You will see your harvest and overcome the "enemy-ites".
This year 2021/5781, it is said that 3,333 years ago around this time of late spring, what we now call Shavuot or Shavuos, “Heaven kissed Earth” when our Father came in His Glory Presence to give Moshe-Moses the Ten Commandments. In seven weeks, after being delivered from Egyptian bondage, the Israelites had refined and matured their souls mightily through their gratitude, praise, prayerful devotion, and focus on Him for their daily sustenance. Their souls had been made new. And as a covenant gift, Heavenly Father invited them to meet with Him at the edge of Mt. Sinai.
To commemorate this soul-refinement process, we count the omer- waving a bundle of barley each day. We sing of His goodness each night and present a plea that the Lord would bestow upon us His supernal holiness in exchange for anything we may have done to defile ourselves or others in mind, body, or soul. We ask Him to sanctify us in exchange for the service to Him of remembering this time when He did the same for the Israelites.
The subsequent festival or “season” or “Divine Appointment with God” named Shavuot or Pentecost or the Feast of Weeks, celebrates the giving of the Ten Commandments each year. This is to ensure that they are renewed and refreshed in our consciousness and daily operations. The giving of the commandments itself is the earmark of Heavenly Father’s Faith in us, to carry instruction and obey it. In so doing, He is giving us the onus to judge ourselves rightly, to search our innermost beings and bring all of ourselves into alignment with the written Will of the Lord.
As a precious gift, for those of us who believe in Yeshua Messiah, we have the added blessing explained by Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:6-16. He outlines that because we have received the Spirit of God within us, the deep things of God are revealed to us as we read the scriptures. When Paul shares that we have the mind of Messiah in verse 16, he means that we can be so in tune with Him, and know His Torah-Teaching-Instruction-Commandments-Law so well, that we can understand ALWAYS what we are to do.
What the Lord shared with me at the start of this Hebrew year 5781, was that if His children were to observe the feasts, He would reveal Himself to us the way He did to the Israelites. He said that He would be Faithful to answer the prayers and supplications we lifted up to Him. And for Shavuot in particular, He would give us fresh revelation of what’s to come in our lives and what direction He’d like for us to take.
For many of us, this has been a time of following Him closely, with very little advanced notice, with little light ahead on the path past the immediate next step. He has been testing our Faith, quickening our obedience, and stripping us of the last bits of the lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, and the pride of Life that may have attempted to hinder our proper stewardship of the Promised Land the Lord has set for us to occupy, cultivate, and enjoy. He needed us to experience the strength of our resolve, the steadfastness of our adherence to His Word, and the depth of our dependence on Him. And He needed us to learn all of what is deep within us- to see the kind of juice we produce when pressed- WHILE sojourning through the wilderness environment- wrought with the spirits of all the “enemy-ites” which are explained briefly here. The spirits of Canaan were felt by the Israelites in the wilderness immediately upon leaving Egypt.
The land of Canaan means “humiliated” or “disgraced”, and specifically “by shameful merchants”: this can explain why many of us may have gone through a fall of one sort or another this year… on the way toward what we know He Has for us. Perhaps the following will help contextualize this season.
The Hittites represent the spirits of terror, torment, deceit and despair- even suicide: we have reports of severe increases in mental health opportunities through this year.
The Girgashites represent the spirits of the earth- that is, basing belief only on that which can be seen with fleshly eyes to the negation of Faith: this way of thinking has made mainstream religious persecution so prevalent and acceptable of late.
The Amorites represent the spirit of self-promotion: as we have been forcefully separated, the power of gathering together, removing self-focus, and giving all the Glory to the Lord has been underutilized.
The Canaanites represent the spirits of perversion, lust, and greed: the political and industrial and cultural landscapes have been dominated by these influences more than ever recently.
The Perizzites represent a spirit of lawlessness: this accounts for the sense of laziness, directionlessness, and stunted growth many leaders may have been noticing in their constituents.
The Hivites represent the spirit of wicked hedonism: this spirit accounts for the temptation to forget about the great commission and find “the good life”.
The Jebusites represent the spirit of oppression: this is why those with an inferiority complex have been attempting to stomp hardest on those with God-given authority and inner Light that is visible to all.
