Part II
The Feast of Shavuot
by James Issa
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and gave us the grace of Jesus Christ who fulfilled the law so that we keep the complete law
through him-2nd Corinthians 5:21.
Another incident of importance is that on the day of Pentecost, 3,000 Israelites who were
worshipping the Golden Calf when Moses returned with the 10 commandments died-Exodus
32:28. On the other hand 3,000 people were saved by the grace of God through the Holy Spirit
that day in Acts 2:41. The Bible says the letter kills but the Spirit gives life-2nd Corinthians 3:6.
Just keeping the mere words of the law, will make one legalistic. Jesus came to address that in
his Sermon the Mount in Matthew chapter 5. So one does not commit murder, but the person
deeply hates that person. One doesn't commit adultery, but that one looks at women with lust
and passion and into porn magazines because the person has not technically committed
adultery, that person is free. Here the Holy Spirit states you have committed adultery, because
you have lusted against a woman who is not your wife.
In Jurisprudence, Judges sometimes look at the intent of the legislature in interpreting laws.
They sometimes review the actual notes of the legislature in discussing the law and from those
notes they decide the case based on that intent. So also the Holy Spirit, who was there when
God made the law, knows the mind of God (please read 1st Corinthians 2:10-11) in making the
law and helps us keep the perfect law of God through the intent of God, making sure we do
not miss a thing.
commands that that the sacrifice be missed with leaven. As we know during the feast of
Unleavened bread, no leaven was to be eaten for eight days. The Bible represents leaven as
sin in 1st Corinthians 5: 6-8. However, on this day, why is leaven mixed with the sacrifice
to God? I believe it is because this feast was to include both Jews and Gentiles. The Jews
representing the righteousness of God and the Gentiles sinners who were without God but
on this day were joined together to be become one with the people of Israel. On this day,
the traditional scripture read is that of a gentile woman-Ruth. Ruth was a Moabitess who
joined herself to the nation of Israel through Marriage to Boaz . Boaz was referred to us her
"kinsman redeemer" (Hebrew: Goel). In the same way, we gentiles were redeemed by our
kinsman-redeemer Jesus who was sent by God to redeem the rest of the world as we all
are Children of God, created in his image and likeness: Genesis 1:27. Ruth became one of
the greatest matriarchs in the history of Israel, from whom the lineage of David and Jesus'
earth relation came. In this feast all of us both Jews and Gentiles become one in Yeshua
Jesus-Ephesians 2:14. God's plan has always been to save the world-Genesis 3:15, Genesis
49:10, Amos 9:11, Isaiah 11:10. To do this, he chose a particular man Abraham (a father
of many nations-Genesis 12:3, 17:5, 22:18) and a particular group of people, the Israelites
to effect this-Romans 9:1-5. Verse 4 says the Israelites are the adopted of God, to them he
showed his glory, gave them his covenant, both the old and new covenant, the giving of
the law, the service of God and the promises. Verse 5 says though the Israelites came the
fathers-Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and "as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over
all, God blessed for ever, Amen." On this feast, there were Jewish people who had come
from every corner of the world into Jerusalem according to the commandment of God and
these were part of the 3,000 people saved on that day. It is very likely that these Jewish
men spread the gospel of Yeshua when they returned.
