This year, Shavuot (“Feast of Weeks”) begins at sundown on May 21. The Levitical harvest feast speaks powerfully into these turbulent times.
For many Christians, Shavuot is associated mainly with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit over 2,000 years ago. And rightly so. Jewish followers of Yeshua were gathered in Jerusalem, in obedience to God’s appointed times, when the Spirit descended in fiery power. It was a world-changing moment which birthed the Church as one new humanity, thereby launching the spread of the gospel and a harvest not of barley, grain, or wheat, but of souls (Acts 2:1-41).
Shavuot did not, however, begin in Acts 2 (see Leviticus 23:15-16, Deuteronomy 16:9-10, Exodus 23:16; 34:22). Traditional Judaism has long commemorated the giving of the Torah at Sinai on Shavuot. While Scripture does not indicate the precise date, rabbinic tradition holds that it was 50 days after the Exodus from Egypt that God covenanted with the Jewish people as a nation, entrusting them with His Holy Words (Exodus 19; 24:3-7).
If the tradition is correct, it was on that same date centuries later that God poured out His Spirit—not to erase Israel’s covenant story, but to deepen it. The Spirit was given in Jewish Jerusalem, to Jewish believers, during a holy, Jewish feast.
Shavuot would now bespeak not only an agricultural harvest, but a spiritual harvest worldwide. The Church calls this special day “Pentecost” (based on the Greek word for “50th”) and traditionally celebrates it apart from the actual date of Shavuot.
The message of Shavuot/Pentecost is profound: God writes His truth on stone tablets, and then on human hearts. First comes the gift of what we call the Old Covenant; many years later, comes the gift of what we call the New.
Shavuot commemorates God’s provision of essential foundations of the Church (Jeremiah 31:31). Yet, in much of the Church today, Israel’s role in those foundations, and God’s ongoing purposes with the Jewish nation, are minimized, dismissed, or blatantly denied. Some claim the Church has replaced or superseded Israel. Others treat the existence of the Jewish state as spiritually irrelevant; or worse, as a sin against God and humanity.
But most simply stay silent—perhaps partly due to lack of knowledge—while hate for Israel and the Jews escalates.
In a world that would dispose or dispense of most or all Jews, Shavuot reminds us that God’s covenants are not disposable. His Word is not dispensable.
Since Hamas’s massacre of October 7, 2023, Israel has been in a state of prolonged war to defend against terror organizations seeking its genocidal annihilation. Many Israeli families grieve murdered or seriously injured loved ones. Former hostages carry deep trauma. Soldiers are battle weary. Northern communities endure near daily attacks from Hezbollah. War with Iran threatens to openly resume, disrupting life and driving an entire country into safe rooms that provide little safety from deadly ballistic missiles. Meanwhile, Israel goes to extreme lengths to minimize civilian casualties when defending itself against an enemy that intentionally tries to maximize casualties among its own civilians, then, to gain still greater sympathy worldwide, grossly exaggerates those casualty figures.
Yet it is Israel that is singled out for charges of genocide and other nonexistent, disingenuous war crimes.
Lies about the Jewish state have been repeated to the extent they are now assumed, almost universally, to be true.
At the same time, antisemitism has exploded worldwide. Jews are violently assaulted or murdered as a matter of course. Jewish students are regularly harassed on university campuses, foreshadowing the future of Western civilization. Synagogues around the globe require tight security. Social media platforms are flooded with Jew hate disguised as activism. In many spaces, support for Israel has become socially costly.
More than a few Jewish people feel no place on earth is safe for them. They do not expect Christians to support them, to rally governments or the public on their behalf, or in other respects protect them—because historically and to date, very few have.
Spiritual warfare surrounding Israel has always been intense because Israel has always been central to God’s redemptive purposes. Through the Jewish people came the Old and New Covenant Scriptures, the prophets, and ultimately the Messiah Himself. Romans 9 reminds us, “to them belong the covenants.” Romans 11:1 asks and answers, “Has God cast away His people? Certainly not!”
God’s covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is unconditional (see Genesis 15). Its fulfillment does not depend on Israel’s faithfulness, but on His faithfulness to His own promise. That is why it cannot be negated or canceled by Israel’s failing or sin under the covenant given at Sinai (see Galatians 3:17-18).
How is all this uniquely relevant to Shavuot 2026?
Recall that Shavuot is traditionally celebrated by reading the biblical Book of Ruth. The timeless tale illustrates how we can respond—at least in heart and stance—to anti-Israelism, antisemitism, and anti-Zionism.
Ruth was a Moabite and a female—a Gentile outsider to Israel. After tremendous personal loss, she made one of the most remarkable covenant declarations in Scripture to her Jewish mother-in-law, Naomi: “Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God” (Ruth 1:16).
Ruth did not seek to replace Naomi’s people. She joined herself to them because of her devotion to their God.
That distinction matters deeply today.
Many Gentile believers have spiritually benefited from Israel’s covenants while disconnecting themselves from the Jewish roots of their faith. More and more are embracing new iterations of supersessionist theology—the idea that Israel’s covenant inheritance and destiny are superseded either by the Church or by the Person of Jesus.
Ruth models a very different posture. She humbled herself. She honored Israel—realistically and without idealizing the nation. She aligned herself with the Jewish people during Naomi’s season of bitterness and loss—not during her season of blessing.
That is an important lesson for believers today.
It is easy to stand with Israel when she is admired. It is harder when she is vilified.
It is harder when media narratives distort reality and foment lies to justify the slaughter of Jews. It is harder when supporting Israel invites criticism. Or worse.
But covenant loyalty is tested in difficult seasons.
Ruth’s faithfulness eventually led to redemption. Through her marriage to Boaz came the lineage of King David, and ultimately, Yeshua Himself.
A Gentile woman who aligned herself with Israel became part of the Messianic story.
That is no accident. It is a prophetic picture of believing Gentiles being grafted into God’s redemptive plan—not by superseding Israel, but by joining themselves to Israel’s Messiah. Ruth illustrates the “one new humanity” that God has always intended for Jewish and Gentile believers in Jesus to become (Ephesians 2:14-16).
As we celebrate Shavuot this year, we can reflect on both Sinai and Acts 2. We can remember both Word (Torah) and Spirit.
And we can learn from Ruth.
Stand with God’s covenant purposes.
Reject theological arrogance. Call it out in truth and love.
Refuse antisemitism in all its forms. Call it out in truth and love.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, the salvation of Jewish people, comfort for grieving Israelis, wisdom for Israel’s leaders, blessings and justice on Israel’s enemies—and a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our generation. We desperately need it.