FEAST OF FIRST FRUITSPENTECOSTGIVING OF THE LAWPart Five.Answer the Questions and Think as You Peruse Scripture |
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The story of Tevit and Tevyah (Tobit) takes place during Pentecost and features a 2nd century wedding. This would be a very helpful CD for your family so as to understand how people in Yahshua's time lived and enjoyed their festivals right along with their hardships. To listen to Tevit and Tevyah, click here (make sure your speakers are on). About the First FruitsThis page requires the installation of SLGreek and SLHebrew fonts, which may be freely downloaded here: http://www.studylight.org/fonts/ Shemot (Exo) 5:1. After this, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, “This is what Yahweh, Elohim of Israel, says, ‘Let my people go, so that they can hold a feast in my honor in the desert.’” 2. “Who is Yahweh,” Pharaoh replied, “for me to obey what he says and let Israel go? I know nothing of Yahweh, and I will not let Israel go.” This passage shows us that the feast of Weeks was in the mind of Yahweh before the Torah was given. Here is the Word from the Torah on the subject. Wayikra (Lev) 23:5. From the day after the Sabbath, the day on which you bring the sheaf offering (month 1, day 15), you will count seven full weeks. 16. You will count fifty days (penthkonta ‘hmerav – pentēkonta hēmeras, ē sounds like ay), to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then you will offer Yahweh a new grain offfering. Now we understand why this Feast of Weeks is called Pentecost – a Greek word. Why do you suppose we call the feast by a Greek name rather than the Hebrew word for fifty (ey##mx ewy – Yowm Chamishshiym). 17. You will bring bread from your homes to present with the gesture of offering, two loaves, made of two-tenths of wheaten flour baked with leaven; these are first-fruits for Yahweh. What is this “gesture of offering”? (Check your version of Scripture.) In our two-house understanding of the feasts, what might these loaves stand in for?
What is the literal meaning of the loaves? What is the spiritual meaning?
The Catholic Church has a term for the Protestants – Catholic authorities call non-Catholic Christians “separated brethren.” How might that term be useful to us as well? 18. In addition to the bread, you will offer seven unblemished lambs a year old, a young bull and two rams, as a burnt offering to Yahweh with a cereal offering and a libation, as food burnt as a smell pleasing to Yahweh. 19. You will also offer a goat as a sacrifice for sin, and two lambs a year old as communion sacrifice. 20. The priest will present them before Yahweh with the gesture of offering, in addition to the bread of the first-fruits. These, and the two lambs, are set-apart things for Yahweh, and will revert to the priest.
We spoke of priests as intermediaries between Elohim and the people. The offerings to be brought in went toward the commonwealth of Priests, who were of the tribe of ___________ . Debarim (Deu) 10:8. Yahweh then set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of Yahweh’s covenant, to stand in the presence of Yahweh, to serve him and to bless in his name, as they still do today. 9. This is why Levi has no share or heritage with his brothers: Yahweh is his heritage, as Yahweh your Elohim then told him. This amount was / is per family unit. Everyone in the family “kicked in” on it because the families all raised animals in agricultural commune fashion. (They were in a way ancient kibbutzim.) First Fruits is an ascension feast, one of three. The other two are
So at least one member of the family was required to take the offering to “up” to Jerusalem every year. Those that didn’t raise livestock bought it when they got there or on the way from money they had saved from their businesses. By Yahshua’s time, the Priests had the livestock concession, leading to a very serious incident that dipped into the pockets of the priests and leaders who were corrupt. Do you remember what Yahshua had to do with livestock in the Temple courts? Yochanan (John) 2:13-21. ___________________________ Notice that Yahshua “went up” to Jerusalem for the Feast; that is, he ascended. What does it mean that he went up to Jerusalem? Is it because Jerusalem was north of wherever he was? _______________________ What was the name of the mountain Jerusalem was/ is situated upon? (There are a couple names.) __________________________ There are songs that pilgrims sang on the way to Jerusalem called “Psalms of Ascent.” See Psalms 120 – 131. Let’s sing a couple of them. EloHymns 33 Psalm 120 I Called Upon Yahweh EloHymns 23 Psalm 131 Now and forever EloHymns 40 Psalm 122 Come and Go With Me After the sacrifices of animals ceased (Amos 5:21-27) so did the formal ministrations of the Levites. Can you think of at least two reasons why the sacrifices ceased?
It became customary on the Feast of First Fruits for each family to present an annual offering of the contemporaneous value of the prescribed sacrifices to the spiritual priest, rabbi, teacher, pastor or leader of the Assembly. (These offerings “revert to the priest,” acc to Scripture.) (Current prices of dressed animals:)
9
lambs $140 each = $1260
Total
……………………………………..…………………………… $_____
21. On the same day, you will hold an assembly; for you this will be a sacred assembly; you will do no heavy work. This is a perpetual law for your descendants, wherever you live.
We learn 2 very important things about First Fruits – 1. a solemn, sacred assembly is to be held (a High Sabbath, a Yom Tov). 2. this is to be practiced forever and wherever. However, we do the best we can for now. And implies a third – 3. we develop customs that are passed down to our descendants. We have celebrated several First Fruits Feasts together. What customs have we created? _________________________ What customs do you suppose will pass down? ______________________________
22. When you reap the harvest in your country, you will not reap to the very edges of your field, nor will you gather the gleanings of the harvest. You will leave them for the poor and the stranger. I am Yahweh your Elohim.” This is another indication of the “saving up” through the year for First Fruits is the commandment to honor the poor and the foreigner. What are “gleanings”? ________________________________ How may we provide gleanings today?
And to whom do these gleanings go?
One of several First Fruits customs that has been passed down to us is that the book of Ruth is read during this day. Most of the sources I checked into on the subject of First Fruits cannot explain why reading Ruth became customary. Why do you suppose Ruth is appropriate considering verse 22 of our text?
Look at: Ruth 1:4 – she was a ________________ Ruth 1:7 – she decided to make an ____________ to Judah Ruth 2:1-6 – she _____________ in order to feed her family Ruth 4 – doing these things preserved her and she became the ancestor of both ____________________ and ____________________ . What kind of people will you be ancestors to?
(08/17/04 upd. 05/30/09)
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