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A sensible immigrant anywhere will normally accommodate himself to local custom. Unsubtle natives often demand such conformity, or else. Even cultured citizens regard it as a polite compliment. In either-case, the newcomer's speedy recognition of the beauty and wisdom of one's traditional ways is taken as a mark of the foreigner's perceptiveness and good taste. It is also a bid for warmer welcome and for better odds in favor of smooth integration. Such was God’s perspective as well when He included the Gentile among His people…Israel.
To the natives of ancient Israel, even such mundane matters as what one ate (and when) or wore; how one plowed, planted, reaped, or built a house, came under priestly regulation (because God had commanded such in His Law at Sinai as well as later), was declared to be the law (Torah-instruction) of Israel's God.
Answer for yourself: Could the nice foreigner, eager to be the tactful guest, avoid involvement then in what we could call his hosts' religion?
It would not be easy. Perhaps he preferred participation. In that case he might come to share the natives' conviction that, for whatever success he enjoyed, he was beholden to their God whose “client" he had now become.
"Client" is a technical term for such a guest. The Hebrews had their own word for him-ger. Though most English versions of the Bible inveterately translate this word as "stranger," it often signifies "proselyte." For the utter alien whose dissociation from Israel's faith and fashion of life was total, Scripture employs more precise designations, such as the Hebrew words ben (son of) nechar, nachri, zar, and acher.
The ger was to “some degree” incorporated in the community of Israel. This implied religious affiliation. The varying degrees of affiliation were not clearly defined or categorized in Biblical antiquity, but would later become so. That came later.
Regardless of where he originated or what his ancestral faith, elementary morality was expected of every resident in ancient Israel. Monotheism might appeal to one ger; another might enjoy the Sabbath of the Hebrews or their holy dietary regimen but entertain reservations about circumcision. However, if and when a ger assumed all the group oblations (ethical, ethnic and ecclesiastic), he became a full-fledged member of the congregation of Israel (Grafted IN) and his progeny were legally indistinguishable from other Israelites.
Converts were probably not attracted to the religion of Israel primarily by its rituals. They might have been if these had been sacraments—as in the mystery cults and later in Christianity. Israel's religion offered no magical means of redemption; and never claimed "no salvation outside this church."
Answer for yourself: What then did appeal to men who had outgrown paganism?
The purity of Israel's God-concept; its freedom from idolatry, image worship and adoration of saints; its sublime ethics; its rational hopes for the future; its faith in such a Kingdom of God as, under His guidance, men of flesh and blood could build on earth.
For the enlightened heathen seeking Israel's God, an ancient Temple prayer, (prayed during the time of Jesus) requests God’s gracious concern, expressing the trust that thus others may similarly be drawn to Him:
As for the alien (stranger) who does not belong to Thy people Israel, but who comes from a distant land for Thy sake (for men shall hear of Thy great fame . . . ), when he comes and turns in prayer toward this temple, then do Thou hearken to this alien's petition . . . so that all nations in the world may learn what Thou art and worship Thee as does Thy people (I Kings 8:41 ff).
The Holy Bible In Basic English
And as for the man from a strange land, who is not of your people Israel; when he comes from a far country because of the glory of your name: 8:42 (For they will have news of your great name and your strong hand and your out-stretched arm;) when he comes to make his prayer, turning to this house: 8:43 Give ear in heaven your living-place, and give him his desire, whatever it may be; so that all the peoples of the earth may have knowledge of your name, worshipping you as do your people Israel, and that they may see that this house which I have put up is truly named by your name.
Answer for yourself: What does all of this mean that we as non-Jews are to learn to worship God as does the Jewish people?
Let us examine some of the Hebrew meanings to words in the above verse:
I Kings 8:41-43 41 Moreover concerning a stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy name's sake; 42 (For they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy stretched out arm;) when he shall come and pray toward this house; 43 Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house, which I have builded, is called by thy name. (KJV)
41 Moreover concerning the stranger that is not of Thy people Israel, when he shall come out of a far country for Thy name's sake-- 42 for they shall hear of Thy great name, and of Thy mighty hand, and of Thine outstretched arm--when he shall come and pray toward this house; 43 hear Thou in heaven Thy dwelling-place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to Thee for; that all the peoples of the earth may know Thy name, to fear Thee, as doth Thy people Israel, and that they may know that Thy name is called upon this house which I have built.
The Hebrew word used for “to fear” is as follows:
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon: 3372 yare'- 1) to fear, to revere, to be afraid a) (Qal) 1) to fear, to be afraid 2) to stand in awe of, to be awed 3) to fear, to show reverence, to honor, to respect b) (Niphal) 1) to be fearful, to be dreadful, to be feared 2) to cause astonishment and awe, to be held in awe 3) to inspire reverence or godly fear or awe c) (Piel) to make afraid, to terrify 2) Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament: to shoot, to pour
Strong's Concordance: 3372 yare' (yaw-ray'); a primitive root; to fear; morally, to revere; cause to frighten: KJV-- affright, be (make) afraid, dread (-ful), (put in) fear (-ful, -fully, -ing), (be had in) reverence (-end), X see, terrible (act, -ness, thing).
Common to each of the above questions is the idea that Israel is the source as well as the example to all non-Jewish nations for the Revelation of God among mankind. We find this fact in both the Old and New Testaments as well.
