By Dr. David Hocking
Hope for Today
Today and tomorrow is the celebration of Shavuot, known to Bible-believing Christians as the Day of Pentecost (Greek word for “50″) when the Holy Spirit came in power and baptized the first believers. Now, both Jew & Gentile who put their faith and trust in the finished work of the Messiah Who died for our sins and rose again from the dead - both are placed into one body by the work of the Holy Spirit - the Church of Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Messiah) was born that day.
Today, modern Judaism celebrates Shavuot as the day the Torah was given to us by Moses. The Talmud tells us that God gave the Ten Commandments on the sixth night of the Hebrew month of Sivan. Shavuot (they say) always falls 50 days after the second night of Passover. The 49 days in between are known as the Omer.
However, in reading Leviticus 23:9-22 it would appear that the counting of seven sabbaths begins with the Sabbath AFTER the Passover - then after counting seven Sabbath days, “on the morrow” would be Sunday, the Day of Shavuot (Pentecost) - if that is correct, then Shavuot would come this Sunday, May 23, 2010.
Shavuot in Biblical times marked the beginning of the new agricultural season and was called Hag HaKatzir or Hag HaBikurim (referring to “The Feast of First Fruits.”) This last name comes from the practice of bringing fruits to the Temple on Shavuot. Also, Jewish tradition teaches that King David (Ruth’s great-great-grandson) was born and died on Shavuot. The Book of Ruth is read during this celebration.
The central feature of the celebration is the two loaves of bread (made from the wheat of this first harvest) - offered to God as a sacrifice. We believe that the two loaves of bread symbolized the bringing of both Jew and Gentile into the one body of Yeshua!
Let us all rejoice that the Church of Jesus Christ was born on this day of Shavuot when 3000 Jews believed in our Messiah! Praise the Lord!
Related Links
Shavuot - Jews for Jesus Israeli Shavuot: Praying at the Wall, Learning, Dairy Food - Arutz Sheva The Promise Of Pentecost - SpiritandTruth.org (Tony Garland) Feasts of the Lord - Ariel Ministries The Feasts of Israel: Seasons of the Messiah - Bruce Scott (Book)
