At Mount Sinai, God established three annual pilgrimage feasts. The first was the Festival of Unleavened Bread.
“Three times in the year you shall hold a festival for me.
You shall observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread; as I commanded you, you shall eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt.
“No one shall appear before me empty-handed (Exodus 23:14-15).
This festival took place at the beginning of the barley harvest in the spring, commemorating the exodus.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread begins with Passover and lasts seven days, with a holy convocation on the first and last days. The rule for the feast is that no one should appear before God empty-handed.
Festivals of Harvest and Ingathering
Fifty days after the offering of the barley as the first fruits of the harvest, the festival of the harvest, known later as Pentecost, is to be celebrated.
The Feast of Ingathering, or Tabernacles, is a kind of Thanksgiving festival.
“You shall observe the Festival of Harvest, of the first fruits of your labor, of what you sow in the field. You shall observe the Festival of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in from the field the fruit of your labor.
Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord God (Exodus 23:16-`7)..
Pentecost holds profound significance for both Jews and Christians. You may hear Rudy Ross call this celebration, “Shavout.” It is Hebrew for “weeks.”
As we have already seen, Shavuot was a harvest festival, celebrating the culmination of the barley harvest and the beginning of the wheat harvest, and offering the “firstfruits” to God.
Over time, Pentecost became primarily associated with the giving of the Law to Moses at Mount Sinai.
Rudy rightly highlights that two of the most significant days in history are the giving of the Law and the giving of the Holy Spirit. On Pentecost, while Jews celebrated the giving of the Law, the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus’s followers.
The Law outlines God’s requirements, while the Spirit empowers us internally to draw nearer to fulfilling God’s desires.
The Festival of Ingathering
This feast marked the end of the agricultural year, celebrating the final ingathering of the summer fruit harvest.
Like our American Thanksgiving celebration, it was a time of thanksgiving to God for His provision and bounty, ensuring sustenance for the coming winter.
As we continue reading through the Old Testament, we will see that this feast celebrates the 40 years the Israelites spent wandering in the wilderness after their Exodus from Egypt, living in temporary shelters.
That is why it is also called “booths” or “tabernacles.”
This festival is often referred to as “the Season of Our Rejoicing.” It’s a joyful expression of trust in God’s ongoing care.
Christians can see in this festival God’s desire to “tabernacle” or dwell among His people. It can also point to the future Messianic Age when God’s presence will fully dwell with humanity.
YouTube Discussion
In today’s YouTube video, Bruce Kirby and I draw on Rudy Ross’s deep knowledge of these festivals to learn more about God’s actions as revealed through them.
Real Voices 