The Feast of Shavuot & the Mariage Covenant

7/26/2019 The Feast of Shavuot & the Mariage Covenant

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Shavuot the

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arriage

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ovenant

Beautiful Traditions and Symbolism

Eating Dairy Food: It is a tradition within Jewish communities toeat dairy on Shavuot. Here are a few reasons why they hold to thiscustom:

Receiving the Torah was a form of rebirth. Eating dairycelebrates the newness of life by consuming baby food,namely, milk.

Shavuot coincided with the time when the lambs andcalves born in the spring would be suckling. Therefore, an

abundance of dairy products was available. In the Torah, the Israelites were promised the "Land flowing with

milk and honey." Dairy meals remind us of this promise.

The Hebrew word for milk is chalav, and has the numerical valueof 40, symbolizing the number of days Moses was on Mt. Sinai.


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Tikkun Leil Shavuot: Repairing the eve of Shavuotis a tradition thatstarted in the 16th-century by Jews inSafed, Israel. This is on the eve ofShavuot where the participants do notsleep, but rather study the Torah.

Originally the Tikkun or repairingconsisted of readings from the Scripturesand the Talmud and would be studied anddiscussed all night long.

In the ceremony, representatives from the community are chosen to standunder a chuppah, marriage canopy with the Torah. A passage is read fromthe Torah (Deuteronomy 29:9-14) as a statement of recommitment to acceptthe Torah. "You stand on this day all of you before YHVH to enter theCovenant." "Think about how the whole world is sleeping while you and yourfriends and Jewish groups like us in many other cities and lands are studying

words of Torah. How rich is our tradition!

Wearing White: "Wearing white is basically being like an angel. We arereturning to Eden and wearing white symbolises our purity and cleannessbefore YHVH, this is because we use His Torah to wash our garments clean.

Decorating with Flowers: Decorating the synagogue and homewith greenery and flowers is another Shavuot tradition. Midrashiclore describes how Mt. Sinai suddenly flowered in anticipation of theTorahs arrival. Since Shavuot was also a harvest holiday, thesheaths and branches would be signs of a successful growing

season.

Water Celebration: Shavuot has always been Israels waterfestival, as kids swarm the streetswith water guns and balloons,celebrating an early-in-the-season water day.Some claim its a custom where Jewsequated Torah with waterboth life-givingsources.

rriving at Shavuot

Shavuot (Pentecost) is celebrated on the 50thday after the first normalSabbath within the seven days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Thisconnects the Feast of Shavuot with the Feast of Passover, linking the twocounting seven Sabbaths.

Lev 23:15-17 And you shall count to you from the next day after theSabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering;seven Sabbaths shall be complete. (16) To the next day after the seventh

Sabbath you shall number fifty days. And you shall offer a new foodoffering to YHVH. (17) You shall bring out of your homes two wave

loaves of two-tenth parts. They shall be of fine flour. They shall be bakedwith leaven, firstfruits to YHVH.


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(21) And you shall proclaim on the same day that it may be a holyconvocation to you. You shall do no work of labor. It shall be a statute

forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.

This was the time Israel left Egypt, on their way to Mount Sinai, where theywould receive the Ten Commandments. This Feast is about meeting YHVH atthe mountain. The Feastis to Celebrated as a Sabbath, and no work is to beperformed to make it profane (as a normal day doing your own pleasures).

Moses was told by Elohim to gather the Israelites together to receive theTorah (Exodus 19:1-8). The Israelites answered, "All that YHVH has spokenwe will do!" In Hebrew, it is: Na'aseh V'Nishmah, which means, "We agree todo even before we have heard."

YHVH gave the Israelites two days tocleanse themselves, wash their clothes,and prepare to receive the Torah on the

third day. From early morning, denseclouds covered the peak of the mountain.Thunder and lightning were frequently seenand heard. The sound of the shofar(ram'shorn) became very strong, and the top ofthe mountain was enveloped in fire andsmoke. The Israelites at the foot of Mount

Sinai stood in great awe (Exodus 19:9-19). Moses then went up alone on themountain, and as he neared the top, a mighty voice announced the TenCommandments (Exodus 19:20-25; 20:1-21).

The Marriage Covenant

The way YHVH deals with man is through Covenants. He made the initialCovenant with a Gentile man called Abraham in Gen 15. This was anunconditional, everlasting covenant made with Abrahams seed ordescendants. The Covenant was unconditional from Abrahams point of viewbecause he was asleep while the touch of fire (Messiah) walked in betweenthe pieces. This means that if any of the conditions of the Covenant were brokenby any party, the Torch had to die, ending up like the dead animals.

