Shavuot (Pentecost) – Meet Your Go-To Guy
From the time we brought our youngest daughter home 30 years ago, her mom and I prayerfully sought her well-being. We were totally invested in making sure she was fed, clothed, housed, educated, and nurtured to become a beautiful whole person inside and out. My wife often bore a heavier burden but, as dad, I was my daughter’s go-to guy.
Then her wedding day changed everything. With the exchange of vows, the crushing of a glass with shouts of “Mazel tov!”, and the words “I now pronounce you husband and wife” another man became her go-to guy! By God’s design her husband stepped into that role.
Spring is the perfect time of year to focus on the go-to-guy aspect of marriage, but not because so many wed at this time. In God’s calendar the Feast of Shavuot (Weeks/Pentecost) is celebrated in the spring. And since the temple in Jerusalem no longer stands, Shavuot is now celebrated by remembering God’s covenant with Israel at Sinai and reading the Book of Ruth – both sharing the wedding theme.
Shavuot’s timing, fifty days following the celebration of Pesach, led the rabbis to connect its celebration with the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai approximately fifty days after the Exodus. In receiving the Torah, Israel entered into a covenant relationship with God – a relationship the Scriptures liken to a marriage. At Sinai, God made Himself Israel’s go-to guy, uniquely committed to her well-being. The Book of Ruth is read during Shavuot because it shares this theme.
Ruth tells the story of a young Moabite (i.e., not Jewish) widow who, following the death of her Jewish husband, leaves her native land. Once she arrives in the land of Israel, Ruth must support herself and her widowed mother-in-law, Naomi.
Ruth’s story ends with Hallmark-movie flair. During the spring harvest, Boaz, Ruth’s goel “kinsman redeemer,”[i] falls for Ruth, fends off competition for her hand, and marries her. Boaz was the man of her (and her mother-in-law’s) dreams because as soon as Ruth said, “I do,” Boaz became her go-to guy – the one man uniquely committed to her well-being. The covenant of marriage and theme of the gracious, giving husband ties Ruth’s story to the celebration of Shavuot and God’s “marriage” covenant with Israel.
Today Shavuot reminds us of our need for a loving heavenly Husband and a covenant relationship with Him. The New Covenant was sealed on Pesach/Passover through Messiah’s death, burial and resurrection and inaugurated fifty days later at Shavuot with the gift of the Holy Spirit. Through the New Covenant God is wedding “Ruths” from every nation, making Himself the One we desperately need.
May our celebration of Shavuot “sound wedding bells” for the world, inviting people from every tribe, tongue, and nation to meet their go-to guy, Yeshua of Nazareth: Son of David, descendant of Ruth and Boaz, King Messiah, and our Groom!
Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready…. Then he said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’” And he said to me, “These are true words of God” (Rev. 19:7&9).
Written by Dan, LIFE’s Board Chair
Is Yeshua the One on whom you rely to meet your needs? Is He the One upon whom you call in time of trouble? Here is His gracious invitation:
28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).
If you desire to have someone pray for you during these challenging days, we at LIFE would count it a privilege to do so. Contact us at office@lifeinmessiah.org.
Footnotes:
[i] The goel is a blood relative of a deceased person who has the right/responsibility to marry the widow of his relative for the sake of continuing the name of the deceased person by raising up an heir. Boaz willingly took on this role in Ruth’s life.