I really thought I was finished… but apparently I’m not. I have not gotten much further in Bo. I’m now a little further in Exodus 12… but still have not finished the portion yet.
As I continued to read about the Passover and the commands to keep it, these verses really struck me!
Exodus 12:24 You are to keep this word as a law for you and for your children, into the ages!
Exodus 12:25 Now it will be, when you come to the land which YHVH will give you, as he has spoken, you are to keep this service!
Service…. I have not read it as “service” in any of the other translations that I recall. So, I had to stop and look this one up too.
Brown Driver Briggs’ definition of service is:
1) labour, service
1a) labour, work
1b) labour (of servant or slave)
1c) labour, service (of captives or subjects)
1d) service (of God)
Many times I take it one step further to understand the language and the intended meaning, I will go see how this word has been used in scripture by taking the Strong’s number and going to Blue Letter Bible and searching for the Strong’s number. I was a bit shocked on this one. Read this verse:
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What? This service is the exact same service as being a slave? Then, it dawned on me…. We are either serving Abba or hasatan (satan). There is no middle ground. Just like the scripture in Joshua, you have to choose… one or the other. You are going to serve one, but you get to choose which one.
Jos 24:15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom you will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the river Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
More Choices. We get to choose Blessing or Curses.
Deuteronomy 30:19 I call-as-witness against you today the heavens and the earth: life and death I place before you, blessing and curse; now choose life, in order that you may stay-alive, you and your seed,
Deuteronomy 30:20 by loving YHVH your God, by hearkening to his voice and by cleaving to him, for he is your life and the length of your days, to be settled on the soil that YHVH swore to your fathers, to Avraham, to Yitzhak and to Yaakov, to give them!
Is this what is meant by “Bond-servant”? All the apostles regularly refer to themselves as bond-servants. In Revelation, John says:
Rev 1:1 THE Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him, to show unto his servants those things which must soon come to pass, he sent and signified it by his angel to his servant John:
Rev 1:2 Who bore record of the word of God and of the testimony of Jesus Christ and of all things that he saw.
Rev 1:3 Blessed is he who reads and they who listen to the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it: for the time is at hand.
The Word of God and Testimony of Jesus (Yeshua)?
Rev 12:17 And the dragon was enraged at the woman, and he went to make war with the remnant of her seed, who keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus.
I never expected this Torah portion to lead me to fully vetting why we are Messianic, but it appears that is exactly what is happening. Again, I pray that you study this out for yourself. Don’t leave your salvation to anyone’s interpretation.
Shalom, Shalom… let’s see if there will be a part 4.
[…] If you are enjoying this series, here is part three. […]
Very insightful Trish. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.