Shavu'ot: Learning to Walk in Freedom

SHAVU'OT: LEARNING TO WALK IN FREEDOM

by Avram Yehoshua

(Endnotes in red. Click on number to go to endnote. Click the BACK button on your browser to return to the article)

There are many names by which this Feast is known, but the most significant is found in the Jewish liturgy: 'The Season of the Giving of our Torah.' Judaism believes that is was on this Feast that Yahveh spoke the Ten Commandments to Israel from Mt. Sinai.

In the Talmud, the Rabbis call it 'aht-sair-ret' which means, 'concluding' Festival. The deliverance from Egypt had a purpose, more than just initial freedom for the former Hebrew slaves to do their own thing. Yahveh was taking a People to Himself. He had a Land in mind that He was going to give them. They were to be holy or consecrated unto Yahveh. They needed to know how to walk in His Kingdom. The aim or goal of the Passover salvation-freedom was Mt. Sinai, the Torah (the Instruction of God; the Word of God, commonly called the Law). Obedience to this knowledge would be true freedom for them.1

The word Pentecost, a Christian name for this Holy Day, comes from the Greek and means 'fiftieth.' Shavuot falls fifty days from First Sheaf (the Sunday in the seven day Feast of Unleavened Bread). Fifty is a number for freedom. The holy season of Jubilee shows us that. In Leviticus 25:8-13, we read that everything was restored to the original way that God set up (when Israel came into the Land), in the 50th year:
Lev. 25:8 'You are also to count off seven Sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years, so that you have the time of the seven Sabbaths of years, namely, forty-nine years.

Lev. 25:9 You shall then sound a ram's horn on the tenth day of the seventh month. On the Day of Atonement you shall sound a ram's horn all through your Land.

Lev. 25:10 You shall thus consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim freedom throughout the Land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you, and each of you shall return to his own property, and each of you shall return to his family.

Lev. 25:11 You shall have the fiftieth year as a Jubilee. You must not sow, nor reap its aftergrowth, nor gather in from its untrimmed vines.

Lev. 25:12 For it is a Jubilee. It shall be holy to you. You shall eat its crops out of the field.

Lev. 25:13 On this Year of Jubilee, each of you shall return to his own property.'
The Jubilee meant Freedom and Justice for everyone. Everything and everyone was 'set free' from anything that had encroached upon what Yahveh had originally given to Israel. If someone had leased their land to another, the land would come back to them in the fiftieth year. This was God's justice in action. The point that I want to make though, is that the number fifty and freedom is synonymous.

The Number Seven
The number seven is a number that pictures completion, perfection and holiness. From Creation Week, the Seventh Day was set apart or made holy by God (Genesis 2:1-3). It completed, or made Creation 'perfect.' The Seventh Day is the Sabbath of Yahveh (Exodus 20:10), and He gave this to Israel that they might cease from their everyday activities that kept them alive (their work that gave them their livelihood for food, clothes, etc.), and enter into the delight of His Holy Rest (Exodus 20:8-11). By disengaging from their daily grind, they were again 'set free' to enjoy and appreciate their freedom from slavery. In setting the Sabbath apart, they were imitating their God, as a son imitates his father's ways (Exodus 4:22). When Israel was in Egypt, they had no rest from their humiliating and brutal work. They were slaves to Pharaoh and he delighted in destroying them.2 There was no rest, freedom or joy for them.

The Seventh Day Sabbath is a 'physical' picture for us of entering into the finished Work of Messiah. When we cease from our carnal taskmasters; either the ones that demand that we work on God's Sabbath Day, or the one inside us that says that we aren't holy enough, or we haven't done enough for God, etc., we enter into the rest of Messiah that is pictured in the Sabbath of Yahveh. Every Sabbath we have an opportunity to practice this spiritual concept 'in the natural.' Every Seventh Day Sabbath is a picture of Creation, and when Israel walks in the Sabbath, in obedience to God, we are living witnesses that Yahveh is the Creator God who has given us this physical and spiritual rest and freedom.

The seventh week (seven weeks times seven plus one), from the ceremony of First Sheaf in Passover Week, is Shavuot. Fifty days after First Sheaf (from the Sunday within the Feast of Unleavened Bread), is the annual Sabbath of Shavuot. This comes in the third month (Lev. 23:15-22).

The seventh month has more annual (yearly) holy days in it than any other month. In the first month of Aviv (called Nisan by the traditional Jewish Community after the Babylonian captivity), there are two annual Sabbaths: the First day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the Seventh Day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23:6-7). In the third month is the Sabbath of Shavuot, around early June.

Then in the seventh month,3 the first day of the month (Feast of Rejoicing, commonly called the Feast of Trumpets; Lev. 23:23-25), is an annual Sabbath. The 10th day of the month is the Day of Atonement, another Sabbath. The 15th day is the First Day of Sukot (The Feast of Tabernacles), a Sabbath, and the Eighth Day (the 22nd of the month), is also an annual Sabbath (Lev. 23:33-44). In the seventh month there are four annual Sabbaths. In the spring and the summer combined, there are only three annual or 'high' Sabbaths.

The seventh year is the Sabbatical Year, a holy rest; freedom from work. Freedom from having to earn one's daily bread by the sweat of one's brow (the curse).

The Jubilee
The 50th year, the Jubilee, is seven Sabbatical periods times seven. When something is multiplied by itself in Scripture, it amplifies or magnifies the meaning of it. For instance, the number ten is just one multiplied ten times (or one with a zero after it). The number one signifies unity and fullness, as in the One True God. Anyone who lives to be one hundred has lived a biblically full life. It says that in the fullness of time, Messiah came. As the life of Abraham and Isaac are a picture of the Father and the Son, it says that Isaac was born to Abraham when he was one hundred years old. In other words, in the fullness of God's time for Abraham, a son was given to him. And in the fullness of God's time for Israel, the Son was born:
Genesis 21:2 So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time of which God had spoken to him.

Genesis 21:5 Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

Gal. 4:4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law,
The Jubilee Year actually starts in the 49th year (seven times seven), as we saw in Leviticus 25:8-9 above. The Jubilee Year was so full of life, freedom and joy, that it actually 'couldn't be contained in a literal year.' In verse 9 it says that it is to begin on the Day of Atonement, which comes in autumn (October). This is approximately six months before the start of the New Year in the spring (late March or early April).

