{Disclaimer: these are my rough teaching notes I use in my Mishkan Katan weekly broadcasts. There will be "typos". Proceed at your own risk, lol.You can find all my Mishkan Katan video teachings on my YouTube channel: genahood2818 . Look on the playlist called Messianic LAMB TV Network.}
Boker Tov and Welcome to our Shavuot Special for 2026. If you are watching this is real time, Shavuot begins on Thursday evening of this week, which would be tomorrow night. As I have never done a Shavuot special here on Mishkan Katan, I thought it would be timely to interrupt our Psalms study to do one this week.
One programming note before I get into it. Without a long explanation let me say that due to some technical, production software glitches the LAMB Network is experiencing, my show today and going forward for the foreseeable future, this show will be only 55 minutes long. Once the problems are solved, or worked out, my show will go back to being 60 minutes long. I’m doing my best to help out until a better solution is found.
Now, what exactly is Shavuot? Shavuot is the third festival commanded in Leviticus by Yahweh. And, it is the second of the so-called “regalim” festivals, which I’ll elaborate on momentarily. It is helpful to conceptualize the first three festivals together, as they sort of go together.
1. CHag haMatzot, a seven-day festival that
***Commemorates the events in the OT of the 15th of Aviv, starting with the
Passover Meal at the beginning of that day.
***Aviv 15-22, no leaven eaten during this week
***contains both Passover AND First Fruits
1. Firstfruits, a one-day celebration to mark the offering in the Temple of the
***First fruits of the barley harvest, the first crop to ripen in Israel
***the first Sunday after the 15th of Aviv.
***Nisan 17 the week Yeshua was crucified, buried and raised.
***date for Firstfruits was hotly contested in the first c. CE. (Sadducees were
Correct, the first Sunday after the 15th of Aviv. Pharisees wanted to celebrate it always on the 16th of Nisan.)
1. Counting of the Omer and Shavuot (2nd of the 3 command performance
festivals)
***Beginning with Nisan 16 (Lev. 23:15-16) and counting 49 days until Sivan 5 is the counting of the 49 days of the omer. The next day, Sivan 6, the Shavuot celebration is held, beginning just after sunset on that day. (The rabbis say that this celebration starts just after sunset so that it can be sure that the 50th day has really and truly begun.)
One thing unique about Shavuot is that it has no great Torah commandment associated with it. What I mean by that is … On Rosh Hashanah, the command is to blow the shofar. For Sukkot, the command is to live in booths for a week. But when we read in the Scriptures about Shavuot, there is no commandment to DO actually anything! There are rabbinical customs, which I’ll get to later, but no actual commandment.
What is an omer? An omer was a sheaf of barley, which was the grain crop that was harvested between First Fruits and Shavuot. On First Fruits, in the Temple, the high priest would wave the omer, the barley sheaf of grain, before the altar. He would wave the sheaf in six different directions: left, right, up and down and then forward in front of him and then behind him.
Shavuot, also called the Feast of Weeks, is often viewed as the climactic culmination of the Passover celebration. John J. Parsons of H4C calls it “the end point of the redemptive experience”. In the Old Testament, Passover commemorates the day the Hebrew nation was delivered out of Egypt by Hashem, and Shavuot commemorates the day the children of Israel were betrothed to Hashem at Mt. Sinai. The LORD Yahweh, the heavenly bridegroom (chatan) says to the Hebrew nation, “Accept me.” The nation, in turn, the kallah, responds, “we will have no other God but Yahweh.” The Torah, given at that time, represents the marriage contract, the ketubah. For this reason, many sages say this was the day on which Judaism was “born”. The word “Shavuot” is very similar to the Hebrew word “oaths” or “vows”. Indeed, on that first Shavuot, oaths were exchanged! Hashem pledged He was choosing and would not abandon the Hebrews for another people group, and the oath the Hebrew people took was that they would not abandon Hashem for another god or a plurality of gods.
