Tag Archives: Pentecost

Why Count the Omer?

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It’s a biblical command:

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 YHVH. (Lev 23:15–16)

Other than the fact that YHVH commands us to do so, why do we count the omer each day as we count down 49 days or seven weeks to the Feast of Weeks (Heb. Shavuot) or Pentecost? What can we learn from fulfilling this command?

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  • We are counting down with excitement and anticipation the 49 days until Shavuot, which is the anniversary of our forefathers receiving YHVH’s instructions in righteousness (the Torah) at Mount Sinai. For us, it’s like experiencing the joy of receiving the Torah all over again for the first time.
  • We are counting down with excitement and anticipation the 49 days until Shavuot, which is the anniversary of our forefathers receiving YHVH’s instructions in righteousness (the Torah) at Mount Sinai. For us, it’s like experiencing the joy of receiving the Torah all over again for the first time.

    Each person individually is to participate in the counting of the omer, since the Torah commands us to “count for yourselves” (Lev 23:15). This teaches us that each individual is to count down with anticipation the days toward Shavuot — the anniversary of the day that YHVH gave his Torah to Israel. Each person should be excited about receiving the Torah — YHVH’s divine instructions on how to live abundantly both physically and spiritually. YHVH gave his people 49 days to prepare themselves to meet him on this momentous occasion. The children of Israel met YHVH at Mount Sinai and were given the Torah, and the early book of Acts believers met YHVH in the upper room on the day of Pentecost when they received the Holy Spirit and had YHVH’s Torah written on their hearts. We celebrate this anniversary each year when we count the omer. This further teaches us that as the counting of the omer is an individual experience, even so, obedience to the Torah is an individual experience. Each of us must obey YHVH’s commandments, and YHVH will eventually judge each of us individually on how obedient we were in keeping his laws, which will determine our level of rewards in his kingdom (Matt 5:19; 16:27; Rev 22:12).

  • We are counting down with anticipation seven weeks until Shavuot, which is the anniversary of the disciples of Yeshua receiving the power of the Holy Spirit (Heb. Ruach HaKodesh) on the day of Pentecost in Jerusalem. On this day, the Torah was written on their hearts thus empowering them to love Elohim and one’s fellow man more fully by keeping his Torah commands both in the letter and in the spirit (heart and mind).
  • We are counting the omer in anticipation of the late spring wheat harvest in the land of Israel, which occurs at Shavuot. Most of us aren’t wheat farmers, but there’s still a spiritual lesson to be learned from this. The wheat harvest is a picture of the spiritual harvest of souls during this age, and our need to be filled with the Holy Spirit and equipped with its powerful gifts to more effectively reach out to those around us with the message of the gospel and the kingdom of Elohim. Yeshua has commissioned us to help bring that spiritual harvest of people into his kingdom.
  • The counting of the omer is about spiritual refinement. When the children of Israel were enslaved in Egypt, they became defiled with the ways of that pagan nation. At Shavuot, the Israelites become a holy nation before YHVH and become the bride of YHVH in a spiritual sense.  On Passover, the Israelites came under the blood of the lamb, which is a picture of their sins being cleansed by Yeshua, the Lamb of Elohim. This was accompanied by their putting leaven out of their homes, which is a biblical metaphor for sin — something we must put out of our lives. On the next day, the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, they left Egypt — called the Exodus. This is a picture of leaving  the world and sin behind as we set out on a journey to meet Elohim and to become his holy and righteous people. It’s about going from spiritual slavery to sin, the devil and this world to become Elohim’s chosen people.

Here is the blessing for the counting of the omer:

Baruch atah A-donai E-loheinu Melekh Ha-olam asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu al S’firat Ha-omer.

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to count the Omer.

To help you count the omer, print off a monthly calendar that conveniently has each day of the omer count listed on it. Go to http://hoshanarabbah.org/calendars.html

 

Exodus 19–31: An O’view of YHVH’s Marriage to Torah-Obedient Saints

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Exodus 19–31 is and overview of YHVH’s marriage to Israel as fulfilled in the lives of redeemed believers.

Start by reading Ezekiel 16:1–14.

Redeemed believers are preparing to be the spiritual bride of Yeshua.

For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Messiah. (2 Cor 11:2)
Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, “Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he saith unto me, “These are the true sayings of Elohim.” (Rev 19:7–9)

Moses sprinkling blood

What are the prophetic implications of and spiritual parallels between YHVH’s first marriage to ancient Israel and YHVH-Yeshua’s upcoming marriage to his bride—the saints who keep his (Torah) commandments and have faith in him (Rev 12:17; 14:12)? In his Parable of the Ten Virgins, Yeshua likens his bride to the five wise virgins who had oil in their lamps. Oil is a Hebraism for the Spirit of Elohim and the Torah. In other words, the prospective bride of Yeshua will walk in the Spirit of Elohim and the truth of Torah, which Yeshua tells us is a mandatory requirement if one is to have a relationship with YHVH (John 4:23–24; 1 John 2:3–6). We learn from the fact that since five foolish virgins who weren’t allowed into the wedding supper that not all redeemed believers will be the bride of Yeshua. Some believers will be the least in YHVH’s kingdom and some will be the greatest (Matt 5:19). According to Yeshua, how obedient one is to the Torah will determine one’s level of rewards in his eternal kingdom (Matt 5:19).

Between Exodus 19 and 24, we find recorded the steps Israel took to enter into a Continue reading →

 

New Video: The Feast of Pentecost and the Bride of Yeshua

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In this brief video, Natan Lawrence shows the relationship between the feast of Pentecost (or Shavuot), the marriage of YHVH to the children of Israel at Mt. Sinai, the wedding chuppah (canopy), the holy of holies, and the upper room experience on the day of Pentecost, and the marriage of Yeshua the Bridegroom to redeemed believers in the Song of Solomon.

 

The Giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai on Pentecost

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On Pentecost (Heb. Shavuot), YHVH gave his chosen people the Torah. Also on Shavuot, YHVH “married” Israel (Ezek 16:1–13) when he formulated a covenantal agreement with her 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.

Moses' shining face

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 Continue reading →

 

Understanding Pentecost (Pt 2)

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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).

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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 commanded assembly (Lev 23:21)
  • a time when the priests offered up offerings and sacrifices (Lev 23:18–20)
  • a time when all males were to bring the tithes of the increase of their income (Exod 23:14–17; 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)
  • 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 Continue reading →

 

New Video: The Feast of Pentecost Unveiled

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Many people have only  a vague understanding of Pentecost, even though some churches have incorporated this term into their name. The early church celebrated this biblical feast, so why don’t we?

What are the deeper implications of this biblically commanded assembly?

In this video, learn how Pentecost relate to the grace of Elohim, the former and latter rain, the bride of Yeshua, YHVH’s instructions in righteousness and the second coming of Yeshua.