The Day of Atonement, when the Jubilee would be proclaimed, falls on the 10th day of the 7th month, in the 49th year, and continues through the 50th year. It's a whole unit of God's time that has come. Look at the numbers of unity, fullness and completion (10th day); holiness (7th month); and holiness multiplied or amplified (49th year).4 It was more a holy time or season, than a year as such, and completed God's unit of time for Israel, everything reverting back to its original status.

In the 50th year, liberty or freedom was to be proclaimed to all the inhabitants. As all the Hebrew slaves already had been freed in the 49th year,5 it seems a little strange that the proclamation would go out. The proclamation went out though, to declare to all Israel, that their freedom was given to them by Yahveh. It is a throwback to their beginning (the First Passover), when Yahveh freed all the Hebrew slaves. Now, Yahveh was wanting Israel to realize that they'd still be slaves to Pharaoh if He had not freed them. It was also His Way of seeing that things didn't get 'out of hand.' Man has a way of corrupting everything that God gives him. Under God's Plan, the Land would revert back to its original owner and everyone would celebrate the Freedom that Yahveh had given to Israel.

Israel was to be grateful for the unprecedented deliverance (salvation) that Yahveh had performed for them and obey the prohibition to not work and to restore everything. It was a call to remember that their freedom was given to them via the blood of the lamb of the Passover. It was a holy time to celebrate that past salvation, 'in the present.' And it was a picture of the eternal end time Sabbath, where Man (Israel), would be restored to divine fellowship with God, as it was in the Garden, only better, forever.

Messiah: The One Who Brings Freedom
The word for freedom or liberty in Hebrew (dror), found in Leviticus 25:10, is also used by the Prophet Isaiah in speaking of the Messiah and His Work. Isaiah, in the Spirit, saw that the essence of the Jubilee pointed to the Messiah. In Isaiah 61:1, the word used for freedom is the same word found in Lev. 25:10:
Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord Yahveh is upon me because Yahveh has anointed Me to bring Good News to the afflicted. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom to captives and release to prisoners.

Is. 61:2 To proclaim the favorable year of Yahveh. And the day of vengeance of our God. To comfort all who mourn.

Is. 61:3 To grant those who mourn in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes. The oil of gladness instead of mourning. The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of Yahveh, that He may be glorified.

Is. 61:4 Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins. They will raise up the former devastations. And they will repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations.6
The reference to 'the favorable year' of Yahveh is a reference to the Jubilee. Messiah would bring freedom that would cause Israel to rejoice from the burdens that they were under (sin, sickness, death, etc.)

In God's fullness of time, the One who is Jubilee (freedom and joy), came. Yeshua states that His Ministry is the one that Isaiah spoke of, by quoting Isaiah. He was in the synagogue that Sabbath Day and of course, what He says has its original concept in the Jubilee of Leviticus:
Luke 4:18-19: The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me because He anointed Me to preach the Good News to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind. To set free those who are oppressed and to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.
All of this ties in as God has intended it to. One Heavenly mosaic. Many unfortunately declare that since Jesus fulfilled all this, that 'we don't have to.' But if one can see that what Yeshua has done is likened to the flowering of the rose petals, then one won't be so content to cut away the stem and the soil upon which the rose sprung up.

Even though Luke is in the New Testament, we know that Yeshua was reading from the Hebrew scroll of Isaiah and so the word for freedom is dror. When Yeshua came for those three and a half years, it was a holy time, a picture of the Jubilee, the 'year' or season of God's great favor or grace to Israel. In that time period, many Hebrews were set free and had the Great News proclaimed. God's Joy was experienced by many Jews.7

The Holy Feasts of Israel and the Sabbath 'spin off' of the numbers seven and fifty. In reading of the Jubilee, we saw how its seven Sabbatical years times seven (plus one), pictured original freedom, current freedom for all, and future freedom. In the counting of the seven years times seven, we see the number seven magnified by itself. Holiness amplified. The seven weeks of years is equal to freedom and holiness magnified or glorified; Heavenly Freedom.

Shavuot and The Giving of the Law
The seven weeks for Shavuot is seven days times seven (plus one), suggesting that freedom is found in the Torah, the Law of God. Why is this? The number 50 is seen in the interval between First Sheaf, when the counting begins, and Shavuot, when the counting ends. Fifty is freedom, so how does Shavuot actually tie into freedom?

The Rabbis believe that the Ten Commandments, the essence of all the Word of God (which is true freedom), was given on Mt. Sinai, on Shavuot. This is very probable8 for three reasons. One, it can be calculated that Israel was at Mt. Sinai on Shavuot, as I'll show shortly. Two, the Torah itself proclaims that the number for freedom, fifty, is equal to the Law of Yahveh, the Torah. And three, what happens on this day of Shavuot, fifty days after Yeshua first ascends to our Father in Heaven, ties in perfectly with the Ten Commandments being given on Shavuot and the concept that fifty (and Shavuot), are equal to freedom.

Israel at Mt. Sinai on Shavuot
The Sons of Israel left Egypt on the 15th day of the first month, the First Day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread:
Num. 33:3 They journeyed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month. On the next day after the Passover, the Sons of Israel started out boldly in the sight of all the Egyptians,
The Sons of Israel left Egypt in the middle of the biblical first month, on the fifteenth. Interestingly enough, this was the Sabbath of the First Day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23:5-7). They came to encamp at Mt. Sinai in the third month:
Ex. 19:1 In the third month after the Sons of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that very day they came into the wilderness of Sinai.
From the time of their setting up camp at Sinai in the third month, it would be at least another two days before Yahveh would descend upon the Mountain.

In terms of calculations, half the first month was over before they left Egypt on the 15th. Using an approximate standard of 30 days for the first month and 29 days for the second lunar month,9 means that there would be about 16 days left to the first month (counting the 15th on which they left as one day). But there is something else to consider here. First Sheaf doesn't begin on the 15th of Aviv (the day they left Egypt). It begins on the Sunday of Passover Week. That's when the counting to Shavuot starts.

If the 15th of the first month, when they set out, was the weekly Sabbath, the next day, the 16th, the Sunday of Passover Week, would begin the counting. If this is the case, then there would be 15 days left to the first month for the counting for Shavuot. Another 29 days till the end of the second month would give us 44 days. Shavuot would have been on the 6th day of the third month that year. Of course, this would have worked out to be a Sunday, fifty days after the Sunday of First Sheaf.

