Introduction
The birth of the Church is often said to be on the feast of Pentecost. Perhaps that is true. Perhaps we are off by a few thousand years. We’ve all been wrong before. Maybe we missed something.
The Feast of Pentecost
Continuing in our study of the feasts of God, we have come to the feast of
Shavuot, the feast of weeks. We commonly know this feast by the Greek name
Pentecost, which means fiftieth. The date of this feast is set by counting fifty
days from the season of Passover, as directed in Leviticus, thus it is deemed
the conclusion to the Passover season.
Leviticus 23:15-16
15 And ye shall count unto you from the
morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave
offering; seven Sabbaths shall be complete: 16 Even unto the morrow after the
seventh Sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat
offering unto the LORD.
There has been, throughout time, disagreement on exactly when the counting
begins. Some say the weekly Sabbath. Others the 15th of Nisan, the feast of
Unleavened bread, which is a high Sabbath, a feast day in which no ordinary work
was to be done. My reading of this points to the day after the weekly Sabbath as
being the first of the fifty days counting down to Shavuot.
Regardless of the day the counting starts, the fiftieth day is the feast of
Shavuot, or Pentecost. This feast marks the end of the wheat harvest, just as
Passover marked the barley harvest. The events of the feast have some unique
symbolism, some of which we will briefly cover. Let’s look at some of the
offerings given on this feast.
Leviticus 23:17
17 Ye shall bring out of your habitations
two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be
baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD.
In this verse, we see two loaves that are baked with leaven, which are to be
a firstfruits offering to be waved before God. A different idea from the
unleavened bread of Passover. There are those who say these two loaves represent
Israel and the congregation (that is believers who may not be of Hebrew
descent). I might take that a slightly different way and say that the two loaves
represent Israel and Judah, the two houses which came from the whole kingdom of
Israel (this concept is covered in much greater detail in another writing,
“Brothers, or Ancient History,” which is available on the “Resources” page).
Also, notice that these loaves are leavened. As we know from our Passover
study, leaven is a picture of sin. Passover, and the unleavened bread speak of
Messiah Yeshua. In all of the symbols and types, He is the theme. Shavuot, on
the other hand, speaks of the people, be it Israel and the congregation or
Israel and Judah. The loaves that represent the people are leavened. Although
these people are Sons of God, there is still sin found in believers. What is
later done with these two loaves?
Leviticus 23:18
18 And ye shall offer with the bread seven
lambs without blemish of the first year, and one young bullock, and two rams:
they shall be for a burnt offering unto the LORD, with their meat offering,
and their drink offerings, even an offering made by fire, of sweet savour unto
the LORD.
These two loaves, along with other offerings, were to be burnt before God. A fire cleanses the leaven of the loaves. Hmmm.
Luke 3:16
16 John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed
baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose
shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and
with fire.
When did the Ruach haChodesh set tongues of fire upon the talmidim? None other than on the feast of Shavuot (Acts 2:1).
Anyway, there are many trails we could chase, but I’ll let you do that on
your own. The main thing I would like to talk about in this writing is marriage.
“How on earth did we get to marriage, from Pentecost?”, is what you’re thinking,
right? Let’s find out.
In a Biblical wedding, marriage has two stages. The first, called the
‘erusin’ and the second called the ‘nesu’in.’ The erusin is a betrothal entered
into by contract. This contract, called a ‘ketubah’ is a legally binding
document, which bears all the bond of marriage, yet, without the right to
physically dwell with one another. The ketubah spells out the duties and
obligations of the bride and the bridegroom to each other. If one wished to be
released from the contract, they must have a divorce, in Hebrew, a ‘get.’ That
is the bond of the ketubah.
As an example of the betrothal stage, let’s look at Joseph and Mary (Hebrew:
Yosef and Miryam).
Matthew 1:18-20
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this
wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came
together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. 19 Then Joseph her
husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was
minded to put her away privily. 20 But while he thought on these things,
behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph,
thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is
conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
We can see from this text, that before the two came together, there was a conception, which prompted Joseph to seek a divorce (“to put her away”). However, as we know, the Holy Spirit was at work there, and changed Joseph’s mind.
The second stage of marriage is the nesu’in. This stage of marriage is the
fullness of marriage, where the bride and the bridegroom consummate the
marriage, and dwell together. Marriage is designed to be a lifelong
relationship, ” ’til death do you part.”
Divorce, though mentioned in the Scriptures, was not a thing God intended
from the beginning. In today’s world, divorce seems to be more common than a
lasting relationship. In this country, the average rate of divorce hovers in the
fifty percent range. Higher in some places, lower in others. What did Yeshua
have to say about divorce?
Matthew 19:7-8
7 They [the Pharisees] say unto him
[Yeshua], Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement,
and to put her away? 8 He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of
your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was
not so.
The wedding ceremony itself is performed under a canopy called a ‘chupah.’
The chupah is typically suspended by it’s corners, from four poles held by
friends of the couple, as the couple themselves stand under the canopy.
