Other terms used in the Bible for the Feast of Weeks or “Shavuot” include the First Fruits, the Feast of Harvest, or the Feast of Pentecost. The term “Pentecost” in Greek means fifty. The Feast of Pentecost derived from this term would be celebrated fifty days after the Passover. This joyful celebration was in response to God’s goodness in the harvest they had received. It was to be an expression of gratitude for God's blessing. A freewill offering in proportion to the harvest would be brought in joyful celebration before the Lord. The participants of this celebration would include one’s family members plus one’s servants and maids. It would also include the Levites, the orphans, and widows in their midst. This feast would be a celebration in the place where God had established His name.
The
celebration of this feast was also an act of faith on the part of the people of
Israel. In giving to God the first fruits of their harvest, they affirmed their
faith that God would bless them with a full harvest. This Feast of First Fruits
was given in anticipation of a greater harvest to come. Adopting the joyful
spirit accompanying this celebration, the New Testament encourages us to give
cheerfully, generously, and willingly to the Lord. One question that believers
frequently ask is, “did the New Testament teach about tithing?” To be honest,
tithing is only inferred in the New Testament but giving cheerfully,
generously, and willingly are clearly taught. And this giving was certainly more
than one-tenth of what one earns. The heartening truth is this: God loves a
cheerful, generous, and willing giver. This sort of giving, like the offering
of the first fruits, reminds us of how God has so graciously redeemed us
and so generously blessed us.
The
Feast of Weeks has to do with the harvest. It is a term that the New Testament
uses to talk about drawing souls into the Kingdom of God. Jesus tells us that
the field of the world is already white for the harvest. We are the harvesters
that God has called and sent into the field to do the harvesting. In this
regard, the souls that result from the Apostle Peter’s preaching on the day of
Pentecost were telling. Acts 2:41 tells us that in that one day, 3,000 souls
were added to the Kingdom of God. Interestingly for harvest to be plentiful,
not only is the former rain needed but the latter rain will also be
needed. In the Bible, rain and water have been used to typify the Holy Spirit.
Hence it is no co-incidence that the Holy Spirit fell in great measure upon the
then early church for the bountiful
harvest.
Three lessons to be drawn from the
Feast of Weeks. Firstly, it is about giving cheerfully, generously, and willingly
to the work of the Lord. God is no man’s debtor. He will not short-change
us. God will bless us with whatever we have invested into the Kingdom.
Secondly, it is about working with the Holy Spirit whom God has sent to
accompany us in the journey. He comes to enable us in the work of gathering
souls for the Kingdom. Are we actively relying on Him in harvesting souls for
the Kingdom? Thirdly, the Feast of Weeks is about faith and trust in
God for the future. It is about offering to God what we have now and believing
that He will take care of all our tomorrows. Many things about tomorrow we do
not understand. But when we surrender our lives to Him, we are trusting our
lives to Him who has all our future covered. He will never fail us!
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