CHAPTER 6
SHAVUOT OR FEAST OF WEEKS

PENTECOST
And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the Wave Offering; seven Sabbaths shall be complete:

Even unto the morrow after the Seventh Sabbath shall ye number 50 days; and ye shall offer a new meat (meal) offering unto the Lord. Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals; they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven; they are the first fruits unto the Lord, Leviticus 23: 15-22

The Feast of Shavuot was to take place fifty days after the
Resurrection (7 Sabbaths). The day after the Seventh Sabbath (Sunday) a grain offering was to be presented to the Lord.

THE EXODUS

From their Resurrection at the Red Sea, the Israelis traveled forty-seven days into the wilderness and came to Mount Sinai.

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Thus they arrived at Mount Sinai on the 3rd Day of Sivan. The Lord then told Moses to spend three days to sanctify himself and the people. On the third day, Yahweh said, "Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee forever. Exodus 19:9

On the third day -- Sivan 6 -- the fiftieth day from the Resurrection, God was going to speak in an audible voice to all of the people to give them His instructions!!! He would speak to them out of the mountain. The people were terrified. They were to gather at the base of the mountain. God instructed Moses to warn them, they were not to touch the Mountain. The Mountain was holy because of His presence. If so much as a hand of man or beast should touch the Mountain, they would be "stoned or shot through." This awesome day would become the fourth festival -- the Feast of Pentecost.

PENTECOST -- THE BIRTH OF THE NATION
Exodus 19:1-6 - In the third month (Sivan), when the Children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai.

For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the Mount.

And Moses went up unto God and the Lord called unto him out of the Mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the House of Jacob, and tell the Children of Israel;

Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto Myself.

Now therefore, if ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people: for all the earth is Mine: And ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and an Holy Nation....

The Birthing of this Holy Nation would be accompanied by a miraculous manifestation. As on the Day of Pentecost in the 2nd Chapter of Acts, the Voice of God would speak through fire and wind. As the people gathered at its base, the Mountain was enveloped in lightnings and smoke. Long and deafening blasts of a Ram's Horn sounded louder and louder and the Mountain quaked. And the Voice of the Lord was like great claps of thunder.

And it came to pass on the third day (Sivan 6) in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the Mount, and the Voice of the Trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the Camp trembled. Exodus 19: 16

And Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.

And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice.

By looking at Jewish tradition concerning this first Pentecost, we can draw some very interesting analogies to The Feast of Pentecost on Sivan 6, 32 C.E.

G-d instructed Moses to tell the people to purify themselves for three days. On the fiftieth Day after coming up alive out of the Sea, they were to approach the Mountain. That day was thereafter known as the Revelation of G-d at Mount Sinai, where He appeared on the Mountain. A shofar (trumpet made from a ram's horn) sounded louder and louder. Fire was seen on the Mountain. The Wind roared, and the ground shook. While Israel stood in awe, the Voice of G-d brought forth the Torah. According to Jewish tradition, He spoke not only in Hebrew, but in every known tongue at that time as well. Rosh Hashanah and the Messianic Kingdom to Come, Joseph Good.

EXCERPTS FROM ORAL TRADITION
The Jews depended not only on the written ordinances handed down to them from Moses, but there is a tremendous body of Oral Tradition which was handed down from generation to generation. The Rabbis taught that the Oral Law was given to Moses by God at the same time as the Written Law and that Moses passed this Oral Law to Joshua along with the Written Law. By 500 C.E., the Oral Law was put into writing and is called the Talmud. It is comprised of two parts -- the Mishnah and the Gemarah. From this "Judaic literature we will now look at the Sinai Event.

Joseph Good quotes Rabbi Joseph Hertz – “The Revelation at Sinai, it was taught, was given in desert territory, which belongs to no one nation exclusively; and it was heard not by Israel alone, but by the inhabitants of all the earth. The Divine Voice divided itself into the seventy tongues then spoken on earth, so that all the children of men might understand its world-embracing and man-redeeming message."

When God gave the Torah on Sinai, He displayed untold marvels to Israel with His Voice. What happened? God spoke and the Voice reverberated throughout the world. It says, And all the people witnessed the thunderings (Exo.18.15). Note that it does not say "the thunder," but "the thunderings"; wherefore, R. Johanan said that God's Voice, as it was uttered, split into seventy voices, in seventy languages, so that all the nations should understand. When each nation heard the Voice in their own vernacular, their soul departed (i.e. they were in fear), save Israel, who heard but who were not hurt ... Exodus Rabbah 5.9

According to the Midrash (commentaries by various Rabbis on the Talmud), the "sound waves" that emerged from the Mouth of God as He spoke at Sinai were actually seen by the Israelis and appeared in the form of Fire.

