Hi Donald,
I thought we might could talk about the Feast of weeks that later was called Pentecost from the Old Testament. My favorite verses are in Dueteronomy 16;9-12
9 Count off seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain.
10 Then celebrate the Feast of Weeks to the Lord your God by giving a freewill offering in proportion to the blessings the Lord has given you.
11 And rejoice before the Lord your God at the place He will choose as a dwelling for His Name-you, your sons and daughters, your menservents and maidservents, the Levites in your towns, and THE ALIENS, the fatherless and the widows among you.
12 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and follow carefully these decrees.
I like the definition of the process of bringing in the harvest. During this period of Weeks (7) to total 50 days with Sabbaths included, Yeshua walked the earth in His resurrected body for forty of these days (just short of 6 weeks). 10 days later the Holy Spirit came into the world in a new way on the day of Pentecost the fiftieth day. Sounds like a real Jubilee to me. Talk about the Favor of the Lord. Another interesting detail I found in these Feast is that everyone was required to attend and have joy as a command, this included all Aliens. What an awesome God, He has always persued all people but had a plan that required Israel to be seperate and that is still the case. Anti-Semitism has kept the Jews a seperate people and has bonded them tightly. Ruth was written around the time of the wheat Harvest which is Shavout, First Fruits is the Barely Harvest. We can see Ruth following the sickle at the standing grain and ready to bring in the sheaths to make bread.
Next I love Ruths humility in Chapter 2:10 She bows to the ground in gratitude for Boaz showing her favor even though she is a foreigner.
11 Boaz replied, "I have been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband- how you have left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before.
12 May the Lord repay you for what you have done . May you be richly rewarded by the Lord the God of Israel under whose wings you have come to take refuge. (sound like the faith of Abraham?)
13 "May I continue to find favor in your eyes my lord," she said. "You have given me comfort and have spoken kindly to your servent-though I do not have the standing of one of your servent girls. Also, I see Yeshua in Revelation when He says He will give to every man according to what he has done.
Please share your thoughts with me.
May Yeshua fill you with His peace,
Nancy |
