The Hag Shavu’ot Offering
28: 26-31
The Hag Shavu’ot offering DIG: For an agricultural people, why would the barley harvest be crucial? Why do you think God required this holy assembly after this harvest? What does it say about ADONAI that He gets the “first” of their fruit? Why did the LORD allow leaven to be included in the wave offering?
REFLECT: What “pleasing aroma” things do you do simply to please ADONAI? Are you giving Him your “firsts” or your “lasts?” Cite an example of each. What is your wave offering today? Ask the Lord to show you if there are any sacrifices you can make for His Kingdom? Who can you pray for this week?
Hag Shavu’ot was fulfilled by the birth of the Church.
Seven weeks (7X7 or 49 days) after the Feast of Firstfruits, the Israelites celebrated Hag Shavu’ot, or the Feast of Weeks. The B’rit Chadashah name Pentecost comes from the Greek word pentekostes, or fiftieth. What is interesting about the three major “pilgrimage feasts” (see the commentary on Exodus, to see link click Eh – Three Times a Year Celebrate a Festival to Me) is that each required the firstfruits of the various harvests to be offered at the Temple/Tabernacle, but for different crops. Passover required the firstfruits of the barley harvest (see the commentary on Leviticus Ea – Rasheet); the Feast of Weeks required the firstfruits of the wheat harvest (see Leviticus Ec – Hag Shavu’ot); and the Feast of Booths required the firstfruits of the olive and grape harvest (see Leviticus Eg – Hag Sukkot). As a result of the firstfruits being embedded in these three major pilgrimage festivals, the Feast of Firstfruits itself is not included in the restatement of the feasts here in Numbers 28 and 29.659
This passage instructs the priests how to properly prepare for the feast of Hag Shavu’ot. On the day of Shavu’ot, God commanded that the firstfruits of the wheat harvest should be offered. He said: When you bring a new Grain Offering (see Leviticus Ap – The Minhah Offering: Assuring People of God’s Acceptance) to ADONAI in your feast of Shavu‘ot, you are to have a holy assembly; treat it as a Sabbath day and do not do any kind of ordinary work. But present an ‘Olah Offering (see Leviticus Ao – The ‘Olah Offering: Providing Access to God) as a pleasing aroma for ADONAI.
In addition to the offering of the first fruits of the wheat harvest, and the two loaves of leavened bread (see below), the regular number of additional (mussaf) offerings were required as well, consisting of two young bulls, one ram, seven male lambs in their first year, and their Minhah Offering – fine flour mixed with olive oil, six quarts for each bull, four quarts for the one ram, and two quarts for each of the seven lambs – plus a male goat as a Chatta’th Offering to make atonement for you (see Leviticus Aq – The Chatta’th Offering: Communicating God’s Forgiveness). You are to offer these in addition to the continual morning and afternoon ‘Olah Offerings and their Minah Offerings, along with their Drink Offerings. The concluding remark that those sacrifices were to be without defect reminds us how much more will the blood of the Messiah, who through the eternal Holy Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God (Hebrews 9:14). The purpose of the Chatta’th Offering goat of the festivals and the New Moons is explained in the tractate Shavu’ot of the Mishnah (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ei – The Oral Law). The goat was a fail safe measure. It was meant to provide atonement for those who inadvertently desecrated the Tabernacle by coming near to God in a condition of ritual impurity.660
This was a one-day festival. On this occasion the new Minah Offering was baked two wheat loaves were to be placed on a single sheet and waved before ADONAI and then completely eaten by the priesthood. It was waved, but not actually offered on the bronze altar (Leviticus 2:12). The loaves were to have leaven in them. This was unusual because this was the only feast where leaven was permitted as an offering. Leaven, when it is used in the Bible symbolically, is always a symbol of sin. The reason God permitted leaven to be used on this occasion was because this offering represented sinners.
Normally, offerings brought to the LORD required unleavened bread (Leviticus 2:4-5 and 7:12; Numbers 6:15) because leaven pictures sin, and God cannot tolerate sin. However, on Shavu’ot, Moshe wrote: You must bring bread from your homes for waving – two loaves made with one gallon of fine flower, baked with leaven – as first fruits (of the fall wheat harvest) for ADONAI (Leviticus 23:17). The bread was leavened by placing in the dough a lump of leaven from bread of the preceding barley harvest, thus reemphasizing the close connection between the barley and wheat harvests, and the festivals associated with them.661
Along with the additional (mussaf) offerings of Shavu’ot remembered in the traditional synagogue liturgy with the mussaf prayers: a repetition of the Shemoneh Esrei and some liturgical songs, the most famous of which is the eleventh century Aramaic poem called the Akdamut, a poem built on various midrashic traditions and legends about the banquet of the world to come. The following lines are a famous excerpt.
His eternal power could not be described
Even if the heavens were made of parchment
And the trees of the forest were quills,
Even if all the oceans were full of ink,
As well as every lake and pool,
And everyone on earth was a scribe and writer.
As at Pesach (see Fb – The Pesach Offering), Psalms 113-118 of the Hallel are read during the festival service. For believers, the festival of Shavu’ot carries great significance. Not only is it a remembrance of the giving of the Torah at Sinai (see the commentary on Exodus Db – The Revelation at Mount Sinai), but it also reminds us of the ongoing gift of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh (see the commentary on Acts Al – The Ruach Ha’Kodesh Comes at Shavu’ot), which ADONAI continually pours out into His children.662
Dear Abba, Praise You for being such a fantastic Heavenly Father! The gift of the coming of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh at the festival of Shavu’ot is the gift of salvation (Romans 5:17) is like eating a delicious cake, and the coming of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh is like the icing on the cake. The tasty cake is topped off by the extra sweetness of the icing as salvation is topped off by the wonderful joy of relationship with the indwelling of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh!
Thank you for being so very wonderful in all ways! Salvation cost You so much pain and shame that You willingly went through (Hebrews 12:2). What a great and self-sacrificing love You have, Your love and presence continues to always be with Your children who love and follow You. Yeshua answered and said to him: If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling with him (John 14:23).
You are the best gift Giver, for the gift that You give is Yourself – an abiding relationship of love between the Awesome Almighty Heaven Father and me. There can be no greater gift than that of an eternal love relationship with You. Sadly some people will not receive the gift You offer. They think that they can buy the gift with good deeds or with money, but the only way to receive the gift is thru a covenant relationship of love! For if by the one man’s transgression, death reigned through the one, how much more shall those who receive the overflow of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the One, Messiah Yeshua (Romans 5:17).
Thank You so much for Your many gifts: for the gift of Messiah’s righteousness to those who love You (Second Corinthians 5:21), the gift of Your abiding presence in those who love You (John 14:23) and for an eternal home in heaven for Your children. Do not let your heart be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me. In My Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to Myself, so that where I am you may also be (John 14:1-3). In the name of Messiah Yeshua and by the power of His resurrection. Amen
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