In the New Testament, the echad, our one, true God, manifests as Yeshua, the Son, and under the New Covenant, He is the bridegroom, while those who bear His name are the Bride. As prophesied in the Book of Revelation - - after He has finished preparing the bridal chamber, “I go to prepare a place for you….” He will return to get His bride, and the wedding feast will begin. In between these two dates, of Nisan 16 and Sivan 6, the 50-day period called “Counting the Omer” can be viewed as a time for the Bride, (Kallat Mashiach) the Body of Messiah, to reflect and purify herself symbolically and prophetically, as the date of her betrothal approaches. (Revelation 21:2, 9 and Revelation 19:9)
On the 40th day of this Omer count period, in the last year of Yeshua’s earthly ministry, was the date of His ascension. Then, ten days later, on the 50th day, exactly on Shavuot, the Ruach HaKodesh was given to Yeshua’s followers, (see Acts 2) who were gathered in an upper room of the Temple, praying, remembering the giving of the Bride to the Bridegroom at Sinai, and keeping Shavuot in all the ways it was kept in the first century. As Firstfruits marked the beginning of the barley harvest, Shavuot marked the beginning of the wheat harvest.
Just as the Israelites were affirmed as God's chosen people on Shavuot with the giving of the Torah, so the followers of the Messiah are affirmed as God's chosen people at Shavuot after Yeshua’s ascension into heaven as the Mediator of a Better Covenant (Hebrews 8:6). The 3,000 that were added to the church that day were firstfruits of the redeemed people of God.
As the believers became more gentile in origin and as the divisions between Jewish followers of Yeshua and gentile followers became greater, a Christianized name was given to that Shavuot: Pentecost, with the Pente indicating 50. Pentecost means “the holiday of 50 days”. The Christian denominations count the days from ResurrectionDay to Pentecost, both Sundays, every year. However, if you keep the true biblical calendar, you count the 50 days from Nisan 16 to Sivan 6, which can fall on any day of the Gregorian calendar “week”, since the biblical calendar is a lunar calendar.
To quote John J. Parsons on this point: “the traditional Jewish sages did not interpret the “day after the Sabbath” (מִמָּ×—ֳרַת ×”ַשַּׁבָּת) to refer to the weekly Sabbath, that is, to Saturday, but rather to the Sabbath of the Passover, which is the context of the commandment given in the Torah (Lev. 23:15). In other words, if we interpret “the day after the Sabbath” to refer to the Sabbath of the Passover, then the 49 day count would begin on Nisan 16, regardless of the day of the week that falls on the calendar, and therefore Pentecost would fall 49 days later, on Sivan 6, again, regardless of the day of the week that happens to fall on the calendar.
The first Pentecost featured some of the same elements (fire and wind) that marked the giving of the Torah at Sinai, which Shavuot commemorates.
Let’s back up a bit and recall what happened on the first Shavuot, there at Sinai. According to Exodus 19:1, from Nisan 15 to Sivan 1, the journey from Egypt to Sinai took 45 days. The Hebrew people reached Mt. Sinai and then completed their 3 days of purification. On the 50th day, they were commanded by Hashem, through Moses, to approach the mountain. On that day, the ground shook in an earthquake-like fashion, there were visible supernatural displays of fire and roaring wind. It was terrifying! On that day, the voice of God spoke forth the Torah to the people. The people were so freaked out by this that they begged Moses to “make it stop”, and to ask Hashem to speak to them through Moses.
The giving of the Ruach, the Holy Spirit, fulfilled a prophecy by the prophet, Jeremiah, in Jeremiah 31:31-33. Jeremiah’s prophecy was given several hundred years after Sinai, when the Lord wrote his covenant with his Bride people on stone tablets and with additional commandments delivered to Moses for the people. But, Jeremiah’s prophecy told of something to come, even more wonderful than that! And, it was fulfilled at the Shavuot when the giving of the Holy Spirit occurred. Let’s look at that Jeremiah 31 passage, CJB translation.
