The Feast of Shavuot, Weeks or Pentecost Explained

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Tomorrow, Sunday, June 16, 2019 is Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost, which is the third of YHVH Elohim’s biblical and commanded feast day celebrations. The following information will help you to celebrate this festival as the Bible instructs with full understanding and joy as to its meaning, purpose and relevance to the modern-day Yeshua-loving saint.

Shavuot is the third festival in YHVH’s cyclical parade of annual sacred appointed times. It is also known as the Feast of the Harvest of the First Fruits (Exod 23:16), Day of First Fruits (Num 28:26) and the Feast of Weeks or Shavuot (which is Hebrew for weeks, Exod 34:22; Deut 16:10, 16; 2 Chr 8:13). Shavuot falls fifty days “from the day after the [weekly] Sabbath” (NKJV) that falls during the Days of Unleavened Bread, and hence the derivation of the name Pentecost (meaning “to count fifty”) as recorded in the Testimony of Yeshua (or New Testament/NT, Acts 2:16). According to the first-century Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus, the concept of counting fifty was expressed by the Jews of that day by the Hebrew word Asartha (Ant. III, x, 6). The 19th century Jewish scholar S. R. Hirsch in his Torah commentary refers to it as Azereth (The Pentateuch-Leviticus, p. 663). Both of these references seem to pointto the Hebrew word VRMG atzerah (or atzereth, Strong’s H6116/TWOT 1675c) meaning “an assembly or solemn assembly.”

YHVH through his Torah (the law of Moses) instructed his people that Shavuot was…

  • a day of rest where laborious or servile work was prohibited (Lev 23:21)
  • a time when all males were to bring the tithes of the increase of their income (Exod 23:14; Deut 16:16)
  • a time when the priests were to offer up as a wave offering to YHVH two loaves of leavened bread made of the freshly harvested wheat (Lev. 23:17–20)
  • to occur where YHVH would place his name and all were to go there to celebrate it (Deut 16:11)
  • a time of rejoicing (Deut 16:11)
  • to be forever (Lev 23:21)

An Agricultural Festival With Prophetic Implications

Ancient Israel was an agricultural society that had a spring harvest of grain and a fall harvest of fruit. The spring harvest consisted of the smaller barley harvest, which began during the Days of Unleavened Bread, and the much larger wheat harvest occurring fifty days later at Shavuot. Both the barley and wheat harvests were prophetic pictures symbolizing new life and new creation, and both were presented to YHVH by the priests for his acceptance—a sheaf of barley on First Fruits Day on the Sunday during Hag HaMatzot (the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Lev 23:10–11), and two loaves of leavened wheat bread on Shavuot (Lev 23:17).

On First Fruits Day, the priests of Israel would raise the newly harvested barley and wave it before YHVH for his acceptance. This was a prophetic picture of Yeshua who upon his resurrection Saturday evening, and subsequent ascension to heaven later on the first day of the week to be accepted by the Father (John 20:17) at the exact time the priests were waving first fruits sheaf of barley heavenward. Literally, Yeshua was the first to resurrect from the dead, and can thus be called the first of the first fruits of the resurrection from the dead.

Fifty days later Pentecost occurred when the priests offered to YHVH the two loaves of leavened bread made of wheat from the first fruits of the larger of the two spring harvests. This foreshadowed the larger harvest of souls during the time period from the giving of the Ruach HaKodesh (the Set-Apart Spirit) until Yeshua’s second coming. We are at the close of that time period now as the end of the age draws near. The Feast of Pentecost in Acts chapter two ushered in this time period with the harvest of thousands of people (Acts 2:41,47). It must be inserted here that an even larger harvest of people for the kingdom of YHVH is yet to occur during the fall feast days, which corresponds with the largest harvest of the entire year—the fall fruit harvest. This spiritual harvest will occur just prior to and after the return of Yeshua as an innumerable multitude of people come to faith in Yeshua out of the great tribulation (Rev 7:14) and when many more will be saved during the Messianic Age (or Millennium) itself.

The Prophetic Implications of the Feast of the Harvest of First Fruits

As we have seen, The Feast of the Harvest of First Fruits is another name for Shavuot (Exod 23:16; 34:22; Num 28:26). At Passover time, the barley (Exod 9:31 cp. chap. 12) was ready to be harvested in the land of Israel. Fifty days later at Pentecost, the larger wheat crop was ready for harvest (Exod 34:22). Barley and wheat were the two main grain crops of Israel (Deut 8:7–8; 2 Chron 2:15; Jer 41:8). In the late summer, the larger harvest of fruits and vegetables occurred. 

These three harvests coincided, as noted above, with Israel’s three pilgrimage festivals: Passover, Pentecost and the Feast of Tabernacles. The success of these three harvests was contingent upon the arrival of the fall (early or former) rains and the latter rains of the spring upon the land of Israel. In biblical and Jewish thought, these rains are prophetic of an outpouring of the Spirit of Elohim upon the earth, as well as of an outpouring of YHVH’s Torah-understanding and glory. This two-fold aspect of YHVH’s Word (spirit and truth) is expressed in many ways in many places throughout the pages of Scripture: 

  • spirit and truth (John 4:23–24; 1 Pet 1:22)
  • letter and spirit (2 Cor 3:6; Col 1:6)
  • grace and truth; the truth in love (Eph 4:15)
  • truth and life (John 14:15)
  • judgment and mercy (Jas 2:13)
  • power and authority (Luke 4:36)
  • word and spirit (Eph 6:17)
  • Moses and Elijah

The land of Israel and the rain and harvest cycles are spiritual shadows of future outpourings of YHVH’s Spirit and the revelation of his Written Word upon people’s lives as they accept Yeshua and allow his Spirit to teach and instruct them concerning the ways of Elohim. The early rain and the latter rain also teach us about the pouring out of Elohim’s Spirit in a corporate way upon all flesh. The early rain prophetically points to the outpouring of the Set-Apart Spirit during Yeshua’s first coming and the latter rain points to the outpouring of his Spirit during Yeshua’s second (The Seven Festivals of Messiah, by Eddie Chumney, pp. 97–98). Chumney goes on to note that the concept of harvest represents the salvation of people with the spring harvest representing those who would receive Yeshua as Messiah in the present age and the fall harvest representing those who would come to Messiah at the end of the present age (ibid., p. 98).

