Timing of the Festivals of Firstfruits and Shavuot — Seven Sabbaths and 50 Days

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(Note: For a fuller examination of the timing, see our primer on Shavuot/Pentecost.)

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). For the background to this presentation, listen to “Timing of the Festivals of Firstfruits & Shavuot — Journey Into the Wilderness of Zin” and “When Was the Wave Sheaf Offering and Yeshua’s Resurrection?”

Download a PDF document with a list of Israel’s encampments after the exodus from Egypt and the calendar showing the timing during those first three months of the exodus.

Introduction: Walking the Journey from Passover to Shavuot

This study follows the wilderness journey of Israel from Egypt to Mount Sinai, tracing how God ordered their camps, Sabbaths, and key events to teach them—and us—about Shabbat, Shavuot, and covenant. We will look at this through a Messianic Jewish lens, recognizing Yeshua (Jesus) as the promised Messiah while honoring the Jewish roots of these appointed times.

Richard Agee’s teaching focuses on the timing of events in Exodus, the number patterns God uses, and how these patterns illuminate the meaning of Shavuot (שָׁבוּעוֹת, Shavuʿot – “Weeks”) as the Feast of Sevens and the “Feast of Fifty.”

Along the way, we will touch on:

The sequence of camp sites and Sabbaths
The distinction between counting the omer and counting Sabbaths
The sanctification of the firstborn and its connection to Shavuot
The arrival at Mount Sinai (הַר סִינַי, Har Sinai) and the giving of the Ten Words
The symbolic language of eagle’s wings and divine covering

All of this forms a cohesive picture of how God leads, tests, and sanctifies His people on the way from redemption out of Egypt to covenant at Sinai (Exod 12–19).

The Journey Begins: From Passover to the Red Sea

The starting point of this study is the Passover sequence and the calendar of the first month.

Mr. Agee highlights the 10th day of the first month, when Israel set aside the Passover lamb (Exod 12:3). He notes this day as a Sabbath in that specific year, a day he calls “God’s Shabbat”, because when the 10th falls on a Sabbath in rabbinic reckoning, it receives special emphasis.

The lamb was selected on the 10th, killed on the 14th “between the two evenings”, and eaten on the 15th:

“Between the two evenings” reflects the Hebrew phrase בֵּין הָעַרְבָּיִם (bein haʿarbayim – “between the evenings”) (Exod 12:6).
Mr. Agee stresses that this phrase points to the afternoon, not to the general “evening.”
He ties this to the death of Yeshua at about the ninth hour (3 p.m.), seeing it as a direct parallel to the timing of the lamb’s slaughter.

The people then left Egypt by night and camped at a place called Sukkot (סֻכּוֹת, Sukkot – “booths / shelters”), which in this context is a location, not the later Feast of Sukkot (Exod 12:37). On the 15th, at Sukkot, Israel also experienced the sanctification of the firstborn (Exod 13:1–2). Richard stresses this because he sees a direct connection between the sanctified firstborn and Shavuot later in the journey.

From there, the journey proceeds through several locations, each tied to specific days and often to Sabbaths. On his chart, the 17th of the first month is marked as the first wave sheaf day—Firstfruits—linked to the wave sheaf (עֹמֶר, ʿomer – “sheaf / measure”) (Lev 23:9–14).

He also notes that by the 24th of the first month, Israel had crossed the Red Sea. This precise mapping of dates and events is central to his argument: God works in a deliberate sequence rather than randomly.

Seven Camp Sites After the Sea: The Significance of Seven

After the Red Sea crossing, Richard focuses on the camp sites that follow. He counts a total of ten campsites from the time they left Egypt, but he emphasizes that there are precisely seven after they cross the sea.

These include places like:

Elim, with twelve wells and seventy palms (Exod 15:27)
Stops along the border region known as Etam (אֵתָם, ʾEtam), which he describes as meaning “border of the sea”
The Wilderness of Sin/Zin (מִדְבַּר סִין / צִן, Midbar Sin / Tzin) (Exod 16:1)

He connects these seven post–Red Sea camps to the seven Sabbaths we associate with the counting toward Shavuot:

Shabbat (שַׁבָּת, Shabbat – “Sabbath / rest”) is more than a day of rest; in this study it is a structural marker in the journey.
God, he argues, has them camp on Sabbaths, not at random times in the week.
There are “seven precise campsites” after the sea, paralleling “seven Shabbats”—this is part of why Shavuot is called the Feast of Weeks, or literally the Feast of Sevens (Lev 23:15–16).

In a Messianic Jewish reading, this resonates with the idea that God orders His people’s steps in complete cycles of seven, moving them from redemption (Passover) to revelation and covenant (Shavuot), and ultimately foreshadowing the fullness found in Messiah.

