Power Hour Lesson Summary for February 14, 2016 Feast of Weeks Lesson Text: Leviticus 23:15-22 Background Scripture: Numbers 28:26-31; Leviticus 23:15-22; Acts 2:1-36 Devotional Reading: Romans 7:14-25 Leviticus 23:15-22 (NIV) 15 From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks. 16 Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the Lord. 17 From wherever you live, bring two loaves made of two- tenths of an ephah of the finest flour, baked with yeast, as a wave offering of firstfruits to the Lord. 18 Present with this bread seven male lambs, each a year old and without defect, one young bull and two rams. They will be a burnt offering to the Lord, together with their grain offerings and drink offerings a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord. 19 Then sacrifice one male goat for a sin offering and two lambs, each a year old, for a fellowship offering. 20 The priest is to wave the two lambs before the Lord as a wave offering, together with their grain offerings and drink offerings a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord. Lord as a wave offering, together with the bread of the firstfruits. They are a sacred offering to the Lord for the priest. 21 On that same day you are to proclaim a sacred assembly and do no regular work. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live. 22 When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and for the foreigner residing among you. I am the Lord your God. TODAY S LESSON AIMS Learning Facts: To describe the Feast of Weeks and list its key elements. Biblical Principle: To offer joyful praise to God for the many ways He blesses us. Daily Application: To find some specific ways God may want you to help others around you in need. HOW TO SAY IT Pentecost Pent- ih- kost. Sinai Sigh- nye or Sigh- nay- eye.
INTRODUCTION Family Gatherings The family reunion for my father s side was always held the first Sunday of September. It was interesting to watch the interactions, especially among the different age groups. The older members of the family could immediately enter into conversations that usually turned to reminiscing. The children would gradually assess each other and then develop their games. The patriarch or matriarch of the family would be introduced to the new members of the clan. The sumptuous meals came from baskets and boxes, full of foods prepared at home. At the end of the day, the good- byes were said, and comments such as, See you next year! were exchanged. Whether the drive home was short or long, it had been a good day. Cultural changes of the last few decades have ended these customs for many people. Reunion- type events seem rarer, for family members are likely to live anywhere on the globe. Some children enter adulthood having never seen or known certain cousins or other relatives. Today s lesson demonstrates how God provided an occasion for His people to meet together as a family of Israelites for the giving of thanks, fellowship, forgiveness, and spiritual dedication. This study is about the Feast of Weeks, which is an unusual term for a one- day celebration. Some of its features made it the preferred event for those who lived at great distances from Jerusalem. LESSON BACKGROUND The first Passover in Egypt (last week s lesson) demonstrated to the Israelites that God was on their side. This made it easier to leave all that was familiar when it was time to make the exodus from Egypt (Exodus 12). The Israelites did not know what the future held, but they had confidence at least temporarily in the one who held the future. The GPS (God s Positioning System) used by Moses led the Israelites in an unusual direction not by the way of the Mediterranean seacoast to the land of Canaan, but into the wilderness of the Red Sea area (Exodus 13:17, 18). The Lord used a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night to guide, protect, and assure the people that they were going where He wanted them to be (13:21, 22). The Israelites experienced at the Red Sea yet another mighty deliverance after Pharaoh changed his mind about the departure of his labor force. He sent hundreds of chariots to bring them back (Exodus 14:5-9), but God had different plans. The dividing of sea waters so as to have a wall of water on each side is an impossibility for humans, but not for God (14:21, 22). The God who created the universe can easily divide a small sea on this tiny planet!
As the journey continued, God met the needs of His people. These needs included provisions of water (Exodus 15:22-27; 17:1-7), food (chap. 16), and a victory over the Amalekites (17:8-16). The interim destination was Sinai, and this new nation arrived in the third month (19:1). The Israelites knew that the Lord was God, but what did He expect from them? God was ready to tell them, and that was the purpose of their stay at Mount Sinai, which lasted almost a year (Numbers 10:11, 12). When God gave the people manna on the way to Sinai, they learned that God expected them to rest on the seventh day (Exodus 16:23-30), and that expectation was reinforced as part of the Ten Commandments (chap. 20). This was followed by His giving judgments or laws (chaps. 21-23) that collectively are called the book of the covenant (24:7). It contained upwards of 70 rules that the people needed immediately for the governing of social relationships. It could be called their bill of rights, but perhaps bill of responsibilities for producing a just society is better. Observing the Festival of Weeks: Leviticus 23:15-21 Bringing an Offering of Grain and Bread: Leviticus 23:15-17 1. When did the Festival of Weeks take place? (Leviticus 23:15-17) The Feast of Weeks received its name because it was to be celebrated seven weeks after Passover (when the Israelites ate the first Feast of Unleavened Bread just before leaving Egypt, last week s lesson). Therefore the Feast of Weeks was to take place in late May or early June. It is not given a name in today s text, but it has several names attached to it elsewhere: Festival of Weeks (Exodus 34:22a), Festival of Harvest (Exodus 23:16a), and sometimes the day of the firstfruits (Numbers 28:26). In the New Testament it is called Pentecost (Acts 2:1; 20:16; 1 Corinthians 16:8), a Greek word that means fiftieth. This sacred assembly was to be held 50 days from the beginning of the Festival of Unleavened Bread. This is very significant, for it means that Pentecost always falls on the first day of the week. This is the day the church was birthed, the first day of the week (Acts 2). The word Sabbath, which means ceasing, may refer to any day on which labor is prohibited. Verse 16 demonstrates a definite connection between the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Feast of Weeks. God s instructions show that an event within one feast is used to determine the timing of the feast that is to follow. As with other major special gatherings, during the Festival of Weeks, the Israelites were to present additional offerings (see Lev. 23:16). The first of these was bread presented as a firstfruits wave offering. The offering in view as an offering of new grain. The Israelites were an agricultural and pastoral people, and all their major feasts or festivals reflected this. These festivals were instituted by God and celebrated according to His rules, but He established them with the Israelites way of life in mind. They corresponded to events in agricultural seasons. The bread was made out of grain obtained from the recent harvest. Also, the portion was to be twice the size as the grain offering presented at the Festival of Unleavened Bread, except that this time the bread was made with yeast (see v. 17).
