Day 142 Shavuot

 

5/23/2026

"Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them:

'When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap

its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits

of your harvest to the priest.'"

Leviticus 23:10  

 

This year's Jewish holiday Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks, began Thursday evening and ends today in the evening in Jerusalem. According to scripture it is to be observed 50 days after the day after Passover, and the days are numbered by counting the Omer according to scripture:

"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; they you shall offer a new grain offering to the LORD." (Leviticus 23:15-16)

This feast is one of the three pilgrimage feasts of the Lord when all the men were commanded to come up to the mountain of the Lord in Jerusalem. It is a holy day unto the Lord, so there is no work done on this day. This day is a reminder of the children of Israel's release from slavery as they make their way to Mount Sinai to receive the Torah, the book of the law. This is also a celebration of the harvest time, so the book of Ruth which is a story of sowing and reaping is read in synagogue on this day.

The book of Ruth is a story of redemption set in the period of the Judges. It is the story of a Moabite woman who gives up her pagan heritage to follow the God of Israel. The story begins in the land of Judah where there is a famine in the land, so Elimelech, who lived in Bethlehem, and his wife, Naomi and two sons moved to Moab until the famine had passed. Elimelech died, so Naomi and her two sons, Mahlon and Chilion remained in Moab. The two sons married Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth. After about ten years Naomi's two sons died, and only the women survived. Since the famine was over, Ruth decided to go home to Judah, so she told Ruth and Orpah to return to their homes, so they could marry again. Orpah left and went home, but Ruth insisted on staying with Naomi:

"Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following after you; for wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried. The LORD do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me." (Ruth 1:16-17)

So the women continued on to Bethlehem where Naomi was greeted excitedly by her friends and welcomed back into the community. It was the beginning of the barley harvest. Naomi sent Ruth off to work the fields, and it so happened that she met Boaz, a relative of Naomi's husband, Elimelech, who was very wealthy. Boaz was very kind to Ruth, as he had already heard that Ruth had forsaken her country and her pagan gods to live with Naomi and worship the God of Israel. This is a romantic story of Ruth and Boaz who eventually married and had a son, Obed who became the father of Jesse, the father of David, the King of Israel. It is also a story of a Moabite woman being given a privileged position in the lineage of Christ. Boaz is a picture or type of kinsman redeemer as Christ came to as the Savior to redeem us from sin and death. There are so many parallels in the scriptures, and it is so interesting to see the timing of this Shavuot with the Christian observance of Pentecost. This will be covered more in my next blog.

These are exciting times as we watch history and prophecy unfold right before our eyes, and I pray that it will cause a greater revelation of the destiny of Israel and God's chosen people.