Chapter 5

The Feast of Weeks (Pentecost)

שָׁבוּעוֹת

Shavuot · shah-voo-OHT

Key 5: God's Spirit for Every Nation

At a Glance

Meaning: Weeks; the Greek name Pentecost means fiftieth
When: Jewish reckoning: 6 Sivan. Sunday reckoning: the fiftieth day from the Sunday of Firstfruits, always a Sunday.
Duration: One day
Key Scriptures: Leviticus 23:15-22; Deuteronomy 16:9-12; Acts 2:1-41

Preparing live dates...

Dates follow Israel observance, with times at Jerusalem astronomical sunset.

What Scripture Says

Leviticus 23:15-16 (NKJV)

"Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath"

Seven full weeks were counted from the day the sheaf was waved. The fiftieth day was the Feast of Weeks.

Leviticus 23:17 (NKJV)

"two wave loaves of two-tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven."

Unlike the barley sheaf of Firstfruits, these were finished loaves from the wheat harvest, and they were baked with leaven. They were waved before the LORD with two lambs as a peace offering (Leviticus 23:20).

Leviticus 23:22 (NKJV)

"You shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger"

In the middle of the feast laws, God paused to command generosity: do not reap the corners of your field or gather the gleanings. The harvest feast was not complete without provision for the poor and the stranger.

Deuteronomy 16:10-11 (NKJV)

"the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are among you"

Each family brought a freewill offering in proportion to how God had blessed them, and the whole community rejoiced together, including servants, Levites, and outsiders.

Exodus 34:22 (NKJV)

"And you shall observe the Feast of Weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest"

The Feast of Weeks marked the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, the second great harvest of the year.

Jeremiah 31:33 (NKJV)

"I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts"

Jeremiah promised a new covenant in which God's law would be written inside His people. Ezekiel added the promise of God's own Spirit within them (Ezekiel 36:26-27).

Joel 2:28 (NKJV)

"I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh"

Joel foresaw the Spirit poured out on sons and daughters, old and young, and even servants. Peter quoted this passage on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:16-21).

In the Tabernacle and Temple

On the Feast of Weeks, the priests offered seven male lambs, one young bull, and two rams as burnt offerings, one goat as a sin offering, and two male lambs as peace offerings, waved together with the two loaves (Leviticus 23:18-20; Numbers 28:26-31). It was a holy convocation with no customary work, and the second of the three pilgrimage feasts (Deuteronomy 16:16).

Jewish tradition holds that the bringing of firstfruits to the sanctuary began at this feast. Deuteronomy 26 describes the worshiper's declaration: "My father was a Syrian, about to perish, and he went down to Egypt" (Deuteronomy 26:5), followed by the story of how God brought Israel out and gave them the land. Offering the harvest was an act of remembering the whole story of redemption.

In the Days of Jesus of Nazareth

Before His ascension, Jesus told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem for "the Promise of the Father," and said, "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:4, 8).

Fifty days after the resurrection, the city was full of pilgrims: "devout men, from every nation under heaven" (Acts 2:5). Luke lists them, from Mesopotamia to Rome and from Egypt and Libya to Crete and Arabia (Acts 2:9-11).

Then the sound of a rushing mighty wind filled the house, tongues as of fire rested on each of the disciples, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages (Acts 2:1-4). Each pilgrim heard the wonderful works of God in his own language (Acts 2:6-11). Peter explained that this was what Joel had foretold, and he preached Jesus crucified and risen. About three thousand people were baptized that day (Acts 2:41).

Jewish Observance Today

Rabbinic tradition connects Shavuot with the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, which Exodus places in the third month (Exodus 19:1). Leviticus does not make that connection; it comes from later Jewish tradition. In Israel the feast lasts one day, 6 Sivan.

All-night study
Many stay awake through the first night studying Torah.
The Ten Commandments
The account of Sinai (Exodus 19-20) is read in the synagogue.
The book of Ruth
Ruth is read because its story unfolds at the barley and wheat harvests, and because Ruth, a Moabite, chose the God of Israel: "Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God" (Ruth 1:16).
Dairy foods
Meals with milk and cheese, such as blintzes and cheesecake, are traditional.
Greenery
Homes and synagogues are decorated with flowers and greenery, recalling the harvest.

Fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth

Each connection is labeled: what the New Testament states directly, and what Christians interpret from the patterns of Scripture.

The Spirit Poured Out at Pentecost

Stated in the New Testament

"When the Day of Pentecost had fully come," the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples (Acts 2:1-4). The New Testament places this event on the feast itself.

Joel's Prophecy Fulfilled

Stated in the New Testament

Peter declared, "But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel" (Acts 2:16), and quoted the promise of the Spirit poured out on all flesh.

The Promise of the Father

Stated in the New Testament

Jesus told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the Promise of the Father, the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-5), and the promise came at Pentecost.

Written on Hearts

Theological interpretation

Paul contrasts the law on "tablets of stone" with a letter written by the Spirit of the living God, "not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart" (2 Corinthians 3:3). Many see Pentecost as the fulfillment of Jeremiah's new covenant. Because the link between Shavuot and Sinai comes from Jewish tradition, this connection is an interpretation.

Three Thousand

Theological interpretation

After the golden calf at Sinai, "about three thousand men of the people fell that day" (Exodus 32:28). At Pentecost, about three thousand were added (Acts 2:41). Many see here an illustration of Paul's words, "for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life" (2 Corinthians 3:6). The parallel is an interpretation.

Two Loaves, One Body

Theological interpretation

Some see the two leavened loaves, waved together before God, as a picture of Jew and Gentile brought together in one body (Ephesians 2:14-16). That reading is an interpretation.

The Key to Humanity

God's Spirit for Every Nation

At the Feast of Weeks, Israel was told to rejoice with the stranger and to leave the edges of the field for the poor. At Pentecost, God poured out His Spirit before people from every nation under heaven, and each one heard of God's works in his own language. Many Christians have long seen Pentecost as the reversal of Babel, where human pride scattered the nations by confusing their languages (Genesis 11:1-9). At Pentecost, God began gathering them again, not by erasing their languages but by speaking through them. Joel's promise reaches "all flesh." Pentecost is the key that tells humanity God's presence is not reserved for one people, one place, or one language. His Spirit is offered to every person who will receive Him.

Seventh-day Adventist View

Seventh-day Adventists honor Pentecost as the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that empowered the early church for its worldwide mission. They pray for a similar outpouring before Christ's return, often called the latter rain, drawing on Joel 2:23 and Hosea 6:3. They do not keep the Feast of Weeks as an annual observance.

Hebrew Words to Know

שָׁבוּעוֹת

Shavuot

Weeks.

πεντηκοστή

Pentekoste

Greek: fiftieth.

רוּחַ

Ruach

Spirit, wind, or breath.

תּוֹרָה

Torah

Instruction or law; the five books of Moses.

לֶקֶט

Leket

Gleanings left for the poor and the stranger (Leviticus 23:22).

Questions for Reflection

1.
The Feast of Weeks commanded generosity to the poor and the stranger in the middle of a celebration. Who is the stranger in your community that God wants included?
2.
At Pentecost, everyone heard God's works in his own language. What does that say about how God sees cultures and nations?
3.
Jesus promised power to be His witnesses. Where is God asking you to speak about Him?

See Jesus in all the feasts