Shavuot (Pentecost) readings

Shavuot (Pentecost) isn’t just a harvest festival. This study explores its profound spiritual lessons about harvest and growth. Just like Wine Country grapevines need careful tending, so too our spiritual life requires intentional connection with God. This Festival of First Fruits remind us that everything is a gift, not our own achievement. Through challenges and Heaven’s empowerment by the Word (Yeshua, or Jesus) and the Spirit, we’re transformed from disconnected branches to fruitful participants in God’s redemptive work. It’s about gratitude, resilience and being part of something much larger than ourselves — Heaven’s harvest of the Earth.

In this study on Shavuot (Pentecost), we see how we’re reminded annually of Heaven’s mission to call all nations and a promise to do that through His Son as King of Kings over Jew and goy (Gentile) alike. The Book of Ruth depicts a woman of Moab embraced by Israel through her faith: “Your people will be my people; your God my God.” The Holy One’s promise to bless the world through Abraham was a legacy that stretched through Ruth’s lineage to King David to Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus). Yeshua’s visit to Samaria (John 4) ignored long-held social barriers and showed…

Shavuot (Pentecost) is an invitation to all mankind to meet and fellowship with God. He sent the same invitation through Moshe (Moses) to the first generation of Israel post-Exodus that God sends through His Messiah, Yeshua (Jesus).

The Torah reading בְּהַר Behar (“on mount” [Sinai]; Leviticus 25) teaches us how to be a kinsman-redeemer. It’s a beautiful ancient role for a family member with the character to step up and bail out a relative who has fallen on hard times. The Bible book of Ruth provides an example of such a redeemer in action, and the Messiah is foretold to be the ultimate one for the world. In the greater family of God on Earth, the lessons of the annual festivals of Shavuot (Pentecost) and Sukkot (Tabernacles) plus the multiyear cycles of Shemitah (sabbatical year) and Yobel (Jubilee) instruct…

Two of the great characteristics of the Creator is that He is both the Holy One, vastly different from us, and God With Us, wanting to be near us. The otherness of God is a key theme of the Torah reading אָמַר Emor (“say,” Leviticus 21-24), how God is separate from us, how He called the priesthood to be separate from the rest of Israel in service to Him and how we are to live separate from but near to the rest of the world. This separation, called “holiness,” is not to be taken as a source of arrogance or pride, but…

A common caricature of Heaven is that God is obsessed with killing the wicked. Rather, the Bible talks about a better way to both rid the Earth of wickedness and increase the number of righteous. And that’s one of the key lessons of the festivals of Pesach (Passover), Matzot (Unleavened Bread) and Shavuot (Pentecost), lessons brought to their fullness in Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus). Here’s how that works.

We love great actors when they’re on the screen or stage, but they’re odious when they fill the pews or the pulpits. A key lesson in the Torah reading אָמַר Emor (“say,” Leviticus 21–24) is that those in the service of the Creator of Heaven and Earth (Ex. 19:6; 1Pet. 2:5, 9; Rev. 1:6; 5:10) must deeply respect what they’re bringing closer to the Presence: “good gifts” of the heart cry of humankind. And those who bring those gifts must not pretend they’re transparently offering their best, what Heaven has set aside in them from normal ways of an Earth…

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…

Shavuot (Pentecost) commemorates the testimony of God coming and the Spirit of God coming to give it power. Yeshua haMoshiakh (Jesus the Christ) is the “word made flesh” (John 1:14) and “exact representation of (God’s) nature” (Hebrews 1:3). We explore the Ten Commandments and the Pentecost after Yeshua’s resurrection to see why the Bible makes so many connections between them.

The annual celebration of שבועות‎ Shavuot, aka Πεντηκοστή Pentecost, is connected historically and lessonwise 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 from its linkage to the giving of the Ten Commandments at Sinai (Exodus 19-20) and to the widespread outpouring of the Spirit (Acts 2) deeper roots in the lessons of salvation in Pesakh and sanctification in Matzot. The message of freedom from the past, contentment in the present and strength for the future is not just for the whole…

Shavuot for Jews. Pentecost for Christians. We can have a great dialogue with our brethren in faith in the Holy One of Israel about the lessons taught in this memorial of the revelation of God. The Word was spoken and written at Sinai, become flesh in Yeshua the Mashiakh (Jesus the Christ), and put into action by the transformation of the Spirit.

Shavuot and the sabbatical years of the jubilee are based on three ideas: liberty, restoration and acceptance. Both stand on the same foundation. What foundation does man stand upon? Dirt + water + breath of life = Man. We all began with Adam and Eve without exception. God gave Adam and Eve the Breath of Life and we have all inherited this because of them.

There are four lessons from Shavuot, aka Pentecost and the Feast of Weeks: 1. We are to have the same mind as is in Messiah Yeshua. 2. There are two different types of Firstfruits, and yet they are both “first.” 3. There was a delay between Yeshua’s call to the Jews vs. the Gentiles, and that is a good thing. 4. If you ask God for understanding, He will answer. Details are important, but they aren’t the only thing.

