Out of Zion

Dr. Susan Michael: The Feast of Weeks occurs exactly 50 days after the first Sabbath after the Passover. It is largely associated with the wheat harvest, and one of the requirements was that the priests were to wave two loaves of bread before the Lord in the tabernacle. Why do you think that the Lord chose this day to pour out the Holy Spirit in Acts chapter two? And why do we call it Pentecost? Listen in for some answers.

Welcome to this week’s Shabbat Shalom devotional where I seek to share a little inspiration and bring a little peace to the close of your very busy week. This week, we're taking a break from our Torah portions because this week is the Feast of Weeks, or what we know in the church as Pentecost. Most Christians are familiar with the term Pentecost, as it's associated with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Acts chapter two, but most are largely unfamiliar with the Hebrew name of Pentecost, which is Shavuot.

Two weeks ago, we talked about Leviticus 23 and the list of the feasts of the Lord. There were spring feasts, summer feasts, and fall feasts. Shavuot is the summer feast. There were three feasts of the Lord where it was required that all the Israelites were to come up before Him in Jerusalem. These were known as the pilgrimage feasts: Passover, Weeks, and Tabernacles. Shavuot in Hebrew means "weeks." The Feast of Weeks is the Feast of Shavuot in Hebrew.

It was largely a feast of the wheat harvest, and it occurred exactly 50 days after the first Shabbat after Passover. This was the first day after seven weeks, or the 50th day. It was called the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of the Harvest of the Firstfruits, and the Firstfruits of the Wheat Harvest. In addition to that, there's a strong rabbinic tradition that says it was on the 50th day after Passover that the law was given on Sinai. Nowhere in Scripture does it say that, but this is a very strong rabbinic tradition.

When you look at the parallels between the giving of the law on Sinai and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, you really do have to wonder. Both events brought an earthshaking paradigm shift: the first one for Israel under Moses, and the second one for all believers in Jesus. Both events were accompanied by supernatural phenomena. At Sinai, there was thunder and a very loud trumpet sound. On the day of Pentecost, there was a noise like a violent wind that filled the place.

At Sinai, there were lightning flashes, and on the day of Pentecost, there was what appeared to be tongues of fire. At Sinai, the presence of the Lord was so thick it covered the mountain in a form of smoke and fire. On the day of Pentecost, the glory of the Lord fell as tongues of fire on the people. The phenomena of both events also evoked very strong emotions and responses from the people. At Sinai, it says that when the people saw and heard this, they trembled and stood at a distance. On the day of Pentecost, the crowd was bewildered, amazed, and astonished at the sound and what they were hearing in their own languages.

As I close, I have to mention Jeremiah 31. This is the famous scripture where the prophet Jeremiah foretells of the day when God is going to make a new covenant with the people of Israel. It says their sins will be forgiven and the law will be written on their hearts. Here on the day of Pentecost, after Jesus has cut the new covenant with His own blood, He ascended to heaven and sent the Holy Spirit on the day of the giving of the law so that the Spirit would write the law on our hearts.

This is just another example of how exciting the Bible is and the power and sovereignty of our God, the Creator of the universe. He not only fulfills His promises and confirms His word, but He does it at the very exact time that He has already foreordained thousands of years earlier. If that's not exciting, I don't know what is. With that, I wish you Shabbat Shalom.

Guest (Male): We hope you have enjoyed this episode of Out of Zion with Susan Michael. Be sure to subscribe to Out of Zion now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, pray.com, Salem1Place, and Salem Life Audio. Out of Zion with Susan Michael is a production of ICEJ USA. All rights reserved.