If the 15th of the month were a Friday, then the counting for Shavuot would have to begin on the 17th (that Sunday), of the first biblical month. That would give us 14 days till the end of the first month. Another 29 days till the end of the second month and we have 43 days, the 44th day beginning the third month. Shavuot would have fallen on the 7th of the third month, a Sunday.

If the 15th were a Thursday, then the counting for Shavuot would have to begin on the 18th of the first month (the Sunday of Passover Week). That would give us 13 days till the end of the first month. Another 29 days till the end of the second month and we have 42 days, the 43rd day beginning the third month. Shavuot would have fallen on the 8th of the third month, a Sunday.

If the 15th were a Wednesday, then the counting for Shavuot would have to begin on the 19th of the first month (First Sheaf). That would give us 12 days till the end of the first month. Another 29 days till the end of the second month and we have 41 days, the 42nd day beginning the third month. Shavuot would have fallen that year on the 9th of the third month, a Sunday.

If the 15th were a Tuesday, then the counting for Shavuot would have to begin on the 20th of the first month. That would give us 11 days till the end of the first month. Another 29 days till the end of the second month and we have 40 days, the 41st day beginning the third month. Shavuot would have fallen that year on the 10th of the third month, a Sunday.

If the 15th were a Monday, then the counting for Shavuot would have to begin on the 21st of the first month. That would give us 10 days till the end of the first month. Another 29 days till the end of the second month and we have 39 days, the 40th day beginning the third month. Shavuot would have fallen that year on the 11th of the third month, a Sunday.

If the 15th were a Sunday, then they would have to wait till the following Sunday, the 22nd, to begin the counting for Shavuot. That would give us nine days till the end of the first month. Another 29 days till the end of the second month and we have 38 days, the 39th day beginning the third month. Shavuot would have fallen that year on the 12th of the third month, a Sunday.

These are the actual possibilities of the different dates that Shavuot could have come on that year. All of these could be feasible. The Sons of Israel could very well have seen the Fire descend upon the Mountain, and heard the Voice (Exodus 19:16ff), on Shavuot that year (Whatever day of the week Passover was that year). As to what day they actually came to the Mountain in the third month, that is impossible to determine. But it is not necessary for our understanding that Shavuot could very well have been when they met Yahveh.

It says in the Exodus account that the Sons of Israel came to Sinai in the third month. It doesn't say what day of the month they came. Moses goes up to the mount and is told to prepare the People so that in three days time, they will meet Yahveh:
In the third month10 after the Sons of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that very day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. When they set out from Rephidim, they came to the wilderness of Sinai and camped in the wilderness; and there Israel camped in front of the mountain. (Exodus 19:1-2)
Yahveh also said to Moses,
'Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments; and let them be ready for the third day, for on the third day Yahveh will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. (Ex. 19:10-11)
In all our calculations, they would have had enough days, from the time they set up camp, till when Shavuot might come that year, for them to hear the Voice on Shavuot. In our earliest figuring, they would have had at least six days till Shavuot.

Some might argue that the text seems to say that they would have gotten to the Mountain after Shavuot, 'on that very day' implying that they come to the base of the Mountain, on the same day (the 15th), that they left Egypt. If that is the case, than Shavuot would have already passed. Shavuot could only theoretically go till the 12th of the third month (see Sunday above being the 15th of the first month).

The Hebrew text though, doesn't seem to support the position that the day they got to the Mountain was the 15th of the third month. A better translation would be, 'in that day they came into ...' being a more general designation of when they came than a specific date. This is supported by The Wycliffe Bible Commentary11 when it states about Exodus 19:1:
'The same day. Jewish tradition holds that this was the day of Pentecost (sic)12 and that the purpose of the Feast of Pentecost was to celebrate the giving of the Law. However, the expression is too general to indicate any particular day.'
Wycliffe comes against the traditional Jewish position that the phrase 'the same day' ('on that very day'), does not signify Shavuot. There is nothing in the text to direct us to that and besides, Israel getting to the Wilderness of Sinai 'on that very day' still means that they have at least two additional days to wait till Yahveh speaks from the Mountain. I'm not sure why Wycliffe says what it does about Jewish belief thinking 'on that very day' was equal to Shavuot. The Jewish People know that the Revelation would not take place on the day that they set up camp, as the text states that Moses was told that on the third day, he was to bring Israel to the foot of the Mountain. Be that as it may, I have included Wycliffe to confirm that 'on that very day' is too general a phrase to mean that it was the 15th of the third month that Israel got to Sinai (the 'same day' that they left Egypt).

The Hebrew literally states 'in that day...' suggesting that 'here' was the day that they came to the Sinai, but not necessarily giving a specific date.

Whenever in the third month that they would have gotten to the Mountain, Moses would have gone up and down the Mountain twice before he would speak 'of the third day' (Exodus 19:3-7, 8-14). It would have been quite a feat, even for Moses to accomplish the setting up of the Camp and ascending and descending twice, on the same day. Possible, but not likely. Considering this, it would be probable that Moses told them about meeting the Lord Yahveh a number of days after the Camp had been set up.

Jewish tradition asserts that they got to the Wilderness of Sinai on the 1st of Sivan (the third month). On that first day they would set up Camp. The second and third days, Moses would go up and come down from the Mountain, and the counting of the three days would start on their third day of encampment.13 This would mean that Shavuot would have fallen on the 6th of Sivan. This is nice, but it is calculating from an already established tradition that Shavuot must come on the 6th of Sivan. As I've previously shown in the article on First Sheaf, the 6th of Sivan was the Pharisaic understanding, but not the way that it was practiced in the days of the Temple. For instance, in the year 2000, the biblical Shavuot will fall on Sunday, the 8th of Sivan (June 11th). The rabbinic Shavuot would fall on the Friday before that, the 6th of Sivan (June 9th). (The biblical Shavuot can only fall on a Sunday, but the rabbinic can fall on any day of the week.)14

Be that as it may, the giving of the Law from Mt. Sinai could well have been on the Sunday of Shavuot. This sets up a powerful dual reality, as we'll see in a moment.