  • “Old” and “New Testaments”
  • Mount Sinai and Mount Moriah/Zion
  • the two houses of Israel (the Jews/Judah emphasizes the letter of the law/the Torah, while Ephraim/the Christians emphasize the spirit of the law/grace/Yeshua. 

The Giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai on Shavuot

Not of secondary importance to what we have already discussed regarding important things that occurred on Shavuot, was the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai that occurred on this day as well. On Shavuot, YHVH “married” Israel (Ezek 16:1–13) when he formulated a covenantal agreement with her to which to which she agreed when she said “I do” three times (Exod 19:8; 24:1–8). The Torah was the basis of that covenant, or the marriage vows, if you will to which Israel swore allegiance.

YHVH gave his people the words of life to live by, but because of the hardness of their hearts they were not able to be faithful to his Torah. Like a wife who says “I do” in response to her wedding vows, but cannot remain faithful to her marriage covenant, so Scripture likens Israel to such a woman who became a spiritual harlot (Ezek 16:14–34). 

In spite of Israel’s apostasy and spiritual whoredoms, YHVH had made promises to Abraham and to his descendants that were unconditional in nature. Whether Abraham’s descendants remained faithful to YHVH or not, YHVH’s promises to Abraham were inviolate. Though the Israelites had violated the vows they made to YHVH at Mount Sinai, he revealed to the ancient Hebrew prophets that he would eventually formulate a second renewed covenant with Israel, and this time he would pour out upon them his Spirit and write his Torah-laws in their hearts (Jer 31:31–33; 24:7; Ezek 11:19; 36:25–27).

On Passover at the last supper, YHVH-Yeshua betrothed himself to Israel all over again (Matt 26:28; 1 Cor 11:25). As a seal or pledge of this betrothal, he promised to send to his disciples the Comforter or Set-Apart Spirt (John 14:26; 15:26; 16:7; Eph 1:13–14). This occurred on the day of Pentecost when he poured out his Spirit upon Yeshua’s disciples. Each received the fire of his Spirit (Act 2:1–4). In this, YHVH fulfilled his promise to give his people a heart of flesh to replace their heart of stone, thus empowering or enabling them to keep his Torah-commandments (Heb 8:7–13). In other words, Yeshua, the Living Torah-instructions of YHVH, came to take up residence within the very hearts and minds of redeemed believers through the indwelling and empowering presence of his Set-Apart Spirit. In so doing, Yeshua is living out or fulfilling his Torah from within each redeemed Israelite believer even as he himself lived out or fulfilled the Torah-Word of YHVH when he walked this earth. 

We can enter into this same renewed covenant with Yeshua who is the Living Torah and our heavenly Bridegroom when we do as the Apostle Paul says in Romans 10:9 and 10 and confess with our mouths the Master Yeshua and believe in our heart that Elohim has raised him the dead.

Romans 10:13 goes on to say, “Whoever shall call upon the name of the Master shall be saved.” Yeshua also said, “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven” (Matt 10:32). After confessing him, repenting of our sins, we must then be baptized and be prayed over to receive the Spirit of Elohim (Acts 2:37–41). Then one must continue to walk steadfastly in the truth of the gospel message, stay in fellowship with like-minded believers, and maintain a personal relationship with YHVH through personal devotional prayer (Acts 2:42).

Isn’t this a beautiful picture of YHVH’s love and care for his bride—his people? This is all part of the wonderful plan of salvation/redemption that YHVH laid out thousands of years ago to bring people into a life-giving relationship with himself through his instructions in righteousness—the Torah. This has all being accomplished through Elohim’s Son, Yeshua the Messiah, the Living Torah who now leads and guides his people through the wilderness of life not via a pillar of fire over a physical tabernacle, but through the fire of the Ruach HaKodesh living in the spiritual temple of each individual believer’s heart and mind, which guides them spiritually from within.

On Shavuot the first century redeemed believers were divinely empowered with the Ruach HaKodesh, called the immersion in the Ruach HaKodesh (or the baptism of the Set-Apart Spirit, Acts 1:5,8). As a result of the empowerment of the Spirit of Elohim, we see Peter being transformed from a spiritual mouse (compare John 20:23 with John 21:3) into a spiritual lion or dynamo (Acts 2:14–41). The immersion or saturation in the Sprit or Ruach is for the purpose of being empowered with supernatural gifts and enablements (the gifts of the Ruach, see 1 Cor 12) in order to be equipped to go out into the harvest field of human souls spiritually empowered and ready to bring in the spiritual harvest of souls. On the day of Pentecost, YHVH wrote the Torah into the hearts of the redeemed believers by the Ruach, and then supernaturally empowered them to take both the message of Torah—the light of his truth—coupled with the good news of the Redeemer, Messiah Yeshua—the Living Torah word of Elohim—to a lost and dying world. This is the fundamental message and purpose of Shavuot in the Book of Acts.

 

When is the Feast of Weeks, Shavuot or Pentecost?

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When is the Feast of Weeks (Heb. Chag Shavuot) or Pentecost? This has been a subject of debate among the Jews going back for two thousand years to the first century, and still is today among well meaning people who love Elohim and desire to follow his word. This is the question I will address in this study.

Since Shavuot is the only biblical holiday that involves counting days and weeks (hence its name, the Feast of Weeks), there are different opinions about when to start the count leading up to Shavuot. The Torah tells us to count from the Sabbath associated with the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the LORD. (Lev 23:15–16, NKJV)

This sounds simple enough. Or is it?

The question and the subject of the debate is which Sabbath do you start counting from? The day after the weekly Sabbath occurring during the Feast of Unleavened Bread or the day after the high holy day Sabbath of the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which occurs on the fifteenth day of the first month of the biblical year?

In the first century in the time of Yeshua and the apostles, there were two main opinions among the leading Jews on when to start counting the weeks (called “the counting of the omer”) leading up to Shavuot. The religious sect of the Pharisees whose spiritual descendants are the modern rabbinic Jews started the counting of the omer from the day after first high holy day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is a high holy day Sabbath (John 19:31). On the other hand, the Sadducees, the other main Jewish sects of the first century (along with the Boethusians, which was likely a sub-sect of the Sadducees; see A History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ, second division, vol 2, p. 37, by Emil Schurer; Commentary on the NT from the Talmud and Hebraica, vol. 4, p. 23 [commentary on Acts 2:1], by John Lightfoot) counted the omer from the day after the weekly Sabbath that falls within the week of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Some modern Messianics follow the rabbinic method, while others follow the Sadducean method.