Shemini Atzeret (Convocation of the Eighth Day, Lev. 23:33–36, 39–43), the day following the seven days of Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles or Booths), and Shavuot (Pentecost) are “buddies.” The symbolism of one is mirrored in the other. What happened on Shavuot throughout the Bible is a “shadow,” a likeness, of what will happen on a Shemini Atzeret during the Day of the LORD. Spirit beings need God’s breath, “water” from the God and the Tree of Life. We will experience seeing God face to face, and we will be able to keep His commandments without any hinderance. He will be our…

This is a special time in God’s calendar. We have reached Shavuot, the “Feast of Sevens.” It’s also called Pentecost, which is Greek for 50th. This feast is, in a sense, a continuation of the fulfillment of the covenant God made with Abraham. When human beings try to obey God in the flesh without a redeemed spirit, they will inevitably fail. We lift up two loaves at Shavuot, one made of wheat and one of barley. Both are His, and we will give both back to Him. There is so much hope for mankind at this time, even for those who are…

A number of theologians have wondered publicly if the festivals of the LORD are relevant for today or are just historical or intellectual curiosities. Many dismiss Sukkot as either a harvest festival only applicable in the Land of Israel or only relevant with a standing temple. Let’s explore what the Bible says about the past, present and future layers of meaning in these annual appointments and how they teach us about the Messiah and ourselves. We will look at the different layers of the festivals: past, present and future. In a sense, they are like a wedding anniversary, on which the couple…

The Feast of Weeks, called Shavu’ot in Hebrew and Pentecost in Greek, commemorates the harvest of the second crop of the year, wheat. It’s connected to the Firstfruits of the harvest at Passover time. Yeshua is called the firstfruit of the resurrection of the dead. God loves the world but He shows His love in a different way than we might think. We must not hoard the mysteries of the kingdom of God all to ourselves.

Daniel explores foreshadowing of all seven ‘feasts to the LORD’ in Genesis 2–5. For example, hints of Passover are seen in Adam and Eve’s hiding from God in the garden; Firstfruits, in Eve’s dedicating her firstborn; Atonement, in God’s marking Cain to wander with vengeance taken against him.

Shavu’ot is a holiday celebrated 50 days after the Feast of Firstfruits. By this time, most of the harvest is gathered, prepped and stored. But God told His people in Leviticus 23 that they were supposed to leave a remnant behind for the “poor and the stranger.”

Traditionally, the book of Ruth is studied during Shavu’ot in most Jewish congregations. We have studied the surface story of Ruth in the past, but this study will dig deeper. Ruth had no right to an inheritance from God. She disregarded her birth family and follows her mother-in-law, Naomi, and Naomi’s God for the rest of her life.

The 23rd chapter of Leviticus is a relatively obvious passage. The explanations are simple and self-explanatory, except for questions about the biblical timing of Firstfruits and Pentecost. The 24th chapter is a bit unusual and not so simple to decipher. When you read the book of Leviticus and you find the phrase “the LORD spoke to…” pay attention to whom is supposed to hear the message. There were some messages for the sons of Aaron but some messages were for the people of Israel. Each group had their own duties and responsibilities, and it’s God Himself Who decides.

Following in Israel’s footsteps, we have arrived at Sinai. Pretend you are listening to the 10 Commandments for the first time. It’s a challenge to hear them anew. Find a new way to make them a part of your life—to bring yourself even closer to Yeshua than you have ever been before.

On the day after Shavuot (Pentecost), the priesthood in God’s temple are on trial, even as they put Peter and John on trial, as to whether they will cling to their presuppositions about God — that He created then vacated — or submit to the massive displays of God’s power in His house of prayer testifying to the reality that Yeshua is God’s Messiah.

There are language cues in Acts 3 that strongly suggest that it is a description of an event on the afternoon of Pentecost. Thus this is a continuation of the events of Acts 2. The Spirit of God is on display in the temple with power, a display meant to prompt Israel to “turn back” from their rejection God’s Messiah and be restored by God’s Spirit.

Pentecost is described in the Bible first as a celebration of the wheat harvest. Then the timing of it coincides with God’s giving of His Torah at Sinai. Then it is connected with the giving of God’s Spirit to the first believers of Messiah Yeshua. How are all of lessons connected?

Peter’s Pentecost sermon not only made A’s for power of the Spirit but also for being “politically incorrect” in condemning the listeners. Why did Peter say what he said this particular Pentecost? What are the consistent lessons of Pentecost, called Shavuot in Hebrew for “sevens” or “weeks”?

Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) is called the firstfruits of the resurrection (1st Cor. 15:20), and why are we called firstfruits of creation (James 1:18)? Pentecost originally was a celebration of the firstfruits of the wheat harvest and followed 50 days after the celebration of the firstfruits of the barley harvest. What is God teaching here about Yeshua and us?

God’s ways may be mysterious, but when He lays out patterns and times important historical events accordingly, He is inviting us to learn more about what He is doing. There’s a “new beginning” lesson in the spring festivals of the LORD on Yeshua (Jesus).

More than 2,000 years of debate lies behind the question of when Messiah Yeshua rose from the dead. Rather than an esoteric inquiry, timing matters because Yeshua’s life, death, and resurrection happened “according to the Scriptures.”

“Then Moses summoned all Israel and said to them: “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the ordinances which I am speaking today in your hearing, that you may learn them and observe them carefully.” (Deuteronomy 5:1 NASB) On Mt. Sinai, on the day of Shavuot, God wrote His law on stone tablets and spoke them to the people. Two thousand years later, on Shavout, God put His law on His disciples hearts and they spoke to the people and 3000 were saved.

This is the third in a series of Bible studies exploring the connection in thought and time between Passover, Festival of the Wave Offering (Firstfruits or Bikkurim), Feast of Unleavened Bread (Matzot) and the Festival of Sevens (Shavuot or Pentecost).