Tag Archives: rest

Passover to Pentecost – One New Man

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Passover to Pentecost – One New Man        Week 7 Day 7

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 1 Corinthians 12: 27 (NIV)

His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two. Ephesians 2: 15 (NIV)

For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 1 Corinthians 12:13 (NIV)

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. Leviticus 23: 17 (NIV)

Tomorrow is Pentecost (fifty days since Passover) or Shavu’ot.  This feast as recorded in Leviticus 23; 15 – 22 would have meant traveling to Jerusalem, a sacred assembly, sacrifice, and a day of no work.  It would have been the end of the wheat harvest and a time of bounty with joyful celebration, a day of remembrance.  The “new grain offering” is the first part of the sacrifice that is talked about.  Actually the entire sacrifice for the Feast of Weeks seems like it is quite large; with some of the offerings being burnt and some going to the priest. The offering requirements are listed and explained, a little differently, in Numbers 28: 26 – 31 and Deuteronomy 16: 9 – 12.

The new grain offering is very interesting.  It is to be baked with yeast, which is not

to be burnt as a sacrifice to the Lord.  There are also TWO of the loaves of bread. This could be typology for two different things: the two tablets that the Law was written on, or as the above verses elude too, they represent Jews and Gentiles.  These loaves of bread would have been a wave offering and went to the priest (v 20).

For the Jew this is the day that they were given the Law at Mount Sinai, this story is in Exodus 19 and 20.  For the Christian this is the start of the Church with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challah

Passover to Pentecost – Shabbat/ No Work

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Passover to Pentecost – Shabbat/ No Work        Week 1 Day 6

The Sabbath or day of resting, another foundational stone of Judaism, was started by God at the end of His work of creation.  God wants His people to rest.  The concept of rest and holding one day a week as holy is a “God idea” not a “man idea.”  Genesis 2: 2 & 3 is the first Sabbath, but it is not mentioned again until Exodus 16 (see Week 1 Day 3).  It is then stated as the Fourth Commandment; then clarified and built on in 23:11, 31: 15, 34: 21, and 35: 2.  My personal opinion for some of this is God had to have this group of ex-slaves to rest and focus on Him.  Remember Exodus 16 dealt with the people having to “work” for food and they needed to rest and live in the miracle of the manna.

In Exodus 33: 14 God tells Moses that He will give him Rest.  I think this answer is interesting because Moses was talking about leading the people and finding favor with God.   God did give him what he wanted (see verse 17 and 19), but at first He was offering him rest!

The word “rest” in English is actually three different words in Hebrew.  Some refer to the actual day, while some are the act of resting, and some are a general purpose word that refers to being still.

I know Jesus purposely did miracles on the Sabbath to prove the point that He was Lord even of the Sabbath.  But He was chiding the Jews about all of the rules and regulations that have been made to define work.  This made the day bigger than it should have been.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shabbat

http://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/sabbath/