It is generally understood by historical scholars that the Jewish sect of the Pharisees interpreted the written Torah in light of Jewish oral tradition, while the Sadducees rejected oral tradition and adhered strictly to the written Torah (Schurer, pp. 37–38). According to Schurer,

In this rejection of the legal tradition of the Pharisees, the Sadducees represented the older standpoint. They stopped at the written law. For them, the whole subsequent development was without binding power” (ibid. p. 38). To the scribes and Pharisees, in contrast to the Sadducees, oral tradition took precedence over the Written Torah-law. It was intolerable to them that people should “interpret Scripture in opposition to tradition. The traditional interpretation and the traditional law are thus declared absolutely binding. And it is consequently but consistent when deviation from these is declared even more culpable than deviation from the Written Torah. It is more culpable to teach contrary to the precepts of the scribes, than contrary to the Torah itself [according to the B. Talmud, Sanhedrin ix.3]. (ibid. p. 12)

The first century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus (37 BC to 100 BC) confirms this. He writes,

[T]he Pharisees have delivered to the people a great many observances by succession from their fathers, which are not written in the law of Moses; and for that reason it is that the Sadducees reject them, and say that we are to esteem those observances to be obligatory which are in the written word, but are not to observe what are derived from the tradition of our forefathers. (Ant. XIII.10.6)

Commenting on Josephus’ statement, Louis Finkelstein, a noted the twentieth century rabbinic scholar writes,

This prolix statement simply confirms the talmudic record that the Sadducees rejected the Oral Law, which the Pharisees held equally authoritative with the Written Law. (The Pharisees, p. 261).

Yeshua himself castigated the scribes and Pharisees of his day for giving precedence to their Oral Law or the tradition of the elders over Elohim’s Written Torah in Mark 7:9, 13.

He said to them, “All too well you reject the [Torah] commandment of Elohim, that you may keep your tradition.…[Thus] making the word of Elohim of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do.”

So we are still left with the following question: Which method of counting the omer toward Shavuot is correct? Do we follow the Written Torah or the Oral Tradition of the rabbinic Jews, which purports to follow the Written Torah but often doesn’t? That is the question I want to answer below.

To start, we need to first understand the meaning of some Hebrew words. Let’s look again at Leviticus 23:15–16.

And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath [haShabbat], from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths [Shabbatot] shall be completed. Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath [haShabbat]; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the LORD. (emphasis added, NKJV)

The word for weeks in this passage is the Hebrew word shabbatot. Does this word mean “weeks” as in “from the first day of the week (our Sunday) to the seventh day (our Saturday),” or does it mean “weeks of seven days” irrespective of which day in the week the count starts? I will attempt to answer this question later. Also it must be noted that the Torah here uses the phrase “seven complete Sabbaths” (Heb. shabbatot). This is important to note as we will see below.

The Hebrew word for Sabbath is shabbat. The plural form of this word is shabbatot, from which the English word Sabbaths derives, and is found later in the same verse (Lev 23:15). This verse instructs us to count sabbaths, not seven weeks. Elsewhere the Bible clearly states that the sabbath is the seventh day of the week.

What do the Jewish rabbinical experts say about the meaning of Leviticus 23:15–16 and how to count the days toward Shavuot? After all, many Messianics view the Jews as the legal biblical experts that we are to follow in this regard.

To start with, the authoritative The ArtScroll Tanach Series Vayikra/Leviticus commentary is silent on the meaning of the Hebrew word shabbatot in Exodos 23:15. The commentators offer no explanations as to why they chose to ignore the meaning of the word Shabbatot when counting the days toward Shavuot. They simply assume that the word shabbatot means “weeks” (shavuot) and not “sabbaths” without giving any explanation.

The nineteenth century orthodox rabbinic Torah scholar S. R. Hirsch in his commentary on this verse attempts to explain that the word shabbatot/sabbaths in Leviticus 23:15 when combined with the Hebrew word t’mimot (translated in English as complete or perfect) means “weeks of Sabbaths” or “weeks containing Sabbaths.” To justify this explanation, he cites, not Scripture, but a prior rabbinic Jewish tradition (i.e. The Babylon Talmud, Nedarim 60a). Thus, in his translation of the Torah, Hirsch says that the word shabbatot or sabbaths means “weeks of sabbaths.” Then in Leviticus 23:16, which reads, “the seventh Sabbath,” he translates the word shabbat as “sabbath-week,” even though this is never what the word shabbat means when used throughout the Hebrew Scriptures.

The Gutnick Edition Chumash takes a libertine approach and interestingly translates the Hebrew word shabbat in Leviticus 23:15–16 as “From the day following the (first) rest day (of Pesach) — the day you bring the Omer as a wave-offering — you should count yourselves seven weeks. (When you count them) they should be perfect. You should count until (but not including) fifty days, (i.e.) the day following the seventh week…” (emphasis added, parenthetical sentences are in the original). Here, bowing to rabbinic tradition and ignoring the meaning of the word shabbat, this translator translates shabbat/shabbatot respectively as “rest day,” “weeks,” and “week.” Other than that, this rabbinic commentator gives no explanation how he justifies translating the word shabbat as he does. He focuses on the command to count, but totally ignores discussing which day to begin counting from.

Similarly, The ArtScroll Stone Edition Chumash in its translation of Leviticus 23:15–16 also ignores the meaning of the word shabbat and changes the word shabbat to “rest day,” “weeks,” and “week” respectively. In its commentary section, this Chumash totally omits any discussion on the subject of counting from the sabbath, or which sabbath to count from. Similarly, Rashi, the pre-eminent medieval Torah scholar, in his commentary on this verse also presumes shabbat to mean “weeks” and cites earlier Jewish sources (i.e. Targum Onkelos) as his justification, but gives no Scripture to back up his claims.

The counting of the omer from the day after the high holy day Sabbath (and not the weekly Sabbath) was normative among the dominant Jews of the first century as attested to by Josephus who makes no mention of any alternative methods than that of the Pharisees for determining the beginning of the count of the omer (Ant. III.10.5).

These are the only explanations, or lack thereof, that some of the top rabbinic experts over the past 2000 years have to offer us on this subject. This is not much to go on in order to make an informed decision about when to celebrate one of YHVH’s biblical feasts!