Dearly beloved, I have begun to lead you to a path more pleasing to God than you have ever embarked before in your life. As we can see from the above examples we as Christian Gentiles and followers of "the Christ" are to worship God as does the Jewish people. They have the "Pattern of Worship" for us even today which we need to learn and follow. In this article, of which much is to follow, I will prove my point to you beyond any doubt: that as Christians we are to worship God according to the "Pattern of Worship" given by God for both the Jew as well as the Gentile.
1 Chr 28:10-15 10 Take heed now; for the LORD hath chosen thee to build an house for the sanctuary: be strong, and do it. 11 Then David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch, and of the houses thereof, and of the treasuries thereof, and of the upper chambers thereof, and of the inner parlours thereof, and of the place of the mercy seat, 12 And the pattern of all that he had by the spirit, of the courts of the house of the LORD, and of all the chambers round about, of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries of the dedicated things: 13 Also for the courses of the priests and the Levites, and for all the work of the service of the house of the LORD, and for all the vessels of service in the house of the LORD.
Let us look and examine the the Hebrew word for :service and see what we find hidden in the Hebrew:
The Strong's Concordance teaches us that the Hebrew word for “pattern” is as follows:
8403 tabniyth (tab-neeth'); from 1129; structure; by implication, a model, resemblance: KJV-- figure, form, likeness, pattern, similitude.
Strong's Concordance teaches us that the Hebrew word for "service" is as follows:
5656 `abodah (ab-o-daw'); or `abowdah (ab-o-daw'); from 5647; work of any kind: KJV-- act, bondage, + bondservant, effect, labour, ministering (-try), office, service (-ile, -itude), tillage, use, work, X wrought.
Brown-Driver-Briggs' Hebrew Lexicon: teaches us more as we look at the Hebrew word used for "service":
5656 `abodah or `abowdah- labor, service
Now let us look a little deeper into the root word for the Hebrew word "service" as taken from the Strong's Concordance:
5647 `abad (aw-bad'); a primitive root; to work (in any sense); by implication, to serve, till, (causatively) enslave, etc.: KJV-- X be, keep in bondage, be bondmen, bond-service, compel, do, dress, ear, execute, + husbandman, keep, labour (-ing man, bring to pass, (cause to, make to) serve (-ingself,), (be, become) servant (-s), do (use) service, till (-er), transgress [from margin], (set a) work, be wrought, worshipper,
What we see from these words is that there is a "MINISTRY" and "SERVICE OF OR UNTO God" and a "worship of God" that was given by the Spirit of God according to a "PATTERN" that as bondservants of the Most High we are compelled to follow
Answer for yourself: Did you see the picture emerging from the above passages as these Hebrew words were explained in depth to you?
Now we see that there does for certain exist a "Pattern" of "service" or a "Pattern of ministry" of or unto God in the Hebrew Scriptures in the Old Testament but for our purposes we need to know if there exists such a "Pattern of service" or "Pattern of Worship" in the New Testament.
The sad fact of the matter is that as contemporary Christians we do not follow the pattern of worship which was given to David and which can be traced to continue until the 4th century, and our efforts at worship are often anything but reverence and honor toward God when we change HIS PATTERN OF WORSHIP and substitute man-made Sabbaths for the Sabbaths of God, substitute man-made holidays that originate from pagan sources and Sun Worship for the Almighty’s Biblical Feast Days, and pervert the Tithe and Offerings as is being done by the vast majority of Christian Churches today. “It can't be” is probably your response. Let me assure you “we are Nadabs and Abihus in Christian garb.” God is not pleased and you will not find out unless you study for yourself or you die, whatever comes first. It is our intention at Bet Emet Ministries to save you the shame destined for you in the world to come and lead you in a “more perfect way” as was Apollos by revealing to you these Biblical truths which have for too long been overlooked by too many. I ask you read this series of articles both with your mind and your heart. We at Bet Emet Ministries are eager to help you better understand the Hebraic meaning of the Scriptures which influence the most important part of your life…your worship and relationship with God. Now back to the teaching.
Jesus (Yeshua) prayed this Temple prayer often and it was, and still is his earnest desire and will that all Gentiles be reached with the message of God’s salvation and come to the knowledge whereby they worship his Father in Spirit and in Truth. Notice, and this is very important, that the prayer is not only that we come to the knowledge of God and worship him, but that we as non-Jews WORSHIP GOD AS DOES THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL.
Please understand that not all worship is accepted by God. You only have to ask Nadab and Abihu and their stunning deaths in their first worship service speaks volumes that should alert us today to the fact that all worship is not accepted by God and even may be judged by God. In other words, the Temple prayer prayed by multitudes of Jews, as well as Jesus and his Apostles (which would later take the message of Gentile Salvation into all the world) was for the Gentile to learn the correct forms of worship that both honor God and show Him respect.
Answer for yourself: Does the observance of Easter or Passover please God? Which did God and Jesus command be observed? I'll give you a hint, it is not Easter!
Answer for yourself: Are you aware which of the above two religious observances was given to us by God and which was given to us by pagans?
Answer for yourself: Having understood that Easter is a pagan fornication festival adopted by the ancient Catholic Christian Church (check me out in your Encyclopedia) to which they added the name of Jesus (notice that Easter and Passover are TWO different dates on you calendar….why?), can you any longer participate in such a observance once you understand that God hates such things as He says in the Bible?
This is exactly what I am trying to make you understand. Observance of pagan forms and manifestations of worship always led Israel to be judged and taken into captivity.
Answer for yourself: What will be the fruit of such observances by the Christian Churches come judgment day?
More to follow in the next article. Shalom.