 |
Web Hosting by Netfirms | Free Domain Names by Netfirms |
|
|
|
Answer for yourself: Are you aware that within the Jewish Scriptures we can find a "Pattern of Worship" given by God that was followed by both Jews and non-Jewish believers in God both in the Old Testament and New Testament times?
Answer for yourself: Are you aware that both historically and archeologically we can attest that this "Pattern of Worship" continued until the 4th and early 5th Century A.D. when Rome for all practical purposes changed it for everyone and today we seldom if ever stumble onto the prior existing pattern that God had intended that all His children, both Jew and non-Jew, observe in their worship of Him?
Answer for yourself: Are you aware that the tabernacle was built according to the divine blueprint given to Moses by the Lord (Ex. 25:8-9)?
Answer for yourself: Are you aware that Aaron and his sons were consecrated to their priestly vocation according to a divine pattern as well, and they offered the prescribed sacrifices unto God according to a divine pattern?
Answer for yourself: Are you aware that David was given the same pattern when told to build the Temple, set aside the Priests, and oversee the work of the service (worship) within the Temple (I Chron. 28:13)?
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:
Strong's Concordance:
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
5656 `abodah or `abowdah- labor, service
What we see from these words is that there is a "MINISTRY" and "SERVICE OF GOD" that was given by the Spirit of God according to a "PATTERN."
Even the New Testament alludes to this pattern:
Heb 8:5 5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount. (KJV)
Now it is for us to both understand that a "pattern of ministry" existed both in the Old Testament and New Testament which was a pattern of the intended service of mankind and worship toward God. This is called "ministry" according to the Hebrew word. I know that the term "ministry" is so overworked today but it is for us to try to discern:
If this can discerned from New Testament examples as applying "unchanged" for both the Jew and the non-Jewish believer who came to God through the ministry of Yeshua's disciples and apostles then we need then only ask if our experience as Christians and followers of Yeshua is yet today according to this "pattern of ministry" or if our experience is different and if so we must ask "why?" If not then we have to honestly ask if we have let Israel be a light unto us (as Gentiles as the nations of the world) as God has said they were to be in the Jewish Scriptures or if we have been misled in our "ministry and worship" toward God.
In the articles that follow we will present evidence from both the Jewish Old Testament and the New Testament which proves beyond any doubt that there did exist not only a "pattern of worship" as observed by both the Jew and non-Jew but both observed and adhered to this pattern well before and after Jesus' crucifixion which indicates that nothing was changed by Jesus' death. One has to look to the official adoption of the Jesus Movement by the state of Rome in which "Christianity" became the state religion of Rome to see the organized changes made to this "pattern" of worship. Today few if any know that ever happened and that we have departed from the "pattern" of worship given by God in His Holy Texts.
Let us continue our study.
Bennoah1@airmail.net