Contrary to what the above-quoted Jewish sages teach, The Theological Word Book of the Old Testament and Brown Drivers Briggs Lexicon, inform us that the word weeks [shavuot] is not one of the definitions of the word sabbaths [shabbatot], although BDB suggests that sabbaths or shabbatot could possibly mean “weeks of sabbaths.” Gesenius in his Hebrew lexicon suggests the same thing from the comparison of Leviticus 23:15 and Deuteronomy 16:9. The evidence ­supporting the meaning of “weeks of sabbaths” behind the Hebrew word shabbat is tenuous at best and should not, therefore, in all honesty, be used to build an argument on how to determine the time count leading to Shavuot.

Now let’s look at the Torah text itself, since the rabbinic scholars offer us little if any help in determining how to count the omer toward Shavuot or the Feast of Weeks.

If one were to view the day after the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread — assuming it doesn’t fall on a weekly Sabbath — as the first day of the count of the omer as the rabbinic Jews do, then how do you count seven sabbaths subsequently? For example, if the fourth day of the week (i.e. Wednesday) happens to be the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread and hence a sabbath (a high holy day Sabbath, but not a weekly Sabbath), then are all the remaining Wednesdays leading up to the Feast of Weeks also sabbaths, so that the command in Leviticus 23:15 to count seven sabbaths is fulfilled? The command to count seven Sabbaths only makes sense if one is counting seven actual weekly Sabbaths with the first weekly Sabbath being the seventh day of the counting of the omer and each subsequent Sabbath as the fourteenth day, the twenty-first day and so on until one arrives at the seventh Sabbath on the forty-ninth day of the counting of the omer.

At this point, someone may ask about Deuteronomy 16:9–10, which seems to lend credence to the rabbinic Jewish tradition that the Hebrew word shabbatot (sabbaths) means “weeks.”

You shall count seven weeks for yourself; begin to count the seven weeks [Heb. shavuot] from the time you begin to put the sickle to the grain. Then you shall keep the Feast of Weeks to the LORD your God with the tribute of a freewill offering from your hand, which you shall give as the LORD your God blesses you. (NKJV)

In this passage, we are instructed to count weeks, not sabbaths. Therefore, can we simply ignore the Leviticus 23 passage that clearly instructs us to begin our count toward Shavuot on the day after the weekly sabbath in favor of beginning the count on any day of the week, and to count seven weeks (i.e. Sunday to Saturday) instead of seven weeks of sabbaths as the rabbinic do? Not at all, for the instructions on counting to Shavuot is first mentioned in Leviticus 23:15–16 and therefore (in light of the biblical interpretive “law of first mentions”) forms the foundation or basis for all subsequent biblical discussion on the subject. Therefore, Deuteronomy 16:9 must be understood or interpreted in the light of the Leviticus 23 passage and not the other way around, even as the New Testament must be interpreted in the light of the Tanakh (Old Testament), since it came first and forms the basis for all subsequent truth. Therefore, Deuteronomy 16:9 must be understood to mean “weeks of sabbaths” beginning from the first day of the week till the seventh day. Only in this way can Leviticus 23:16 be understood when it speaks of seven complete sabbaths being fulfilled upon arriving at Shavuot. This understanding reconciles these two passages in light of the biblical meaning and usage of the words shabbat (sabbath) and shavuot (weeks).

The closest analogous concept to weeks of sabbaths that we find in the Scriptures is the year-long land sabbath along with the seven sabbatical years leading up to the jubilee year. But in the biblical concept of seven land sabbaths, the pivotal point is still a definite sabbatical year when YHVH commanded the Israelites to let their land rest. The seven years is still tied to the year-long sabbath rest of the land, and the fiftieth jubilee year is calculated therefrom. The same is true from the day after the Sabbath, which is the first day of the week, when one starts counting toward Shavuot. After all, the Bible calls this holiday, the Feasts of Weeks. In Genesis chapter one, the Bible defines a week as being from the first day to the seventh day, which is the Sabbath (see also Exod 20:8–9). Unless otherwise stated, a week in the Bible means a week of seven days starting with the first day (Sunday) and ending on the seventh day or the Sabbath.

In conclusion, the verse that clinches the argument in my mind to help us to understand when to start the counting of the omer is Leviticus 23:16,

And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths [Heb. shabbatot] shall be completed.

Here, the Torah clearly states that the day before the Feast of Weeks is the weekly Sabbath. This is the plain meaning of the text and is what the Hebrew word shabbat means. By biblical definition based on how this word is used, the word shabbat can only refer to three things: the weekly shabbat, the Day of Atonement or the land sabbath. In the context of Leviticus 23:16, shabbat can only refer to the weekly Sabbath. Only rarely (about once in seven years) when using the rabbinical method to count the omer to Shavuot does the seventh Sabbath fall on the weekly sabbath. When one begins the counting of the omer from the day after the weekly Sabbath during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Shavuot always follows the weekly Sabbath. With the rabbinic counting method, their Shavuot usually falls on the morrow or day after the seventh Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and so on, and only once in seven years on the morrow or day after the Sabbath. Therefore, their method of counting doesn’t meet the criteria as outlined in Leviticus 23:16, and which states that the day before Shavuout must be a weekly Sabbath.

I believe that this explanation gives us a fuller understanding into the phrase found in the Torah, “seven Sabbaths [Shabbatot] shall be completed” (Lev 23:15), or to a similar phrase found in the Book of Acts, “When the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place” (Acts 2:1). What is a complete [weeks of ] Sabbaths? It seems to indicate a complete or whole week from the first day (Sunday) to the seventh day (Saturday/Sabbath) with not a day lacking. Seven of these must be fully completed to arrive at Pentecost. It is interesting to note that Acts states, “When the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place” (Acts 2:1).

Moreover, it seems that the counting of the omer, which is seven seven-day weeks for a total of 49 days (7 times 7) symbolically points to “a complete completeness” representing the spiritual growth and development of the saint as they mature into perfect unity with YHVH and with their fellow saint, so that they will be spiritually prepared to receive the inner Torah of the heart, the gifts of the Spirit, and come to a place of being together and in one accord within the body of Yeshua to be able then to do the great commission and to reap the wheat harvest of lost sheep of Israel necessary to establish YHVH’s kingdom as per Acts 1:6–8 as pictured by the Feast of Pentecost.

What’s more, the weekly seventh day Sabbath is a prophetic spiritual picture of the one-thousand year-long millennial reign of King Yeshua’s on this earth, while a first day (Sunday) Shavuot is a picture of seven days plus one (or the eighth day) that prophetically points to “the spiritual upper room” of the New Jerusalem as outlined in Revelation chapters 21 and 22, when the glorified saints will dwell together and in one accord and in one place with YHVH Yeshua forever.

