the Spring Feasts of Israel
Shavu'ot
the Feast of Oaths
by haRold Smith
a citizen of the Commonwealth (Ephesians 2:19)
"Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.' Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, 'Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?' Yeshua answered him, 'If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and my Father will love him and we will come to him and make our home with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. AND THE WORD THAT YOU HEAR IS NOT MINE BUT THE FATHER'S WHO SENT ME.
These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the
BREATH OF LIFE,
whom the Father will send in My Name, will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you'." John 14:21-26
This week we count the forty ninth and final day of the Torah commandment to "...count for yourselves, from the morrow of the rest day, Pesach (Passover), from the day you bring the omer as a wave offering seven weeks; they shall be complete. You shall count until the day after the seventh week, the fiftieth day, on which you shall bring a new offering to YaHoVeH" (Leviticus 23:15-16). The fiftieth day mentioned in this verse, the day on which we are to "bring a new offering to YaHoVeH" is the feast of Shavu'ot (renamed Pentecost, from the Greek pentekoste which means "the fiftieth day"). Shavu'ot is the final day of the Pesach (renamed Passover) pilgrimage which preceded it by fifty days and is, by virtue of this designation, intimately connected to the Pesach feast of freedom. Scripture also commonly refers to this day as the "Festival of Weeks" in
Deuteronomy 16:10 (click on highlighted words to view content),
however, this name is not descriptive of the character and substance of the holiday. Rather, it is simply a chronological tag that addresses itself to the time-lapse between Pesach and Shavu'ot thus emphasizing the relationship and interdependence of the two holidays. Shavu'ot is unique among the biblical festivals in that it is not given a fixed calendar date upon which to honor. Instead, we are commanded to celebrate it at the end of a 50-day period known as the "Counting of the Omer." There were three factions who initially argued over the timing of Shavu'ot as seen in the article,
the Truth About Shavu'ot.
These three were the Pharisees who wrote the Mishnah and the Talmud, the Essenes who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Sadducees who made up the Temple Priesthood. What we are left with today is, by default, the position of the Pharisees who simply outlasted the other two.
What most are unaware of is the significance this Day has in the manifestation of the fulfillment of the Oath YaHoVeH swore by Himself to accomplish His Purpose in the redemption of His Family because there was no one higher to swear by and, thus, He ensured this Covenant He made with Himself could never be broken by man
(Genesis 22:15-18,
Psalm 89:30-37),
Consequently, we see where Shavu'ot has been honored throughout scripture even before Sinai - which is where most scholars place its origin. The earliest source to indicate a link between Shavu'ot and the Sinai experience is in the post-biblical
Book of Jubilees,
written in the first century before the Common Era. Sometimes called Lesser Genesis (Leptogenesis), it is an ancient Hebrew work of 50 chapters, considered canonical by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church as well as Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews), where it is known as the Book of Division (Ge'ez - taken from the opening introduction). It was well known to early Catholic Christians as evidenced by the writings of Epiphanius, Justin Martyr, Origen, et al. The text was also utilized by the Essene community that originally collected the Dead Sea Scrolls. No complete Greek or Latin version is known to have survived, but the Ge'ez version has been shown to be an accurate translation of the versions found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. This book is a parallel to the Book of Genesis and parts of Exodus. In it, we find an elaborate and more expansive account of Moses receiving the Ten Words from YaHoVeH.
What the Book of Jubilees shows us is the high priority YaHoVeH places on
the fulfillment
of His Oath - such that Shavu'ot did not just "drop" into being out of nothing. Beginning with
chapter1 of the Book of Jubilees, we see the significance of the feast and how closely it is linked to the "Feast of First Fruits" in
Exodus 23:16
and Numbers 28:26.
The Feast of Pesach is conducted on the 14th of the first month of the year, Nissan, with the Feast of Bikkurim (First Fruits) and the waving of the barley sheaves on the first day following a Shabbat after the 15th - the precise day of the beginning of the counting of the omer until Shavu'ot fifty days later in the middle of the third month. Remember, Shavu'ot is a "floating" feast, occurring anywhere within the middle of the third month from Pesach. Thus, we see the emphasis placed on, "in the third month, on the sixteenth day of the month" in
Jubilees 1:1
where, in the middle of the third month, it is validated that Moses was given
the Ten Words (Oaths) of Spirit
coinciding with what would become Shavu'ot. Why is this important to know? Because it shows that the "Feast of Weeks" in not an arbitrary designation. In fact, we see the observance of Shavu'ot by Noah among the biblical patriarchs
Jubilees 6:15-21.
