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CHRIST in the Feast of Pentecost

Moody Publishers

Contents

Foreword....................................................................................9Glossary....................................................................................11A Note from the Authors.....................................................................171. What's in a Name?........................................................................212. Pentecost in the Old Testament...........................................................333. Forty-Nine Days of Purpose?..............................................................574. Celebrating Pentecost: Customs and Traditions for Home and Synagogue.....................795. Pentecost in the Gospels.................................................................996. The Day Pentecost Was Fulfilled..........................................................1137. More Reflections on Firstfruits from the New Testament...................................1258. A Pentecost Meditation: How to Anticipate Christ's Return................................1439. The Countdown Commission.................................................................151Looking Forward.............................................................................165Appendix A: Daily Readings..................................................................169Appendix B: A Christian Shavuot (Pentecost) Celebration.....................................179Appendix C: Recipes for Shavuot.............................................................189Appendix D: Law, Grace, and Tradition.......................................................213Suggested Reading List......................................................................221Notes.......................................................................................223Index.......................................................................................233Acknowledgments.............................................................................237

Chapter One

Names are important to God and so they should be to us. God, and sometimes people, frequently name individuals as well as places in accordance with their destiny, or to point out some aspect of their character. For example, God changed Abram's name to Abraham (Genesis 17:5) to reflect God's promise to make him the "father of many nations." Similarly, Abraham's wife Sarai was renamed Sarah ("princess"), undoubtedly to reflect her character as a "mother of nations" (Genesis 17:15-16).

Sometimes God gives a name that is not the name used in daily life; in 2 Samuel 12:24-25 the son of David and Bathsheba is named Solomon, the name by which he is known throughout the Bible; yet verse 25 says, "Because the Lord loved him, he sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah"-which means "beloved of the LORD." Likewise with places: when Jacob encountered God, "he called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz" (Genesis 28:19; "Bethel" means "house of God").

Even so, the feasts of the Lord have meaningful names. The Bible often uses more than one designation to describe what happens during the holiday, as well as the themes and underlying significance of the celebration. In this chapter we will examine six names for the Feast of Pentecost, and the themes suggested by those names.

1. Hag Ha-Shavuot

Have you ever noticed that one of the most challenging hours of the week comes just before you leave your home to attend a worship service? We rush about trying to get ready. Minor conflicts can become major crises and everything seems to take longer than expected. Imagine if getting ready for the worship service involved preparing for a journey that would take you far from home. Now imagine that not only you and your immediate family, but all your neighbors and friends are planning to journey with you, in a giant caravan of people heading off to worship. Preparation and planning would certainly set that worship service apart from the ordinary ones throughout the year. Such was the case with the Feast of Pentecost, which is best known in the Bible by its Hebrew name, Hag ha-Shavuot, or the Festival of Weeks.

(Note: If you mention this holiday to a Jewish friend, drop the "Hag ha" and use the name "Shavuot," which is how Jewish people refer to the holiday. Equally common among European Jews is the Yiddish pronunciation, "Shavuos.")

"And you shall observe the Feast of Weeks, of the first-fruits of wheat harvest" (Exodus 34:22 NKJV). The Hebrew word hag, in English "feast" or "festival," is related to the Arabic word haj, a familiar word in the practice of Islam. Hag implies a pilgrimage. Pentecost was one of three festivals that required such a pilgrimage: "Three times in the year all your men shall appear before the Lord, the Lord God of Israel" (Exodus 34:23 NKJV).

The Hebrew word shavuot means "periods of sevens" or "weeks." Yet the Feast of Weeks is not celebrated for weeks-or even one week. It is actually a one-day festival.

The name of the holiday does not describe the actual manner in which we celebrate it, as the Feast of Tabernacles does, nor does it point to the historical origin of the feast, as does Passover. Rather Hag ha-Shavuot is a chronological reference, pointing to the amount of time between Passover and this holiday.

God commanded the Israelites to count seven weeks from the day after Passover until the day when we are to celebrate this holiday, Hag ha-Shavuot. That is why the Bible calls it the Feast of Weeks.

"And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord" (Leviticus 23:15-16 NKJV; see also Deuteronomy 16:9).

The sense of anticipation or expectation connected to this holiday cannot be overstated. The holiday arrives as the climax of a season marked by a countdown beginning the day alter Passover and lasting for seven weeks. This countdown emphasizes the theme of godly anticipation unique to this holiday. We don't count the days leading up to Passover nor do we count the days leading up to the Feast of Tabernacles. Pentecost, or the Feast of Weeks, is the only festival for which God commanded such a countdown.

Have you ever talked to a bride-to-be who is counting the days and hours until her wedding? Or to a student who is counting the days until summer vacation-perhaps even graduation? All the activities of life begin to organize themselves around this special time, and as anticipation for the event grows, people begin counting the days. That is the quality of expectation God built into this particular holiday as He required the children of Israel to count the days leading up to it. The famous rabbi Maimonides likened this exercise to someone who is waiting for their closest friend, counting the days and yes, even the hours.

So as we think of the Feast of Weeks, we recognize that God intended for us to anticipate this celebration, to count, to expect-and that is one of the themes that will continue to unfold throughout our study of this festival.

2. Hag Ha-Bikkurim

A second name for the holiday is Hag ha-Bikkurim. You'll...