The children of Esav (Esau) asked, "Do you plan to deny us the blessing bestowed upon our father Esav? He was blessed with the words, 'By your sword shall you live.' We cannot accept the Torah [because it denies us the right to commit murder.]"

G-d then went to the children of Lot and offered them the Torah.

"What is written in it?" they asked.

"You shall not commit unchastity," G-d replied.

"We are descended from unchastity," they responded. "We cannot accept the Torah.

Then G-d approached the children of Yish'mael (Ishmael) and said,

"Will you accept the Torah?"

"What is written in it?" they asked.

"You shall not steal," G-d replied. "Will you deny us the blessing of our father?" they responded. "Our father was promised that 'his hand will be against every man.' We cannot accept the Torah."

Then G-d came to Israel and said will you accept the Torah?"

"What is in it?" they asked.

G-d answered. "It contains 613 commandments [mitzvot.]"

The children of Israel responded, "All that the L-rd has commanded we shall do and obey."

What can be learned from the answer of Israel is that no matter what G-d asks, our answer should be, "All that the L-rd has commanded we shall do and obey/" Even before we know what it is. As we study the scriptures, we must change our lives as we uncover the will of G-d. When we find something that is wrong in the eyes of G-d, we do not explain why it is okay to keep on doing it, we stop it right then and there. If we do not change our evil ways for the ways of G-d, then our answer is not, "All that the L-rd has commanded we shall do and obey.

The voice of G-d went throughout the entire world, to every nation on earth, speaking to them in their own language and offering them the Torah. Only Israel accepted, and to whom much is given, much is required!

After Israel accepted the Torah, the voices went back up on top of the mountain and engraved themselves on the stone tablets. Moshe was still under the mountain. When G-d engraved the tablets of stone, there was no one present but G-d. This can be confirmed in Shemot (Exodus) 24.12....

"Then the L-rd said to Moshe, "Come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone, and the Torah and mitzvot which I have written, that you may teach them."

This verse tells us that G-d had already engraved the tablets of stone. We have been taught that Moshe went up to G-d on the mountain and G-d wrote the Ten Commandments in front of him.

This can be seen in one of the greatest movies of all time, "The Ten Commandments," by Cecil B. DeMille. This is a great movie, but don't decide what you believe based on this movie. Where it is a good movie, it is bad Bible in a lot of places. Study the scriptures and place your trust in them.

What did these tablets look like? No one can be sure. They probably had square tops instead of round and were small enough to be carried easily. They were engraved on both sides and probably made of sapphire. It is the belief in Judaism that the Torah existed before the creation of the world. In Shemot (Exodus) 24.10, just before Moshe receives the Ten Commandments, G-d calls Moshe, Aharon (Aaron), Nadav, Avihu, and seventy elders up to meet with Him. What did they see?

"and they saw the G-d of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity.

It is for this reason that I believe that the two original stone tablets were not carved out of the mountain but was instead the tablets that G-d had made in heaven. He then gave them to Moshe and Moshe smashed them when he saw the idolatry that the people were in when he came down from the mountain. What was broken by the man of G-d was priceless and could never be replaced. The tablets that Moshe carved, the tablets were placed in the Ark could never begin to compare to the two that were broken because of the disobedience of Israel. It is now time to go to Acts 2.1-3....

"When the Day of Shavuot 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."

The event is the Feast of Shavuot. The people are gathered in the Temple of G-d to celebrate the Feast. The talmadim (disciples) are present. The events of Acts 2 did not occur in the upper room, they occurred in the Temple. This is where every devout Jew would have been at this time. G-d commanded that they be there....

Three times a year all your males shall appear before the L-rd your G-d in the place which He chooses: at Chag ha-Matzah (the Feast of Unleavened Bread), at Shavuot (the Feast of Weeks), and at Sukkot (the Feast of Tabernacles); and they shall not appear before the L-rd empty-handed.

Acts 2.2-3 sounds a lot like Shemot 19. In Shemot we saw tongues of fire that went to every Israelite. The whole Temple was filled with the wind and the tongues of fire. Acts 2.4....

And they were all filled with the Ruach haKodesh (Holy Spirit) and began to speak with other tongues, as the Ruach (Spirit) gave them utterance.

Does the scripture really say they were filled with the Ruach haKodesh or that they were empowered by it? Let's find out. In Luke 24.49 we read the words of Yeshua....

Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Y'rushalayim (Jerusalem) until you are endued with power from on high.

The word 'upon' is actually, "on" and the word endued is the Strong's number 1746, enduseste, which means: clothed, to invest with clothing (lit. or fig.) It is elsewhere translated as array, clothe and have (put) on. The passage is clear when compared to another scripture. The Ruach haKodesh does not fill you, nor does it abide in you. It clothes you and empowers you to do the things G-d has sent it to do through you. Here, the Ruach haKodesh is giving the talmadim the power to speak in a language that they do not already know that the people will believe.

You are filled with the Sh'kinah, the Divine Presence of the Living G-d. None of these do we possess in their fullness, we have only a down payment from the Father. The best is yet to come. When we shall see him as he is, and we shall be like him. That is the Promise of the Father that we see in the Passover Seder.

Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.

Simon (Peter) took advantage of this, with the power now upon him he began a very powerful message. It was so powerful that three thousand Jews were saved that very day.

The time that these events took place was 9:00 in the morning. In Shemot 19.16 it says that the events started "in the morning." I believe that the events in Shemot started at 9:00 in the morning. Remember Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) 1.9....

That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun.

What happened in Acts 2 is the same thing that happened at Sinai. The problem today is that we try to interpret the scriptures without the Festival's and we come up with our own conclusions and completely miss the very thing that G-d wants us to see Shemot (Exodus) and Acts 2 are all about the Jewish wedding, yet how many of us have taken the time to find out about the first century C.E. Jewish wedding. Without it one will never get the right interpretation. To see the proof of that one only needs to look at the many different views there are of acts chapter 2.

There are many more things to be learned in this Festival but I will leave that up to you to find out for yourself The study of G-d's word is the most fascinating journey one will ever take, and you don't even have to leave the comfort of your own home.

Don't believe what is in this article just because you've read it. Your job is to search it out to see if it's true. Let the Ruach haKodesh lead you in all things and see the truths of G-d. Study the Festival's. One thing I know, you will never understand the scriptures without them!

Shalom and G-d Bless,

Steve & Karen Salter

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