Fifty days after Passover, the Apostle Paul planned his travels so he could be in Jerusalem during Shavuot. It was to celebrate God's faithfulness with the early wheat harvest, which increased the hopefulness for a fall harvest (Sukkot). Later, the Rabbis while searching for historical facts, discovered that around the same time during Shavuot, Moses came to Mount Sinai and was given the Law. In Acts 2, Paul talked about the outpouring of the Spirit with Tongues of fire which Christians today call Pentecost, (meaning 50 in the Greek).
When I was in prayer for this, regarding preparing and celebrating this feast, God seemed to emphasize three aspects of His love. All three are opportunities for us to release our love back to Him which seems appropriate for this particular feast.
The first is to love God and express our appreciation for His faithfulness and provision for us. The second is to love His written Word by studying and meditating on His Torah. The third is to release the love of His Spirit within us to others we come into contact with.
Pentecost is one of the Lord's major feasts according to Leviticus 23. I believe this is a time to 1) LOVE His Word (Torah). 2) It is also a time to develop our covenant LOVE relationship with Him (Holy Spirit). As a result of loving His Word and Spirit we will automatically 3) LOVE others as the Spirit motivates us from within!
This Feast is a wonderful time to love Him, His Word, and then put it into action by loving others.
In His covenant love,
