52 Hebrew Words Every Christian Should Know......AVAD

When someone says the word “Worship” they picture most of us have is people singing in church, maybe with their hands in the air, eyes closed or clapping....right?

We mostly view worship as the first 30 min of a church service when everyone sings prays, and listens to a message.

In or modern world, “worship” is often reduce to a category of music…Worship wars.....Modern worship, traditional worship, Southern Gospel worship…the list goes on .

But what if worship is more than that?

Avad (עבד) is most often translated as “service,” where one submits oneself to another.

Examples of this are as a slave to a master

Exodus 21:6 “6 then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life.”

a subject to a king

2 Samuel 16:19 “19 Furthermore, whom should I serve? Should I not serve the son? Just as I served your father, so I will serve you.””

or even a son to his father

Malachi 3:17 “17 “On the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty, “they will be my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him.”

Avad (עבד) is also translated as “work” or “common labor.” This word refers to vocations both “secular”

Exodus 5:18 “18 Now get to work. You will not be given any straw, yet you must produce your full quota of bricks.””

Exodus 34:21, God speaking about the Sabbath says: “Six days you shall labor [avad], but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the plowing season and harvest you must rest.”

Avad (עבד) may be translated as “worship,” referring to the worship of YHWH

Joshua 24:14 “14 “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.”

Ezekiel 20:40 “40 For on my holy mountain, the high mountain of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord, there in the land all the people of Israel will serve me, and there I will accept them. There I will require your offerings and your choice gifts, along with all your holy sacrifices.”

or the worship of idols

Exodus 20:5 “5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,”

When He calls Moses to lead His people out of Egypt, God gives Moses this promise: “When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship [avad] God on this mountain”

Exodus 3:12 “12 And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.””

In Exodus 5:1, 3 Moses and Arron asked to Pharaoh to let the people go into the wilderness to AVAD worship God.

Exodus 5:1

“1 Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the wilderness.’ ””

Exodus 5:3

“3 Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, or he may strike us with plagues or with the sword.””

So as we consider the word AVAD we are also called to a deeper understanding of what “Worship” really is....And Who “Worship” is really for.

God does not simply want Worship to be a once a week thing....nor does God want us to define worship as a song.

Speaking of a song there is a 90’s worship Song that illustrates this idea perfectly. The Heart of Worship....

When the music fades All is stripped away And I simply come

Longin' just to bring Something that's of worth That will bless Your heart

I'll bring You more than a song For a song in itself Is not what You have required

You search much deeper within Through the ways things appear You're looking into my heart

I'm comin' back to the heart of worship And it's all about You It's all about You, Jesus I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it When it's all about You It's all about You, Jesus

King of endless worth No one could express How much You deserve? Though I'm weak and poor All I have is Yours Every single breath

This song came out of an experience the writer Matt Redmond had where their was a lot of turmoil over Worship songs in the church he was serving in as worships pastor...

“The lead pastor (Mike Pilavachi) of his (Matt Redmond) Church decided to get rid of the sound system and band for a season, and we gathered together with just our voices. His point was that we’d lost our way in worship, and the way to get back to the heart would be to strip everything away.”

Reminding his church family to be producers in worship, not just consumers, the pastor, Mike Pilavachi, asked, “When you come through the doors on a Sunday, what are you bringing as your offering to God?”

Matt says the question initially led to some embarrassing silence, but eventually people broke into a cappella songs and heartfelt prayers, encountering God in a fresh way.

While this is foucsed on music aspect of AVAD it also points to the deeper meaning of AVAD....To Serve, To Work.....

AVAD is calling us to a much deeper understanding of Worship....

What do you believe the implications of a deeper understanding of Worship are for the Church?

Worship is service to God In our worship services, Vocations and ministry to others....