Perhaps the most important argument in favor of counting the omer from the day after weekly Sabbath during the Feast of Unleavened Bread is that this perfectly points to the ­resurrection and ascension of Yeshua the Messiah. The Gospels’ account is clear that he rose from the grave at the end of the weekly Sabbath and at the beginning of the first day of the week, and that he most likely ascended to heaven on the first day of the week when the wave sheaf offering was being made on Wave Sheaf Day (Lev 23:9–14). Yeshua’s resurrection and ascension during this time frame perfectly fulfills all the prophetic types and shadows in the Torah that pointed forward to him. (For a full explanation of this, please see my article, “The Resurrection of Yeshua from a Hebrew Perspective Prophesied in the Hebrew Scriptures,” at https://www.hoshanarabbah.org/pdfs/firstfruits.pdf.)

It is my contention that to count the 49 days of the omer leading to the Feast of Weeks in the rabbinic Jewish way takes away from the glorious spiritual, prophetic picture of Yeshua and his spiritual bride to be and is therefore not the model to follow when counting the omer toward the Feast of Weeks.

 

Michael Savage —The Ten Commandments, Pentecost

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My curiosity got the best of me when I saw the title of a recent podcast by American talk show radio icon, Michael Savage, so I listened to it. All I can say is: amazing, insightful; he cuts to the root of the West’s moral and spiritual sickness by explaining the central role the Torah and the ten commandments has played in Western societies.

In this podcast, Michael Savage, who is of Jewish ancestry, explains the importance of the ten commandments as a foundation for Western society, and how the ideology of the political left is anti-ten commandments all the way. Savage analyzes each commandment and discusses its importance and relevance to current social issues. He then explains the meaning of the Torah, Shavuot (to the Jews) and Pentecost (to the Christians) explaining the importance of each festival.

I encourage you to listen to this insightful podcast for a different and refreshingly new perspective on the upcoming biblical Feast of Shavuot/Pentecost. (This podcast is available at https://michaelsavage.com/podcast/.)

 

The Holy of Holies and YOU

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Numbers 7:89, When Moses. Moses going into the inner most sanctuary of the tabernacle is a lesson for us in experiencing intimacy with YHVH Elohim. The holy of holies in the tabernacle from which the voice of YHVH emanated pictured what? (See Rev 7:15.) The Tabernacle of Moses is a spiritual picture of what? (Read Eph 3:21–22; 1 Cor 3:16; 1 Pet 2:5.) If the saints are the temple of the Set-Apart Spirit, can they, like Moses, hear the voice of Elohim? (See what Yeshua said in answer to this question in John 10:3–5, 27 cp. Acts 8:29; 10:19; 11:12; 29:4.) How does YHVH now speak to his people? (Note John 16:13; 1 Cor 2:12.) How does the Spirit interact with man to speak the mind, heart and will of Elohim to humans? (See John 14:17; Job 32:8; Prov 20:27; Rom 8:16; Eph 3:16; 1 John 2:20, 27; 4:2–3; 1 Cor 2:10–14.)

A corollary passages to this verse is found in Psalms 61:4 where David speaks of abiding in YHVH’s tabernacle forever, and putting his trust in the shelter of YHVH’s wings.With this in mind, now consider this.Over the mercy seat on the ark of the covenant, which was the seat of Elohim’s presence on earth and symbolically represented his heavenly throne room, was the over-shadowing wings of the two cherubim (see Isa 37:16; Ezek 10:1–22; 11:22–23). It was in this place of intimate worship before the “Rock that his higher than me” (verse 2) that David sought shelter or refuge and deliverance from his enemies (verse 3). Phrases like, “under the shadow of your wings” is a Hebraism meaning “before YHVH in the place and state of worship” (see also Pss 17:8; 36:7; 57:1; 63:7; 91:1, 4). It was also in this place—between the cherubim—that Moses heard the voice of Elohim (Num 7:89), and that David would see the power or might, strength and glory or manifest presence of Elohim in a prophetic, ecstatic or spiritual vision (Ps 63:2). The saints now have access to the throne of Elohim through prayer (Rev 5:8; 8:3). 

Occasionally, YHVH will still communicate with his servants through an audible voice, dreams, visions, or an angelic visitation. But this is rare now, even as it was in biblical times. This is because YHVH is testing his people to see if they will walk by faith, not by sight (2 Cor 5:7), and will remain faithful to his written word. Currently, YHVH is refining, testing and preparing his bride for her marriage to him. Will she be faithful to him having never seen him visually? The time is coming, however, when she will be in YHVH’s blessed presence forever, which is the object or end goal of her faith.

Voice of One…above the mercy seat. Think about this for a moment. The ark of the covenant upon which the mercy seat rested contained and was surrounded by several items, which give us an understanding as to on what basis we are to come into YHVH’s presence to hear his voice. First, the ark contained Aaron’s rod that budded. Second, it contained the golden pot of manna and then the two tablets containing the ten words written by YHVH’s finger. Leaning up against the ark was the scroll containing the entire Torah that was given to the Israelites through Moses. 

All together these items in and around the ark teach us that man can only come into YHVH presence on the basis the Torah-word of Elohim of which Yeshua was the Living Manna from heaven, and upon which man must feed for his spiritual sustenance. Even as the manna was in a golden pot, so YHVH’s words should be within the heart of man. The ten words or commandments which were written by YHVH’s finger form the foundation of the Torah and need to be written on the heart of man. The heart of man contains two parts, like the two stone tablets, and man’s heart, until spiritually regenerated, is hard and stoney like the rock upon which the ten words were written. YHVH is calling his servants to be a kingdom of priests of which Yeshua the Messiah is our Chief High Priest of which the rod, a symbol of the tree of life, is a prophetic picture. Under Yeshua’s rulership, his priests will exercise the authority in leading this world into obedience to and the worship of YHVH. The Torah scroll leaning up against the ark shows us that obedience to YHVH’s instructions is dependent on our relationship with Yeshua through which his words must be written on our hearts by the indwelling presence of the Spirit of Elohim. 

Moreover, when the high priest would come into the holy of holies, he carried a censor filled with incense and sprinkled lamb’s blood on the ark of the covenant. This is pictures the saints coming into YHVH’s Presence only through the blood of Yeshua the Messiah who atoned for man’s sins, and through humble prayer like a contrite petitioner before a mighty king.