Before this Covenant was cut YHVH told Abraham that He is His Shield and his

exceedingly great Reward. The Shield referred to Messiah that will coverAbraham and his descendants if they break the Covenant. That implies thatMessiah (Shield) had to die if man broke any of the conditions of the Covenant.Yshua is the Shield, Who will cover man during his sinful state, so that he canreceive the Exceedingly Great Reward, that is the Father.

After that, there were two other Covenants formed, that is part of this initialCovenant made with Abraham. These two Covenants hang offthis initialCovenant made with Abraham, known as the Marriage Covenant betweenYHVH and man (Abrahams descendants).


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Jer 31:31-33 Behold, the days are coming, says YHVH, when I willmake a new Covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of

Judah32 not according to the Covenant that I made with their fathersin the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of

Egypt, My Covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to

them, says YHVH.

We know this passage very well, and it is the verse that is quoted as proof ofa New Covenant,where He will write the Torah in our Hearts. What peoplemiss is the language used here referring to the Marriage that took place backwhen they were in Egypt, where they celebrated the first Passover. ThePassover is the Covenant YHVH made with His people that made Him theirHusband and them His Bride. This makes Passover the first part of theMarriage Covenant between YHVH and Israel where the Groom (YHVH)gave His vows (conditions of Covenant) to His Bride. These vows are found inExo 6:5-7 and is to protect and to provide for Her, and is symbolised by the

Four Cups of the Passover Seder.The next Part of the Marriage Covenant took place at Mount Sinai where theBridegave Her vows (conditions of Covenant) to the Groom that she stated inExo 19:8 saying; all that YHVH has spoken, we will do They said thatbefore receiving any of the Commandments / conditions and became thevows of the Bride to her Groom. Breakingany of these vows will result in Her death, asstipulated at the cutting of the Covenant withAbraham, but the Messiah became theShield when He made the first part of thisCovenant at Passover. Through this Heproves that He will protect and provide forHis Bride as promised.

Shavuot

Pinnacle of all

the Festivals

The Festivals of YHVH represents the Workof Messiah as well as the Restoration Planof His Creation. When placing the Festivals

on a Menorah Pattern, Shavuot isrepresented as the middle branch, which isthe branch that upholds all the otherFestivals, and forms the pinnacle or mostimportant of all the Appointed Times.

Shavuot represents the receiving of the Torah on the Mountain and withoutthe Torah, none of the other Feasts would have served any purpose. TheTorah defines what sin is and without the definition of sin, the Feast ofUnleavened Bread would not have any purpose because it is about removingsin from your life. Passover and Firstfruits are connected to Unleavened

Bread, and the first Covenant made on Passover would not have beenpossible without the Torah that explains the purpose of the Covenant.

ShavuotReceiveTorah

ReceiveHolyS

pirit,

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DeathofYshua

SkkotTabernacles

EntertheHouse

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UnleavenedBread

YshuainGrave

YomK

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Day

ofJudgement

FirstFruits

Re

surrection

ofYshuaLife

YomT

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Trumpets

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wedBodies


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Yom Kippur is about Judgement, and no Righteous Judge would be able toutter a verdict without the definitions of the Laws that is contained within theTorah. You can only enter the Kingdom (represented by Sukkot) if you passthe Judgement of YHVH and have been cleansed by the Torah.

Just like Messiah is the Branch, the Olive Tree into Whom all of Israel aregrafted in, so are all these Festivals grafted intoShavuot or Torah. Shavuotrepresents the Torah and Yshua is the living Torah, the Word that becameflesh and dwelled among us. Shavuot is the Celebration of Messiah as we seeHim in His Torah and experience Him through His Spirit.

The Wheat Harvest

Shavuot is the Wheat Harvest, and the story of Ruth isusually read during the celebration of this Festival. Ruthwas a Gentile, who observed the Torah and benefittedfrom the Commandment of leaving the corners of the

field to the strangers.

The Book of Ruth is a story of love between aGentile woman and the Elohim of Israel. Ruth hadbeen married to a Hebrew man. When he died, hermother-in-law Naomi encouraged her to go back toher Moabite family and heritage. Ruth refused,

wanting to join herself to the Hebrew people and their Elohim. Her responseto Naomi, "your people shall be my people, and your Elohim, my Elohim"(Ruth 1:16), has become well known.

As Naomi and Ruth resettled in Israel, a part of the Mosaic Law becameunavoidable to Ruth. It was the law of the kinsman-redeemer, which was toredeem the name of her dead husband and provide a family for his inheritance.There were three requirements for a man to qualify as the kinsman-redeemerand take Ruth as his wife. He had to be the nearest kin (unmarried relative), beable to perform this duty, and be willing to do it (Dt. 25:5-10). The closestrelative who met these requirements was Boaz, who married Ruth, and throughthat marriage, a child was born. Ruth becomes blessed, as her son became thegrandfather of David and was in the Messianic line.

