First Harvest, First Church

43 days after leaving Egypt, Moses and the other hundreds of thousands of Israelites arrived in the wilderness near Mount Sinai. There the Lord fed them with quail and manna. Later, the 50th day--one week after the appearance of manna--would be designated the Festival of the Harvest to celebrate all that the Lord has provided, during which each is to bring a voluntary offering in proportion to the blessings (Deut. 16:9-112). The celebration was with the whole family, all the servants, the priests and...perhaps more importantly all the foreigners/travelers, orphans and widows amongst them. The Festival is also called the Festival of Weeks--as in seven weeks after Passover--Shabuot or the Festival of Pentecost.

Christ had told His disciples, speaking of the need to spread the Good News, that the harvest was plentiful but the workers few. In the gospel of John, Christ is quoted as saying that the harvest is 'white' perhaps like manna. Also that the disciples would be able to harvest where they didn't plant. Unnamed others have already planted the 'good seed' and the disciples just need to gather the manna. Manna was provided by God, through His Holy Spirit; He made the provision and we are asked to just harvest.

After His resurrection, and ascension into heaven, His disciples are gathered in Jerusalem again for the Festival of the Harvest. As promised the Holy Spirit comes to them, empowered them to speak in the languages of the pilgrimage people also gathered in Jerusalem. Those people thought they're drunk but Peter gave an impassioned call to repentance citing the prophet Joel and others. That day, among the pilgrims, three thousand people were baptized and joined the 'church' and began learning what it means to follow Christ. This was a clear sign that God had indeed prepared the harvest and the disciples just had to be faithful and gather the manna.

Two weeks after the appearance of the manna, one week after the date of the Festival of the Harvest, Moses climbs Mount Sinai for the first time to receive instructions from the Lord. Likewise, the believers assembled each day to hear the Good News of the Lord ('the teaching of the apostles') and to have fellowship, to share meals and pray for one another. No longer would they need Moses to clamber over rocks, crevices and bushes to have a conversation with the Lord and come back and report what He said; they merely need to pray and the Holy Spirit was there to intercede for them and they could hear directly from the Lord. They were 'climbing Mount Sinai' themselves to commune with God, and they were doing it together.

When they gathered daily to celebrate new life in Christ, they shared, not just meals, but also means in that they also sold things to provide for those in need--like the widows and orphans. With the coming of the Holy Spirit to live within His people, the celebration was not just annually during the Festival of Weeks. It was daily.

How about you? Are you celebrating with others daily for all the Lord has provided?