Praise יהוה this wonderful day of Shaḇu’ot/ Feast of Weeks/ Pentecost – the ‘Bread Feast’! This is His feast, which we are commanded to celebrate and it carries with it great joy and celebration of His appointed times and revealed plans for us His people, His Betrothed, aměn!
As we gather here today, a proclaimed set-apart time of worship, let us enjoy this wonderful day together with Him. This is truly a time to celebrate His provision in our lives. As mentioned on our evening Shabbat gathering, Shaḇu’ot means ‘weeks’ and having counted our 7 completed Sabbaths and now here at the morrow after the 7th Sabbath, we come to bring a great offering of praise before our Elohim. It is on this day that we are commanded to bring a new grain offering – the “minḥah” (Hebrew word for ‘grain offering’) – which we looked at on Shabbat evening, and discovered how the minḥah clearly pictures for us today how we are to be a ‘daily living offering’ and with it being a ‘new’ minḥah, we recognise that from the Hebrew word for ‘new’ being ḥadash, which at its root form can also carry the meaning of ‘renewal, repair, refresh, restore’, reminding us how we, as Sha’ul teaches us in Romiyim/Romans 12:1-2, are to offer our lives as a daily living offering and be transformed by the ‘renewing of our minds’. For more on this please see the notes from the message given on our Sabbath evening gathering.
Today is the day we bring as a ‘wave offering’ of two loaves of bread that is baked with leaven, which symbolically represents the ‘good’ leaven of the Kingdom Reign, and the word used for ‘wave offering’ is תְּנוּפָה tenuphah – Strong’s H8573 and means, ‘wave offering’ or the offering that was lifted up and waved and presented before יהוה in a figurative way of giving it or releasing it fully to יהוה and this carries great significance for us as we too need to realise that our lives are to be lifted up as a wave offering before יהוה, and that includes everything we have, as we lift up our hands in the declaration that all we have is presented to יהוה and that we now belong to Him, having been bought at a price and betrothed by the Blood of the Lamb, and having been sealed with His Set-Apart Spirit of promise, who is the pledge of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession!
Qorintiyim Bet/2 Corinthians 1:21-22 “But He who establishes us with you in Messiah and has anointed us is Elohim, 22 who also sealed us, and gave the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.”
It is at this Feast that we celebrate the ‘renewal’ of the Covenant, that as the result of the sure promise given by יהוה, that He would pour out His Spirit and write His Torah upon our hearts, no longer to be on tablets of stone! The two loaves of Bread symbolically represent the two Houses of Yehuḏah and Yisra’ĕl being brought together as one in the Hands of our Redeemer, High Priest and King, and it is also symbolic of the two tablets of the witness of the Ten Words, that the entire nation of Yisra’ĕl heard in the Wilderness, which then were written on stone as a witness. With the first two stones having been broken by Mosheh when he came down and saw the perverted worship in the camp, he was required to make two new stones like the first, upon which יהוה would write the 10 Words again. This was a powerful shadow picture of the renewal that we celebrate today, here at Shaḇu’ot! With Yisra’ĕl, a called out, chosen and betrothed Bride, who broke her marriage vows and covenant with יהוה; יהוה was already declaring His provision by Mosheh having to make two stones like the first that יהוה had made and upon which יהוה would once again write His 10 words, that the very Word of Elohim would be made flesh and come down to be broken for us, taking on the form of the flesh in order to redeem us from the sinful nature, and ‘make new’ the true witness of His Covenant seal and pledge over us, as His called out and chosen Bride in Messiah, who has now made it possible for His Torah to be written upon the fleshly tablets of our hearts by His Spirit through the Blood of Messiah!
