From Shavuoth to Pentecost

(A Harvest of Righteousness)

            “And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, When you have come into the land which I will give to you, and shall reap the harvest of it, then you shall bring the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest:  and he shall wave the sheaf before Yahweh, to be accepted for you:  on the day after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.” Lev.23:9-11.

            With these instructions to Moses, Almighty Yahweh sets in motion a prophetic plan that ultimately came to fruition on the day of Pentecost as described in Acts 2.  If we read on in Leviticus 23 we see the following: “And you shall count from the day after the sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall there be complete:  even to the day after the seventh sabbath shall you number fifty days; and you shall offer a new meal offering to Yahweh.”vss.15-16. And finally in verse 21, “And you shall make proclamation on this very day; there shall be a holy convocation to you; you shall do no servile work:  it is a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.”

            So picture the children of Israel having recently come forth out of the land of Egypt.  They’ve experienced the Passover and the miraculous power of Yahweh as He’s brought them through the Yam Suph(commonly Red Sea-more properly sea of reeds).  They’re in the wilderness having ratified the covenant and having built the tabernacle where the glory of Yahweh would dwell.  Moses passes down further instructions on the sacrificial system and laws of the priesthood.  This was all very early in Israel’s wilderness journey.  Finally Yahweh instructs Moses about how the Israelites are to conduct their lives once they enter the Promised Land, which would be almost 40 years later.

            The opening verses of Leviticus 23 remind Israel about keeping the Sabbath and the Passover.  Of course they had experienced both of those events, but now with the first fruits and shavuoth(feast of weeks) instructions they are in new territory. As with all of the instruction we find in the scriptures there are lessons to learn.  Oftentimes a simple statement in the Torah has profound prophetic and spiritual significance for future generations of Israelites.

Lessons from Shavuoth

            It’s hard to imagine that your common, everyday, man in the desert Israelite had much of an idea that the command to offer first fruits of the barley harvest, and then seven weeks later offer sacrifices for the fulfillment of that harvest, was anything more than listening to their Elohim and obeying Him.  After all the book of Hebrews tells us in great detail about our forefather’s unbelief while they wandered in the wilderness for forty years.  As a matter of fact, such complete unbelief that most of the adults who came out of Egypt in the exodus were not allowed to enter the land they had so looked forward to for forty years.  On the other hand it’s hard for me to imagine that while Moses communed with Almighty Yahweh for forty days and nights in the mount he didn’t gain understanding that his fellow Israelites weren’t privy to.  So what might Moses have seen in the shavuoth picture that wasn’t obvious to his countrymen? 

            There is a common principle in the scriptures that the first and best of everything belongs to our Heavenly Father.  The Bible is full of examples; everything from fruit trees to the first stalk of barley, from the first born cattle to the first born son.  The first and best of everything belongs to Yahweh.  Furthermore when this principle is followed faithfully our Father promises abundant blessings.

            Let’s take the example found in Lev. 23.  On the day after the sabbath during the feast of unleavened bread, the Israelites were commanded to bring the very first sheaf of barley to the priest to be offered as a wave offering to Yahweh.  This obedience then brought about a full, abundant harvest seven weeks later.  At that time there was a day set apart for a holy convocation, a time to come together to thank, praise, and worship Yahweh for His blessing.  We can be sure it was an abundant harvest by what we read in Lev. 23:22, “And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, neither shall you gather the gleaning of your harvest:  you shall leave them for the poor, and for the sojourner:  I am Yahweh your Elohim.”  Not only was there plenty for the land owner, but they were expected to leave the corners and the leftovers for those who were not in a position to have their own field.

Sealing the Covenant

            So that initial offering of the first fruits, led to a much more abundant harvest fifty days later.  It also brought the children of Israel from the first month of the scriptural calendar up to the third month.  In Exodus 19:1 we read an interesting fact.  “In the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, the same day they came into the wilderness of Sinai.”  It was here at Mount Sinai that the people were then instructed to prepare themselves to receive the words of the covenant they were to enter into with the Most High, as the completion of the fifty days came upon them.

            Exodus 19:10-15 says, “And Yahweh said to Moses, Go to the people, and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments, and be ready for the third day; for the third day Yahweh will come down in the sight of all the people upon Mount Sinai.  And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that you go not up to the mountain, or touch the border of it: whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death:  no hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, he shall not live:  when the trumpet sounds long, they shall come up to the mount.  And Moses went down from the mount to the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their garments.  And he said to the people, be ready by the third day:  come not near a woman.”

            It was necessary for the children of Israel to prepare their bodies and their minds to meet their Almighty Creator.  They had come out of Egypt in the first month, already enduring many trials and tribulations in preparation for the ratifying of the covenant at Sinai some fifty days later, coinciding with the sequence of events leading from first fruits to the completion of the harvest on shavuoth, when they entered the land of promise.  Surely Moses would have recognized the significance of these events, realizing the Sinai covenant was a type of that shavuoth harvest that Israel would observe for centuries to come.