Spiritual Application: The Book of Ruth paints abeautiful portrait of the truth of Shavuot. Yshua is our

Kinsman-Redeemer. We, Jew and Gentile, arecondemned and separated from Elohim by our sin (Isa.59:1-2). Yshua was willing and able to save us, beingElohim. But He had to become our Kinsman to meet allthree requirements that He did when He became a man.Through His redemption we, Jew and Gentile, are placedtogether in the body of Israel, partakers of the covenantsby the Atonement or covering of the blood of Y shua theMessiah (Eph. 2). Ruth (a Gentile) and Boaz (a Jew)became one in marriage (Gen. 2:24). Jew and Gentilebecome one in Israel through our Covenant with Yshua. The Book of Ruth isalways read and studied on Shavuot, what better picture could be given ofMessianic Believers.


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The Fulfilment of Shavuot

Yshua is a Prophet like Moses Whomthe Father has sent to the House ofIsrael to lead them out of sin, back in

under His initial Covenant oath(marriage vows) so that they can livewith Him in the Promised Land (HisHouse). He did not come to destroywhat Moses received from YHVH [Mat

5:17], but came to establish it and renew it in His Blood, to make it aneverlasting Covenant, a Covenant with better promises for His Bride.

Reversing the Curse: Just after Israel heard the Voice of YHVH from theMountain, they build an image of gold, which they worshiped in the name ofYHVH and three thousand men died because of this sin. [Ex. 32:28]. On

Pentecost (Shavuot) Peter preached, and about three thousand people gladlyreceived the message and believed in the Messiah [Acts 2:41] and the cursewas reversed by three thousand people who received new life.

Walking in His Ways:The Torah is holy and good, but it cannot secure lifewithout the testimony of Yshua and the receiving of His Spirit Who writesYHVHs Torah on our hearts.

Jer 31:31,33 Behold, the days come, says YHVH, that I will cut a NewCovenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah, (33)butthis shall be the Covenant that I will cut with the house of Israel: Afterthose days, says YHVH, I will put My Torah in their inward parts, and

write it in their hearts; and I will be their Elohim, and they shall be Mypeople.

The Spirit did not replace the Torah but WROTE THE TORAH IN THEHEARTS of His people, those who accepted Yshua as Savior, so that theycan WALK IN HIS WAYS, as outlined in the Torah. [Heb 8:10, Heb 10:16].

This Festival was fulfilled by the outpouring of YHVHs Spirit on Shavuot thatconcluded the Work of the Messiah after His First Coming.

Act 1:3-5 to whomHe (Yshua) also presented Himself living after Hissuffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them through fortydays, and speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of Elohim. (4)

And having met with them, He commanded them not to depart fromJerusalem, but to await the promise of the Father which you heard fromMe. (5)For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized inthe Holy Spirit not many days from now.

During the last 40 days after Yshuas resurrection, He presented Himself tomany people and commanded His Disciples to stay in Jerusalem while theywait for receiving the promise of the baptism of His Holy Spirit, on the day ofShavuot.


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Act 2:1-4 And in the fulfilling of the day of Pentecost (Shavuot) all withone accord in one place. (2) And suddenly a sound came out of the heavenas borne along by the rushing of a mighty wind (ruach), and it filled allthe house where they were sitting. (3)And tongues as of fire appeared tothem, being distributed; and it sat upon each of them. (4)And they were

all filled of the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in other tongues, as theSpirit gave them utterance.

The word for wind is Ruach in Hebrew, and that is the same word used for theto refer to the Spirit of YHVH, Ruach HaKodesh or Holy Spirit. Tongue is the

word lashone]vsl that means; tongue, speech, flame of fire. The lettershin slooks like a flame and even means fire, representing Spirit of YHVHas well. YHVHs Spirit came on the believers in the form of tongues of fireand then they began to speak in different tonguesor languages. This was aphysical sign that they have been filled with the Spirit of YHVH; literal tongues

confirming spiritual tongues of fire.Eph 1:13-14 in whom also you, hearing the Wordof Truth, the gospel of our salvation, in whom alsobelieving, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of

promise, (14)who is the earnest (pledge or payment,title deed) of our inheritance, to the redemption ofthe purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

Receiving His Spirit is the pledge or payment and signthat you belong to Him and will receive an inheritance.Since Shavuot is the second part of the marriage Covenant, receiving His

Spirit is receiving this sign that is your engagement ring that sets you apart forMessiah Yshua. We are YHVH purchased possession, and He bought uswith His Blood. His Holy Spirit is His Gift to us so that we can know that wecan know that we belong to Him, just as you would give and engagement ringto your bride to be.

Q - What does it mean when I am filled with His Spirit?

YHVH will empower you through the Gifts of His Spirit that will enable you toperform certain spiritual duties, which you could not have done before. Let'slook at the Gifts of the Spirit to see what it entails and how YHVH equips HisBody.