The Law Of Yahveh As Freedom
An additional biblical phenomenon also points to the Law being given on Shavuot. To understand how the Rabbis tie in the Torah with freedom, we need to take a look at the Hebrew Bible. The word Torah is spelt in Hebrew with a tav, a vav, a raysh and a hay (T-o-r-h). If one looks for the first tav (t) in Genesis and counts to the 50th letter, the vav (o) will be there. From that vav, counting another 50 letters, one will find a raysh (r). From that raysh counting another 50 letters, one will find a hay (h). This spells Torah in Hebrew. Looking for the next tav (t), if one counts to the 50th letter, you'll find a vav (o). Counting another 50 letters, one finds the letter raysh (r) and 50 letters from the raysh, one finds a hay (h). Coincidence? Hardly. It's divine Handwriting. And the phenomena continues for a while in Genesis.15 The continual spelling of Torah over and over again, the letters being separated by the number for freedom, 50 (the Jubilee and Shavuot), told the Rabbis, and tells us, that freedom is found in the Torah.

This is why the Jewish People believe that the Law was given to Israel on Shavuot. Shavuot is 50 days after First Sheaf of Passover. Of course, what happens on Shavuot 50 days after Yeshua is first seen on that Sunday of First Sheaf, is the giving of the Holy Spirit to Israel. This divinely compliments the Jewish understanding that the Law was given on Shavuot, after the First Passover. We have both the Law, the Word of God, and the Spirit of God, being given to Israel on the same day: Shavuot.

Having seen what Yahveh intended for the Jubilee, the 50th year, it is appropriate to see the concept of 'freedom' ('proclaim freedom to all the inhabitants' Lev. 25:10), in the number 50, and to apply it to the Feast that is 50 days after First Sheaf of Passover; Shavuot.

Shavuot is anchored in the Passover Redemption (Freedom) concept, tied in by the counting of the 50 days from First Sheaf. On Shavuot, Yahveh gave His Torah from Mt. Sinai, His Instruction in righteousness (2nd Timothy 3:16-17). Genesis and Exodus reflect the word Torah within its context when counting every 50th letter from the first tav, etc. And Yahveh gave His Spirit on this day.

God saved Israel not to do their own thing, but to serve Him, and in that, they would find their true freedom. The only way that we can know that we are serving the Living God His Way, is by obeying His Word, His Instruction, His Torah, His Law, in the Light of Messiah Yeshua. Those who walk in His Word are truly free. They come into a level of freedom, understanding and wisdom of God, that cannot be gotten any other way.

The Giving of the The Ten Commandments and Holy Spirit On Shavuot
As we have seen from the traditional Jewish Community, with the calculation of days, and from the Torah itself, with the word 'Torah' being spelled within it over and over again, the Ten Commandments were given on the Day of Shavuot, the day of learning how to walk in this new found freedom (whether of the First Passover or the Second Passover).16 It would seem that there is some God given Reality to this understanding as this is also the day on which the Holy Spirit is given to Israel. The Word of God and the Spirit of God were given to Israel on the same day. In Acts 2:1-4 we read about the Giving of the Holy Spirit to 120 Jews in Jerusalem (Acts 1:15):
Acts 2:1 When the day of Shavuot (Pentecost) had come, they were all together in one place.

Acts 2:2 And suddenly there came from Heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.

Acts 2:3 And there appeared to them tongues as of Fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them.

Acts 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.
And what happens after the Spirit falls on Shavuot? Peter proclaims freedom from sin and death through the (already shed) Sacrificial Blood of the Lamb of God, Messiah Yeshua. This is a throwback to the Passover, which freed Israel from sin and death. And now here is the Holy Spirit to teach Israel how to walk in the freedom of that Second Passover. This is how God ties Shavuot into Passover, and shows us how the Law is glorious freedom also.17

The 10 Commandments (representing the Word of God, both written and Living), and the Spirit of Yahveh, were given to Israel on the same day. Shavuot means freedom: 7 x 7; Holiness and Perfection multiplied, intensified or amplified. This tells us that only by His Word and His Spirit are we truly free.

Shavuot: Freedom For Both Jew and Gentile
When Yahveh descends upon Mt. Sinai on Shavuot, in Exodus 19:16ff and speaks the Ten Commandments, the Mountain is ablaze with the Shekina Glory Fire. That same Fire appears over the heads of each person in Acts 2, but before it did, it was one Flame, and then it divided. (This is how the Greek of Acts 2:3 pictures it: one Tongue of Fire dividing and then resting upon their heads. It's almost like the 120 were wicks. This is a picture of the Menorah (the Lamp Stand), in the Holy Place; Ex. 27:20, etc.). Israel was being lit or set on Fire by the Spirit of Messiah Yeshua. Israel had just entered another dimension of holiness unto Yahveh.

Forty days after the Ten Commandments were spoken, Moses comes down from Mt. Sinai with the Two Tablets and finds the calf of gold. That day, 3,000 Israelites die as the Levites go through the Camp and kill the initiators of the idol worship (Exodus 32:28). This is why Paul speaks, in a metaphor, as to how the Torah, which is glorious, brought condemnation and death, and that the letter kills.
2 Cor. 3:6: 'who also made us adequate as servants of a New Covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.'

2 Cor. 3:9: 'For if the ministry of condemnation has Glory, much more does the ministry of Righteousness abound in Glory.'
Yeshua denounces those Pharisees for upholding the letter of the Law but not the Spirit of the Law. He states that they meticulously tithed on everything they had (mint, dill and cumin, etc.; just common garden herbs), but their hearts were far from God in that they had no love for their brothers. The Law of Moses, done without love for God and Man, is like a dry and parched land. The Law was meant to be walked out in the love that Israel would have for its God and its neighbor. Why? Because Yahveh had set them free from slavery to be His People. A Holy People. We must be careful though, for the letter of the New Covenant is just as deadly as 'the letter of the Law.' Without the Holy Spirit, it is all dead. I have seen and heard many brothers and sisters in our Lord maimed and mutilated and left for dead by 'brothers and sisters' who beat them with the Word. I'm sure those Christians thought they were doing God's Will in what they did. But so did the Pharisees.

Yeshua, filled with the Spirit, walked the Law of Moses out the way it was meant to be walked out. He is our Example. It was not a burden for Him, for He made or created the Law to be a reflection of His Character (His Heart). In Matthew 22:40 Yeshua spoke of the foundation for the Law being love of Yahveh and neighbor:
'On these two Commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.'
All the laws of Moses stem from the two great Commandments, and show us both the practical and divine side of walking with our neighbor, and understanding God's Holy Ways. The Law of Moses is practical in that the laws place boundaries around what is love, and what is cruel and sinful, such as not to place a stumbling block in the path of a blind man (Lev. 19:14), etc. The Torah is divine in that the laws have not only come from the King of Israel, to make His Will known to His People, but there are Commandments that, apart from Yahveh telling His People, we would not have known. Things like the Holy Feast Days and the dietary laws (Lev. 11), etc.