 

Beautiful Churches Europe

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Every hamlet and city where we went in the British Isles, Ireland and France has a spectacularly beautiful church in it. The larger towns all have Gothic-style cathedrals, some of which took decades if not hundreds of years to build. Some of these churches have been standing for nearly one thousand years. It is truly amazing. The art and work that went into them is unimaginable, and all of this before the modern age of power tools and machinery!

When you step into one of these buildings, it simply overwhelms your senses. You have to see and experience it for yourself to understand the power of art and architecture.

What do I think about all of these religious endeavors? In the big picture, what I think really doesn’t matter. More importantly, I kept asking myself, “What does Elohim think about all of this effort on man’s part to reach him?” In a subsequent blog post, I’ll share some of the thoughts that came to when asking this question.

In the mean time, please enjoy some of these pictures.

Westminster Abbey—London
The Cathedral in Chester, England
Chester Cathedral
Chester Cathedral
Chester Cathedral
Cathedral in Cobh, Ireland
Cohb Cathedral
The Little Chapel on the Island of Guernsey. The smallest chapel in the world made of pebbles, sea shells and pieces of china.
St. Peter’s Port, Guernsey Church
Some church in Paris
Sacre Coeur in Paris
Sacre Coeur in Paris
Sacre Coeur in Paris
The Cathedral of Notre Dame, Paris
What’s left of the Cathedral of Notre Dame after the big fire.
 

The Divorce and Remarriage of YHVH-Yeshua and the Deeper Meaning of the Gospel Message

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This is another way of saying, “Do not sin.” When we sin (or violate Elohim’s commandments), we’re committing spiritual adultery by going after (or worshipping) other gods—primarily the god of self-idolatry or self-will.

Romans 7:1–6, In Deuteronomy 24:1–5 we read,

1 When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favor in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her [The Stone Edition Tanach: found in her a matter of immorality; found her offensive in some respect] then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.

2 And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man’s wife.

3 And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife;

4 Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before YHVH: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which YHVH your Elohim giveth thee for an inheritance. [Emphasized sections are to be discussed.]

The word uncleanness or immorality is the Hebrew word ervah (Strong’s H6172) which according to The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament refers simply to “nakedness or the resulting shame therefrom.” Strong’s Expanded Concordance adds to this definition: an indecent thing or figuratively the idea of disgrace or blemish. According to Strong’s Concordance this word is used in a various ways in the Tanakh (Old Testament) with reference to shameful sexual exposure or nudity as in the case of unlawful cohabitation (Lev 18:6), or the shame resulting from Israel’s spiritual adultery (Lam 1:8); or any “indecent thing” that represents defilement or uncleanness resulting from the misuse of the physical body (e.g. uncleanness [due to not burying human excrement] in the military camp, or violation of any laws of sexual abstinence, or being in a state of impurity from sexual cohabitation or nocturnal emissions). With regard to Deuteronomy 24:1 Strong’s comments, “ervah appears to bear this emphasis on any violation of the laws of purity—if a groom is dissatisfied with his bride ‘because he hath found some uncleanness in her,’ he may divorce her. Obviously this evidence is not of previous cohabitation, since such a sin merits death (Deut 22:13ff).”

The exact meaning of ervah is of great controversy between scholars. In his commentary on this passage, Jewish Torah scholar Samson Raphael Hirsch says nothing about the subject, although he goes into great detail about the peripheral issues relating to divorce and remarriage, the legalities concerning the bill of divorcement (Heb. get), etc., but not the cause of the divorce in the first place (i.e. the biblical meaning of unclean thing). Likewise, a cursory search of the Mishna on the subject reveals dozens of pages of minute details regarding divorce and remarriage and various attendant subjects, but I could find no legal definitions regarding the meaning of ervah or had how a marriage could be dissolved because a man found ervah in his wife. The meaning of this word and what were indeed grounds for a man to “put his wife away” was a controversy that raged in the first century between the two main Pharisee camps as well (i.e. the Schools of Hillel and Shammai). Even Yeshua weighed in on this controversial subject in Matthew 5:31–32 siding with the more conservative school of Shammai. The meaning of his exact words have fueled theological debates among Christian scholars to this day with regard to what constitutes legal grounds for divorce among believers.

In the simple or literal (Heb. pashat) meaning of this text ervah may or may not be specifically referring to the loss of the bride’s virginity prior to consummation of her marriage with her new husband, since Deuteronomy 24:1 neither specifically states, nor implies that this is the first marriage for both of them. This is underscored by the Torah’s use of the Hebrew word ishah (wife or woman) in verse one as opposed to either the words bethulah or almah both of which lexically have stronger references to a virgin, youthful bride or young maiden as opposed to the more generic term ishah. Therefore, based on the generic meaning of the word ervah (as discussed above) there could be broader meanings as to why the husband was compelled to “put his wife away” (e.g. as for adultery). If this is the case, do we find any example of this elsewhere in Scripture which could give us additional insight into the Hebraic understanding into the meaning of ervah?

The answer is yes. Jumping from a discussion the pashat (i.e. literal) meaning of this Torah passage up to its meaning at the drash (i.e. allegorical) level let us see what YHVH did with regard to the house of Israel because of her spiritual adultery. YHVH divorced her (Isa 50:1) because of her unfaithfulness (Jer 3:8) and rejected her (Hos 1:9; 2:2).

Thus saith YHVH, Where is the bill of your mother’s divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away. (Isa 50:1)

And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also. (Jer 3:8)

Then said [Elohim], Call his name Loammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your [Elohim]. (Hos 1:9)

Plead with your mother, plead: for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband: let her therefore put away her whoredoms out of her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts. (Hos 2:2)

At this point it is important to note that the prophets use the Hebrew word ervah in relation to the whoredoms of Israel as she left YHVH, her spiritual husband, and pursued her foreign lovers. In Hosea 2:9 the word naked is the word ervah and in verse ten Hosea relates this nakedness on the part of his wife, Gomer, to the lewdness of adultery. The prophet Ezekiel in describing the two harlot sisters, Aholah and Aholibah (i.e. Samaria or the house of Israel and Jerusalem or the house of Judah) relates their nakedness (ervah) to their whoredoms (Ezek 23:10, 8, 29). Again Ezekiel relates ervah to Israel’s sin of breaking wedlock with YHVH and the lewd behavior she exhibited in pursuing her foreign lovers (Ezek 16:38).

