Sivan 6: Two Shavu'ots

Today is 6 Sivan 5770: Shavu'ot. The "Counting of the Omer" - 49 Days plus 1 - has been completed and the fourth "Moedim" - Appointed Time that G-d commanded be observed is upon us.

Vayikra/Leviticus 23: 15-22: From the day after the day of rest - that is from the day you bring the sheaf for waving - you are to count 7 full weeks, until the day after the seventh week ; you are to count fifty days; and then you are to present a new grain offering to Adonai. You must bring bread from your homes for waving - two loaves made with one gallon of fine flour, baked with leaven - as a firstfruits for Adonai. Along with the bread, present seven male lambs without defect - one year old, one young bull and two rams; these will be a burnt offering for Adonai, with their grain and drink offerings; an offering made by fire as a fragrant aroma for Adonai. Offer one male goat as a sin offering and two male lambs one year old as a sacrifice of peace offerings. The cohen will wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before Adonai, with the two male lambs; these will be holy for Adonai for the cohen. On the same day, you are to call an holy convocation; do not do any kind of ordinary work; this is a permanent regulation through all your generations no matter where you live.

When you harvest the ripe crops produced in your land, don't harvest all the way to the corners of your field; and don't gather the ears of grain left by the harvesters; leave them for the poor and the foreigner; I am Adonai, your G-d!

Of all the shalosh regalim (three pilgrimage festivals) which Israel was commanded to celebrate in Yerushalayim, Shavu'ot: the Feast of Weeks, stands out as the most dramatic.

According to tradition, it was at this time - fifty days after the first Pesach/Passover was celebrated the night the firstborn of all Egyptian homes and livestock were killed by the Angel of the L-rd as the final plague HaShem visited upon Egypt - that the Ivriyim/Hebrews came to Mt. Sinai to receive Torah!

As HaShem spoke to Moshe there were incredible signs and wonders that testified that Israel was in the presence of HaShem (G-d: literally, THE NAME). Fire, smoke, and lightening were all seen that day at the mountain. For this reason, Shavu'ot it celebrated as the time when Israel received Torah and entered into a new Covenant relationship with Adonai (The L-rd).

Part of the Haftarah (portions of the Prophets) read on Shavu'ot is Yechezk'el/Ezekiel 1. Yechezk'el was given a vision of the Shekhinah (Glory of G-d) as G-d told him to stand at the entrance of the cave and He would 'pass by' - the Strong Wind, the Cloud, and the Fire all represented the Presence of G-d! Sadly, the First Temple was destroyed during the lifetime of Yechezk'el and the Shekhinah departed from Israel.....

The Brit Hadassah/New Testament records for us that in first century Yerushalayim the custom of honoring the Shalosh Regalim Festival of Shavu'ot fifty days after Pesach/Passover was celebrated as G-d commanded in Vayikra/Leviticus 23: 15-22. The Acts of the Emissaries 2:1-2 states that "the Festival of Shavu'ot arrived, and the Believers all gathered together in one place. Suddenly there came a sound from the sky like the roar of a violent wind, and it filled the whole house ..." As the Talmidim worshipped on Shavu'ot, reading from the Prophet Yechezk'el, the manifestation of the Shekhinah returned!

There were hundreds of thousands of religious Jews from every Nation under Heaven in Yerushalayim. They were there fulfilling the Shalosh Reglaim Feast of Shavu'ot! Religious Jews plan all night sessions to study the Ten Commandments. This tradition may reflect a tradition of staying awake all night in prayer that found its' origin in the Second Temple period. It may explain why thousands of Orthodox Jews were on the streets in Jerusalem on Shavu'ot morning!

They saw what looked like tongues of fire, which separated and came to rest on each of the Talmidim. Kefa/Peter addressed the large crowd gathered to see this...he said that what had transpired was a fulfillment of Yoel/Joel 3:1-5 "Adonai says; In the Last Days, I will pour out My Spirit upon everyone. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams, Even on my slaves, both men and women, will I pour out from my Spirit in those days; and they will prophesy. I will perform miracles in the sky above and signs on the earth below - blood, fire and thick smoke. The sun will become dark and the moon blood before the great and fearful Day of Adonai comes. And then, whoever calls on the name of Adonai will be saved!"

What perfect symetry! G-d's Word is inerrant and immutable. Messiah Yeshua said that "not one yod or tittle" would remain unfulfilled. Truly we see this on 6 Sivan!

6 Sivan: Two Shavu'ots! One in the Wilderness as HaShem thundered from Mount Sinai - creating the Eternal Covenant with His Nation Israel. One in Yerushalayim, Mount Zion, as the Ruach HaKodesh fell upon the Believers gathered there - creating another Eternal Covenant with His Kingdom of Believers!

I bow my knees and cry "HOLY! HOLY! HOLY!" - To Him Who WAS...and IS...and IS TO COME!