(31) “Here, the days are coming,” says Adonai, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Isra’el and with the house of Y’hudah. 31 (32) It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers on the day I took them by their hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt; because they, for their part, violated my covenant, even though I, for my part, was a husband to them,” says Adonai. 32 (33) “For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Isra’el after those days,” says Adonai: “I will put my Torah within them and write it on their hearts; I will be their God, and they will be my people. 33 (34) No longer will any of them teach his fellow community member or his brother, ‘Know Adonai’; for all will know me, from the least of them to the greatest; because I will forgive their wickednesses and remember their sins no more.”
So, while under the Sinai covenant, God’s laws were written on stone tablets, at the first Shavuot after Yeshua’s first earthly ministry, the Spirit of God Himself fell on the assembled, worshipping believers, and the prophecy was filled as the Ruach HaKodesh wrote God’s law upon their hearts.
In other words, at Mount Sinai the Ten Commandments were written on tablets of stone by the "finger of God" (Exod. 31:18); but, at Mount Zion, the Torah was written on tables of the heart by the Ruach HaKodesh (2 Cor. 3:3; Heb. 8:10).
From that point on, the New Testament made it clear that anyone who accepted Yeshua as Mashiach would “receive the Holy Spirit”. That does not mean that the Old Testament law was made obsolete. No, it meant that the Holy Spirit, given at the inception of the salvation experience with Yeshua, would empower the believer to walk according to Torah, to walk in the way that Yeshua walked. As it says in Proverbs 3:1-10 - - -
3 My son, don’t forget my teaching,
keep my commands in your heart;
2 for they will add to you many days,
years of life and peace.
3 Do not let grace and truth leave you —
bind them around your neck;
write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Then you will win favor and esteem
in the sight of God and of people.
5 Trust in Adonai with all your heart;
do not rely on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge him;
then he will level your paths.
The Ruach HaKodesh living within us empowers us to do this. The English verb, “comfort”, as in the Holy Spirit the Comforter, does not mean, “now, now, my darling…”. No, it is a verb that means “strengthen”. He, the Spirit of the Living God, strengthens us to love the Lord our God with all our soul, mind and strength, the greatest commandment according to Yeshua, and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves as the second greatest one. Amen. About that last part. Yeshua called it the second greatest commandment, saying that upon these two commandments “hang all the Law and the Prophets”. Do you know where that “second greatest commandment” came from? Leviticus 19:18, which says,
18 Don’t take vengeance on or bear a grudge against any of your people; rather, love your neighbor as yourself; I am Adonai.
And, do you know what Jewish sage Yeshua was quoting when he talked about the first and second greatest commandments? Hillel the Elder. In fact, if you compare the teachings of Hillel the Elder with the teachings of Yeshua, you will find there are many similarities.
Observant Jews recite the Shema morning and evening, when they arise first thing, and last thing before they go to bed. Here’s what I do. I recite the Shema each morning, and I follow it with what is called the V’ahavta (Deuteronomy 6:5). Then, I follow that with the v’ahavta of Leviticus 19:18b, because of what my Lord Yeshua said.
All together, it goes like this:
Shema Yisrael, Yahweh Eloheinu, Yahweh echad. V’ahavta et Yahweh elohecha b’Kol L’vavkha, oo v’kol nafshekhah oo v’kol m’odehkhah
Ooo ahHAVtah l’rayAHkhah kahMOkah ani Yahweh.
English Translation: Hear, O Israel, Hashem is our Elohim, Hashem is one. And you will love Hashem your God in all your heart and in all your soul and in all your very-ness. And you will love your neighbor as yourself, I am Hashem.
Ok, I‘m getting a bit far afield here. Let’s get back to Shavuot.
