PENTECOST
The Feast of Shavuot
by James Issa
This is the feast of Pentecost. The term "Pentecost," was not invented by pentecostals or
charismatics. It's a Jewish term referring to the 50 days after the Feast of First Fruits. This
Jewish holiday called "Shavuot" and popular known as  Pentecost was one of the
agricultural feasts on the Jewish Calendar. The 49 days between the feast of First Fruits
and Pentecost is known as the counting of the Omer (An omer is a measurement of 2
quarts of barley flour).  Leviticus 23:15-22 talks about this feast. Verse 17 states that 2
loaves of bread are to be baked with leaven. We noted in our previous study of the term
"Easter," that God required the people of Israel during the feast of Passover not to eat
unleavened bread for 7 days. At the feast of Pentecost, however, leaven, which
represents sin-1st Corinthians 5:6-8, is used. On this feast as on the feast of First Fruits,
the Omer (about 2 quarts of barley flour) is waved before God-verse 20.
According to Exodus 23:17, Jewish men were supposed to appear 3 times before the
Lord. These were for the feast of Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles.  So at this feast
1,500 years later, there were Jewish men from every part of the globe to celebrate this
feast when the Holy Spirit came from above and baptized them.

Traditionally, among the Jewish people, the feast of Pentecost has been known as when
God gave the Torah (the Law) and the 10 commandments to Moses. Studying the
itinerary of the people of Israel it can be seen that they crossed the Red Sea on the third
day (the day that Jesus resurrected from the dead-the feast of First Fruits). Please refer
to our teaching on the term popularly called "Easter" for further study on this Feast

As we know, Moses told Pharaoh that there were going to take a 3 day journey into the
Wilderness to sacrifice to God-Exodus 8:27.  Chronologically taking the daily narratives
gives
us 47 days after they crossed the Red Sea. God then asked them to sanctify themselves
for 3 days-Exodus 19:10-11 making it a total of 50 days. Exodus 19:1, states that the
feast of Pentecost was around the 3rd Month. Since Passover happened on the 14th day
of the 1st Month-Abib-Exodus 12:1,6, 50 days from the feast of First Fruits, will definitely
take you to
the third month and the month of Sivan in which is Pentecost is held.

Once again we have stated that the Feasts of the Old Testaments are "rehearsals" or
prophetic events of what God intended to fulfill through Yeshua(Jesus)-Leviticus 23:2. On
this same day that the children of Israel received the 10 commandments and the law, and
entered into a covenant with them with the seal of the blood-Exodus 24:8. On that same
feast day, 1500 years later, God sent his Holy Spirit and wrote the law in the hearts of his
people according to Jeremiah 31:31. God sealed this law by his Spirit in the body of the
believer-2nd Corinthians 1:22, Ephesians 1:13, Ephesians 4:30.
Jeremiah 31:31 prophesied that a day is coming when God will no longer write his law on
tablets of stone but on tablets of the heart. On this day, Jewish men & women from all
over the world received the tablets of God's law through the Holy Spirit, the author of the
law in their hearts.
2nd Timothy 3:16, says all scripture is breathed by God. 2nd Peter 2:21 also says "No
scripture is of private interpretation, but holy men of God spoke as they were led by the
Holy Spirit." David also says in 2nd Samuel 23:2-3, that he wrote the Psalms under the
leading and inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit cameas our guardian to help us keep the word of
God and gave us the grace of Jesus Christ who fulfilled the law so that we keep the
complete law through him-2nd Corinthians 5:21.

