The Journey to Pentecost

Rather listen to this blog? Listen to “The Journey to Pentecost.”

Fifty days. That’s how long the Israelites wandered in the desert before even reaching Mt. Sinai, where the Lord gave Moses the Law (including the ten commandments).

Just three days after walking across the dry ground of the Red Sea, they were thirsty (wandering in a desert will do that to you). They cried out, and God turned bitter water at Maram sweet. Then, he led them to an oasis with 12 springs and 70 palm trees.

Two and a half months into their exodus, the people grumbled because they were hungry. God’s response? He sent them quail at night and manna in the morning.

Shortly after, as they traveled to their next camp at Rephidim, they were again without water. This time, God delivered through a rock, which gave water when Moses hit it as God instructed.

Then, while still at Rephidim, the Israelites were attacked by Amalekites. Still, God delivered them. As long as Moses stood with his hands upraised, the Israelites would win the battle.

Finally, after cycles of facing need and finding provision, they reached Mt. Sinai.

To prepare the people for receiving His law, God tells Moses to say this to the Israelites:

 “You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession.” (Exodus 19:4-5)

Today is Pentecost, the time Christians celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2). You may be wondering what on earth the story of Exodus has to do with that. Maybe you have heard Easter coincides with the Jewish festival of Passover. There are many references to Jesus being the ultimate Passover lamb, saving us from death and our sins just as God saved the Israelites through a physical lamb when they were in Egypt. If you get the chance to study all the parallels between the Passover story and the Easter one, I would recommend it. It’s fascinating to see the foreshadowing of Jesus in so many traditions and events of the Old Testament.

It just so happens that the coming of the Holy Spirit described in Acts, chapter 2 coincides with another Jewish festival - the Festival of Weeks. This is a festival of many names (e.g., Festival of First Fruits, Festival of the Harvest). One of the names for this celebration is “the season of the giving of our Law.”

You see, the third month of the Hebrew calendar is called Sivan, and Pentecost falls on the sixth of Sivan. It was in this month that Moses went up to Mt. Sinai and received the law from God. This was and continues to be a celebrated event in Jewish history. This is the moment in time when the God of the earth, the God of Abraham, communed with his chosen people. At this moment, he created a covenant with them (one he promised Abraham) and entered into an intimate relationship with his creation - one based on obedience and faith.

What a journey the Israelites had been on. They were enslaved in Egypt and rescued directly by God’s hand. They made their escape, only to run into the Red Sea, which was held open for them.

 I can’t help but wonder what they anticipated as they left Egypt. They were told to pack up and go so quickly they didn’t even have time for the yeast to rise in their bread. It is no wonder they ran into so much difficulty on the journey. How, after such a rushed departure, could they adequately outfit themselves for a long travail in the unforgiving and harsh desert?

 If I were among the crowd fleeing Egypt, I would probably be anticipating our trip would be short. Surely God wouldn’t rescue us only to condemn us to more hardships. I would likely have my mind set on a few days of roughing it, which would be totally worth it when we arrived in some beautiful oasis.

This wasn’t quite the way things played out for them. This was to be a major journey, and it required faith - the kind of faith that asks you to place not only your life but the lives of every single person you care about into God’s hands.

 It was a hard journey. As we have already seen, the Israelites were faced with hardship after hardship. Over and over, they had to rely on God to provide, and guess what? Over and over and over, He did just that.

After they had seen and experienced his faithfulness, he gives them his covenant and calls them to obedience.

 It’s not so different when Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to his followers in Acts. Jesus had lived and walked with the disciples, allowing them to witness his miracles and rely on his provision. They had to watch as Jesus was crucified but then witnessed his resurrection. What joy must have been theirs for a time, until they were faced with yet another journey - Jesus’ command to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20).

Only, he warns them they will face all kinds of hardships. In John 15 and 16, Jesus foretells that the disciples will be hated by the world, put out of the synagogue, persecuted, and even killed.

Then, he shares he is going away as well. But just as (I would imagine) they would start to panic, he calms them with this promise: “It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16: 7). “When he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth” (John 16: 13).

The “Advocate” and “Spirit of truth” are both names for the Holy Spirit. Jesus tells the disciples it will be BETTER for them if he leaves so he can send the Holy Spirit.

Like the Israelites leaving Egypt, they are embarking on a journey of their own. They (and all who choose to follow Jesus) will face hardships and have to rely on God for provision throughout their sojourn. The promise they have that makes this possible at all, and the one we celebrate at Pentecost, is that God will be with them.

During the festival of Pentecost - the season of the giving to us of our Law, Jesus (who came to fulfill that law) sends down his Holy Spirit:

“They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” Acts 2: 3-4

Jesus was called “Emmanuel,” which means “God with us.” This is an apt name as he physically walked the earth. He was, literally, with us. The Holy Spirit, though, gets to be “God IN us.” We don’t have to wait for his attention to have an intermediary like Moses speak to Him for us.

No. Every single step we take, we take (if we have chosen to enter into God’s covenant through Jesus) with God. Our provider, miracle worker, life-giver, guide, and Lord lives within us.

He counsels us, shows us the path of righteousness, lets us know if we are getting off course, and in every way sustains us, no matter where the road may lead.

We all have a journey to make. We all will face obstacles along the way. What a comfort to know we never have to take one single step of that journey on our own or in our own power. We don’t have to make sure we have enough water, food, or equipment. We don’t have to worry about avoiding or fighting our enemies.

The same God who guided His people out of Egypt has brought us to himself, just as he did them, and what is more, he has given us himself to help us obey his commands and keep his covenant. Our only requirement is to rely on Him. He is ready and willing to carry us on eagles’ wings.

*For more reading on the connection between the Old Testament festival and Pentecost, see Christ in the Feast of Pentecost by David Brickner and Rich Robinson.