The Archaeology of Shavuot (Pentecost) Lesson 1 - 40 Days of the Omer

The feast of Pentecost is a day many Christians say is the "birthday" of the church.  That's right!  It is also the time God sends His Holy Spirit upon us.  That's right!  But there is so much more.

In this first lesson we will put this feast back into its historical and cultural context of the 1st century in Israel.  We will again ask how Jesus' 120 disciples, who saw Him ascend on day 40 after His resurrection, understood this time and these events.  For them, Jesus ascending on day 40 had a meaning we don't get since we are not Jewish followers of Jesus back then.  That Jesus rose on day 40 is explosive to those 1st believers and it will be to us as well.  God chose this day on purpose.  Forty has major significance to those Jewish disciples of Jesus then. 

In this lesson we will clearly establish the connection between all these feasts - Passover to First Fruits to Shavuot or Pentecost.  Jesus' ascension is intimately connected to Passover and Pentecost.  When we walk those paths and streets of those 120 disciples, may we too gain have a deeper and more enriching understanding of the feast of Shavuot.  Perhaps it will inspire many in the church to return the services on Pentecost Sunday into the joyous and powerful time of remembrance it was intended to be by the Lord but has  been mostly neglected by the church.

Here's the links I mentioned in this lesson.

My article on the Feast of First Fruits, the Omer Count, and Shavuot - https://www.dropbox.com/s/dv38j7tx1qos4ue/d%20Lesson4..COUNTING%20THE%20DAYS...2019..107..136.pdf?dl=0

Link to the Light of Menorah podcasts, "Archaeology of Passover" - https://lightofmenorah.podbean.com/?s=archaeology

Link to pictures of the Chapel of the Ascension - https://www.biblewalks.com/AscensionChurch

Link to pictures of the Russian Church of the Ascension on the Mt. of Olives - https://www.biblewalks.com/russianascensionchurch

Link to pictures of Augusta Victoria and the German Lutheran Church of the Ascension - https://www.biblewalks.com/augustavictoria

Rev. Ferret - who is this guy?  What's his background?  Why should I listen to him?  Check his background at this link - https://www.dropbox.com/s/ortnret3oxcicu4/BackgrndTeacher%20mar%2025%202020.pdf?dl=0

Genesis - 64 - Gen. 26:1-35 - DO THE UNLAWFUL TO PREVENT THE UNSPEAKABLE

Some of the great Bible characters lied through their teeth!  Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, David, Rahab all lied.  And yet the Bible is silent about their SIN.  God said to lie is a sin and He said it twice - once in the Ten Commandments as it relates to judicial matters to "not be a false witness" and a second time where the Lord says it precisely ... 

Lev 19:11  "You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another."

God does not condemn them for their obvious breaking God's command.  You have to ask what is going on?  Is there something we are not seeing?

Consider the real stories of Christians during WWII who lied to the Nazis to protect Jews they were hiding.  Corrie Ten Bloom is one of them.  She and her family lied, they saved 100's of innocent Jewish people, and she became a celebrated "righteous Gentile" among the Jewish people.  She is honored among many other Gentiles, like Oscar Schindler, who did brave and heroic things to save 1000's of Jewish people from the gas chambers and death.  

Corrie, in her book, "The Hiding Place," relates the events of her and her family rescuing Jews.  She also shares how troubled she was that in order to save the Jews she had to LIE.  She had to commit a sin.  This was something that bothered her deeply. 

But, in the Bible many Bible characters lie.  We read in the Bible that God never calls them on the carpet.  He never brings up that they broke His Torah command not to lie.  Why?  What is going on?  Perhaps there is something more that God is showing us.  Is God saying that deceptive words are not a lie if the words that mislead are done for good and not evil?  Is God saying that if one deceives with words for evil intent then that is a lie?  Is God saying a lie is not words that are simply deceptive but it relates to the intent, the purpose?  Is God saying that one can DO THE UNLAWFUL TO PREVENT THE UNSPEAKABLE?  Needless to say this is a challenging question.    