On the occasion of matan Torah (the giving of the Torah), the Bnai Yisrael (Children of Israel) not only heard Hashem's (the Lord's) Voice but actually saw the sound waves as they emerged from Hashem's (the lord's) mouth. They visualized them as a fiery substance. Each commandment that left Hashem's mouth traveled around the entire camp and then came back to every Jew individually, asking him, "Do you accept upon yourself this commandment with all halachot (Jewish law) pertaining to it? Every Jew answered, "Yes," after each commandment. Finally the fiery substance which they saw, engraved itself on the luchot (tablets).

The Midrash says on Shemot; Rabbi Moshe Weissman, Benei Yakov Publications (1080) pg. 182.

THE FEAST OF PENTECOST - 32 A.D.
Because the Talmud and the Midrashim are not canonical, we cannot say absolutely there was a manifestation of tongues at Sinai. But since that event was indeed a shadow of the Feast of Pentecost event which was to follow the Passover of Jesus, we will not discount it. For since the Feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread and Firstfruits were fulfilled in such detail, we can conclude that the First Pentecost contained all the elements of Acts Chapter Two.

And when the Day of Pentecost (Sivan 6, 32 C.E.) was fully come, they were all in one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from Heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven (parting) tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:1-4

This was the Day God had in Mind when He met Israel at the Sinai circa 1548 B.C. It was the Day He was planning when He commanded Israel to observe the Feast of Shavuot (Feast of Weeks) in Leviticus 23.

As you recall, Jesus, after His Resurrection (Firstfruits) was reunited with His Disciples and spent forty days teaching them and ministering to them before His Final Ascension into Heaven. Luke wrote to Theophilus:

The former treatise have I made, a Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach.

Until the day in which He was taken up, after that He through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the Apostles whom He had chosen.

To whom also He shewed Himself alive after His passion (death at Passover) by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God:

And being assembled together with them commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the Promise of the Father, which saith He, ye have heard of Me.

For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. Acts 1: 1-5

But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

And when He had spoken these things, while they beheld, He was taken up; and a cloud received Him out of their sight. Acts 1:8-9

The Ascension took place on the Mount of Olives and two Angels stood by and assured them Jesus would return in the exact same manner in which they had seen Him go. The Prophet Zechariah gives us a vivid description of the touch down on that very Mountain when the King returns.

And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west. .. Zechariah 14:4

... and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with Thee. Zechariah 14:5

Enoch saw this Day circa 3072 B.C. (more than 5000 years ago) and cried out, "Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His Saints. Jude 15. And, in fact, there is a Jewish tradition that says that Enoch ascended to Heaven on Sivan 6. (Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, 1: 137)

John the Beloved saw it circa 96 A.D. and wrote in the Revelation:

And I saw Heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war.

His Eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His Head were many crowns; and He had a Name written, that no man knew, but He Himself. And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and His Name is called the Word of God.

And the armies which were in Heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean Revelation 19:11-14
Now Jesus ascended to Heaven from the Mt. Olivet and the Disciples returned to Jerusalem on Friday, Iyar 27, 32 C.E. Although they traveled there on the Sabbath Day, they did not offend in Judaism.
Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the Mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a Sabbath day's journey Acts 1: 12

SHAVUOT FOR ALL NATIONS
From Iyar 27 until Sivan 6 was ten days and the Fifty Days until Pentecost were fulfilled. It was 6:00 Sunday Morning when the incredible phenomenon of fire and tongues descended on them just as it had on the First Pentecost. It is apparent that a supernatural display was taking place outside the house since thousands of people rushed to the location. Perhaps the “tongues of fire" and the roaring sound of the "rushing mighty wind" was visible to those who were without.
And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under Heaven.

Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.

And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?

And how hear we every man in our tongue, wherein we were born? Acts 2:5-8

For awhile the baptism of fire was taking place inside the house. As the Holy Spirit filled each of the 120 Believers in the Upper Chamber, they were being empowered and equipped to fulfill the Great Commission that Jesus had given them 10 days earlier. Eventually the Spirit-filled Disciples descended from the Upper Room. Down the stairs to the lower level and then through the doors they emerged.

