Sabbath Reflection– Counting Pentecost

This Sabbath marks day 7 in our count to Pentecost.  We in the United Church of God believe that God instructed Israel to count 50 days from the Days of Unleavened Bread to determine when to keep Pentecost. We are to count “from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the…wave offering” (Leviticus 23:15, NKJV). The Hebrew word there for Sabbath is the word used for the weekly Sabbath - the same word used in verse 3 when God reminds Israel to keep the weekly Sabbath. God instructs us to count 50 days from the day after the weekly Sabbath which also means that Pentecost will always fall on a Sunday (First day of the week). Pentecost this year is on May 24^th. Have you ever thought why God did that with this Holy Day? Every other Holy Day is set on a given day in a given month in His calendar – but not Pentecost.

God does not agree with sin, and cannot walk with someone who has sin as a way of life (Amos 3:3). We cannot have Pentecost, picturing God’s Holy Spirit given to us, without coming out of sin first. Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread are necessary before we can keep Pentecost. Putting out sin becomes a lifelong struggle, and we count toward Pentecost to be reminded of the process of coming out of sin.

Part of the reason for counting is to consider the distance that we should be gaining coming out of sin since the Days of Unleavened Bread, and part of the reason is to count with anticipation of the giving of God’s Holy Spirit. In Acts 1:4 Christ told those assembled in Jerusalem not to leave that city (before the Day of Pentecost), but “…to wait for the Promise of the Father…” that is, the giving of the Holy Spirit. Although we have been called and given access to God through His Holy Spirit, do we also “count” toward the day when all of mankind (1 Timothy 2:4) will have access to the knowledge of the truth?

In the understanding of God’s Holy Day’s, we see that the Feast of Pentecost is a day of covenants. As ancient Israel came out of Egypt God gave them His law (around the time of Pentecost) from Mt. Sinai. God’s law is important so we know what behavior will help us to develop Godly character, and what behavior is sin. In the New Testament God established His Church (spiritual Israel) by giving them a portion of His Holy Spirit so that they would be able to truly have a covenant relationship with God. Christ died as payment for our sin (pictured in Passover) but keeping God’s law teaches us how to become like God – His law reflects His nature and character. As such we are acknowledging, like Israel did, that we will do all that God asks of us (Exodus 24:3). All of this is only possible if we have God’s Holy Spirit dwelling in us.

As we count toward Pentecost, let’s remember why we count Pentecost and what God wants us to see and anticipate in that counting. Let us remember the covenant we are now a part of so that we truly can be the First-fruits of God’s great harvest of mankind. It, indeed, will be a wonderful time when “…the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Eternal as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9).

I wish you a profitable and value filled Sabbath,

Joe Greene 

Pastor for Richmond and Roanoke, Va

(434) 808-2146