Rev. Ferret - who is this guy?  What's his background?  Why should I listen to him?  Check his background at this link - https://www.dropbox.com/s/ortnret3oxcicu4/BackgrndTeacher%20mar%2025%202020.pdf?dl=0

Five Small Stones Episode 4 - Beginning & End Rev. 22:13

Five Small Stones Episode 1 - Weak vs Strong 1 Cor 1:27-29

Five Small Stones Episode 2 - God’s Stone Psm. 118:22-24

Five Small Stones Episode 3 — Who is it? Isa. 28:14-16

Shavuot - the Countdown and Psalm 67

So few Christians really understand that there is a God ordained connection between Passover and Pentecost, between פֶּסַח Paysak and שָׁבוּעוֹת Shavuot.  So few churches today even celebrate Pentecost.  We have lost so much, we have become so disconnected from our roots, שׁוֹרָשִׁים SHORASHEEM. 

One connection between Passover and Pentecost is "geographical."  Passover is the time of the barley harvest.  Pentecost is the time of the wheat harvest.  Two harvests and both times the Torah calls them times of the First Fruits. Interesting.  Paul calls Jesus the FIRST FRUITS.  Is there something Paul understands that we don't.  You bet. And there is so much more.  

God commands a COUNTDOWN starting, in Jesus' day, on the Sunday after Passover.  That was day 1 and the count if to continue for 7 Sabbath weeks - 49 days.  The 50th day God commands in His Torah is the feast of Pentecost (which means 50) or שָׁבוּעוֹת Shavuot meaning weeks.  God is telling us there is some awesome connection between Passover and Pentecost so much so that we are to count each day till Pentecost.  

In the past religious Jews started using Psalm 67 as they did the countdown.  Many still do it today.  Why?  In Hebrew Psalm 67 has 49 words.  You can see this in the picture below.  (Note - you'll see perhaps a hyphen used in the text.  That does not mean one word but actually two in the original Hebrew which never used hyphens).  So each day the Jewish people say a blessing to the Lord, state what day of the count it is, and recite out loud Psalm 67.  

In this lesson I make the case that this is something we Christians should be doing.  Why?  Wait till you hear the lesson.  Psalm 67 seems to have been inspired by the Lord to His ELECT, Israel, and now to us.  The psalm used between Passover and Pentecost is connected to Jesus in amazing and surprising ways.  It's all about Jesus and it always has been. We should do the countdown and look to the awesome feast of Pentecost.  All churches should now, during the countdown, teach about Pentecost and Passover, the 1st harvest and the 2nd harvest, the 1st blessing and the 2nd blessing, the giving of the Laws of the Lord and the giving of that which completes the Law, and the coming of the Teaching of the Lord (Torah) and the coming of the Teacher, רוח הקודש, RUACH HAKODESH, the Holy Spirit.  For more on all this check out these links that can be found after the picture of Psalm 67 below.

My article on the Feast of First Fruits, the Omer Count, and Shavuot - https://www.dropbox.com/s/dv38j7tx1qos4ue/d%20Lesson4..COUNTING%20THE%20DAYS...2019..107..136.pdf?dl=0

Link to the Light of Menorah podcasts, "Archaeology of Passover" - https://lightofmenorah.podbean.com/?s=archaeology

Link to pictures of the Chapel of the Ascension - https://www.biblewalks.com/AscensionChurch

Link to pictures of the Russian Church of the Ascension on the Mt. of Olives - https://www.biblewalks.com/russianascensionchurch

Link to pictures of Augusta Victoria and the German Lutheran Church of the Ascension - https://www.biblewalks.com/augustavictoria

Rev. Ferret - who is this guy?  What's his background?  Why should I listen to him?  Check his background at this link - https://www.dropbox.com/s/ortnret3oxcicu4/BackgrndTeacher%20mar%2025%202020.pdf?dl=0

Exodus - 41 - Exod. 15:18-27 - ADONI RAPHECA - THE LORD OUR HEALER

Exodus - 40 - Exod. 15:1-18 - SONG BY THE SEA - SAVED BY GRACE

It's over.  God's wrath is fully played out against Egypt and the gods of Egypt.  We now begin the journey to the PROMISED LAND.  But before we head out the whole group of Hebrews and Moses sing a song, the Song by the Sea. 