The idea that the Word of God (the Law of Moses), is written upon our hearts, by the Holy Spirit that was given to us at Shavuot, is found in both Jeremiah and Ezekiel:
'But this is the Covenant which I will make with the House of Israel after those days,' declares Yahveh, 'I will put My Law within them and on their heart I will write it. And I will be their God, and they shall be My People.' (Jeremiah 31:33)

'Moreover, I will give you a new Heart and put a new Spirit within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.' (Ezekiel 36:26-27)
The writer of Hebrews 10:16 quotes Jeremiah 31:33 to declare to us that the Work of the Holy Spirit today is to write His Law upon our hearts:
'And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying, 'This is the Covenant that I will make with them after those days,' says the Lord. I will put My laws upon their heart, and on their mind I will write them...' (Hebrews 10:15-16)
It was specifically in relation to the giving of the Holy Spirit to Israel, as part of the New Covenant, that Yahveh's Torah would be walked in. It was like that in the beginning with the Apostles18 and now is being restored by the Holy Spirit to the Body of Messiah.

On Shavuot in Peter's time, 3,000 Jewish men give themselves to Yeshua and find Eternal Life (Acts 2:38-41). The picture is drawn in comparison to the giving of the Stone Tablets19 (the Voice and the Words of which were heard on Shavuot), with the death that 'they' brought. 3,000 Israelites would die when Moses comes down the Mountain with the Stone Tablets (Exodus 32:28).

Without the Spirit and the Blood, the Word of God (the Law of Moses), cannot be lived out in the New Covenant.20 No one can be justified before Yahveh by the keeping of the Law, for no one is sinless. And besides, the Law was never given for salvation, but for a People already saved and needing to know the Wisdom of Yahveh, which is Freedom.21 This is the benefit of being saved; knowing His Will through the Law. The reason why it's a 'New' Covenant is because in the Old, there was not the Blood of the Lamb and the Spirit given to all. The New Covenant doesn't do away with the Old, it is superimposed upon it so that now, we can walk in the Torah or Instruction of Yahveh and not be condemned by the Law. This is in relation to Eternal Life. The Law condemned us from ever having Eternal Life. But the Blood of Messiah set us free from that condemnation; not the need to observe the Law of Yahveh.

The reason why so many Jews from all the nations would be in Jerusalem to hear Peter's message of Freedom that day, would be because it was Shavuot. The Greek implies that the day came in accordance with the 'counting of the omer' (Lev. 23:15), or the number of days (50), from First Sheaf:
And when was fulfilled the day of Shavuot... (Acts 2:1)

They were amazed and astonished, saying, 'Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judah and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya around Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs; we hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God.' (Acts 2:7-11)
All those Jews, from all those different lands, would hear the call of God upon their life and many of them would come to Yeshua that day. They would be the first 'evangelists' and would return to their Jewish communities and proclaim Yeshua to their Jewish family, friends and neighbors. Salvation would not go out to the Gentiles until Cornelius and Peter in Acts 10, eight to ten years later:
And he said to them, 'You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him. And yet God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean. (Acts 10:28)

Opening his mouth, Peter said, 'I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him. (Acts 10:34-35)
The Shavuot of Acts 2 would be 50 days after Yeshua first ascended to the Father in fulfillment of First Sheaf:
'Yeshua said to her, 'Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to My brethren and say to them, 'I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.' John 20:17
Obviously, Yeshua was already resurrected when He spoke those words to Mary. But, He had not yet fulfilled the ultimate meaning of First Sheaf by appearing by Yahveh as the first to rise from the dead. I believe He resurrected on the Sabbath.22

Unfortunately, Pentecost in Christianity, falls on the 7th Sunday after Easter, and not Passover. The timing for the biblical Feast of Pentecost, within Christianity, is not according to how God would date it. Easter and Passover may occasionally coincide but many times they can be weeks or even a month apart. Because of a wrong starting date, many Christians who do celebrate Pentecost are doing it on the wrong Sunday. Does it really matter? Only if your heart yearns to please God.

Shavuot: Other Names and Meanings
Another name for the Feast of Shavuot is Hag HaKatzir (Exodus 23:16; the Festival of the Harvest), the last grain harvest of the season. Also, Yom HaBikorim (Numbers 28:26; the Day of First Fruits), when the two loaves of wheat with leaven would be offered up.

Shavuot (literally, 'Weeks;' Exodus 34:22, Deut. 16:10 and Lev. 23:15-22), speaks of the counting of the omer (the grain offering; 'omer' being the quantity of weight of the wheat offered), from First Sheaf of Passover. This seven weeks times seven plus one gives us The Feast of Weeks (Shavuot).
Lev. 23:15 You shall also count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day when you brought in the sheaf of the wave offering, there shall be seven complete Sabbaths.

Lev. 23:16 You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath. Then you shall present a new grain offering to Yahveh.

Lev. 23:17 You shall bring in from your dwelling places two loaves of bread for a wave offering, made of two-tenths of an ephah. They shall be of a fine flour, baked with leaven as first fruits to Yahveh.

Lev. 23:18 Along with the bread you shall present seven one year old male lambs without defect, and a bull of the herd and two rams. They are to be a burnt offering to Yahveh with their grain offering and their drink offerings, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to Yahveh.

Lev. 23:19 You shall also offer one male goat for a sin offering and two male lambs one year old for a sacrifice of peace offerings.

Lev. 23:20 The Priest shall then wave them with the bread of the first fruits for a wave offering with two lambs before Yahveh. They are to be holy to Yahveh for the Priest.

Lev. 23:21 On this same day you shall make a proclamation as well. You are to have a holy convocation. You shall do no laborious work. It is to be a perpetual statute in all your dwelling places throughout your generations.

