The Outpouring

When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, 

they were all with one accord in one place. 

And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, 

as of a rushing mighty wind, 

and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 

Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, 

and one sat upon each of them. 

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit 

and began to speak with other tongues, 

as the Spirit gave them utterance. 

- Acts 2:1-4

Starting at sundown today, June 3,  up to sundown tomorrow, June 4, we will be observing the Feast of Pentecost.

It is also called the Feast of Weeks, or Shavu'ot in Hebrew. This important feast is named "Weeks" because it takes place after seven full weeks, or exactly 50 days, after the beginning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Therefore, this feast is also known as “Pentecost”, which means “fifty.”

Just to give a little Biblical background to this feast, in Leviticus 23 we read that God Himself instituted seven feasts, calling them "My feasts." He instructed the people to observe them as "holy convocations" which are to be proclaimed in their seasons.

The Hebrew word for convocation is miqra, which means "rehearsal." The dictionary definition of  "rehearse" is: to practice in preparation for a public performance.


There are four important things to remember about these feasts:

- they are God's feasts,

- they are to be observed as rehearsals in preparation for a public event

- they are to be proclaimed, meaning, we are to tell others about them

- these feasts are not random events, each of them happens in a specific season.


The seven feasts of the Lord are:
(click on the picture to read more about each feast)

Spring Feasts:
Passover - Pesach

Unleavened Bread - Chag Hamotzi

First Fruits - Yom habikkurim

Summer Feast:
Weeks or Pentecost - Shavu'ot

Fall Feasts:
Trumpets - Yom Teru'ah (or Rosh HaShanah)

Atonement - Yom Kippur

Tabernacles - Sukkot

For the Jews, the month of Nisan marks the start of sacred time.

At Passover the sacrifice of the Passover lamb is commemorated, they celebrate how the angel of death "passed over" all the Hebrew homes that had the blood of the lamb on their lintels and doorposts. They were saved from death because of the lamb's blood.

The first day of the feast of Unleavened Bread celebrates the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt.

The seventh day of the feast of Unleavened Bread commemorates their crossing of the Red Sea.

God commanded that after the children of Israel entered the Promised Land, they would mark a special day to acknowledge that God had provided them fertile land on which to grow their crops. This day would be the feast of First Fruits; on this day they were to offer to Him the first grain of the spring harvest.

Renarkably, the crossing of the Red Sea coincides with this event.

The feast of Shavuot is pivotal to the Jews because it commemorates the day the Torah was given to their forefathers at Mt. Sinai, seven weeks after they left Egypt.

Yom Teru'ah is the "day of trumpets", and is also the Jewish New Year, Rosh HaShanah. It begins the Ten Days of Awe, ten days of repentance for the Jews, and culminates in Yom Kippur, the "day of Atonement".

The trumpet call (the blowing of the shofar) was the signal for the field workers to come into the Temple. The high priest actually stood on the southwestern parapet of the Temple and blew the trumpet so it could be heard in the surrounding fields. The Old Testament saints who faithfully followed the Lord would immediately stop the harvest even if it was not yet finished and leave for the Temple to worship God.

Yom Kippur is the Jewish day of confession, the highest of the ten holy days of awe which begins on Yom Teru'ah.

Sukkot is the Feast of Tabernacles, Israel’s Thanksgiving feast when they acknowledge the Fall harvest and God’s provision for them, a celebration of joy and rejoicing. As part of the observance of this feast, devout Jews build little shelters outside their homes and worship in them for seven days, a graphic reminder that God came down from heaven and "tabernacled" with His people.

Of the seven feasts, three are pilgrimage festivals. Three times a year the people were commanded to come to Jerusalem - at spring, summer, and fall, to celebrate the festivals of Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. These are all agricultural harvest festivals: Passover is the barley harvest, Pentecost is the wheat harvest. These two festivals are both first fruits harvest before the final harvest at fall during the festival of Tabernacles, which is the fruit harvest.

Between the Red Sea crossing on First Fruits and the giving of the Torah on Shavuot, the Jews were to "count the omer."

The literal translation of "omer" in Hebrew is "sheaf," referring to the measure of grain that was once offered at the Temple in Jerusalem.

In the Bible, the festival of Shavuot was not connected with the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai, as it is today. In its original context Shavuot was an agricultural festival with the Temple as its main focus.

But since the Temple no longer stands, and most of the Jews are no longer involved in agriculture, it is valid to ask, What is the point of counting the omer today?

Many contemplatives consider this seven week period leading to Shavuot as heart preparation for remembering the day the Torah was given on Mt. Sinai.

Each of the 49 days is an opportunity to take one more step away from the impurities of Egypt, allowing ourselves to be cleansed of the stigma of being slaves and victims in a foreign land.

