. 23:16)
- חַג שָׁבֻעֹת khag shavu’ot (Feast of Shavu’ot; Ex. 34:22; Deut. 16:9–10)
- shavuah = “week,” “seven”Related to shavah, to make an oath. Thus, seven is seen to communicate completeness or assurance: days of creation.בִּכּוּרֵי קְצִיר חִטִּים bikkurey qatsir khittim (Feast of the Firstfruits of the Wheat; Ex. 34:22; Num. 28:26)
- πεντηκοστή pentecoste (50th day, i.e., Pentecost; Acts 2:1; 20:16; 1Cor. 16:8–9)
- יּוֹם הבִּכּוּרֵים yom ha-bikkurim (Day of the Firstfruits in rabbinical literature; cf. m.Bikkurim 3:2–3)
Why 50 days?
Shavuot is held at the end of seven “weeks” plus one day (Leviticus 23).
The Yobel (Jubilee) year is held on the 50th year of the communal count, the year after seven cycles of Shemitah (release) years (Num. 25:10).
Shavuot follows seven sevens of days from the release from Egypt.
The Yobel comes after seven sevens of mini-releases (Shemitah).
Both Shavuot and the Yobel show us that there is a new beginning for God’s people after a complete release from bondage, if we are completely devoted to the one who has given us true freedom.
No wonder Yeshua at the beginning of His public work quoted from a prophetic Yobel passage (“year of the LORD’s favor,” Isaiah 61).
The apocryphal Book of Jubilees and writings of Philo put special meaning on the number 50. The 50th year and the 50th day focus on the same theme.
“The fiftieth year (Year of Jubilee) and the fiftieth day (Pentecost Day) have essentially the same character, namely, a time of liberty, remission of sin, and a new beginning. Like the Jubilee, Pentecost celebrates the hope of a new beginning.”
Samuele Bacchiocchi, God’s Festivals in Scripture and History. Part I: The Spring Festivals, Biblical Perspectives, Berrien Spirngs, Mich.: 2001. p. 175
Shavu’ot primer
Pesach focuses on the barley harvest but the time of Shauvot is the time of the wheat harvest. The Bikkurey Qatsir Khittim name of the holy day has its roots in the Hebrew word חִטָּה khittah (H2406). That word comes from חָנַט khanat (H2590) “to spice, make spicy, embalm,” “to put forth, to bring about ripeness.”
Wheat is more valuable than barley. Wheat flour is what the priests used for the “fine flour” in the minkhah offerings in the Tabernacle. Wheat is also as a symbol of the “second generation” of first fruits.
Yeshua was “harvested” from the grave as the first fruits of the barley harvest. The 3,000 believers are “harvested” at Shavuot (Acts 2) as the first fruits of the wheat harvest.
There are many things offered to HaShem at Shavuot. The Shavu’ot offerings listed in Lev. 23:17–20 include:
תְּנוּפָה tenufah (“wave offering,” H8573): Two loaves of two-10ths of an ephah of fine flour, baked with yeast.
בִּכּוּרִים לַיהוָה bikkurim l’YHWH “first fruits to the LORD” (Leviticus 23:17 NASB)
עוֹלָה ’olah (“burnt offerings,” H5930a): Seven yearling lambs without blemish, one bull, two rams, meal and drink offerings.d
מִנְחָה minkhah (“grain/meal offering,” H4503)
נֵסֶךְ nesekh (“drink offering,” H5262a)
חַטָּאת khattaʾt (“sin offering,” H2403b): Male goat
שֶׁלֶם shelem (“peace offering,” H8002): Two yearling lambs.
Leaven of men vs. leaven of Heaven
Daniel discussed the symbolism of the purging of leaven a few weeks ago.
4 types of leaven in the Bible
- Sexual degeneracy
- Spiritual arrogance
- Abuse of power
- Syncretism (mixing teachings of God with those of the world)
2 lessons of unleavened bread
- Our conduct matters to God. We are called to live by every word that comes from God’s mouth (Deut. 6:8). His word is our food.
- The law of God = unleavened bread = sincerity and truth
Deeper study: hallel.info/matzot-2020-leaven
“God spoke further to Moses and said to him, “I am the LORD; and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name, LORD, I did not make Myself known to them. “I also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they sojourned. “Furthermore I have heard the groaning of the sons of Israel, because the Egyptians are holding them in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant. “Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. ‘Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. ‘I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession; I am the LORD.’” So Moses spoke thus to the sons of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses on account of their despondency and cruel bondage.”