Lev. 23:22 When you reap the harvest of your land, moreover, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field nor gather the gleaning of your harvest. You are to leave them for the needy and the stranger.23 I am Yahveh your God.
On the 50th day from First Sheaf in Passover, Shavuot would fall. Always Sunday to Sunday. Some Christians might see in this justification for observance of Sunday over the Lord's Sabbath but this is not biblical. Of these two annual Sundays, only Shavuot is a holy day; a Sabbath. The day that the Lord Yeshua is first seen (First Sheaf), is not an annual Sabbath and it is not holy. First Sheaf is a time when the Priest would offer up the first grain. It would be on this day that Yeshua would first appear to Israel (Miryam, etc.). It would also be His first ascension as the First Sheaf of Yahveh to be resurrected from the dead. His appearing before the Father would parallel what the High Priest was doing. Being the First Sheaf doesn't mean He resurrected on that day, but appeared before the Father as the First Sheaf to be resurrected from the dead.

The Sunday of Shavuot would be a holy day (Lev. 23:21), but it cannot be used to support that every Sunday should be holy or the time of Christian assembly in contradistinction to the Word of God about His holy Seventh Day Sabbath. The Sunday of Shavuot only comes once a year. It is a time of recognizing that the Grain of Life (Yeshua), pictured in the wheat harvest for Israel, lives with sinful Israel (the leaven in the bread offering of Shavuot, Lev. 23:17). It is seen in the Apostles and those in the upper room that Shavuot Day, being filled with the Glory of Yahveh, even though they themselves hadn't been glorified (Acts 2:1). It is a picture of our present time; Yeshua dwelling in sinful flesh.

In Leviticus 23:17 we read that the two loaves are leavened. These represent the Jew and the Gentile who have Yeshua residing within. These are the two flocks that the Lord is making one (John 10:16). We have been given Life here and now, but still contain sin within. Leaven represents sin (1st Cor. 5:6-8).

The two loaves would be made of wheat, unlike the barley that was offered on the Altar for First Sheaf. Barley ripens just before Passover. Wheat, about three weeks later. So, Israel would have been harvesting wheat for a few weeks when Shavuot came around. But these two loaves for Shavuot are made from wheat with leaven. It is not thrown onto the Altar Fire, but waved (dedicated to Yahveh), and then eaten by the Priest. The 'attachment' to the two lambs sacrificed, allowing it to be eaten by the Priest.24 This suggests that the reason why we, who still have sin within, are holy, is because of the Sacrifice of Yeshua.

In verse 18 the burnt offering pictures that Israel was to be totally dedicated to Yahveh. The grain and wine offering pictures Israel transformed by Yahveh. Yeshua, the Israelite, was crushed as grain and poured out as wine at the base of the Altar in Heaven. He is the One who totally surrendered His Life while on Earth; our example of total dedication to the Will of Yahveh.

In verse 19 the sin offering pictured Israel's sins covered by the Blood of Yeshua. The peace offering would picture perfect union with Yahveh, through the Body of the Lamb, the priest eating it in the Presence of Yahveh.

In verse 20 the waving of dedication of the loaves would picture that all the grain is Yahveh's. It is a picture of what Yahveh can do with grain that dies to self. The High Priest would eat of these leavened loaves. This is a picture of Yeshua taking us and our sins, upon Himself. We are in Him, and He is in us.

Verse 21 doesn't literally say it's a Sabbath, but the context of the 'holy assembly,' and 'no work' being done, can mean nothing else.

In verse 22 we see an important ethical reality and one that points to Yahveh's Heart: care for people in less fortunate situations. God commands that the corners of the fields be left for the stranger and the needy. The Rabbis say that the celebration of the Feast of Freedom is not complete until one has helped someone less fortunate than oneself. I agree with them.

A Hard Commandment
Many people complain and say that the Commandments of God are impossible to keep. I wonder if they are referring to Deut. 16:11. In Deuteronomy 16:9-12 we read this about Shavuot:
Deut. 16:9 You shall count seven weeks for yourself. You shall begin to count seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain.

Deut. 16:10 Then you must celebrate the Feast of Weeks to Yahveh your God with a tribute of a freewill offering of your hand, which you shall give just as Yahveh your God blesses you;

Deut. 16:11 and you must rejoice before Yahveh your God, you and your son and your daughter and your male and female servants and the Levite who is in your town, and the stranger and the orphan and the widow who are in your midst, in the place where Yahveh your God chooses to establish His Name.

Deut. 16:12 You must remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and you must be careful to observe these statutes.
'Putting the sickle to the standing grain' (verse 9), would be a reference to when the barley for First Sheaf is cut down. Only until that 'first sheaf' is offered to Yahveh, may the people eat from the rest of the barley harvest (Lev. 23:14). Until Yeshua offered Himself as the First Sheaf, no one could eat His Flesh or drink His Blood (i.e. have Eternal Life; John 6:53-58).

In verse 10 we read of the freewill offering, over and above the tithes, as Yahveh has prospered the Israelite. The tithe is the foundation of offerings. There are other offerings, such as this, that are not part of the initial ten percent. But what Joy there is in giving to others as an expression of gratitude to God for what He has done.

In verse 11 we see that the Israelites were commanded to rejoice at the place Yahveh chose to establish His Name. Is this what people mean when they say that, 'No one can keep the Law!'? Israel was to sanctify the day of Shavuot by assembling together as the Holy People of Yahveh, with rejoicing and feasting in His midst. A most delightful Commandment.

And in verse 12 we understand the ethical importance behind this and every Feast: to always remember where Israel came from; Who saved them from slavery; and how they were saved, by the blood of the lamb. And that the motivation was one of obedience out of heart felt love for God. This is a very fitting Reality for us who love and follow the Lamb of God today.

Shavuot in the Synagogue Today
In traditional Judaism (outside the Land of Israel), the fact that Shavuot was an agricultural harvest has receded, and the Revelation at Sinai has taken prominence. The Synagogues will have a festive atmosphere, with flowers decorating the sanctuary and the Book of Ruth read, because of it's agricultural context, and also because Ruth became a convert to Yahveh. This implies her keeping of the Commandments of Yahveh, given at Sinai on Shavuot.

It's also a day to recognize and to honor converts to Judaism. For they, like Ruth, chose to be part of Israel. It's a day where dairy products are the norm; Israel being a Land flowing with milk and honey (Ex. 3:8; Lev. 20:24; Num. 13:27, 14:8; Deut. 27:3; Josh 5:6; Jer. 32:22; Ezk. 20:6, etc.). No meat will be eaten today in the Orthodox Jewish Community because meat and dairy are not eaten together, and this day is a 'dairy' day. The not eating meat and dairy together comes from a perverse interpretation of Exodus 23:19; 34:26 and Deut. 14:21, each of which state that Israel was not to boil a kid of the flock in its mother's milk. The Rabbis came up with the interpretation that meat and dairy were to be separated and not eaten together. This is an example of sinful rabbinic gymnastics, and something that Yeshua would come against, the Rabbis making something sin that God didn't. The religious Jew today believes that it is a sin for one to eat dairy and meat together.