Yet in her pursuit of her spiritual lovers she was not satisfied, but longed for YHVH her former (spiritual) husband (Hos 2:7–8). This prophecy has yet to be fulfilled. This is beginning to happen now as Christians are beginning to leave the harlot church system and are starting to return to the pro-Torah Hebrew roots of the Christian faith. Malachi prophesied this would happen in the last several verses of the Old Testament when he talked about YHVH’s people remembering the Torah they had forgotten. They will turn their hearts back to the fathers of their faith just before the great and terrible day of YHVH’s judgment on this earth at Yeshua’s second coming (Mal 4:1–6).

Even though YHVH’s adulterous wife has gotten tired of your lovers and wants to return to him, because YHVH had already divorced her due to her violation of her marital or covenantal agreement (Heb. ketubah), which she made with him at Mount Sinai when she said, “I do” to him three times (Exod 19:8; 24:3, 7), he could not remarry her without violating his own Torah-law (Deut 24:4), since she had become another man’s wife. Yet YHVH’s intentions were clear: he would remarry her (Hos 2:16–20; Isa 62:3–5; Jer 31:31–34).

And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them: then shall she say, I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now. For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal. (Hos 2:7–8)

And it shall be at that day, saith YHVH, that thou shalt call me Ishi; and shalt call me no more Baali. For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name. And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely. And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know YHVH. (Hos 2:16–20)

Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of YHVH, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy Elohim. Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for YHVH delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married. For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy Elohim rejoice over thee. (Isa 62:3–5)

Behold, the days come, saith YHVH, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith YHVH: but this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith YHVH, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their Elohim, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know YHVH: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith YHVH: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. (Jer 31:31–34)

But how could YHVH remarry Israel since (a) she was worthy of death for her adultery under Torah-law and (b) he could not remarry his divorced and remarried wife?

The Deeper Meaning of the Gospel from a Hebraic Perspective

Enter the legal mind of the Apostle Paul to resolve the difficulty. Romans 7:1–6 is a discussion of this very issue. If a woman’s husband dies she is free to remarry. She is no longer legally bound to her husband since the Torah-laws pertaining to marriage have no jurisdiction over a dead person.

1 Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know law,) how that the Torah-law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?

2 For the woman which hath an husband is bound by law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the Torah-law of her husband.

3 So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that Torah-law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.

4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the [or, that] law by the body of Messiah; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto Elohim.

5 For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the [or, that] law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.

6 But now we are delivered from the [or, that] Torah-law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.

Some Christian biblical expositors claim this passage teaches that New Covenant believers through Yeshua are now dead to the Torah-law of Moses meaning that one is now only obligated to keep the moral aspect of the law (no idolatry, no murder, no adultery, etc.), but that one is freed from the more ritualistic, ceremonial, and lifestyle aspects of the Torah (Sabbath, biblical holidays, kosher laws, etc.) except tithing, curiously so (sarcastically speaking).

But is Paul teaching the abrogation of the Torah-law in this portion of his letter to the Roman believers? No he is not. Those who teach that Paul here is liberating believers from Torah-obedience are overlooking a major detail in the Greek grammar of Romans 7:1–6. In every place where the phrase “the law” occurs in these six verses (where the definite article the is found in the Greek) the word the (Gr. tou/tou)can act as a weak demonstrative pronoun (i.e. that). The context must determine whether the definite article is to be translated into English as the or that (Basics of Biblical Greek, by William Mounce, p. 85). Additionally, both Thayer and Zodhiates note the same grammatical nuance about the Greek definite article in their lexicons. In Romans 7:1–6, for example, the definite article the (Gr. tou/tou) when attached to the Greek word nomos (law) can be translated as this or that. How do we know this? In context of this passage, Paul is referring to a specific law contained in the Torah, and not to all 613 laws of the Torah. This we know, since Paul uses the phrase “the [or this or that] law of her husband [see the kjv, nkjv, nas, NIV, RSV, HRV, J. P. Green, Mounce Bible translations]” in verse two, which is referring to a specific Torah-law that pertains to marriage and not to all the Torah laws in general.

Interestingly, the same Greek definite article (the; tou/tou), which can also be a demonstrative pronoun (this or that) is also connected to the noun law (Gr. nomos) in verses 2, 5 and 6 along with verse 3 (as already noted above).

Based on this and the translators’ use of the demonstrative pronoun that in verse three (as opposed to the definite article the), the internal evidence of this passage would point to the phrase that law being preferred over the phrase the law, since the reference is being made to a specific law in the Torah (i.e. the law of her husband, verse 2) and not to all 613 laws of the Torah. This being the case, to which specific law out of the 613 found in the Torah would Paul be referring? In verse two we read, “… if the husband dies she is loosed from [this/that] law of her husband.” In general the law found in the Ten Commandments states that if a woman has sex with another man beside her husband (and she is not legally divorced) she is an adulteress (Exod 20:14). But a sub-law of this general marriage law is found in Deuteronomy 24:4. Here the Torah also forbids a woman from remarrying her first husband who had divorced her due to her adulterous relationship with and subsequent marriage to another man.

But how could she remarry her first husband (if her second husband was still alive) without violating the Torah-law prohibiting this? Impossible in the natural, but with YHVH all things are possible. What if her first husband were to die in her place (and pay the legal death penalty under the Torah for her adultery) and then resurrect as a new or different man? Is this possible? Evidently, Paul thought so, for in Romans 10 he expresses his heart’s desire for the salvation of Israel and states that this occurs through one’s calling upon the name of Messiah Yeshua who did just that: he died on the cross and paid the sin penalty and resurrected as a new man. The preaching of this message, which Paul calls the gospel or good news, is the message of YHVH-Yeshua remarrying his divorced bride, for in verses 14-15 Paul quotes Isaiah 52:7, which in its greater context (Isa 52:2–62:12) is talking about the (final) redemption (a rabbinical concept involving the return and restoration of the exiled house of Israel and the establishment of the Messianic Age [a.k.a. Millennium]) of Israel back to YHVH (i.e. the pre-incarnate Yeshua [Acts 7:38 and 1 Cor 10:4]) through the death, burial and resurrection of Messiah Yeshua (see Isa 53).