In Jubilees 15:1,
we see Abraham celebrating the Feast of Weeks (or First Fruit as the feast is called in early writings as it had not yet had a name attached to it)," in the third month, in the middle of the month" when YaHoVeH made an Oath to Abraham that he would become the "Father of many nations" in verse 6 through a son borne to Sarah who was 90 years old in verse 16 (another Oath). We find the fulfillment of that Oath in
Jubilees 16:13,
where Sarah "bore a son in the third month, and in the middle of the month" whose name was Isaac. In this chapter we also see the first designation of "the Well of the Oath" beginning in verse 11. Again, in
Jubilees 22:1.
There is a touching moment which finds both Issac and Ishmael returning to the Well of Oaths to celebrate the "feast of weeks" at their father, Abraham's, death.
Jubilees 28:15
sees the fourth son of Jacob born on "the fifteenth of the third month." That son was Judah from whom came the Messiah. Finally,
Jubilees 44
says Jacob (renamed Israel) finds his way back to the Well of the Oath in the third month, celebrating the feast of weeks in verse 4 while contemplating going over to Egypt when YaHoVeH appears to him on "the sixteenth of the month", renewing His covenant to make a great nation from him in verse 5. The reason we see this event happening over and over again in the same place at the same time before Sinai and before the engagement of the Hebrews with the Land of Canaan, is because Shavu'ot is not merely an agricultural marking point but a reminder of YaHoVeH's Oaths to us and the celebration of His Faithfulness to keep those Oaths. There is only One Covenant and it has to do with YaHoVeH's Plan and His Purpose toward his family -
to bring Life out of death
and to make that Life accessible to every one who would come to Him with a humble and contrite spirit
(Isaiah 57:15).
The Covenant that YaHoVeH made with Himself was fulfilled when the "fiery law" of
Deuteronomy 33:2
appeared as "tongues of fire" upon those waiting on the Promise at the Hebrew feast of
Yom Shavu'ot
- the same earthshaking day the Words of YaHoVeH's Nature had first been given in fire to the family of Jacob (Israel) at Sinai on tablets of stone fifty days after their Exodus from bondage and the first Pesach (Passover) as it is still celebrated today. So, from the Hebraic perspective these words are presented in, what is "new" about the covenant is the manner of delivery of YaHoVeH's Words. They are now written and renewed on the hearts of men who will receive them, instead of on tablets of stone - BUT THEY ARE STILL THE SAME WORDS
(John 1:12,
Jeremiah 31:33).
These Words are not altered, not done away with, as Yeshua reinforces in
Matthew 5:17-19
- just a better way
of having them delivered that is by or through Spirit. So, let's look at what scripture reveals actually happened on this earth-shaking day of Shavu'ot.
|
"And they were all filled with
THE BREATH OF LIFE
and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem
Hebrews, devout men from every nation
under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own dialect." Acts 2:4-6
|
Understanding that the reason there were Hebrews from every nation there that day was because this was the Hebrew Feast of Shav'uot. Recognizing this as an event that Hebrews, to this day, travel great lengths to Jerusalem to attend puts a whole different light of perspective upon these words. Each Hebrew community in each of those nations had a different dialect of Hebrew they spoke from the influence of the language of the nation they were in.
Acts 2:6
in the Original Greek confirms it was Hebrew dialects they heard (Greek
dialektos)
- not completely different languages. This is important to understand because, according to the words written even in the English translations, there is nothing mentioned about any Gentiles being in attendance that day
(see what it means to scripturally be Grafted In).
For us to arbitrarily place Gentiles into that context becomes eisegesis (reading into the text) rather than exegesis (reading out of the text) - and history tells us there were no "Christians" around for at least another 200 years despite Christianity's claim that this event was solely for them. What happened that day was the fulfillment of the Promise of the Restoration of YaHoVeH's Kingdom by the indwelling of YaHoVeH's Spirit into the hearts of
His Family
thus creating a "new" Temple for YaHoVeH to dwell in - from without to
within.
The Hebrew phrase
ruach
ha
kodesh
(reading right to left is Hebrew for "the holiness of spirit" - something that is
cultivated
within an individual by that individual) has been used inadvertently as a substitute for the English "Holy Spirit" appearing in their bibles. This is incorrect as there is no capitalization in Hebrew; thus, there is no personification, no third person
"Holy Spirit".