What Do You Think? How can Christians offer firstfruits to the Lord? Talking Points for Your Discussion - In finances - In time - In talents Bringing Additional Animal and Grain Offerings: Leviticus 23:18-21 2. What were the offerings listed? What were their purposes? (Leviticus 23:18-21) Accompanying the offering of bread were offerings of animals and drink offerings (see Lev. 23:18-21). The worshiper was to present seven lambs (all the right gender, age, and quality), as well as a young bull and two rams, as a burnt offering (a total of 10 animals are to be a burnt offering unto the Lord). This burnt offerings carry the idea of consecration or dedication, and was a soothing fragrance to God. Also, the worshiper was to present a male goat for a sin offering and two year- old lambs for a fellowship, or peace offering. Atonement is the dominant factor in a sin offering (the study of next week s lesson). Such an offering presupposes that the covenant relationship has been broken and needs to be renewed. A sin offering is primarily offered on holidays or when an action is deemed to have broken the relationship with God (Lev. 4:1-5:13). The priest would wave the lambs and the bread before the Lord, and then keep them as his own portion (Lev. 23:20). The feast lasted only one day (v. 21). The Israelites were to do no ordinary work on this day, but were to assemble together as God s holy people. Regardless of where they lived, from one generation to the next, this sacred occasion was to be a day of joyous festivity and worship, with no one occupied in his or her own individual pursuits. Showing Generosity: Leviticus 23:22 3. How did the Lord provide for the poor? (Leviticus 23:22) The Festival of Weeks would coincide with the end of the grain harvest. The prescribed offerings, consequently, were much larger than they were at the Festival of Unleavened Bread, which was celebrated at the beginning of the grain harvest. The Israelites now had more produce to present to the Lord. That fact explains why it was at this time the priests were permitted to keep a portion of the offerings for themselves. This was also an appropriate point at which to mention the importance of remembering the poor. Specifically, as the crops were harvested, instead of removing every last head of grain out of their fields, farmers were directed to leave some grain standing at the edges. God is concerned for the welfare of those in need. Furthermore, they were not to pick up the grain that had fallen to the ground as the crops were reaped. In this way, the indigent and foreigners could pick up some of the leftover grain for themselves, to keep off hunger (see v. 22).
Clearly from the stipulations recorded in the Mosaic law, we can learn that not only are we to thank the Lord for what He has given us, but also we must share that blessing with those in need. God does not want us to ignore the destitute and spend every cent we earn on ourselves. Instead, while providing for our families, we should give a helping hand to the impoverished living among us. POINTS TO PONDER 1. God has prepared a time for all things. (Leviticus 23:15-16) 2. God requires you to present only your best as an offering. (Leviticus 23:17-20) 3. The Sabbath is a day of rest. (Leviticus 23:21) 4. God expects us to provide for the poor. (Leviticus 23:22) CONCLUSION Pentecost and the Church The Day of Pentecost the later designation for the Festival of Weeks is the birthday of the church (Acts 2). The Bible does not say why God chose this occasion for the church to begin. But the way that it was celebrated made it the perfect tool to fulfill God s plan to spread the gospel from Jerusalem into Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). Pentecost drew many Jews from distant parts of the Roman Empire (compare Acts 2:5-11). The rainy season was over, and the weather was warm and delightful for travel. Some who made a once- in- a- lifetime trip to Jerusalem for Passover perhaps remained on vacation through Pentecost. In any case, it is fascinating that the death and resurrection of Jesus occurred during the time of Passover and Unleavened Bread and that seven weeks later the church began on Pentecost. The people who were in Jerusalem at these times had the privilege of being among the first to be introduced to the gospel, which they could take with them on their return home. About 3,000 people were convinced, and they responded to Peter s instructions to repent and to be baptized for the remission of sins and to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38, 41). As they returned to all parts of the Roman Empire and elsewhere, they became the vanguard for the spreading message of redemption. PRAYER Heavenly Father, may the attitude of gratitude that was to characterize the Festival of Weeks become our own on a daily basis! In Jesus name. Amen. THOUGHT TO REMEMBER God still expects our expressions of gratitude to include provisions for the poor. ANTICIPATING THE NEXT LESSON Next week s lesson is Day Of Atonement, where we learn the process of atonement, and how at Jesus made the supreme sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins. Study Leviticus 16:11-19.