The Feast of Weeks-Shavuot-Pentecost
Tablets of Stone – Tablets of Flesh
Exodus 19:16 Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. 17 And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. 19 And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice. 20 Then the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.
Exodus 24: 9 Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, 10 and they saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. 11 And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank. 12 The LORD said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and wait there, that I may give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction.”….. 16 Now the glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud.
17 Now the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel.
18 So Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain.
Exodus 24 and the order of events in 25 parallel the Acts.
The Feast of Weeks is given – Leviticus 23:15 ‘And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath (First Fruits), from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. 16 Count fifty (Pentecost) days to the day after the seventh Sabbath (Counting of the Omer); then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord.
God’s Spirit Poured Out
Joel 2:28“And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams,
Your young men shall see visions.
29 And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. 30 “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth:
Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.
Acts 2:2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Genesis 1:14 Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons,
In the month of Iyar,(counting of the Omer) leading towards Sivan-Shavuot, Venus is at its brightest as the evening “star,” passing near the Pleiades, or Seven Sisters–(stars/lampstands).
Rev. 1:12 Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me.
And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. 14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; 15 His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; 16 He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. 17 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. 18 I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. 19 Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this. 20 The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.
Acts 2:24-42 it was not possible for him to be held by death…… And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
Will we be “Bethlehem” (House of Bread) for God?
He looks for a place to be born and there’s no room at the Inn. So He is welcomed into a humble manger. We in our sinful Adamic nature are like that filthy manger that Yeshua/Jesus was born into on that Holy night of His Incarnation.
We have no reason or evidence to believe that December 24th was the night God’s incarnation took place! In fact, imagine how poetic and meaningful it would be to look up into the sky to see the “Bright morning Star” among the Pleiades-Seven Sisters!
It may very well have been this season of “new beginnings” that God began His process of “First Fruits” coming forth from the spring harvest.
How profound that He chose this season to transition His dwelling place from the stone tablets in – Ark of the Temple to the tablets of flesh in the heart of sinful man!
• Fire cannot be dirty or defiled, it purifies and cleanses or consumes and destroys what cannot exist in its presence. God’s holiness is a consuming fire. The kohanim are commanded to always keep the fire on the altar burning and never to extinguish it. (Leviticus 6:13)
For this reason, when we light our Shabbat candles on Friday night to usher in the Sabbath, it is customary not to blow out the flame but to let the candles burn down completely.
We will experience meaning and fulfillment in our lives if we make every effort to walk and talk with Jesus every day in the way He taught us to follow Him.
May our hearts always burn brightly with the fire that God Himself lit there, never to be extinguished by the distractions or cares of this world.
• TEFILLAH: Which means PRAYER
How often do we use prayer as nothing more than an emergency call or a cold call to God? Too often we only pray when we need or want something from God – which is understandable considering the English word “pray” means to “ask or beg”. But the Hebrew word for prayer – tefillah – means to “self evaluate”. So to the Jews of the Bible, prayer was not a time when they asked God for things … it was a time when they examined themselves. They would use prayer as a way to compare their actions, behavior and attitude against God’s holiness.
• EMUNAH: Which means FAITH
Some people suppose that faith is an intellectual decision –
I know there is a God, so therefore I have faith.
But the Hebrew word for ‘faith’ – emunah –
is less about KNOWING, and more about DOING.
‘Emunah’ literally means “to take firm action“, so to have faith is to act.
It’s like a staircase; you may intellectually know the stairs go up to the next level,
but until you climb the stairs you won’t experience the next level.
What you do is more important than what you know.
Don’t just believe in the stairs, climb the stairs.
What would you need to change today to ensure your faith was defined by what you did, instead of what you know?
• No one but God Himself has the power to truly live the 10 Commandments perfectly but one who is being called by God will have a desire to do so.
The natural man’s fallen nature will alibi and justify all the reasons to live outside the law and feel comfortable doing so.
• The amount of your desire and interest to live by these Commands (combined with the knowledge that only the Spirit in you is capable of doing so) is a good gauge to measure your spiritual “temperature.”
Jesus told a parable of 10 virgins,
Five were ready when He returned and five were not.
1“Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 The five who were foolish didn’t take enough olive oil for their lamps, 4 but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil. 5 When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
6“At midnight they were roused by the shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out and meet him!’
7 “All the bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps. 8 Then the five foolish ones asked the others, ‘Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’
9 “But the others replied, ‘We don’t have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves.’
10 “But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came. Then those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked. 11Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, ‘Lord! Lord! Open the door for us!’
12 “But he called back, ‘Believe me, I don’t know you!’
13 “So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return.
In the month of Iyar,(counting of the Omer) leading towards Sivan-Shavuot, Venus is at its brightest as the evening “star,” passing near the Pleiades, or Seven Sisters–(stars/lampstands)
12Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands, 13and among the lampstands was One like the Son of Man, dressed in a long robe, with a golden sash around His chest. 14The hair of His head was white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes were like a blazing fire. 15His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and His voice was like the roar of many waters. 16He held in His right hand seven stars, and a sharp double-edged sword came from His mouth. His face was like the sun shining at its brightest.
17When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. But He placed His right hand on me and said, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last, 18the Living One. I was dead, and behold, now I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of Death and of Hades.
19Therefore write down the things you have seen, and the things that are, and the things that will happen after this. 20This is the mystery of the seven stars you saw in My right hand and of the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
When Jesus said that “you know neither the day nor the hour” when He returns was He was actually telling us that “Shavuot” is when He’s coming for His Bride?
1 Thess: 5:1 Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. 2 For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. (Paul knew that the Jews celebrated the Feasts)
Matt: 25: 6 “But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’……..13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
Luke: 12: 35 “Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, 36 and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks……..40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
1 Thess: 4:16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
1 Cor: 15:51 Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 52in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53For this perishable must put on the
imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.