In attendance at the wedding, there must be two witnesses. The
responsibilities of these two witnesses are to escort the bride to meet the
groom (under the chupah), and sign the ketubah (the marriage contract). Without
the signature of both witnesses, the marriage is not legal.
Now, let’s get back to the feast of Shavuot. As we will unravel, the feast of
Shavuot is part of a marriage process, between God, and His people.
First, before one can be married, he must select a bride. If God Himself
were to select a bride out of all the earth, who would he choose? Would He
choose based on appearances, ethnicity, or power? NO! He would choose His bride
based on who would listen to His voice. The first feast of Passover was used by
God to find out who would listen to His voice. Kind of a first date, for an
analogy. Those that obeyed lived, and left Egypt. Though a “mixed multitude”
left Egypt (Exodus 12:38), they were collectively called “Israel.” Thus, a bride
was selected.
Exodus 19:3-7
3 And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD
called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house
of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; 4 Ye have seen what I did unto the
Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. 5
Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye
shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is
mine: 6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.
These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. 7 And
Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their
faces all these words which the LORD commanded him.
In this section we read the proposal from God to the bride. Moses carried the
proposal to the elders of the people. The people’s response was a resounding
“yes,” even before they heard the details of the ketubah (contract). As we read:
Exodus 19:8
8 And all the people answered together, and
said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words
of the people unto the LORD.
The Hebrew in this verse suggests this rendering, “We agree to do even before
we have listened.” So, here we have the bride accepting the proposal, and even
the ketubah before hearing the obligations.
As for the chupah, what might this be? Might this be the mountain the people
stood at the foot of?
Exodus 19:17
17 And Moses brought forth the people out of
the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount.
The Hebrew in this verse suggests that the people stood underneath the
mountain. Thus accounting for the chupah.
The witnesses for this wedding, one of whom is Moses, have escorted the bride
to the chupah. Who is the second witness? I’ll tell you: I don’t know. Perhaps
it is Aaron, or perhaps the Ruach haChodesh (Holy Spirit)? One of the additional
duties of the witnesses is to sign the ketubah, but wait, where is the ketubah?
Remember what God said through Moses earlier in the sequence of events?
“…If you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant…” (Exodus
19:5). The covenant that follows is the giving of the what is commonly called
‘the Law,’ or Torah. This body of instruction spells out the obligations of the
bride to her Bridegroom. Moses goes up to the mountain, receives the ketubah,
that is: Torah, and returns to the people. As Moses approaches the people, what
is the scene he finds?
Exodus 32:19
19 And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh
unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses’ anger waxed
hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the
mount.
Moses saw the turmoil the people had fallen into, and refused to sign the
ketubah. In fact, in his anger, he destroyed the tablets, not allowing the
fullness of the marriage to be entered. Does this mean the wedding is off? Not
exactly. Perhaps delayed is the best way to say it.
Without delving into the depths of history, let’s briefly touch a few
important times in Israel’s past. Several hundred years after Moses, in the
reign of Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, the kingdom of Israel is rent into two
kingdoms, Judah and Israel. The house of Israel quickly ran into idolatry,
turning away from her first love. The house of Judah, on the other hand, had
times of faithfulness, and times of idolatry. The house of Israel was cut off
from her Bridegroom, as Jeremiah tells us:
Jeremiah 3:8
8 “Then I saw that for all the causes for which
backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a
certificate of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but
went and played the harlot also.
Hosea, however, tells us that Judah did receive mercy (Hosea 1:7). So we see
that once the bride (a single people) divided, the two peoples went separate
ways. One went so far from God’s ways (Torah, the ketubah) that He gave that
people a bill of divorce. The other people, the house of Judah, played on the
fringes of God’s mercy. Never quite receiving a divorce, but not staying true to
the betrothal. What is to be done now? Restoration is the only way to fix this
marriage.
Jeremiah 31:31-33
31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD,
that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house
of Judah: 32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in
the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt;
which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the
LORD: 33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of
Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward
parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be
my people.
The Hebrew word for ‘new,’ can be translated a number of ways: new, fresh,
and re-newed, being a few of the ways.
As Yeshua sat with the talmidim (disciples) during His final Passover on this
earth, He proclaimed the beginning of this new covenant. Remember what it was
that God had said to the children of Israel in His proposal? “…If you will
indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant…” In this new or renewed
covenant, God has renewed His proposal, and through the sacrifice of Himself
(that is, Yeshua) He began to restore the bride. In the feast of Shavuot right
after His ascension, He sent the Ruach haChodesh to teach us, and to bring the
Word of God to believers remembrance, that they won’t forget their ketubah.
John 14:15-16, 26
15 If ye love me, keep my commandments. 16
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he
may abide with you for ever; 26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost,
whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring
all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
To apply all that we have searched out, today’s believer needs to look anew
at the feasts of Leviticus 23, and personalize these feasts. In the Passover,
God was looking for a bride in ME! In Shavuot, He was proposing to ME! All He is
saying, throughout the whole of the Scriptures, is, “I just want to be with you.
Will you listen to my voice, that we might be together?”