Counting: Omer vs. Sabbaths

One of Richard’s most provocative claims is that “the counting of the omer is a red herring.” He does not deny the biblical command to count, but he challenges how it is often understood.

He points to the Wilderness of Sin and the 15th day of the second month, where Israel first receives manna (Exod 16:1–36). Each person collects an omer (עֹמֶר, ʿomer – “measure”) per person, more for larger families. This daily omer becomes the practical count of how much each household needs.

Mr. Agee suggests:

What they are literally counting there is omer per person, omer per family.
He argues that Scripture commands us to count Sabbaths (שַׁבָּתוֹת, Shabbatot), not “to count the omer” as a spiritualized phrase.
The count in Leviticus 23 is tied to “seven complete Sabbaths” and then “fifty days” (Lev 23:15–16).

In his view, traditional “counting the omer” language can distract from what God actually emphasizes: the Shabbats themselves as markers of God’s schedule.

From a Messianic Jewish perspective, this raises an important point. We often observe the “counting of the omer” (סְפִירַת הָעֹמֶר, Sefirat ha-ʿOmer) devotionally between Passover and Shavuot. Mr. Agee is not attacking spiritual application outright; he even says, if you have spiritual lessons from that, “stick with it.” Instead, he is arguing that the text itself focuses more on Shabbat-based counting than on the measure of grain.

Water from the Rock: Testing, Provision, and Leadership

In Exodus 17, Israel arrives at Rephidim (רְפִידִים, Rephidim). Once again, there is no water (Exod 17:1–7). The people complain bitterly against Moses, so much so that Moses fears they might kill him.

God commands Moses to go ahead of the people with the elders of Israel and to strike the rock at Horeb (חֹרֵב, Ḥorev) with the same rod he used at the Red Sea. Water flows from the rock for the people to drink (Exod 17:5–6). Richard notes that at this point, this becomes their ninth campsite, with ten total from the time they left Egypt.

Here he brings in an intriguing modern observation: explorers have identified in Saudi Arabia a large split rock formation, a dry riverbed carved by torrents of water, and remains of massive altars and markers. He sees this as a likely candidate for the rock at Horeb, though he leaves the final judgment open.

Theologically, though, his focus is not archaeology; it is testing and arrangement.

God uses water/no water cycles to test Israel’s heart.
He underscores that God is not casual: each stop is a deliberate test and teaching moment.

From a Messianic perspective, this event also echoes later imagery:

“And all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ.” (1 Cor 10:4 NASB1995)

Mr. Agee does not quote this verse in the transcript, but he does emphasize the Messianic pattern—particularly when he later connects the 10th day and Yeshua’s entry into Jerusalem.

Arriving at Sinai: The Third Month and the Problem of Dates

Mr. Agee then moves rapidly to Exodus 19, the arrival at Mount Sinai.

“In the third month after the sons of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that very day they came into the wilderness of Sinai.” (Exod 19:1 NASB1995)

He points out that:

This is now their final campsite, before the mountain where God will reveal Himself and give the Ten Commandments.
Previously, the pattern was that when God had them camp, it was on a Shabbat, not midweek.
Yet, the phrase “on that very day” (בַּיּוֹם הַזֶּה, bayom hazzeh) has sparked debate:
Some interpret it as the 15th of the third month, parallel to the 15th of the first month when they left Egypt.
Rabbinic scholars, he says, generally argue that the giving at Sinai is linked to the 6th of the third month, which they observe as Shavuot.

He notes a serious arithmetic tension: depending on where one starts counting, it can be difficult to reach 50 days (the full count to Shavuot) if one assumes a straightforward 15th-to-15th or a particular arrangement of weeks and Sabbaths. He insists that:

The number 50 is crucial to understanding Shavuot (Lev 23:16).
You cannot arbitrarily place Shavuot on a day that does not satisfy the 50.
He plans to explore this more fully in a later session, but he is already preparing the ground: Shavuot must harmonize both “seven Sabbaths” and “fifty days.”

This wrestle with the calendar is not just theoretical. For Messianic believers, it shapes when and how we mark Shavuot, the day on which many also remember the outpouring of the Ruach ha-Kodesh (רוּחַ הַקֹּדֶשׁ, “Holy Spirit”) in Acts 2—even though Acts is not directly mentioned in this transcript, that connection is deeply embedded in Messianic practice.

The Ten Words: “Davarim” and Divine Order

Richard then turns to the Ten Commandments, often called in Hebrew the “Ten Words”, or עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים (ʿAseret ha-Dvarim).

He explains the term דְּבָרִים (Devarim / Davarim – “words, matters”), noting that it comes from a root meaning to arrange:

When God speaks, His words are never random. They are arranged in a precise order and structure.
This divine order is visible not only in the commandments themselves (Exod 20:1–17), but in the sequence of camps, Sabbaths, and numbers (7 and 10) throughout Exodus.

