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Category: Appointed Times

Fire on the Mountain

Tags:  shavuot

By D. Thomas Lancaster

Before tongues of fire ever fell upon the believers in Jerusalem, there was fire on Mount Sinai.

The ancient Jewish Sages considered the biblical feast of Shavuot--also known as Pentecost--to be the anniversary of the day God spoke the Law at Mount Sinai.1

"Three times a year you shall celebrate," the Bible says. (Exodus 23:14-17) For as long as the Temple stood in Jerusalem, all the men of Israel were commanded to make pilgrimage there and worship God on the feasts of Pesach (Passover), Shavuot (Weeks) and Sukkot (Tabernacles).

Three times a year all your men must appear before the Lord your God at the place he will choose:2 at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Tabernacles. (Deuteronomy 16:16)

This explains why there were so many Jews from all over the world in Jerusalem as recorded in Acts chapter two. They had come to celebrate the feast of Shavuot.

Shavuot, a harvest festival, was celebrated with the first fruits of the wheat harvest, brought to the Temple in Jerusalem and baked into two loaves of leavened bread. In addition to the wheat, the pilgrims celebrating Shavuot brought the first fruits of all their crops and offered them before the altar.3 They converged on Jerusalem from all nations, carrying baskets of their produce. Those who lived near Jerusalem brought fresh figs and grapes; those from a distance brought dried figs and raisins instead. A sacrificial ox with its horns bedecked with gold and its head crowned with olive leaves led the procession to the Temple. Walking in front of the ox, a flute player played the melodies of the psalms while the pilgrims sang along.4

We can imagine the disciples and followers of Yeshua joining in the midst of this procession as they wound their way through Jerusalem's streets. The Shavuot festival already carried extra significance for th...

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© 2009 First Fruits of Zion. All rights reserved. We encourage you to share this material with your friends for further personal study. However, This material may not be republished, in print, electronically, or any other form without our prior permission. Adapted from Messiah magazine #81 .

For more information about this issue, click here.

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