For a relatively deep dive into the meaning of the “ites” this article is interesting: http://athmeeya.blogspot.com/2019/02/the-seven-enemies-of-israel-in-promise.html
Many Jewish people spend Shavuot up all night studying the Torah to prepare themselves for the revelation to come. It’s said that the text, coupled with commentary and a list of the 613 mitsvahs of the Torah, gives one an overview of learning “the entire thing”. This is the link to the 115 page document that they study: https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4757775/jewish/Traditional-Tikkun-Leil-Shavuot-Text.htm
Here are some other meaningful readings for the meal times on both days; please note the Hebrew day begins at sunset the night before the “day”. Also keep in mind that haftarah is the reading that is recited after the meal typically. These readings are suggested by an organization that has Jewish cultural centers worldwide; many synagogues may choose different readings altogether:https://www.chabad.org/parshah/torahreading_cdo/aid/3791153/jewish/Text-of-Shavuot-Torah-Reading.htm
For the meal itself there is a variety of dishes that hearken to the time of the Temple; and they are adapted in different ways today. It is said that two loaves of show bread were offered. Messianic Jewish rabbis may conclude that one loaf was prophetically for the Jews and one was for the gentiles; both were to be baked with leaven. Since Messiah, Who Is the Bread of Life did indeed come, He Is the One Who unites these two loaves in Himself as One New Man, the only truly unleavened loaf, thus becoming our Righteousness. Because of the two loaves offered, many Jews have interpreted that this means there ought to be two meals that first night! One dairy-rich meal has been selected to signify that the Torah is like nourishing milk. Interestingly, the Hebrew word for milk is chalav, with the numerical value of 40 which is the number of days Moshe-Moses spent up on Mt. Sinai receiving the Torah.
Accordingly, traditions have been kept that one “dairy” meal is eaten; and then one “meat” meal is enjoyed. In order to keep kosher, it’s important to check guidelines on the types of cheese and meat on the menu to ensure that enough time has passed for both the body and the kitchen to be cleansed between both. However, for a casual honoring of this custom, it’s considered safe to have a dish with a soft cheese- like a slice of cheese cake, followed by cleansing the palate with something pareve that is meatless and dairyless, and then waiting an hour to eat the meal with meat. (Hard cheeses require at least a six hour wait.)
Shavuot preparation meals and readings coincide with the weekend during which Moshe-Moses ascended and returned to the Israelites from the mountain the first time. God told Him to share with the people that they were to get prepared to receive the covenant that He was about to give them, so that they could be His treasure, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. They agreed instantly, without asking for details even. The Lord then instructed that they sanctify themselves and wash their garments for the next two days because He would return to the mountain to meet with Moshe-Moses on the third day (Monday morning in modern times) and give him the entire Torah.
Among other meanings, Shavuot is named alternatively for the celebration of the wheat harvest (Chag HaKatzir - “Harvest Festival”) and the ripening of the first fruits (Yom Habikurim - “Day of the First Fruits”). It was customary for the first fruits of 7 types of produce including figs, wheat, barley, pomegranates, dates, olives and grapes to be brought to the Temple during those days for the priests to eat. However, since the Temple has yet to be rebuilt, that offering has been suspended. It is also referred to as the Zeman Matan Torahteinu, the “Time of the Giving of Our Torah”.
Another sweet custom involves recalling how beautiful Mt. Sinai was at this time of year: so, many people decorate their homes with fragrant flowers. Many include in their festivities the reading of the story of Ruth who joined the Jewish people around Passover during the barley harvest and became betrothed during the wheat harvest. And, because of the worldwide health opportunity, many are choosing to recreate the giving of the ten commandments with plays enacted by their children.
However you choose to commune with God and thank Him for His Teaching and His Provision for Shavuot, it is vital to us as believers in Yeshua Hamashiach Tsidkenu- Jesus Messiah our Righteousness, to anticipate an increased outpouring of Holy Spirit and Fire from our Lord God Almighty Heavenly Father. We must have this to succeed in our callings. This is what He promised just before He ascended on the clouds. He has prepared a place for us in His Father’s House.
Just for fun- There are seven levels of Heaven in the Hebrew scriptures:
Dok (the entire Universe),
Rakia (the firmament),
Shechakim (the atmosphere- from which manna manifested),
Maon (where Angels minister His songs to us),
Machon (the storehouses of winds, rain, hail, storms, etc), and
Aravot (the Throne, the King of Glory, the spirits of the righteous, and storehouse of future Life-souls).
Zevul - “I have surely built you a house of habitation, a place for you to dwell in forever” 1 Kings 8:13.
And, “Look down from Heaven (Samayim- visible heavens and skies) and behold from the habitation
(Zevul) of Your holiness and Your glory” Isaiah 63:15.
I pray that we all receive the “more” we so desire this Shavuot. He Is a Faithful King. Amen.
†Pentecost clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLa-lj0zCGg
†Acts movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLa-lj0zCGg
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