Exodus 6:2–9 NASB
Four aspects are memorialized in the traditional four cups of the Pesakh seder
Delivery you out of bondage.
Redeem you with power.
גָּאַל vb. redeem, act as kinsman (Strong’s H1350)
act as kinsman, do the part of next of kin Lev. 25:25 (H) Num. 5:8, 35:12, Ruth 2:20, 3:9, 3:12, 4:1, 4:3, 4:6, 4:8, 4:14, 1Kings 16:11.
גֹּאֵל הַדָּם the avenger of blood
3. Take you into the family of God. Ruth 1–2
4. Deliver you to where you belong. Hebrews 3–4; Ps. 95
The Promise of Mt. Sinai
The LORD intends for all believers to be priests, to bring near to the Presence those who are far off. Priests bring offerings from the people to HaShem.
The lesson of the qorbanot (“brought-near things,” i.e., offerings) of Vayiqra (Leviticus), is what is really brought to HaShem are the people, not the animals, the bread and wine.
Paul called this the Olive Tree of Israel (Romans 11) and Commonwealth of Israel (Ephesians 2). Paul tells us that descendants of Abraham are the olive tree that God originally planted, but there would be more that would be grafted onto that tree. John the Baptist warned that God can make descendants for Abraham from stones. Just because you were born into the family doesn’t mean that you are staying in the family, or want to stay in the family.
Those who come near the Presence must have the “dirt” of their previous lifestyle removed and take this transformation seriously.
One of the lessons of the qorbanot, especially on Yom haKippurim (Day of Atonement) in Leviticus 16 is that this transformation that wants to perform in us is the removal of our sins, transgressions and iniquities. We must be willing to allow Him to clean us up.
Are the Ten Commandments impossible to keep? No. One of the last messages to the second generation of the Exodus suggests that it’s not impossible (Deut. 30:11–16). God is not setting us up for failure.
The Lord wants us to approach His presence but we can’t go in as we are, we must be transformed by Him.
If we treat the House of Bondage (our former life) and our House of Freedom (HaShem’s house) as passing attractions, then over time, we will see that the attraction of the House of Bondage is much stronger, even though you can see as you look over the horizon, the House of Bondage leads to adversity and death, while the House of Freedom leads to prosperity and life.
The point of all of this is to have a closer relationship with God. His word is to become a part of who we are from the inside out. When we are in relationship with God, we love Him to walk in His ways and keep His commandments, statutes and judgements.
When you love the Lord, you want to go where He is going. You will see that He is leading you towards life and prosperity and not towards death and adversity.
At Sinai, God’s word went out like flames of fire. It was not just a show simply to scare people to death? No. Do we shirk away from God’s power or move closer to it? When the light comes, people are scared of what the light will reveal about them so they prefer darkness.
Are we living like cockroaches scared we will get smashed when the light reveals us for what we are?
‘New Covenant’ prophecies reveal that the promise at Mount Sinai is possible
Are we being set up too fail?
One of the things that is stated in the New Covenant prophecies (Jeremiah 31:31–34; Ezekiel 36:25–27) first off is it is not going to be like the covenant that was made before. Does that mean we just get to toss the whole thing out because that was defective? No.
We read on that the children of Israel broke the first covenant very early on at the feet of the Golden Calf, but there were a lot of other rebellions, slights and terrible affronts by the people of Israel towards HaShem during their time in the wilderness.
Did God simply tear up the covenant right after they broke it? No. He did not.
The kind of love God wants from us and the kind of love God gives us is not a syrupy, saccharine kind of love. The kind of love that God wants from us is the kind of love that wants to please Him, that wants go forward beside Him and to live where He lives and like He lives.
God is not setting us up to fall but to prevail, to move forward and conquer our sin nature and move towards life and away from death.
God promises that we will know Him more fully, and that is what happened when the Word became flesh in the Messiah Yeshua.
When we long to know God, He will remove our sins and forget them as far as the east is from the west. Sin will no longer be a part of our life and God will not remember our sin anymore.
God wants a relationship with us and He wants to transform us. It’s about a progression from bondage to freedom. The freedom He gives us points us to the law of liberty which gives us more freedom.
Acts 1-2: Promise at Mount Zion fulfilled
Summary: Tammy