Additionally, the gospel teaches us that when a sinner (who is like the adulterous woman) accepts Yeshua as their Savior, they must be baptized for the remission of sins and then receive the Holy Spirit. Water baptism is a ritual that symbolizes one’s spiritual identification with the death, burial and resurrection of Yeshua and pictures being born again spiritually and becoming a new creation or person (Rom 6:3–6; John 3:3, 5; 2 Cor 5:17; Gal 2:20). At the same time, when one comes to Yeshua, they become part of the nation of redeemed Israel (Eph 2:11–19). Therefore, Yeshua, the new resurrected God-Man will be marrying a new spiritually redeemed, born again Israelite bride. So both the man (Yeshau) and his adulterous wife (you and me) are new individuals spiritually when we remarry at Yeshua’s second coming. 

What’s more, at his second coming, Yeshua will destroy the “man” with whom his wife (Israel) had the adulterous relationship; that is, Babylon the Great along with all of its false religious systems which have come to us down through the ages. Satan, the head of this evil counterfeit system, will be cast into the bottomless pit.

As we can see, the righteous requirements of the Torah will be fulfilled. Yeshua will be able to legally remarry his Israelite wife, and the death penalty for adultery will have been paid for both the adulterous woman and the man with whom she had the relationship.

Messiah Yeshua is presently betrothed to his bride (the spiritual body Torah-keeping saints (see Rev 12:17; 14:12; 19:7–9) whom he has redeemed and sanctified by his blood from her state of spiritual harlotry. This bride awaits his return from his Father’s house where he will claim her as his own and take her as his full-fledged wife. She awaits the wedding feast that will last for 1000 years. This is the true good news (gospel) of the kingdom of Elohim!

The deeper message of the gospel that many have missed, yet in no way contradicts the standard gospel message that has been taught in the church world for nearly 2000 years, involves the divorce of YHVH from his first wife Israel and the remarriage of himself to his first wife. This is a message of redemption, reconciliation and love which involves YHVH bringing his people out of spiritual adultery, slavery and captivity where they had been dispersed and downtrodden. This love story is the theme of the book of Hosea and is embodied in YHVH’s seven biblical holidays. They are the whole plan of salvation or redemption for Israel.

 

The Adulterous Woman and YOU

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Numbers 5:11–31, The adulterous woman. This passages deals with a curious ritual involving wives suspected of adultery called the Law of Jealousies whereby the woman is hauled before the priest, her head is uncovered and, according to Jewish tradition, her dress is ripped open just above her breasts (b.Talmud Sota 7a). She then has the choice to drink a concoction of earth from the floor of the tabernacle mixed with the set-apart (kadosh) water from the bronze laver into which is dipped a piece of paper that contains the curses written on it. If she is guilty of the charges of adultery when she drinks the bitter waters, her belly shall swell and her thigh (Heb. yarek or side or loins,which are the seat of procreative power) shall rot as a result of a divine judgment. If she is guiltless, the bitter waters will have no effect on her. If she refuses to drink the bitter water and her husband still suspects her unfaithfulness, then he is free to divorce her, even though she has admitted no guilt. According to Jewish tradition, this legal procedure was carried out by Israel’s highest court in Jerusalem (Sota 7b).

Some biblical commentators see a parallel here between the adulterous woman and the trial and execution of Yeshua at the cross. After only a casual reflection on the issues, this may seem unlikely. But ponder this for a moment. Did YHVH liken his relationship to Israel as a marriage? (See Ezek 16.) Did Israel (both houses) remain faithful to her (their) marriage covenants? (See Ezek chapters 16 and 23; Jer 3; the entire book of Hosea.) Under the Torah, adultery was a capital offense (Lev 20:10). Was YHVH faithful to his marriage covenants with Israel? Of course. He is not a sinner (i.e., a violator of his own Torah, 1 John 3:4). With whom was the fault then? It was with the house of Israel and the house of Judah! (See Heb 8:7–8.) Have we all sinned (violated YHVH’s Torah) and fallen short of his glory? (See Rom 6:23.) What are the wages of sin? (See Rom 3:23 and Ezek 18:4.)

“But I am a Gentile Christian, not an Israelite,” you may respond. “Neither I nor my ancestors was ever an Israelite who was spiritually married to YHVH. Therefore, I am not guilty of spiritual unfaithfulness. I have not broken any marriage covenants with YHVH.” In response, first, who did Yeshua come to redeem? (See Matt 15:24.) Are we all not likened to the lost sheep of the house of Israel? (See Isa 53:6.) Did not Paul equate Gentile believers with the house of Israel? (See Rom 9:25–29 and compare with Hos 2:23; Isa 10:22–23.) Who did Jacob prophesy that the descendant of Ephraim and Manasseh would be? (Read Genesis 48:14–16.) In this scripture passage, Jacob speaks of a Messenger from heaven who redeemed him from all evil, he makes the sign of the Paleo-Hebrew letter tav over his grandsons, which is the sign of the cross.He then speaks of them growing into a multitude in the midst of the earth, or becoming like fish in the sea of humanity (see the Orthodox Jewish ArtScroll Stone Edition Chumash/Tanach translation of this verse). Who are these descendants who have the sign of the cross, the fish as their symbol and speak of a Redeemer or Savior? Spiritually speaking, are you not that adulterous woman? Furthermore, does Paul not clearly state that ALL those who have put their trusting faith in Yeshua the Messiah are Israel and Abraham is their father? (Read Rom 4:16; 9:8–11; Gal 3:7, 9, 14, 28, 29.)

Now that we have established this point, let’s ask the next question. At the cross did Yeshua bear upon himself all of our sins? (See Isa 53:4–6.) Did he even bear upon himself our guilt for committing spiritual adultery? Did he die in our place by becoming like the adulterous woman that we were? Was the crucifixion like drinking a bitter cup for him? (Matt 26:39,42; John 18:11). Was Yeshua hauled before the highest religious court in the land of Israel in Jerusalem to stand trial prior to his death? (See Matt 26:57–68.) Was he stripped of his garments? (See Matt 27:31.) Was his side ripped open by the Roman soldier’s spear? (See John 19:34.) As a substitution for us, he took the curses against us for adultery that in times past would have been written down on paper (Num 5:23). In light of this, what does Paul say in Colossians 2:12–15, with special emphasis on verse 14, that Yeshua did with those curses against us? For those who are washed in Yeshua’s redeeming blood and have been buried with him in water immersion or baptism (Col 2:12 cp. Rom 6:3–11), does the devil, who is the accuser of the brethren, have any charges to lay against us any more? (Read Col 2:15!)