Another incident of importance is that on the day of Pentecost, 3,000 Israelites who were
worshipping the Golden Calf when Moses returned with the 10 commandments
died-Exodus 32:28. On the other hand 3,000 people were saved by the grace of God
through the Holy Spirit that day in Acts 2:41. The Bible says the letter kills but the Spirit
gives life-2nd Corinthians 3:6. Just keeping the mere words of the law, will make one
legalistic. Jesus came to address that in his Sermon the Mount in Matthew chapter 5. So
one does not commit murder, but the person deeply hates that person. One doesn't
commit adultery, but that one looks at women with lust and passion and into porn
magazines because the person has not technically committed adultery, that person is
free. Here the Holy Spirit states you have committed adultery, because you have lusted
against a woman who is not your wife.
In Jurisprudence, Judges sometimes look at the intent of the legislature in interpreting
laws. They sometimes review the actual notes of the legislature in discussing the law and
from those notes they decide the case based on that intent. So also the Holy Spirit, who
was there when God made the law, knows the mind of God (please read 1st Corinthians
2:10-11) in making the law and helps us keep the perfect law of God through the intent of
God, making sure we do not miss a thing.

On this feast which is another agricultural feast in this case the wheat harvest, God
commands that that the sacrifice be missed with leaven. As we know during the feast of
Unleavened bread, no leaven was to be eaten for eight days. The Bible represents
leaven as sin in 1st Corinthians 5: 6-8. However, on this day, why is leaven mixed with the
sacrifice to God? I believe it is because this feast was to include both Jews and Gentiles.
The Jews representing the righteousness of God and the Gentiles sinners who were
without God but on this day were joined together to be become one with the people of
Israel. On this day, the traditional scripture read is that of a gentile woman-Ruth. Ruth
was a Moabitess who joined herself to the nation of Israel through Marriage to Boaz .
Boaz was referred to us her "kinsman redeemer" (Hebrew: Goel). In the same way, we
gentiles were redeemed by our kinsman-redeemer Jesus who was sent by God to redeem
the rest of the world as we all are Children of God, created in his image and likeness:
Genesis 1:27. Ruth became one of the greatest matriarchs in the history of Israel, from
whom the lineage of David and Jesus' earth relation came. In this feast all of us both Jews
and Gentiles become one in Yeshua Jesus-Ephesians 2:14. God's plan has always been
to save the world-Genesis 3:15, Genesis 49:10, Amos 9:11, Isaiah 11:10. To do this, he
chose a particular man Abraham (a father of many nations-Genesis 12:3, 17:5, 22:18)
and a particular group of people, the Israelites to effect this-Romans 9:1-5. Verse 4 says
the Israelites are the adopted of God, to them he showed his glory, gave them his
covenant, both the old and new covenant, the giving of the law, the service of God and
the promises. Verse 5 says though the Israelites came the fathers-Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob and "as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever,
Amen." On this feast, there were Jewish people who had come from every corner of the
world into Jerusalem according to the commandment of God and these were part of the
3,000 people saved on that day. It is very likely that these Jewish men spread the gospel
of Yeshua when they returned.
God's plan is that Salvation comes to the Jew first and then to Gentiles-Romans 1:16,
Acts 13:46. Not long after this Jewish Pentecost, the Gentile Pentecost fell upon a Roman
gentile Cornelius and those gentiles gathered with him-Acts 10:44-46.

Let us therefore, celebrate this feast, thankful to God for giving us the law of his Spirit in
our hearts, that we are able to keep the whole law through the Holy Spirit. Through the
Holy Spirit, we keep the law of Grace, that where we miss the mark, we don't even know,
because the Holy Spirit fills up the difference. This grace can however, become available
only to you, if you have accepted Jesus as your Lord, Savior and Friend AND renounced
your own attempts to be perfect because you will always fall short-Romans 3:23, and will
end up giving-up trying to be "perfect". However, with Jesus, you are perfect, because he
was perfect in keeping both the letter and spirit of the law. In him was no sin. His
perfection has vicariously covered you, making you perfect-2nd Corinthians 5:21,
Romans 5:19,21, 2nd Peter 2:22, Hebrews 4:15, 1st John 3:5, 1st John 1:9 and Jude 24.

L'Chaim (TO LIFE) IN THE SPIRIT.
BETH CHAI MINISTRIES
House of Life