Fire was a prominent theme in both the Shavuot at Sinai and the Shavuot at Zion. The Bible is the story of Hashem revealing Himself to mankind, in order to restore with mankind the relationship that was broken by the Fall. He revealed Himself by fire to Moshe, at the burning bush, as a pillar of fire to guide the Hebrew nation through the wilderness by night. At Sinai, too, there was fire present upon the mountain when the voice of Hashem spoke. Ezekiel and Daniel both saw fiery throne imagery in the visions they both had of Hashem’s throne room. At Zion, the fire fell upon the assembled followers of Yeshua.
Hashem was showing Himself as the Supreme Deity, a God who cannot be contained. What a contrast to the cold, hard, immovable false gods, made of stone, wood or other materials.
But, at Pentecost, at that Shavuot, when the fire appeared, it was somewhat different. The fire divided and fell on each individual person. The fire of heaven was moving outward, no longer centered in events or places like the Holy of Holies, but falling among the covenant people, flowing out through them into the world. The tongues of fire resided upon and empowered each individual there, to enable them to spread the good new throughout all the world. This was a transformational revelation of Hashem, and certainly something great to celebrate!
Although Shavuot was a seven-day festival in the Bible, it is not generally celebrated for seven days today. In the Bible, any male old enough to walk on his own was commanded to physically appear in Jerusalem for this seven-day festival. The same was true of Passover/Chag HaMotzi and Sukkot (which is the 3rd “regalim” festival.). Regalim is the Hebrew word meaning “feet”, because in ancient times of the Bible, the men would journey on foot to Jerusalem for these three festivals. However, today, in Israel, Shavuot is celebrated on Sivan 6. Outside of Israel, in the Dispersion, it is celebrated generally for two days, Sivan 6 and 7.
How was Shavuot celebrated in the Temple, and how is it celebrated today? Let’s start with the ancient rituals of the Temple. There were essentially two. One was the waving of two loaves of new wheat bread (the wheat harvest had just “come in”). This was called Sheri HaLechem, which means “two of the bread”. The second was a peace offering, korban shelamim. When you think of it, Yeshua called Himself the Bread of Life, and He was not only our atonement, He was also our peace offering to Hashem for the forgiveness of our sins. For the part of the worshippers at the Temple at Shavuot, they would present the finest first fruits of their harvest. This all was done to thank Hashem for the grain and fruit harvests.
Today, in synagogues or Messianic gatherings, the Shavuot service starts after sundown on Sivan 6. There is a special book called Tikkun Leil Shavuot. This book contains the first and last verses of each of the Torah portions for the year. It also contains the first and last passages of each tractate of the Mishnah, and it also contains some passages from the Zohar. Many times, observant students of Torah stay up all night reading Torah! It is sort of a challenge and a tradition, all rolled into one. Then, the next morning, at the morning service in synagogues, the Akdamut poem is recited and the 10 Commandments are read, since they are the backbone of the Torah. A passage from Numbers (26:28-31) is read, as well as a reading from the Haftorah, from the first chapter of Ezekiel. In some Sephardic traditions, a wedding contract, a ketubah, is read underneath the chuppah, the traditional wedding canopy. At His last meal with his talmidim, Yeshua offered the wedding cup to them. And, later, the Holy Spirit was given to guide and escort His Beloved to the wedding chamber, “on that day”.
The Book of Ruth is also featured prominently at this holiday, read on the second day of the festival, because there are clues in this book that the culmination of the story occurred at the festival of Shavuot. Also, there are bridal overtones, a strong theme of Shavuot. More about that in a few moments.
There are also some extra-biblical sources that link Shavuot with the revelation of the Torah at Sinai. One of these is the Book of Jubilees, which dates from the 2nd century BCE. Since manuscripts of this book were found among the Dead Sea scrolls, it seems it enjoyed respect and study among the Jewish sages of that day and probably on into Yeshua’s day as well. Even though this book is outside the canon generally accepted as our Bible, it recounts events given in Genesis and Exodus. One such story has Noah celebrating Shavuot before the Great Flood began. How about that? And, both Abraham and the other OGs (original gangstas), that is the original patriarchs of Judaism, were said to observe this festival. We also find Shavuot mentioned in the apocryphal Book of Tobit and also in the Book of Maccabees.
