Shavuot means “weeks.” It celebrates the seven weeks after
the second day of Passover. It begins on the fiftieth day (the next day after
the seven weeks following the second day of Passover.) It is celebrated on the anniversary
of the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai. It is also the celebration of the first
fruits of the wheat harvest.
As Christians, we celebrate Pentecost. Pentecost is from a
Greek word meaning “fiftieth.” It is the seventh Sunday after Easter.
Shavuot, also called the ‘feast of weeks,’ is one of the
three times in a year that all Jewish males were to appear before the Lord at
the temple in Jerusalem, bringing an offering.
"Three times in a year shall all thy males appear
before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of
unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles:
and they shall not appear before the LORD empty:" - Deuteronomy 16:16 KJV
Shavuot is a 2-day holiday which began at sundown Sunday May
16, 2021 and ends Tuesday night. In Israel, it is a 1-day holiday.
The giving of the Law on Mount Sinai is compared by Jewish
sages to a wedding between God and the Jewish people. Shavuot
also means “oaths.”
"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; Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and
how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. 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: 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." - Exodus 19:3- KJV
As a bride says, ‘I do,’ the people answered together ‘we
will do.’
"And Moses came and called for the elders of the
people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded
him. 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." - Exodus 19:7-8 KJV
No comments:
Post a Comment