He mentions that the Hebrew name of the book Deuteronomy is דְּבָרִים (Devarim), often translated “words,” but carrying the sense of ordered declarations, commandments, and covenant terms.

From a Messianic Jewish standpoint, this is highly significant:

Yeshua is called the Word (Λόγος, Logos) in Greek (John 1:1).
Just as dvarim are ordered expressions of God’s will, so Yeshua, the Living Word, embodies God’s perfect order and revelation.

Mr. Agee does not go into Greek explicitly here, but the parallel is natural: the Hebrew דָּבָר (davar – “word, matter”) and the Greek λόγος (logos – “word, reason, expression”) both highlight that God’s speech is intentional and structured.

The Sanctified People: Preparation, Washing, and Shabbat

Back in Exodus 19, God gives Moses specific instructions on how the people are to prepare for His appearance:

“The Lord also said to Moses, ‘Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments; and let them be ready for the third day, for on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.’” (Exod 19:10–11 NASB1995)

Mr. Agee draws attention to the three-day preparation:

The people must wash themselves and their clothes.
This work takes time—especially if you consider entire families, children, and all their garments.

He raises a practical and theological question:

Why would God assign all this work on or through a Shabbat, when He has already been teaching them rest by means of the manna (no gathering on the seventh day) (Exod 16:22–30)?

His implication is:

If the arrival at Sinai fell on a Shabbat, then the prior washing days would likely fall on Thursday and Friday, allowing them to be ready without breaking the pattern of Shabbat rest.
Again, the ordering of days matters. God is teaching them about Shabbat not only by command (“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy” – Exod 20:8 NASB1995), but by lived experience even before the formal command is given.

In Messianic terms, this reminds us that holiness involves both grace and preparation. God calls us, sanctifies us, and then invites us to prepare ourselves to meet Him—yet all in a way that honors His appointed rhythms, especially Shabbat.

Eagles’ Wings and the Cloud of Covering

One of the most beautiful images in the passage is God’s description of how He brought Israel out of Egypt:

“You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself.” (Exod 19:4 NASB1995)

Mr. Agee unpacks the eagle imagery:

He compares it to Yeshua’s longing over Jerusalem: a hen wanting to gather her chicks under her wings (Matt 23:37).
In Hebrew thinking, the idea of wings emphasizes covering, protection, and nearness, not literal flight.
For Israel in the wilderness, this protective covering was manifested in the cloud by day and fire by night (Exod 13:21–22).
The cloud shielded them from the sun by day.
The fire gave warmth and light by night.

So when God says He bore them on eagles’ wings, Mr. Agee sees it as a poetic way of describing the cloud’s covering presence—high above, watchful, protective, and sustaining.

For Messianic believers, this connects naturally to the Shekhinah (שְׁכִינָה, Shekhinah – “dwelling presence”) of God and the Ruach ha-Kodesh, who covers and indwells God’s people. The same God who covered Israel in the wilderness now covers us in Messiah.

The Tenth Day and the Messiah

At one point, Mr. Agee briefly links the 10th day of the first month not only to the selection of the lamb, but also to the day Yeshua rode into Jerusalem. He notes that:

John’s Gospel tracks the events day by day, so that Yeshua’s entry aligns with the 10th.
On that same day, the high priests were doing something very specific related to the lambs.
The crowds waved palm branches, which he connects to the idea of fans creating wind, symbolizing the Spirit of Messiah.

He does not fully unpack that symbolism here, but even this hint reinforces the Messianic parallel:

The Passover lamb chosen on the 10th.
Yeshua, the Lamb of God, publicly presented on that same prophetic day.
The entire calendar from Passover to Shavuot becomes a Messianic timeline, moving from sacrifice and deliverance to covenant and revelation.

In this way, the detailed timing study in Exodus is not an abstract exercise. It becomes a way of seeing how God, through ordered times and seasons, points us to Messiah.

Conclusion: Ordered Journeys, Ordered Hearts

This study, rooted in the Exodus journey and focused strictly on the material in the transcript, shows a God who:

Arranges His people’s steps with precision.
Uses numbers like seven, ten, and fifty to teach about completion, testing, and fulfillment.
Orders camp sites and Sabbaths to shape Israel’s life long before all commandments are formally spoken.
Provides water from the rock, manna from heaven, and covering by the cloud as constant signs of His presence.
Brings His people from redemption at Passover to revelation at Sinai—a journey that, in a Messianic Jewish reading, ultimately points to Yeshua, the Living Word who fulfills Torah and pours out the Spirit.

As we consider Shavuot (שָׁבוּעוֹת) from this perspective, we see not only a festival of firstfruits or a commemoration of the Ten Words, but a testimony that God’s timing is never random. He is still arranging our steps, calling us to rest in His Shabbat, to prepare ourselves, and to gather under His wings as He leads us from deliverance into deeper covenant with Him.