This festival had several names: Harvest, Weeks (Heb. Shabuoth), and Pentecost (Gr. pentekostos). The Contemporary English Version translated it the Harvest Festival. It fell at the end of the spring harvest50 days after Passover, namely, the day after the end of the seventh week. Pentecost means fiftieth day. This feast was a thanksgiving festival, and it lasted one day. The people offered God the firstfruits of the spring harvest as a thank offering for His provision for their physical and spiritual needs. [source][source][source]
The loaves of bread that the Israelites offered to God ( Leviticus 23:17) contained leaven. [source][source][source]
". . . in them their daily bread was offered to the Lord, who had blessed the harvest ..." [1][source]
These were common loaves of daily bread. The Israelites did not cook them specifically for holy purposes. They also presented other accompanying offerings ( Leviticus 23:18-19). The evidence of true gratitude is generosity, so the Israelites were to leave the corners of their fields unharvested so the poor could glean (cf. Leviticus 19:9-10; Deuteronomy 24:19-21). [source][source][source]
God sent the Holy Spirit to indwell believers permanently as the firstfruits of God"s blessings on Christians on the Pentecost following our Lord"s death and resurrection ( Acts 2). [source][source][source]
This feast was primarily a time of appreciation for God"s present provisions and care. Likewise our worship should include appreciation for these mercies as well. [source][source][source]
"In thanksgiving for God"s bounty, God"s people must give him a token of what his bounty has produced and make provision for the needs of the poor." [2][source]