Leviticus 23:21

“And ye shall proclaim on the selfsame day, [that] it may be an holy convocation unto you, etc.] This proclamation was made by the priests with the sound of a trumpet, that the people might observe that this fiftieth day, or day of Pentecost, was devoted to sacred service, and that they were called to holy exercises in it: ye shall do no servile work [therein]; what was not necessary for food, as Ben Gersom observes, but what was necessary on that account, as kindling a fire, etc. might be done, (see <032307>Leviticus 23:7,8); for this was to be kept in like manner as the first and seventh days of the feast of unleavened bread; the general design of which was to express thankfulness for the…”

“ye shall proclaim on the selfsame day, that it may be an holy convocation unto you: ye shall do no servile work therein--Though it extended over a week, the first day only was held as a Sabbath, both for the national offering of first-fruits and a memorial of the giving of the law.”

“These verses contain a distinct command regarding the religious services immediately connected with the grain harvest, given by anticipation against the time when the people were to possess the promised land. Leviticus 23:10 Sheaf - The original word, “omer”, means either a sheaf Deuteronomy 24:19; Ruth 2:7, or a measure Exodus 16:16. Our version is probably right in this place. The offering which was waved Leviticus 7:30 was most likely a small sheaf of barley, the grain which is first ripe. The first fruits of the wheat harvest were offered seven weeks later in the loaves of Pentecost. See Leviticus 23:15-17. The two offerings thus figure the very commencement and the completion of the…”

“An holy convocation - A sabbath or day of rest, called pentecost; which was instituted, partly in remembrance of the consummation of their deliverance out of Egypt by bringing them thence to the mount of God, or Sinai, as God had promised, and of that admirable blessing of giving the law to them on the 50th day, and forming them into a commonwealth under his own immediate government; and partly in gratitude for the farther progress of their harvest, as in the passover they offered a thank - offering to God for the beginning of their harvest. The perfection of this feast, was the pouring out of the holy spirit upon the apostles on this very day, in which the law of faith was given, fifty days…”

“proclaim: Lev 23:2, Lev 23:4; Exo 12:16; Deu 16:11; Isa 11:10 a statute: Lev 23:14; Gen 17:7; Exo 12:17; Num 18:23 Leviticus 23:22”

“On this day a holy meeting was to be held, and laborious work to be suspended, just as on the first and seventh days of Mazzoth. This was to be maintained as a statute for ever (see Lev 23:14). It was not sufficient, however, to thank the Lord for the blessing of harvest by a feast of thanksgiving to the Lord, but they were not to forget the poor and distressed when gathering in their harvest. To indicate this, the law laid down in Lev 19:9-10 is repeated in Lev 23:22. Leviticus 23:23”