The Commandment had nothing to do with meat and dairy being separated. God didn't want His People to follow the pagan practice. The pagans would boil a kid in the milk of its mother, and then taking the milk and sprinkle it in the fields. This was 'to insure' that the harvest for the following year would be bountiful.

The first two Scripture cites fall right after the Feast of Tabernacles (Exodus 23:16-21; 34:22-26) in autumn. The third cite, though it falls near to the Feast of Tabernacles (Deut. 16:13, 16), is actually at the end of the dietary laws of Deut 14, in 14:21.25

With the first two cites, one can see that it is given to Israel so that they don't do in the autumn, what the Egyptians and the Syrians were doing 'to insure' their harvest. Israel was to trust Yahveh. The third cite, falling at the end of the second giving26 of the dietary laws in Deuteronomy (Deut. 14:21), doesn't mean that dairy and meat are to be separated. The section beginning verse 21 seems to begin a new section by first stating that any (clean) animal that dies 'of itself' cannot be eaten by Israel. Then it brings up the kid in its mother's milk. Verse 22 commands Israel to tithe of all its produce every year. Verses 23-26 speak of the Feast of Tabernacles as what the Israelite is to bring comprises a tithe of 'all the new wine, oil, herd, flock,' etc. This would come in the autumn and not the spring (Tabernacles and not Passover per se), when all the harvest was in. Verse 27 speaks of not neglecting the Levite. Taken together, it would imply again, that the admonition not to boil the kid in its mother's milk, applies to the literal doing of such for pagan reasons, and does not have anything to do with the separation of dairy from meat.

Of course, traditional Judaism doesn't accept Yeshua as Messiah yet, and so they don't have the indwelling Spirit of God for discernment. But Gentiles who come to Jesus are part of Israel nonetheless and need not get caught up in rabbinical Judaism. Judaism has much that it can show us, but it also bound in both rabbinical laws that go against what Yahveh has commanded, and has sunken into the pit of Kabala. This is nothing more than Babylonian mysticism in Jewish clothes. Kabala has seeped into just about every facet of Judaism.

On this night the Jewish people stay up all night long in the Synagogue, reading the Torah which was given on Shavuot. This is not biblical, their staying up all night. It's not commanded by Yahveh but by the Rabbis and woe to a religious Jew who shirks this 'Commandment.' Another rabbinical perversion. Actually, believers should stay up all night for Passover (Exodus 12:40-42), as Yahveh commands, because on that night of Passover, Yahveh 'stayed up all night' to bring Israel out of slavery. But modern Judaism does not follow that.

How To Observe Shavu'ot
Shavuot is a holy day, not a holiday. Yahveh calls for a holy assembly and the cessation of all work; in itself, a picture of freedom. All the males must go up to the place where Yahveh chose to place His Name (Exodus 34:23), and rejoice in His Presence. After David's capture of Jerusalem, it would be Jerusalem, specifically on Mt. Moriah where the Temple would be built by King Solomon. The shofars would blast, the Levites would lead the People in singing Psalm 113-118 and 146-150, and the whole place would resonant with thanksgiving for what Yahveh had done, and continued to do, for His People Israel. Today, as believers it is wherever we gather. But one day, it will be restored to Jerusalem as King Yeshua will sit on the Throne of King David, in Jerusalem.

If your congregation doesn't recognize Shavuot yet, you might want to gather with your family (and friends), in a park which has picnic tables. There you can eat and rejoice before the Lord. You can sing praise to Him and worship Him there. Open the Scriptures up and read some passages concerning Shavuot. Perhaps Exodus 19-20, and Acts 2. Ask the Lord to lead you and the others in a discussion of the texts. Remember also that it's a holy day and so one cannot buy or sell anything, nor work. It's a day where we must rejoice. The only thing that is different from the weekly Sabbath is that one can prepare food and light a fire.

The Feast of Shavuot has two themes. One, Yahveh literally revealed Himself to all Israel from Mt. Sinai (Exodus 19:16ff), and He gave them the Teaching or Torah (His Will), by which His People were to live in His Kingdom. This is magnified by Yahveh giving His Spirit (again a revelation of Who He is), on this day, so that we can walk in His Torah (from Genesis through Revelation), without fear of condemnation, knowing that Yeshua (Salvation: Life Eternal), awaits us.

The giving of the Holy Spirit, being superimposed upon Shavuot, is a perfect fit, as now we see that Yahveh has revealed Himself to Israel through Messiah Yeshua, that we might truly know God (Jeremiah 31:34), by His Word and by His Spirit.

'They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, 'Know Yahveh' for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,' declares Yahveh, 'for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.' (Jeremiah 31:34)
The second theme is that it is an agricultural Feast, thanking Yahveh for providing bread (food), for His People. A very important reality. Yahveh has given us the Bread of Life, that we might eat and live forever:

Israel belongs to Yahveh. He has freed us from the Kingdom of Satan, not to do our own thing, but to walk in all His Ways (His Torah, His Word from Genesis through Revelation), by the Power of His Holy Spirit. This is what Shavuot pictures. Shavuot is the compliment of Passover. They are like two bookends. Passover freed Israel from slavery to Pharaoh, and Shavuot taught Israel how to walk in the Way of Freedom, the Law of Yahveh. Yeshua freed us from slavery to Satan, sin and death by dying as our Passover Lamb, and on Shavuot, Yeshua gave us His Spirit that we might learn how to walk in His Word, by His Spirit, which is Freedom. This is the essence of Shavuot. Interestingly enough, the first verse beginning the Ten Commandments, given on Shavuot, speaks of the freedom that we have because of what Yahveh did for us at Passover:
'I am Yahveh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. (Exodus 20:2)

END NOTES

John 8:31-32 has the Lord Yeshua telling those that were following Him that they would come to know the Truth, and the Truth would set them free. Knowledge of God, and of His Will, is our wisdom and understanding. This comes about by understanding His Word and obeying it.

Exodus 1:8-14, 16. Exodus 1:22: 'Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, 'Every son' (of the Hebrews), 'who is born, you are to cast into the Nile, and every daughter you are to keep alive.'