Pentecost

            What if Moses was able to see even further into the future, to see prophetic events to come thousands of years down the road?  Let’s take a look at Acts 2:1. “Now when the day of Pentecost was now come, they were all together in one place.”  This event described in Acts 2 takes place approximately 1500 years after the Israelites left their Egyptian bondage and ratified the covenant with Yahweh on Mount Sinai.  Even though such a long time has passed between the two events they have a direct link.  Pentecost is from the Greek word that means to count fifty.  The reason the Apostles were all gathered together in one place on the day of Pentecost is because they were obeying the command to gather together to observe shavuoth( the feast of weeks). 

            Acts 2:2-5 reads, “And suddenly there came from heaven a sound as of the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues dividing apart, like as of fire; and it sat upon each one of them.  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other languages, as the Spirit gave them utterance.  Now there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven.”  The Apostles had counted the seven weeks from the time of first fruits and here they were gathered to thank, praise, and worship the Father for His many blessings.  In the first chapter of Acts, Yahshua the Messiah had promised his disciples the power of the Holy Spirit would come upon them as they waited in Jerusalem.  How significant that it coincided with the Feast of Weeks.

            Let’s back track a little bit and see what other connections we can make that match up with the Old Testament events 1500 years before.  All of us familiar with the gospel accounts of Yahshua’s life, death and resurrection will remember that he was put to death as our Passover lamb.  Furthermore if we were to follow the timeline of his burial and resurrection we would find that he was raised on the day after the sabbath during the feast of unleavened bread.  You’ll recall from Leviticus 23:11 that this was the day of the first fruits offering.  Indeed the Apostle Paul confirms for us that Messiah is the first fruits to Yahweh.  “For as in Adam all die, so also in the Messiah shall all be made alive.  But each in his own order:  The Messiah the first fruits; then they that are the Messiah’s at his coming.”  Not only is He the first fruits to Yahweh, but we are to follow him as part of the harvest.  We are the fulfillment of that harvest fifty days after Yahshua’s resurrection. 

Making Some Connections

So as Yahshua fulfilled prophesy by becoming the first and best of the offering to Yahweh, the Apostolic Assembly was the full fruition of the barley harvest on the day of Pentecost.  There will yet be another, even greater prophetic harvest at the end of the world, but that’s a subject for another time.

Now remember the covenant Yahweh and Israel entered into on Mount Sinai.  Judaism has always held that this occurred on shavuoth.  If we were to calculate the series of events from the exodus until the ratifying of the covenant we can be sure this is an accurate assessment of the timeline.  We could conclude then that the beginning of Israel as a nation happened at this time, on the Feast of Weeks.  It is easy to see then the connection to the beginning of the Apostolic Assembly 1500 years later.  The first covenant was enacted with the Ten Commandments written on stone; the second covenant with the Holy Spirit writing those laws on hearts of flesh. 

We should remind ourselves of these words from the prophet Jeremiah, “Behold, the days come, says Yahweh, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah not according to the covenant I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they broke, although I was a husband to them says Yahweh.  But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says Yahweh:  I will put my law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their Elohim, and they shall be my people: and they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know Yahweh; for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says Yahweh:  for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more.” Jer.31:31-34.  The day of Pentecost was the day when that new covenant was written on the hearts of the believers.  Since that day we have the opportunity to enter into that covenant in the same way and become true Israelites.

It’s important for us to remember that the Israel of Yahweh has always existed.  Although a new covenant was enacted at Messiah’s death, we still join ourselves to Israel when we repent of our sins and are baptized.  Some mysterious church age didn’t come into existence when the spirit was poured out on the day of Pentecost.  That outpouring was just a confirmation that the Father’s ultimate shavuoth harvest had come to fruition.  It’s interesting to note Acts 2:41 tells us 3000(*see footnote) people were baptized and joined themselves to the assembly on Pentecost.  Exodus 32:28 tells us that 1500 years earlier 3000* Israelites who had just entered into the covenant on Sinai lost their lives, because they decided to worship a golden calf while Moses was on the mount receiving that covenant.  There doesn’t seem to be any coincidences in Yahweh’s word. 

Conclusion

I’ve given just an overview of the meaning and importance of first fruits, Shavuoth, and Pentecost.  The scriptures go into a lot of detail about the sacrifices surrounding these holy days which I haven’t touched on.  We should also recognize that the feast of weeks was one of the three times every year that all Israel was to appear before Yahweh in celebration and worship.  It was a time for the community to join together as one and reconnect to each other and more importantly to the Heavenly Father.  Even as new covenant believers today it is imperative that we realize the significance of gathering together for Shavuoth/Pentecost.  While it may not be a matter of salvation, it certainly is a matter of community, of recognizing ourselves as part of the spring harvest of believers that Yahweh will use for His purposes.  It also gives us an opportunity to connect with our forefathers.  We can know that even though 3500 years has passed since the first covenant at Sinai, we are part of that same continuous line of Israelites that the Father has promised will enter the land.  Ultimately that land will be our eternal home on a new earth when the harvest is complete.

*Thanks to Brian Blair for the insight on the 3000 :-)