The streets and yards of every residence were teeming with masses of Jewish pilgrims. From every nation they had come to obey the Commandment of the Lord that every Jewish Male must make the Annual Pilgrimage to participate in the Feast of Shavuot. Year after year they had made the journey, but this year those who made the sacrifice to obey encountered the outpouring of the Ruach ha Kodesh (the Holy Spirit). This was an appointment with destiny. What a spectacular occasion! What a fantastic opportunity! They saw the very manifestations that had accompanied their ancestors in the desert!

Every one of these Jews who were observing these phenomena were well acquainted with the manifestations that occurred at Sinai on Sivan 6 in 1548 B.C.E. They were completely familiar with the Oral Traditions of the "tongues of fire" from the Mouth of Jahweh as well as the "thunderings.” It was obvious that God was doing something profoundly significant -¬something that was obviously connected to the events at Sinai.

For three hours God moved and people gathered. At 9:00 a.m. Peter stood up and in a loud voice boldly preached to the multitude the crucifixion and resurrection of Messiah. These were Holy Days in Israel. Many of these same Jews had also come to Jerusalem two months earlier for Passover (another required Festival). Since many had come from great distances, they would not have returned to their countries after Passover only to turn around and engage in another journey that would take perhaps weeks and months so they could attend Shavuot.

They had, no doubt, heard about the Great Teacher, the Great Miracle Worker, Jesus of Nazareth. Some may have been among the crowd that cried "Hosanna” as He entered the City on the colt. They would have heard about the resurrection of Lazarus that had taken place just a few miles outside the city of Jerusalem. They may have sought to catch glimpses of Him during His four days in the Temple compound. They would have heard how He disrupted the money changers and chased them out of the Temple. They would have been among those who experienced the confusion and trauma of His arrest and execution.

They would have also heard of the rumors of His resurrection and the charges by the Temple Priests that His body had been stolen. They too may have experienced profound disappointment; for every Jew had high hopes for the coming of their Messiah. And here was one Who seemed to have all the necessary credentials. And so many strange things had occurred with His death: the darkness, the earthquake, the exposure of the Holy Place by the tearing of the Veil, the sighting of righteous men who had died and were buried. And to add fuel to their confusion, the endless rumors that He also had risen and was still walking and meeting with His followers somewhere in Israel.

Now God was doing something extraordinary to the followers of Jesus. The people in Jerusalem were seeing a repetition of the wonders that had accompanied the giving of the Torah at Sinai. And Peter was confirming the rumors of the resurrection of Jesus. Could these God-fearing, God-seeking Jews have caught the significance of the Word (Torah) that was given at Sinai? Could they have understood by divine revelation the Oral Tradition of the Torah; and could they have connected it to the Witness of John? For John declared, "In the beginning was the WORD (logos) and the WORD was with GOD and THE WORD was GOD. All things were made by HIM and without HIM was not anything made that was made.” For the Rabbis taught them:

The TORAH existed before the creation of the world. Abot 6:10

The TORAH participated in the creation of the world. In creating the world God was guided by the Torah as an architect is guided by his blueprint when planning the construction of some edifice. Midrash
Gen. R. 1:2, 3:5

The world was created for the sake of the TORAH. Midrash Gen. R. 12:2

The TORAH is Israel's Mediator. Midrash Exod. R. 29:3

The TORAH is unchangeable. No other Moses will come to bring another TORAH, for there is no other TORAH left in Heaven. Midrash Dt. R. 8:6

As Peter preached, three thousand Jews from all the nations of the world recognized the Word, Who existed in the beginning with the Father. He was the fulfillment of the Torah. Their eyes were opened and they could see the Elohim, Who declared, “Let Us make man in Our image ... It Paul would eventually testify” ... there is one God and one Mediator between God and man, the Man Christ Jesus.”