What are some other of the deeper meanings of the Shavuot festival, beyond its fulfillment in the giving of the Holy Spirit to those who claim Yeshua as Mashiach? To answer that question, let’s take a quick journey through the Book of Ruth, which, as I mentioned a moment ago, is traditionally read on the second day of Shavuot. Back in the late spring and summer of 2023, I did an in-depth study on the Book of Ruth. You can find that on my YouTube channel now, on the playlist called “Messianic LAMB TV Network”. Scroll down until you see late spring 2023, and you’ll find it. But, today, we are going to “survey” our way through the four chapters of Ruth, a quick trip. Open your Bibles to Ruth 1 and follow along as I cite verses and make comments.
It is important in the first chapter to understand the meanings behind the names of the main characters. As is often the case in Scripture, each character’s name has a meaning that gives weight to the story. First of all, the story’s opening and later the high drama takes place in Beit Lechem, Hebrew for Bethlehem. It means “house of bread”, which is incongruous, since the story opens in the midst of a famine. The other key setting is the country of Moav (Moab in English), which in Hebrew means, “from my father”. Moab was the offspring of Lot and his oldest daughter. Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, means “My God is King”. Naomi (No-oh-MEE, in Hebrew) means “My Delight”. Mahlon, one of the sons, means “sickness/destruction”. The other son, Chilion, means “whiner/k’vetcher”. Before leaving Judah, Elimelech’s family was very wealthy and considered, according to the Talmud, “royalty”. In Moav, the two sons married princesses of Moav, whom the Talmud says were from the same royal family, Ruth and Orpah. Orpah is a name that refers to the upper part of the neck, and means “stiff-necked”. It is said in 2 Samuel 21 that after Orpah returned to Moav, she remarried and became the maternal ancestor of Goliath.
In this story, Boaz is a type of the Messiah. Some commentators say Boaz’ name means “in him is strength”; also some sages have said his name means “swift”, because he did not make rash decisions, but when he did act he moved swiftly. Ruth is a type of the Bride of Messiah, and it is said she was descended from Balaak (of the Balaam and Balaak story). These two were sworn enemies of Israel, of course. This reminds me of us Gentiles whom the apostle Paul refers to in Ephesians 2:13 - - “But now, you who were once far off have been brought near through the shedding of the Messiah’s blood.”
Ruth converted to Judaism at some point after she married her Jewish husband, as evidenced by 1:16. Jews love to quote this verse, verse 16, when a ger, a stranger, a Gentile, converts today. “Where you (literally in the Hebrew) walk, I will walk.” “This is the way; walk in it.” (Isaiah 30:21) She renounced not only her culture, but also her religion and her nationality, both her earthly and her heavenly citizenship. She took upon herself the 7 Noachic laws for the gentile to become part of the nation of Israel, with the understanding she would continue to grow in the faith. She used the most sacred name for “God”, the Tetragrammaton, in her declaration of faith. Ruth could not have entered the Land of Israel to live, had she not converted beforehand, because the Torah forbade that. Perhaps Orpah did not want to convert and that was one of the sticking points for her to turn back to life in Moab.
Naomi knew her Torah. She remembered the story about the patriarch Judah, one of Jacob’s sons and the forebearer of her husband’s family, and his daughter-in-law, Tamar. That is why she made the remarks in verse 11 of chapter one concerning if she could have conceived two sons that night, would the girls wait until the boys grew up to marry them and conceive? Naomi was not going to let those girls be treated the way Tamar was treated. This all revolves around the concept of Levirate marriage, which many of my viewers already understand, but which I’ll elaborate on a bit later.
Verse 22 indicates that this point in the story is at the end of the barley harvest and the coming in of the first fruits of wheat harvest, the exact point Shavuot is celebrated.
