Shavuot ~ Pentecost

Today's post is about Shavuot- or, as it is often called, Pentecost. Most people know about the Pentecost after Jesus ascended into heaven, and the Holy Spirit came. However, have you heard of the first Pentecost? (Or in biblical Hebrew, Shavuot.) Shavuot is a feast ordained by God that occurs 7 weeks after Passover (see Lev. 23:15). Shavuot is when God gave the Israelites His Word on Mount Sinai; over three thousand years ago. Shavuot is a celebration to reawaken and strengthen our personal relationships with God by rededicating ourselves to study and observe God's Word. God revealed Himself to Moses and the Israelites on Mount Sinai. His people heard His voice when He gave them the Ten Commandments, and they promised to obey the commands (Exodus 24:7). The Torah includes the first five books of the Bible. Now, today, we rededicate ourselves to studying and observing the whole Bible.

Passover freed God's people from physical bondage, however, when the Torah was given on Shavuot, it freed us from our spiritual bondage. Also, historically, on Shavuot, the one main thing the Israelites did was the presentation of a wave offering to the Lord- two loaves of bread with leaven. By doing this, the Israelites were showing that they trusted God for their food and for the harvest. 

Many years later, after Jesus died and rose again, He sent the Holy Spirit- on the day of Shavuot (Pentecost). On the day of Pentecost, all the believers were in an upper room. While they were sitting in the upper room, "divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each of them." (Acts 2:3). They were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, or languages. Jesus fulfilled Shavuot by sending the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4). An important thing to keep in mind is that the apostles spoke in tongues (languages) people that were there knew. The Bible also says that when publicly speaking in tongues there needs to be an interpreter. Jeremiah 31:33 says: "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people." This verse was fulfilled on Pentecost, when Jesus sent the Holy Spirit. Hebrews 8:10 and 10:16 state the same thing. God has written His Law and His Word on our hearts. Yeshua fulfilled Shavuot. 

I encourage you to read the passages mentioned and dig more into it yourself. It is so incredible! Happy Shavuot!

The Torch Keepers by Hosanna Emily - Book Review

To celebrate The Torch Keepers' second birthday, I decided to re-post my review of this incredible book! This book is absolutely amazing, and I highly, highly recommend it! 

Synopsis

The King's blue flame quivers as a new fire arises, and Kadira must hold fast to his torch. It's destiny; she's a torch keeper.

A fiery revolution sweeps across the kingdom of Erkeos, and each person must choose a side. Kadira, a girl set apart to serve the King, finds her city engulfed in the Liberation's emerald flames. Her blue eyes mark her as the enemy, and she flees from death. It stalks her anyway. When she meets Rekem, the Liberation warrior sent to kill her, she rebels against the King's ways. Two armies collide; indecision isn't an option. As hearts and lives hang in the balance, Kadira and Rekem could bring destruction or liberation to the entire kingdom. 

Reveiw

The Torch Keepers is an amazing book! I've been looking forward to reading it ever since I discovered Hosanna's blog, which was well over a year ago. :)

Kadira, the main character, struggled to understand the King, struggled to understand that he had a purpose for her life. Her story was a story of sadness and rebellion, but also of redemption. 

Father and Gamma, who were like a father and a grandma to Kadira, were both so sweet. I also really liked Emyir; I loved her passion for the King. She was probably my favorite character. Rekem was a hard character to like. I was hoping his story would end differently. Like many people do, he was searching for meaning in life.

This book is about on-going battles between two sides- the Liberation, which is run by the Prince, (who seems to represent Satan), and those on the King's side (who represents Jesus).

This book has spiritual lessons sprinkled throughout, which I really appreciated. One of my favorite parallels between our lives and what was portrayed in the novel was the torch keeping. People are set apart to be torch keepers for the King- they keep the King's bright blue fire burning in each town. We are also supposed to keep our torches burning in our hearts. Another interesting thing, the Liberation (the evil side) take the King's fire and turn it into green fire- which in the book represents evil in a way. The Liberation took what was good (the blue fire) and twisted it into evil (green fire). The Torch Keepers is a book I think many people need to read. 

Overall, I recommend this book for readers 14+. Nothing is described in great detail, but there are deaths, wounds, and the Liberation does horrible things. I would definitely recommend this book!

Have you read The Torch Keepers? What were your thoughts? :)