by ProfDave, ©2021
(May 24, 2021) — Sunday was Pentecost Sunday, the Feast of Weeks or of First Fruits, seven weeks after Passover and/or Easter. The Jewish version, Shavuot, was a week earlier this year. In the Torah it was the third and last of the annual festivals when all Jewish men were to “appear before the Lord.” By giving the first ripe barley to the Lord, the whole harvest would be blessed. It was also the celebration of the giving of the divine Law to Moses, to Israel and to mankind on Mt. Sinai: the Ten Commandments and the Torah as a whole (the first five books of the Bible).
The Law of Moses is a big deal. At least eight of the “Big Ten” are classic expressions of the instinctive conscience of all mankind – with no excuses for kings, beggars, or so-called gods. They are the basis of western morality and law. The other two are interesting, too, setting forth the seven-day week – the one measure of time that is not astronomical but theological (it is a wonder the ACLU has not yet attacked it as breaching the separation of church and state) – and the taboo against representing the Creator as a creature. As a whole, the Law sets up a blueprint of morality, sacrifice, and society for the Hebrew people. Combined with the promised timing of seasonal rains, it would have created an earthly paradise in Palestine.
So why has the Holy Land been a perpetual maelstrom of hatred and strife, anything but a “land flowing with milk and honey?” Because the Hebrews soon forgot the Law and the God who gave it. “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” They could not resist fooling around with the demon-gods of horror and fertility – a lot more fun to worship. Enjoying power and wealth pushed aside consideration of the instructions for their proper use. Or slicing and dicing and “interpreting” the Law made its effect just the opposite of its purpose. Instead of loving God with whole hearts and their neighbors as themselves, they committed adultery against both and reaped the consequences. Even the land suffered.
What happened to Israel is a microcosm and parable of the human condition. The Law of God is an awesome gift, but it conveys neither the will nor the ability to obey. God’s law is perfect – and thanks to the Jews, we have it in a book! But all it does is tell us just how bad we are – like the bathroom scales! So we ignore it, re-interpret it, and fake it. De Nile is a very deep river! Nothing happens unless we do something about it. And going through the motions of sacrifice and penance does not cut it. Repentance must come from the heart and our hearts are not in it. We are just trying to look good. We do not love God, we cannot stand our neighbors, and we are not sorry enough to quit. And when we actually try, we find we are powerless to change.
Enter the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God is God (Elohim) in a distinct way, of course. Leave the definitions to the theologians. He is he, not an it. He appears in Genesis 1:2. He appears sporadically throughout the Jewish Scriptures empowering specific men and women for specific missions – to do supernatural things and to speak the words of God. Indeed, I believe He is the inspiration for the Bible as a whole – in the writing, collection, preservation, and translation of God’s Word through human agents. Isaiah promised that one day He would put God’s law in our hearts and Joel promised that He would be poured out “on all flesh” – “every kind of people.” [The Message, Joel 2:28]. Jesus promised to send the Spirit of God (“another comforter/advocate,” “the promise of the Father”) after his departure from earth.
According to the New Testament, on the Feast of Weeks, about fifty days after the resurrection and ten days after the ascension of Jesus, the Spirit was poured out on 120 followers – and thousands more in the weeks to follow, up until the present time. The Spirit of God given at Pentecost is available today to all who put their trust in Christ. Not just heroes and prophets on special occasions, but ordinary Joes and Josephines on a continual basis. The only question is how much of you does He have to work with? The Law can only condemn. The Spirit puts the love of God in my heart. He transforms my life. He is the wind in my wings. I cannot keep the Law, but He can!
David W. Heughins (“ProfDave”) is Adjunct Professor of History at Nazarene Bible College. He holds a BA from Eastern Nazarene College and a PhD in history from the University of Minnesota. He is the author of Holiness in 12 Steps (2020). He is a Vietnam veteran and is retired, living with his daughter and three grandchildren in Connecticut.