Is this the Song of Moses as referenced in Rev. 15:1-3 ...'

Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels who had seven plagues, which are the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished. And I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, holding harps of God. And they sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,  "Great and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations! (Rev 15:1-3)

This is the only place in the entire Bible where one finds the phrase "the song of Moses." So, what is this song?  Some say it is the Song by the Sea we are studying in Exod. 15.  But, the Bible doesn't say that.  It doesn't even call it the Song by the Sea. 

So, we find that many have OPINIONS and VIEWS as to what is the Song of Moses and say it is the Song by the Sea.  However, there are places where the phrase "the Song of Moses" is used.  It is found in Jewish literature and Torah commentary.  All of a sudden we see that John, who is a Jew, when he, under the Lord's inspiration, wrote the Revelation, uses the phrase "the song of Moses" that seemingly was well understood in Second Temple Judaism.  Then it was simply called THE SONG.  It so happens it refers to Deut. 32:1-43.  

So we have two songs.  The Song by the Sea and the the song God commands Moses to write down and teach all Israel.  So, which one is the Song of Moses?  This is very interesting.

In this lesson I tell of an awesome day for me and my wife Robin in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem.  I was taking Bible geography class for my masters program and we stopped outside the Jewish gift shop, Shosharim.  Shosharim means "the roots."  See the picture below.

It is owned by Rabbi Moses Kempinski and his brother.  The rabbi is a great guy and loves to talk the Word of the Lord with Jews and Gentiles.  He wants all to learn their ROOTS, their SHOSHARIM, the Jewish Roots of their faith both for those practicing Judaism and Christians.  Our class was outside the shop and we got into an awesome dialogue with Moses - in Hebrew Moses is pronounced MOSHAY.  See the picture of Rabbi Kempinski below.

Rabbi Kempinski then asked us a question.  The question was where did the phrase "saved by grace" come from?  The answer was so so awesome.  It literally blew me away.  It is related to the Song by the Sea.  Once again we see the truth of God's word and that God doesn't change and is the same then, now and forever.  God's word is firmly settled in the universe.  What was true today, was true in Paul's day, David's day, and in 1446 B.C. by Yam Suf, the Sea of Reeds.  

Rev. Ferret - who is this guy?  What's his background?  Why should I listen to him?  Check his background at this link - https://www.dropbox.com/s/ortnret3oxcicu4/BackgrndTeacher%20mar%2025%202020.pdf?dl=0

Genesis - 63 - Gen. 25:29 - 26:7 - WHAT’S WRONG WITH ESAU?

Abraham had two sons, Ishmael and Isaac. One was chosen by the Lord to be the child of promise.  This happened again.  Isaac had two sons, Esau and Jacob.  The Lord has already chosen Jacob and not Esau.  It seems that Esau and his natural born character did not qualify him to be the one through whom the promises made to Abraham for the entire world would be given.  It was Jacob.  In the events of their lives we begin to see this – the Lord seems to want us to see the boys and their character.  Jacob, the 2^nd born and not the 1^st born, was the one. 

One event so many of us recall is when Jacob was cooking the red delicious stew and Esau comes back from some adventure in the wild.  But, there is something we don’t see – God inspires Moses to use a chiasm in the telling of the tale.  If we don’t know what a chiasm is we miss the expanded ideas that the Lord is trying to teach us.  The chiastic structure is used by the Lord to make a very clear and specific point.  It is the crux of the entire matter of Esau and Jacob and why the Lord picked Jacob. 

Links to articles and videos to learn about CHIASTIC LITERARY STRUCTURES:

Great website to learn the basics of chiastic structures -

https://www.bible-discernments.com/joshua/whatisachiasm.html

A website that contains many examples of chiasms -

https://www.chiasmusxchange.com/explanatory-notes/

A short video discussing chiams - well done and good "picture" description -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yn2pIkmOKpY

Link to the Light of Menorah video entitled “The Mirror of Passover.”  The video addresses CHIASMS at 28 minutes 5 seconds.

https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-2zqcj-11e731b

Rev. Ferret - who is this guy?  What's his background?  Why should I listen to him?  Check his background at this link - click here for the teacher's background