What is the holiness of spirit? Holiness is the Nature abiding in Spirit, Who is YaHoVeH. The Hebrew word translated as the English "holy" is
kodesh
which means to be "set apart". When Yeshua said to "be perfect even as your Father is perfect" in
Matthew 5:48,
He was not giving us something to do that was beyond our reach - nor was He telling us anything new. He was not giving us a "new" command. He was actually quoting
Leviticus 19:2
(found in the Torah) which says, "You shall become holy, as I, YaHoVeH, your Elohim am holy". The Way to become holy is in the keeping of YaHoVeH's Words - which "sets us apart" from the rest of the world. There are many "saints" recorded in the Tanakh (OT). The Hebrew word
kadosh
translated "saints" in the Tanakh and a variation of kodesh, is describing those who comprise
the family of YaHoVeH
- those who abide within
His Kingdom.
Becoming holy is very different from what happened on Shavu'ot, however, when those who had already become holy were waiting to receive the Breath of Life from YaHoVeH.
| |
...from without to within
|
It was this epochal event the 120 saints gathered to wait upon for 10 days in the Upper Room following Yeshua's instruction of
Luke 24:49,
and Acts 1:4-5.
It occurred on the Feast of Shavu'ot, the final day of the 50 days of the counting of the Omer which began on the Day of Unleavened Bread after Pesach (Passover) when Yeshua was presented before the Father as the offering of the First Fruit, thus satisfying all the requirements of the Feasts. After which, He appeared to the eleven and as many as 500 believers - visibly living among them for the next 40 days before going to the Father
(see the Ascension,
1Corinthians 15:5-8).
There are only two places where scripture says Spirit breathed on men. The first is found in Genesis with Adam,
the first Hebrew
(not the first of mankind), and the second was with the Hebrew disciples immediately after Yeshua was resurrected, saying while breathing on them, "receive
the Spirit of YaHoVeH"
- the Breath of Life. It was the actual Spirit of YaHoVeH (Who Is Holy) that was imparted to those eleven as a pre-cursor to what happened on Shavu'ot. This is that same Breath of Life Yeshua said He would send us, because He went to the Father - thus
fulfilling
the Covenant of YaHoVeH as He said He was sent to do
(Luke 4:43,
John 14:26,
John 15:26).
His Resurrection opened the portal through which would come the means to infuse those who embraced the example of His Life with
the Power
which, by the embrace of His Life, we are afforded the opportunity to enter into
echad
(Hebrew for "one or unity") with the Present Presence
in the same manner as did our elder brother, Yeshua
(John 1:12,
Acts 1:8).
Scripture tells us this immersion into the Spirit of YaHoVeH was the singular evidentiary event that would now be accessible to those of YaHoVeH's Family who would embrace Yeshua as His Promised Messiah
(not the world
- Acts 10:44-47,
Acts 19:1-7).
Scripture also tells us this Truth is something we must ask for and seek after to receive
(Luke 11:13)
and, having asked, believe that He has given it
(Hebrews 11:6,
Mark 11:24,
Luke 11:9-13).
Today, there are two factions within the Kingdom of Israel, the family of YaHoVeH - those who keep the Covenant of YaHoVeH and receive Yeshua as the Hebrew Messiah to Israel, thereby becoming members of His Body as the Bridegroom; and those who keep the Covenant of YaHoVeH but have not yet recognized Yeshua as the Messiah even while, at the same time, believing in and looking for the appearance of that promised Messiah. These latter are the betrothed of YaHoVeH -
the Bride.
When Yeshua is revealed to them as that Messiah, those who accept Him will become echad with Him as He is with the Father - as those of His Body have already become. The New Jerusalem is a depiction of the culmination of that marriage between these two factions.
The Good News of the Gospel
is, through the fulfillment of the covenant the Father began with Adam and completed in Yeshua, that through the Resurrection of Yeshua, the Kingdom of YaHoVeH has been restored in the earth right now, today, as it was originally in the Garden, giving you and I the opportunity to become partakers of the Divine Nature by having the fullness of Spirit
dwell within us.
We can be echad
with YaHoVeH, the Creator of the universe,
just as
Yeshua is.
|
|
the Feast of Oaths, a discussion
| |
"But when the fullness of time came, YaHoVeH sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under Torah,
n order that He might ransom those under Torah,
so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are (His) children, YaHoVeH has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" Galatians 4:4-6
|
the Spring Feasts of Israel
Part One: Pesach - 3Days&3Nights
Part Two: Matzot & FirstFruits
Part Three: Shavu'ot
|
???Questions???
Please feel free to email me at harold@hethathasanear.com.
While not claiming to have all
the answers, it would be an honor to partake with you of what Spirit is uncovering.
CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO HOME PAGE
|