Interesting to note is that all the annual Sabbaths fall in the first, third and seventh months. These are all special biblical numbers. The number one speaks of the One True God; unity and union. The number three relates to the Triune Godhead, and the number seven is holy.

The Jubilee lasted about a year and a half.

Exodus 21:2: 'If you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve for six years, but on the seventh, he shall go out as a free man without payment.' I am not sure when the Hebrew slaves would be set free in the 7th (or 49th), year. Perhaps Israel waited till the Day of Atonement in the 7th year (and 49th year). If this is the case, then the Hebrew slaves would have had to wait till the Jubilee was proclaimed, and they would be set free, along with the Land reverting back to its original family.

I've included the additional verses of Isaiah 61:2-4 as it speaks of the time that we are in now, and a future time yet to come.

Yeshua came only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel but three Gentiles experienced the Joy of Yahveh also: the centurion who told Yeshua that he, like Yeshua, was a man under authority and if only Yeshua spoke the Word, his servant would be healed (Matthew 8:5-13). The Syro-Phoenician women whose faith in Yeshua delivered her daughter from demon possession (Matthew 15:21-28). And the demoniac who went to his own people and proclaimed the wonderful Work that Yeshua had done for him in setting him free (Luke 8:26-39).

Even though I disagree with the rabbinic dating of Shavuot as the 6th of Sivan, I believe that the Ten Commandments were heard from Mt. Sinai on the biblical Shavuot. (See my work on First Sheaf for the biblical dating of First Sheaf.)

From the sighting of the first crescent of any new moon, till the next sighting, there is an average of twenty nine and a half days.

Just the fact that it was the third month that Yahveh revealed Himself and His Word to Israel, suggests that it was on the Holy Day of Shavuot.

Charles F. Pfeiffer, Old Testament, Everett F. Harrison, New Testament, The Wycliffe Bible Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1977), p. 67.

The Jewish People don't call it Pentecost but Shavuot or other biblical names (see below).

Rabbi Nosson Scherman and Rabbi Meir Zlotowitz, general editors, The Chumash, 2nd edition: 2nd impression (Brooklyn, N.Y: Mesorah Publications, Ltd., Feb. 1994), p. 400-403.

It's not that Shavuot cannot come on the 6th of Sivan, as I have shown above (when the 15th, the First Day of Unleavened Bread, comes on the weekly Sabbath). It's that Jewish tradition has it always coming on the 6th of Sivan because of their understanding of when the counting for Shavuot should begin. As I have explained in my work on First Sheaf, I think their understanding is not correct.

This same procedure, of finding the first tav and counting to the 50th letter, etc., is also found in the book of Exodus.

The Second Passover is where Yeshua injects Himself, who is Freedom and Joy, into the matza (unleavened bread) and the wine, which already meant freedom and joy. By doing so, He amplified the meaning. He didn't do away with it or the Passover. There will be a Third Passover where all Israel sits down to the Heavenly Passover Table and partakes of the Lamb of God. This is usually called the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:9). But like the Passover that Yeshua celebrated with His Apostles that night being called 'the Last Supper', it tells us that the Heavenly Supper will also be a Passover. Why? Because at Passover, God marries Israel. This is what Covenant is all about; union. Whether in Egypt with the blood of the lamb, or in Jerusalem, with the Blood of the Lamb, or in the New Jerusalem, with the Blood of the Lamb, Yahveh is taking a Bride for His Son.

The Apostle Jacob (James), writes in 1:16-25 about both believers being 'First Fruits' unto Yahveh and the Law being the Law of Liberty. The reference to 'First Fruits' speaks of Shavuot, as well as the Law being walked out in the Light of Yeshua and the Liberty of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 21:20 tells us that every Jew in Jerusalem who believed in Yeshua, walked in the Torah. This would go on for Jew and Gentile till the Roman Catholic Church and other anti-Semitic bodies would arise. For an in-depth understanding of how the Apostles walked and how we were all meant to live, see my books: Shuvi: Returning To His Ways; and, Set My People Free: Acts 15:20.

The reason why the Tablets were made of stone was to picture the Word of God as Eternal. That's also why kings and such would carve out their victories and such, on stone. They wanted all the generations after them to know their 'great' name.

Just a general perusal through the epistles of Paul leaves me with the understanding that his first concern was how to instruct these new Gentile believers in walking out their faith in God's love. Paul defines what that is for them over and over again by both positive and negative admonitions ('be kind to one another,' etc., don't think that those who practice fornication, stealing,' etc. will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven). See: Romans 1:24-32; 6:1-7:1; 8:12-14; 12:1-15:7; the whole book of 1st Corinthians where he is constantly upbraiding them for having the wrong attitudes and practices, and of course out of this, the 'Love' chapter, 13, arises; 2nd Corinthians 1:23-2:11; 6:11-7:1; Galatians 5:13-6:10; Ephesians 4:1-3, 17-6:9; Philippians 1:27-2:16; 4:4-9; Colossians 3:1-4-6; 1st Thessalonians 1:6-2:8; 3:11-4:12; 5:4-24, etc. etc. etc. Of course, the other Apostles, John, Peter, James (Jacob), and Judah (Jude), all have sections within their letters admonishing the believers in how to walk out the two greatest Commandments; the core of the Torah.

Someone might argue then, that Yahveh gave the Law to His People and knew that they couldn't live up to its Standard. What kind of a God is that? Yahveh gave the Law for a number of reasons. One of them was to show Israel their need for the Messiah; the End or Goal of the Law: Galatians 3:19: 'Why the Law then? It was added because of transgressions, having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator, until the Seed would come to whom the promise had been made.' Romans 7:7: 'What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law. For I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, 'You shall not covet.' It's not that the Israelite could not walk in the Law at all, but he could not stand before Yahveh on Judgment Day, and say that he was sinless.

For a detailed explanation of why I believe Yeshua rose on Shabat and not Sunday, see my work on First Sheaf.

The needy are the orphan and the widow. The stranger is one who comes to live with Israel.

The Chumash, p. 1295.

I think this is part of God's desire that He wants Israel to be holy (Deut. 14:2), which means that they are not to follow the ways of the pagans around them by boiling the kid in its mother's milk.

The first time the dietary laws appear is found in Leviticus 11:1-47. Interestingly enough, the passage on boiling a kid in its mother's milk is not listed in Leviticus 11.

Email Avram — avramyeh@netvision.net.il

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