Peter was preaching the Eternal, Unchangeable Word of God, and there was no other Saviour. No other Messiah would come. Jesus was the Promised One. And that day, 3,000 devout Jews received the Word into their hearts as a Firstfruits or a tithe of the 3,000,000 Jews who on the same date 1,580 years before had received the Torah. Both times God came in a manifestation of "tongues.” The giving of the Torah to Israel in the Wilderness of Sinai was significant. Since the Wilderness belonged to no particular nation, they could not claim the experience as belonging to their Nation alone. God was saying, this is for all people of all nations. Although the Baptism of the Spirit was given in the Land of Israel in 32 A.D., it was given to Jews represented by" every nation under Heaven. “God was saying, Passover is for all men;

Unleavened Bread is for all men; Firstfruits is for all men; and Pentecost is for all men.

BE WITNESSES IN SAMARIA
Acts 1:8 - But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

The Day of Pentecost, Sivan 6, was the date of the birth of the Church. The Disciples may not have realized that Day that they had become a Church. But Luke recorded, “And the Lord added to the Church daily such as should be saved. “Acts 2:47 Although Jesus had spent forty days teaching and preparing them for this New Day, they did not yet comprehend that Gentiles were included, Jews from Gentile Nations, yes. It was of these that their first Harvest consisted. They reasoned that Jesus was sending them into all nations to take the Good News to the Jewish populations.

Jesus, however, had given them a foreshadow of their world mission as He led them into the streets of Samaria on their way to attend their first Feast of Shavuot with the Master. They had attended their first Passover together on Abib 14, 30 C. E. (John 2: 13-25) It was at that Passover that Nicodemus came to Jesus by night and was advised that Jesus must be lifted up on a cross in the same manner that Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness.

From Jerusalem, Jesus took his Disciples to Judaea where they spent some time baptizing. From Judaea they journeyed to the Galilee. It
was now nearing the time for Shavuot and Jesus had to go through Samaria.

He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee. And He must needs go through Samaria. John 4:4

Now Samaria was situated between Judaea and the Galilee. The Jews hated the Samaritans more than any people, even their worst enemies. The Samaritans had been planted in the area by the Assyrians 700 years before and had accepted the writings of Moses. Jews generally traveled the Jordan Valley route to the Galilee from Judaea and back rather than go through Samaria. But on this particular journey, Jesus said He "must needs go through Samaria."

There He talked with a Samaritan woman and offered her the Water of Life. He then gave her a great revelation -- He talked with her about the Holy Spirit. This, He said, was the only way to worship God -- in Spirit and in Truth. John 4:23-24

In this drama, Jesus was providing a picture of the offering of the Holy Spirit to the gentiles. That it occurred just before He attended the Feast of Pentecost is obvious from the following:

John 4:34-35 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work.

Say not four months and then cometh harvest? Behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.

First we realize they had attended Passover, Unleavened Bread, and Firstfruits in Jerusalem. After that they had gone into Judaea. Now they were on their way to the Galilee passing through Samaria. And in the next Chapter, the Word declares, "After this, there was a Feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem." John 5: 1. We know this "next" Feast would be fifty days after Firstfruits and would be Shavuot (Pentecost) about the month of June. Four months after Shavuot is Rosh Hashanah. This is about the month of October and the beginning of the fall harvest. It is the ingathering of the great and final harvest. It is the harvest of the latter rain.

Thus, if Jesus were on His way to Shavuot, it was significant that He went to the most despised of gentiles and offered the Holy Spirit in symbolism.

Jesus also gave us a symbolism in the length of time he stayed in Samaria.

So when the Samaritans were come unto Him, they besought Him that He would tarry with them: and He abode there two days.

When the Jews rejected Messiah and He offered Himself to the gentile world, He was accepted with joy. On the Day of Pentecost 32 C. E., the Church was born. It is considered by Jews to be a "Gentile Church" although it is made up of Jew and Gentile. We expect this "gathering together into Him" to last two days (2000 years).

THE TWO LOAVES
You recall that Jahweh ordained that the Feast of Shavuot required a "wave offering." Firstfruits also required a "wave offering." At Firstfruits it was a sheaf of barley. However the "wave offering" of Shavuot is two wave loaves. They are to be baked with leaven. Leviticus 23: 17 And they are the Firstfruits unto the Lord.

The wave sheaf was Christ. The wave loaves are the Church. Two Wave Loaves, not just one -- Jew and Gentile. The wave sheaf (Christ) could have no leaven.

But the wave-loaf (the Church) has leaven because sin is present.

I Corinthians 10: 16-17 - The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the Blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?
For we being many are one bread, and one body...

The great significance of the Feast of Pentecost was the Birth of the Church and the Coming of the Holy Spirit.