Leviticus 23:15-21;
Psalm 119:11
"I will put my laws in their minds, and write them on their hearts."
(HEBREWS 8:10)
Celebrated on the fiftieth day after Passover, the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot in Hebrew; Pentecost in Greek) is traditionally a joyous time of giving thanks and presenting offerings for the new grain of the summer wheat harvest in Israel. The name "Feast of Weeks" was given because God commanded the Jews to count seven full weeks (or 49 days), and then present offerings of new grain to the Lord as a lasting ordinance.
For an Orthodox Jew it is customary to engage in all-night study of the Torah (the first five Books of the Old Testament) on the first evening of Shavuot. As a child, I was always encouraged to memorize Scripture on this night, and I was rewarded with special treats for a job well done.
Do you hide God's Word in your heart? Proverbs tells us to "Bind [God's teachings] upon your heart forever; fasten them around your neck. When you walk, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you" (Proverbs 6:21-22). Can you think of a better reward?
INSIGHT
HIDE THE WORD IN YOUR HEART, THAT WE MAY NOT SIN AGAINST GOD.
READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
Hosea 9-11
Proverbs 14
1 Peter 2-3
Leviticus 23:15-21
New Living Translation (NLT)
The Festival of Harvest
15 “From the day after the Sabbath—the day you bring the bundle of grain to be lifted up as a special offering—count off seven full weeks. 16 Keep counting until the day after the seventh Sabbath, fifty days later. Then present an offering of new grain to the Lord. 17 From wherever you live, bring two loaves of bread to be lifted up before the Lord as a special offering. Make these loaves from four quarts of choice flour, and bake them with yeast. They will be an offering to the Lord from the first of your crops. 18 Along with the bread, present seven one-year-old male lambs with no defects, one young bull, and two rams as burnt offerings to the Lord. These burnt offerings, together with the grain offerings and liquid offerings, will be a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 19 Then you must offer one male goat as a sin offering and two one-year-old male lambs as a peace offering.
20 “The priest will lift up the two lambs as a special offering to the Lord, together with the loaves representing the first of your crops. These offerings, which are holy to the Lord, belong to the priests. 21 That same day will be proclaimed an official day for holy assembly, a day on which you do no ordinary work. This is a permanent law for you, and it must be observed from generation to generation wherever you live.[a]
Footnotes:
a. Leviticus 23:21 This celebration, called the Festival of Harvest or the Festival of Weeks, was later called the Festival of Pentecost (see Acts 2:1). It is celebrated today as Shavuot (or Shabuoth).
Psalm 119:11
New Living Translation (NLT)
11 I have hidden your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.
GOD WITH US
with Dr. Scott Swanson
The Israelites waited hundreds of years for the arrival of their savior. When He finally came as a gift, they did not recognize Him. Will you receive the gift of Immanuel this Christmas?
No comments:
Post a Comment