Shavuot – God Gives

Shavuot – God Gives

Shavuot (shah-voo-ote) is one of the seven biblically mandated feasts of Israel. There is to be a holy gathering and no regular work on this day. It is one of the three pilgrimage feasts commanded by God in Deuteronomy 16:16 in which all Jewish men were required to travel to Jerusalem to present their sacrifices to the priests for taking before the Lord.

Several names

Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks, First Fruits, Harvest Feast, Pentecost. The Jewish holiday that falls on the 6th day of the Hebrew month Sivan goes by several names.

Shavuot and the Feast of Weeks

In Leviticus chapter 23, the Israelites were instructed to count seven Sabbaths, seven weeks, from the Sunday after Passover and then bring their offerings. Because the feast’s date is identified by this counting of weeks from Passover, it is called the Feast of Weeks. In Hebrew, the word Shavuot means “weeks.”

First Fruits and Harvest Feast

In biblical times, the holiday commemorated the completion of the wheat harvest. It was a time to give thanks to God for His sustaining provision of another harvest. The unique instruction of God for this moed (appointed time) is to offer, along with other burnt offerings, a sacrifice of two loaves of bread baked with hametz, or leaven. Because it is a gift from the first of the grain harvest, Shavuot is also called the Day of First Fruits or the Harvest Feast.

Pentecost

Pentecost means “fiftieth” and Shavuot was designated for the Sunday after the seventh Shabbat, or the fiftieth day, from Passover. It was on Shavuot fifty days after Yeshua’s (Jesus’) death and resurrection, and when all Israel was gathered in Jerusalem for this pilgrimage feast, that God miraculously gave the gift of the Holy Spirit to dwell in Believers. For this reason, Shavuot is also called Pentecost and Messianic Jews celebrate the gift of God’s Spirit with Believers.

Today

The Temple was destroyed in 70 A.D. and the Jewish people were again dispersed throughout the world.  With this, the observance of these appointed times changed. According to the book of Exodus, the giving of the Torah coincides closely with the timing of Shavuot. In the absence of a Temple at which to make sacrifices, today Shavuot commemorates God giving the Torah to His people at Mount Sinai.

When God gave the Torah, He revealed more of Himself to the children of Abraham. The people were able to know so much more about the glorious God they served. Following His commandments as given at Sinai set them apart and identified them as His people.

Today, Jewish Shavuot celebrations center on reading the Torah. The tradition is to stay up all night long studying it, reciting the Ten Commandments at dawn, and going to synagogue for a service with more readings.

His Law in our hearts

In Sinai, God wrote His law on tablets of stone. In Jeremiah 31:31-32, He declared there would come a day when He would write His Law upon our hearts. He fulfilled this prophecy on the Shavuot after Yeshua’s death when His Holy Spirit descended like tongues of fire upon the gathered Believers of Acts chapter two. Henceforth, He imparts His Spirit to dwell within every new Believer.

Messianic Jews and Shavuot

Messianic Jews recognize that through the Torah we see our need for a Savior, and that led us to Messiah Yeshua (Galatians 3:24). At Shavuot, we celebrate God reaching down into human history to reveal Himself through the Torah and also the gift of His very presence with all Believers through His Holy Spirit.  It is a time to dedicate ourselves afresh to growing in His Word and the Spirit, gratitude for His provision, and rejoicing in His presence.