This coming weekend we are celebrating one of my favorite feasts in Israel, the Feast of Shavuot. Growing up in a Kibbutz, I can remember the entire community gathering together along with representatives from different factories and farms to display and share their first crops. Mothers would proudly show off their “first fruits”, their babies, from the previous year and it was a great time of celebrating together.

Since I became a follower of the Messiah, this feast has a new meaning to me.  Not only do I have a deeper understanding of the importance of this Feast, but also a stronger desire for my fellow countrymen to understand the significance of Shavuot, and for us to celebrate it as God intended us to.

“Celebrate the Feast of Weeks with the first fruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year.” Exodus 34:22

The first thing I’d like to point out is that we are celebrating the first fruits that we have received from the Lord. It is important for us to acknowledge the true source of our lives, the One who provides everything for us. Very often, we get stuck on ourselves, taking pride in our own wisdom, thinking that everything we have is because of our own hard work.  We should instead acknowledge, with thanksgiving and humility, that it is the Lord Himself who has given us His wisdom, who has provided us with the ability to work; it is He alone who has given us all that we have, and everything we have actually belongs to Him.

“Then celebrate the Feast of Weeks to the LORD your God by giving a freewill offering in proportion to the blessings the LORD your God has given you. And rejoice before the LORD your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, the Levites in your towns, and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows living among you. “ Deuteronomy 16:10-11

My second point is that God does not give to us for our sole enjoyment, but also for His purpose and His glory.  Although God loves to bless His children, and takes great pleasure in our delight, this is not the main reason He blesses us.  The gifts we each possess are to edify the Body of Messiah, to bless those who do not yet know Him, and to ultimately bring Him glory.   The Lord desires us all to know Him, to acknowledge Him, and to honor Him with who we are and all that we have received.

When we connect points one and two and apply them to our lives, we will see the Lord work in a mighty way through us. When we learn to trust Him and rely on Him alone, a great peace fills our lives; we live absent of pride and anxiety, as we understand that He is our one and only provider.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:16

The Lord freely gave us His best – His first fruit – His Son, Yeshua. He gave to us His best in order that we will have life, and life to the full.

What is God calling you to give today?

Enjoy your celebration of this wonderful feast as your remember Him and use what He gave you for His Glory!

Moran