Moving on to chapter 2 - -
In verse 8 “daughter” is a term of affection that an older man would use toward a younger woman. The sages say that Boaz was as old as 80 when this story took place. Other teachers say that he was certainly middle-aged or greater. Take your pick. He was older than Ruth, substantially, either way, according to chapter 3, vs 10, if you want to flip a page and glance over there. “Daughter” was also a term indicating that Boaz was throwing his familial protection over her, as her late husband had been a cousin of his.
We notice in verse 10 that Ruth prostrates herself, which was a very Hebrew thing to do, not something a pagan would do. It is reminiscent of Mary Magdalene when she was anointing the Lord with precious, valuable ointment, in the New Testament.
In verse 11, Boaz mentions why he is protecting her. He had heard of her acts, her mitzvot from Naomi and he had also witnessed her behavior firsthand.
Verse 14 is an extraordinary verse, although we Westerners don’t immediately see it. When she was invited to break bread with Boaz’ household, this was a high mark of acceptance. Jews just don’t eat with Moabites, and they certainly don’t invite Moabites to eat with their family. In doing this, Boaz was inviting her into covenant, because the table in Judaism is a place of covenant. You may recall that when the Canaanite woman came to Yeshua for help, He did a very rabbinical thing, to test her. He turned her away at first. She invoked Zechariah 8:23, when she said, “even the dogs eat the crumbs from the master’s table”. In the Scriptures, the term “dogs” is used for rebellious Jews, and “pigs” is reserved for Gentiles.
Note also that roasted grain was on the table at this covenantal meal. Roasted grain was not served in ancient Israel until after Firstfruits, another indicator that this story took place during Shavuot, at least, and likely at the end of the Omer count, near Shavuot.
When Ruth returned home, laden with grain, Naomi naturally asked her whose field she had ended up gleaning in. Naomi’s attitude dramatically changed with she heard that the field had been Boaz’ field. She realized that Boaz was a close kinsman, although not a brother to her dead husband or sons, and that his favorable attitude toward Ruth might be significant. It was extremely unusual for Ruth to have been gifted with that much grain, an ephah, about 29 pounds of barley.
In Levirate marriage, instituted in Deuteronomy 25:25-55, this practice applied to a brother marrying and raising up sons with the wife of his dead brother. But, by the time of Boaz, this practice had been broadened out to include more extended family member situations. It had been expanded upon in the Oral Law.
So, Naomi recognized that Boaz might be willing to serve as a kinsman-redeemer, as he was at the time unmarried. The sages say he had lost his wife almost at the same time Ruth and Naomi returned to Judah, to Beit Lechem, from Moav.
Verse 23 refers to harvests that would have been occurring at Shavuot. In chapter 3 verse 2, we see that the barley harvest was over and that the crop was being processed at the threshing floor. Remember what I told you earlier, that Shavuot in the Temple marked the coming in of the wheat harvest.
In verse 4, “uncover his feet” is said by many scholars to be a euphemism, for a very intimate action. It essentially meant that she made herself available to enter into a physical relationship with him. She “opened the door”, so to speak, and awaited his response, whatever that would be.
When in verse 5 Ruth agrees to do what she is instructed to do, it is reminiscent of where the Hebrew people at Sinai, in Exodus 19:8 agree to do everything Adonai tells them to do. Naomi was serving as an ambassador to Hashem, to instruct Ruth in the Torah halacha, the Torah way. In verse 9, Ruth’s words give Boaz the status of a kinsman-redeemer, even though at this point he had redeemed nothing. Verse 10 indicates that Boaz was not only well-off, but that he was wealthy.
We see in verse 12 that there was a kinsman who had a closer claim on Ruth, that is her late husband’s legacy, than did Boaz. This did not disqualify Boaz, but that closer relative had “first dibs” or “first rights” to redeem Ruth’s situation. Not only was there a closer kinsman in the actual story, but in our story, HaSatan had to be dealt with, and his claim on humanity had to be neutralized so that our divine Kinsman-Redeemer could redeem us.
In verse 16 the six measures of barely given to Ruth from the threshing floor there signaled to Naomi his intentions.
