BRING TWO LOAVES OF BREAD…There are two loaves of bread, side by side, on the offering table to the Lord. This unusual offering was appointed for this time of the year for God’s chosen people. Since both loaves are leavened, they appear to be spiritually significant as sinful types of mankind. But this is a heavenly offering...

We are all at the feet of Jesus on this one, as our “Rabboni” (rah BONE I) instructs us on “heavenly” leaven through one of His shortest parables. “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.” The Parable of the Leaven, repeated in Luke 13:20–21, immediately follows the Parable of the Mustard Seed. Both share the spiritual theme of the Kingdom of God growing from small, even microscopic beginnings to incredible spiritual size and dimension in its fulfillment.

Why two loaves of leavened bread? 3500 years ago, on Mount Sinai, God’s Spirit descended on Israel in fire and thunder or “kolot” (CO-lote), which means voices or languages, when the nation covenanted with Him by accepting the Ten Commandments. 1500 years later during Pentecost on Mount Zion, on the same calendar date, fiery tongues of the Holy Spirit descended upon those who covenanted with God through Jesus Christ, enabling them to speak and understand other languages. “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”—Acts 2:1-4 (Hebrew translation of verse 1 says “Shavuot” since this appointed day came to be known as Pentecost following the gift of the Holy Spirit on those gathered.) ⁵ Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. ⁶ When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. ⁷ Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸ Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? ⁹ Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,^[b] 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome ¹¹ (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” ¹² Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”)

Examining the Old Testament timing, Exodus 19:1 records the Israelites arrived approximately 44-45 days after the Exodus, which occurred on the fifteenth day of the first month (Numbers 33:3).  Several days later, God thunderously spoke His covenant to His chosen people, approximately 49-50 days from the beginning of their Exodus. For millennia this date has been celebrated as “Shavuot” (pronounced “shah-voo-ote”) which means “sevens” aka “weeks”, counted to occur at the end of the 7 sabbaths early harvest period, also known as the Feast of Weeks. The Hebrew calendar, appointed and no longer tied to the observation of the new moon, marks Shavuot beginning sundown June 11 to sundown June 13. Observation of the new moon on the evening of June 7 places the ancient Shavuot on our 2024 Gregorian calendar to sometime between sundown June 15 to sundown June 16, now recognized as today’s Pentecost.

The beginning counting of Weeks in the New Testament was initiated by Jesus when He was raised from the dead, “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20) The gifting of the Holy Spirit to Christians 50 days later, known as Pentecost, empowered His followers to not only keep God’s Commandments, but to understand them in different languages, enabling them to teach them to ALL nations, greatly increasing their numbers and influence.

The Almighty expressed Himself succinctly in His instructions on the offering He desired on this ancient appointed and anointed date. “‘From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks. Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the Lord. From wherever you live, bring two loaves made of two-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour, baked with yeast, as a wave offering of firstfruits to the Lord. Present with this bread seven male lambs, each a year old and without defect, one young bull and two rams. They will be a burnt offering to the Lord, together with their grain offerings and drink offerings—a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord. Then sacrifice one male goat for a sin offering and two lambs, each a year old, for a fellowship offering. The priest is to wave the two lambs before the Lord as a wave offering, together with the bread of the firstfruits. They are a sacred offering to the Lord for the priest. On that same day you are to proclaim a sacred assembly and do no regular work. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live.” Leviticus 23:15-22

“Shavuot”, the spoken and written Word of the Almighty on Mount Sinai, was exponentially enlarged to “Pentecost”. God's spoken word was fulfilled through His Incarnate Word on Mount Zion, destined to reach the ends of the earth as Jesus prophesied in Matthew 24:14. “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.”

When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, He replied, as He stood on Mount Zion, “The most important one…is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." Mark 2:29-31

Indeed, consolidating the Ten Commandments given in Deuteronomy 5 into the first 4 being about our relationship with God, and the last 6 being about our relationship with our neighbor, we have exactly the Words of Jesus. Listen now to the identical words of the Almighty shortly after Israel was reminded of Him speaking the Ten Commandments in thunder and lightning on Mount Sinai: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.” Deuteronomy 6:4-6

Jesus was the plan all along. And He has been spiritually right beside us all this time, even during the Exodus. “For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.” 1 Corinthians 10:1-2

We close today's lesson with these powerful words: “11 Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— 12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” Ephesians 2:11-22

BRING TWO LOAVES OF BREAD…