Gifts of the Spirit Gifts for His Bride

We have seen how YHVH Anointed people inthe time of Moses, had enabled them to leadand serve the people and perform all the tasksrequired in the construction of and service inthe Tabernacle. We have learned fromScripture that we are the Temple of YHVH aswell as His Priesthood, and this can only

happen through the Anointing of His HolySpirit, Ruach HaKodesh, the Gift to the Bride.


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1Jn 2:20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you knowall things.

The Anointing of YHVH is distributed to all who belongs to Him and believe inthe Gifts of the Spirit. Is there a difference between having the Spirit andhaving the Gifts of the Spirit? Yes, when you were baptised, YHVH gave youHis Spirit that quickened your Nashamah (spiritual soul) and wrote theCommandments on your heart. This is known as the rebirth processwhereyou are born again.It is His Spirit in you that causes you to want to learnmore of Him and Who helps you to overcome sin. This event is symbolised bythe Passover.

The second stage is to be filled with His Spiritthat is the event where youwill receive the Gifts of the Spirit and can be at the same time of your rebirthor an event that is later in your walk. This is when you are ready to move tothe next level of your relationship with Him where you commit to serve in HisKingdom. This is what the Feast of Shavuot or Pentecost is all about; the

receiving of the Gifts of YHVHs Spirit to enable believers and to equip themfor the work in His Kingdom.

Rom 12:6-8, 11-13 Now having different gifts, according to the favourwhich was given to us, let us use them accordingly: if prophecy,according to the proportion of belief (faith); (7)if serving, in the serving(the body); or he who is teaching, in the teaching(the body); (8)or he whoencourages, in the encouragement; or he who is sharing, in sincerity(sharing in the needs of others); he who is leading, in diligence; he whoshows compassion, joyously. (11)As to diligence, not slothful, fervent inspirit, serving the Master; (12)rejoicing in hope, patient in affliction,

steadfastly continuing in prayer,(13)

distributing to the needs of thesaints, pursuing hospitality.

Qualifiers for Receiving the ifts of YHVHs Spirit

Does everybody receive YHVHs Gifts and are thererequirements for receiving the Gifts of His Spirit?

Act 2:38 Then Peter said to them, Repent and be baptized,every one of you, in the name of Yshua the Messiah toremission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy

Spirit.You must first be born again by His Spirit that will qualify you toreceive the Gifts of His Spirit. You can only open up the giftsafter you have taken part in the second part of the MarriageCovenant. This must happen before you can receive the Gifts ofthe Spirit. Baptism and receiving the Spirit of YHVH goes hand inhand but baptism in water is different to baptism in the Spirit.Receiving the Gifts of the Spirit is the next event that that takes your spirituallife to the next level and can be prior of after the baptism with water.

Q - Why do we do not see the full manifestation of His Spirit in our lives today,

in the same way His Spirit manifested in the first century Assembly?


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YHVH is the same, yesterday, today and forever, so something else musthave changed, namely, we changed! We have become complacent, fleshlyminded and materialistic, and we treat YHVH like an idol, we only interact withHim when we need Him. He became one of the many things that make ourlives work,but He is supposed to be our everything, our first love!

Act 5:32 And we are His witnesses of these things. And so also is theHoly Spirit, whom Elohim has given to those who OBEY Him.

Joh 14:15 If you love Me, keep (obey) My commandments.

Do you want His Spirit and His Gifts? If yes, then the first step is to obey Himthrough obeying His Commandments. YHVH only gives the fullness of HisSpirit to those who love Him and obey Him. This proves that He can trust youwith His Gifts. People who say have the Spirit of YHVH but refuse toacknowledge His Commandments have another spiritbecause His Spirit will never go against His

Commandments. His Spirit will write His Commandmentsin our heart and you will walk in it. [Jer 31: 31-33].

YHVH can only fill you in relation to how empty or hungryyou are. If you empty yourself from your own will anddesires, then He will come and fill you with His Spirit?Make room for Him so that you can receive His fullness. He wants your totalsubmission and obedience before He can fully use you. Are you really hungryand thirsty for the fullness of Him, and are you ready to go to the next level offaith and relationship with Him?

Do introspection and analyse your life and your fruit. Are you adding value in

His Kingdom or are you only trying to avoid His Judgement? Your fear ofHoliness should be greater than your fear of punishment. In your relationshipwith Him, when you pray, are your prayers self-centred and basically soundlike a shopping list? Is it all about you or all about Him and His Kingdom?Ask YHVH to fill you with His Spirit so that you can carry the fruit of His Spiritand make yourself available to add eternal value that will benefit Him and HisKingdom.

How empty is your glass?

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The Feast of Shavuot & the Mariage Covenant