This ‘wave offering’ celebrates the promise of renewal or rather the making of a renewed covenant, and the Hebrew word תְּנוּפָה tenuphah in the ancient pictographic script looks like this:
From right to left we have a taw, nun, waw, pey, hey:
The ‘taw’ – תְּ – is pictured as two sticks crossed, and can represent for us ‘seal, covenant, mark or sign’
The ‘nun’ – נ – is pictured as a sprouting seed, and speaks of ‘new life or renewal, rebirth’
The ‘waw’ – וּ – is pictured as a tent peg, which carries the meaning ‘to add, secure, hook’
The ‘pey’ – פָ – is pictured as an open mouth, pictures for us that which is spoken – ‘word’
They ‘hey’ ה – is pictured as a man with his arms raised, and can mean, ‘to reveal, behold, what comes from’.
Therefore we can see that this wave offering of the two loaves is a proclaiming of that which has been renewed, made new, and by these pictures we can see that it declares to us:
“Behold the seal of the covenant that is renewed and secured by the Word who was lifted up and who is to be praised!”
Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah 31:31-33 “See, the days are coming,” declares יהוה, “when I shall make a new covenant with the house of Yisra’ĕl and with the house of Yehuḏah, 32 not like the covenant I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Mitsrayim, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them,” declares יהוה. 33 “For this is the covenant I shall make with the house of Yisra’ĕl after those days, declares יהוה: I shall put My Torah in their inward parts, and write it on their hearts. And I shall be their Elohim, and they shall be My people.”
These verses are quoted in Iḇ’rim/Hebrew 8, and what we celebrate today is this very promise that has been given by יהוה, our Mighty Elohim – His Torah now on our hearts. At Mount Sinai 3000 died as a result of rebellion and on this day at Mount Tsiyon, and the renewal of the Covenant, sealed by the outpouring of the Spirit, 3000 were added to the number of the body that day – a complete restoration of death to life that His Word proclaims for us who call upon His Name and guard to do His commands!
This day celebrates our Marriage/Betrothal with our Kinsman Redeemer – יהושע Messiah, and the account of Ruth and Boaz is a powerful and great picture for us of us being redeemed and betrothed to the King!
On the feast of Shaḇu’ot Ruth lay herself at Bo‘az’s feet to ask for his protection, in the same way we come to the feet of the Messiah, the very Bread of Life, and receive His protection. Bo‘az gave her enough food for her and Na‘omi to see them through until he returned from making arrangements to redeem them together. This is very symbolic for us, as through יהושע Messiah, Our Redeemer, we are given His Spirit and Word to see us through while He is away making final arrangements for our complete redemption.
As we consider the powerful events that took place on this day – the first Shaḇu’ot after the ascension of Messiah, where the spirit was poured out on those who were gathered for the celebration of Shaḇu’ot and were all with one mind in one place, and they saw tongues of fire and there was a mighty sound from heaven, the pouring out of His Spirit of promise was made evident by what was witnessed by all who were gathered and as a result, as a I mentioned earlier, 3000 were added to the body that day, as Kěpha declared to those who asked what they needed to do – repent and be immersed in the Name of יהושע Messiah for the forgiveness of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Set-Apart Spirit – this promise is to as many as יהוה our Elohim shall call!
This day marks the celebration of this gift that we are able to receive by faith, through the Blood of Messiah, being made one in Him.
Our responsibility as a called out and chosen Bride, is to walk steadfast in being a daily living offering, and offer up our lives as a voluntary sacrifice, giving Him, who has redeemed us, our all in all!
As we enjoy this Bread Feast of Weeks together, may we be reminded of the sure and promised hope of His soon return and hold fast to that which we have been brought near to….!
May we be faithful as a Bride who makes Herself ready – for all of us here have said the ‘I do’ – therefore let us remember our ‘Marriage vows’ and live accordingly as we walk by His Torah/marriage covenant now written upon the fleshly tablets of our heart, sealed by His very breath – His very Set-apart Spirit.
Wavering of the Bread – wave offering!!!
Let us blow the shofar and let us celebrate our marriage with our Messiah, amen!
יהוה bless you and guard you; יהוה make His face shine upon you and give you favour; יהוה lift up His face to you and give you peace!