In chapter 4 the verbiage “turn aside” and “sit down” - - that same verbiage in the Hebrew was used by Moshe at the burning bush. “I will turn aside…” he said. In verse 2, Boaz gathered a minyan. In Jewish practice, a minyan was a group of ten men, who were gathered to decide a matter, usually a legal or theological matter. This indicated the level of Boaz’ sincerity and the weight of what Boaz was attempting to do.
In verse 3 this closer kinsman is never identified. He could have been a brother to Elimelech, but we really don’t know. At any rate, in verse 6 this mysterious potential kinsman admitted the cost of redeeming the family lines of Elimelech, Mahlon and Chilion would be too great for him, and he surrendered his right of redemption.
In Deuteronomy 25, verses 8 and 9, the woman who is more or less “spurned” by a potential kinsman-redeemer, and who signals that by removing his sandal, she can spit at him to show her disgust. Spitting is a huge negative deal, and it was very rarely done in Israel. But, in the Ruth story, the exchange between the closer kinsman and Ruth was a very positive exchange. Essentially, the closer kinsman was submitting to Boaz, in order to allow Boaz to redeem Ruth. And not only Ruth, but the lineages of Elimelech and his two unfortunately-named sons. In the remaining verses, we see Ruth’s lineage given, all the way up to King David. She transferred from Mahlon’s tribe to Boaz’ tribe. We don’t know if he had other sons, but if he did, they were never named in the story. At any rate, Ruth and Boaz had a son, although it says in verse 17 “a son has been born to Naomi”, because in the Levirate tradition, this grandson was as important as the sons that she had lost. This baby was as much her “blood” as if it had her own blood coursing through its veins. Life resurrected from death. Levirate marriage - - the selfless pursuit of the name of others.
One last name meaning for you today and that is the meaning of the baby’s name. Obed. It means “servant”. The kingdom line of Yeshua, named after a servant. How about that?! And, of course, Boaz was descended from Judah, through Tamar. His grandfather was the mighty leader of the tribe of Judah named Nahshon. Nahshon is talked about in the Talmud as being one of the heroes at the Red Sea.
The genealogy of Yeshua just amazes me, particularly this section. Two instances of Levirate marriage, Judah/Tamar and Boaz/Ruth. So much redemption!
Some other Shavuot customs include:
Doing no work
Women and girls light candles on both nights of the holiday
Young adults recommitting themselves to the study of Torah; synagogue attendance
The eating of dairy foods (cheesecake, cheese blintzes, cheese pizza and dairy kugel) as well as eating other sweets (to mark the land of milk and honey, the Promised Land journey)
Decorating the homes and synagogues with greenery. This is the season that the trees have put out their leaves. So, such greenery is more abundant at this season. But, this practice also reflects that Jewish tradition/legend that Mt. Sinai bloomed with flowers when the Torah was given.
Well, I hope I have been able to share with you some new insights this morning, and that you will approach tomorrow evening (if you are watching this in real time) the beginning of Shavuot with awe and reverence. The receiving of the Holy Spirit, the Ruach HaKodesh, at the moment of salvation is a very personal experience, and one which should be remembered and celebrated, in addition to the celebrations at both Mt. Sinai (we should each of us view that as us having been at Sinai ourselves) and the celebration at Mt. Zion, where the Bride of Messiah received the Ruach.
Let me close with this quote from Dinah Dye, a Messianic teacher whom I greatly respect and admire.
The Presence that once dwelt in Eden, upon Sinai and within the Holy of Holies now spreads outward through people carrying the message that death itself has been defeated.
The fire can no longer be contained. The Presence is on the move, spreading into the world through people filled with the Spirit of God. The message carried by that fire is that the Kingdom of God is breaking into the earth. And the invitation remains open: “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Saved from death itself. We are invited into this expanding work of new creation until the knowledge of the glory of the Lord fills the earth as the waters cover the sea.
Sameach Shavuot! And, shalom. May the peace of God rule in your heart until we meet again.
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