The "counting of the omer" is done to commemorate the events within the seven weeks that it took for the Jews to reach Sinai after crossing the Red Sea. These events include:

- the bitter waters of Marah made sweet by a tree that Moses threw into the waters,
-the camping at the oasis of Elim,
-the giving of manna,
-the provision of fresh drinking water gushing from the rock, and
-the victory in the war with the Amalekites.

Counting the omer can be a meaningful time of meditation where our spirits are renewed in preparation for Shavu'ot.

But the truth is that most Jews do not recognize that Jesus is the Messiah, and their observance of the feasts, including Pentecost (Shavu'ot), has really nothing to do with Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Messiah). For them, the counting of the omer is seen as 49 days of meditating on one's best self and getting ready to receive the rules to live by on the feast of Shavu'ot.

I do respect and honor what the Jews believe, but without Jesus empowering us to make inner regeneration and heart transformation possible, sad but true, this is as far as it goes: meditating on one's best self to receive the rules to live by.

What a huge difference to celebrate the feasts with Yeshua right in the middle of it! Jesus has come to set us free from the futility of living a life based on performance orientation and its inevitable limitations. 

The feasts of the Lord are called mo'edim, literally translated as "appointed times." They are all about Yeshua. Jesus is the main focus of all these feasts.

On Nisan 14 AD 32, (some scholars say AD 33), on the feast of Passover, Jesus became the Passover Lamb who was slain, crucified on Calvary, at the exact hour that the korban Pesach (the Passover lamb) was sacrificed at the Temple. (Luke 23:54)

On Nisan 14 AD 32, just before sundown, which also marks the first day of the feast of Unleavened Bread, Jesus the sinless Son of God was buried.

On Nisan 17 AD 32, before sunrise, on the feast of First Fruits, Jesus rose from the dead.

On Sivan 6, AD 32, on the feast of Pentecost (Shavu'ot), 50 days after Passover, the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the followers of Jesus.

Thus, the first four feasts of the Lord have already been fulfilled!

These appointed times are exactly that - "appointed." Designated for a special purpose.

Jesus, slain on Passover as our Passover Lamb, was buried on the Feast of Unleavened Bread hidden as our heavenly matzah, the One without the leaven of sin. He rose from the dead on the very day of the feast of First Fruits as the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep, as written by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:20:

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead,

the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

About the feast of First Fruits, look at this amazing list of events in Jewish history that have all taken place on Nisan 17, the very day of that feast:

- This is the day that Noah's flood ended. Our new creation marked by the resurrection of Jesus began on the anniversary of the rebirth of the world.

- This is the day that the Israelites crossed the Red Sea after leaving Egypt. Sages note that from the crossing of the Red Sea to the arrival at Sinai was 47 days. Three days later would total 50 days, Shavu'ot and marks the giving of the Torah by God to the Israelites.

- This is the day that the Wave Sheaf offering was made, waving the first fruit of the spring barley harvest, an act of thanksgiving to God for His provision.

-This was the day Haman was hanged, the perpetrator of the evil plot to wipe out the Jews, on the very gallows he had specifically prepared to hang Mordecai, Esther's uncle.

The three remaining fall feasts, Trumpets (Rosh HaShanah), Atonement (Yom Kippur), and Tabernacles (Sukkot), will also be surely fulfilled by Jesus Himself at the Second Coming.

On Pentecost we remember the day the Holy Spirit was given to the believers, as promised by Jesus. We honor the important work of the Holy Spirit in regenerating and breathing new life to our spirits, and guiding us into all truth. The Holy Spirit also empowers us to live as overcomers in this fallen world. 

We celebrate Pentecost as the day the church of Christ followers was born!

I spent much of this day in worship, preparing my heart for the feast of Pentecost, thanking the Holy Spirit for His outpouring upon hearts empty and waiting to be filled to overflowing.

My heart is hungry for more of His presence, and today was such a beautiful day of being reminded of the significance of this pilgrimage festival.

My prayer of response in remembrance of this day is this song of surrender by Esther Mui, entitled All That I Am. I have shared the video below.

My Personal Prayer for Pentecost:

Holy Spirit I stand in awe at the outpouring of Yourself upon Your people!

You do not give Yourself in small measure, You do not ration out Your power. 

You pour Yourself out so lavishly, so generously. 

Yet You are so gentle, so meek. 

You are God, yet You work behind the scenes, not in the front lines. 

You never seek to draw attention to Yourself! 

You are power under control. 

You are so humble, so kind, so willing to give of Yourself. 

Holy Spirit teach me more to walk in Your way. 

I so desire to walk in Your power... 

Sources:

Feast of Weeks

Feast of First Fruits

Shavuot

The Commandment of Counting

First Fruits

Third Spring Festival

The Omer: Meaning for Today

Rosh HaShanah - He's Coming Back

Yom Kippur: Day of Atonement