To Worship God Even More
As Scripture is clear, the LORD sustains the Jewish People. The Jewish People greatly help themselves by a focus on 2 particularly “key” things when it comes to worship, as well as prayer.
In short, that of the universal Big Picture approach, with much of it drawn directly from the Hebrew Scriptures!
Seeing the LORD as both Transcendent and Imminent, that is of being beyond and far far above us, yet also, close to His People.
The other “key” be it in worship or prayer is we – rather than me! “We worship You”. “We pray for”, and whatever the needs are.
Jewish individuals who need healing are seen as part of the whole of the Jewish People.
A Jew praying alone prays in Hebrew 1st-person plural we-us-our – not in the singular. When we see we-us-our in English it should remind us that the overarching actual Biblical model and emphasis is we rather than me. The actual KG text of the RCS is over 60% you plural; there are 778 more uses of you plural than you singular. There are also in KG 865 uses of we-us-our. That is the actual Biblical emphasis, as we can see from the number of uses.
It should be noted that in the Hebrew of Ish. 53 the great Suffering Servant chapter, Yeshayahu (“(the) LORD, He saves” “Isaiah”) does not write “me, myself, I” in Hebrew.
Rather, the 1st-person plural is found in the Hebrew text of Ish. 53:1-6, sixteen times. (There may technically be a seventeenth!). Yeshayahu very much speaks of “we-us-our”! This includes the healing of we; not me Ish. 53:5.
We have repeatedly repeated in our teaching that there are 778 more uses of “you – plural” in the RCS KG text, than “you – singular”. That there are (according to our KG concordance) 865 – 865 – uses of the 4 KG words for “we-us-our”.
We have also pointed out that the RCS KG used for God as Savior, is used 90% with “we-us-our” (9 of 10 uses).
In short: worship and prayer that is universal Big Picture focused honors and gives weightiness of glory to the grandiose Majestic Majesty of the Creator and Sustainer of the Heavens above and the Earth below (cf. Josh. 2:11 etc. Cf. Yeshua in the Lord’s Prayer, in the original “…in Heaven and – in connectedness – on the Earth” Mt. 6:8-10).
Lest we forget let us quickly point out the Lord’s Prayer, which is a Hebrew-Jewish based prayer! Yeshua originally gave it if not in Hebrew, then in its very close sister language Aramaic. Aramaic was the Semitic language of Jews in the Babylonian Exile and was brought to Israel as their everyday language.
Yeshua’s prayer in short is a very condensed version of what was considered perhaps the prayer of pre- and 1st-century Jews. (Today’s form is slightly different). It is still today (after “Hear O Israel” etc. in Dt. 6:4 and following).
We have also pointed out the Jewish Taught Ones personally called and sent out by Yeshua, and the first Jewish brothers and sisters, prayed the traditional Hebrew Scripture based Hebrew prayers. Cf. Acts 1:14, 2:42, cf. Acts 3:1 etc.
We have pointed out elsewhere that despite some translations (KJV, NIV) Luke’s KG is specific regarding not “prayer” but “tais proseuxais” “…specifically referring to the prayers”. (Articular dative used to indicate “specifically referring to what”, in Acts 2:42 here, “the prayers”).
This means that the Jewish brethren closest to the Mashiach – and the first Jewish followers (there would be no Gentile followers for a decade!) – made no fundamental and foundational sea change from “we” to “me” in their prayer!
To the extent they understood Yeshua they saw him in universal Big Picture terms and personally – but not individualistically.
In fact if anything they did not – early on – understand the breadth of Mashiach’s work, in that the Gentiles – now as Gentiles – were also to be included!
That said, they most definitely did not have the post-Biblical Augustinian inward focus on their own personal spiritual condition either. (As also Luther did while he was a monk).
Imagine the positive potential possibilities of worship and prayer with a heart and framework of the universal and we as part of His Grandiose whole!
Lastly, let us call to mind Yochanon’s 1 Yochanon 2:2 which speaks of Mashiach’s atonement “…olou tou kosmou”, a totally Hebraic “of (the) whole of the World”. (KG grammars call this an Hebraic-based use of what is called the genitive. In short, the genitive is used to express “absolute” and to express-show “of”, as well as “possession”).
In context – always “key” – 1 Yochanon is the last Letter beyond one chapter in length and written 5 to 6 decades after Yeshua’s Ascension.
Thus the Ruach Hakodesh inspires Yochanon – even after the equivalent of a 1st-century generation and a half – to write of our wonderful Mashiach Yeshua’s universal Big Picture atonement!
An atonement, for we…
Yochanon’s KG in 1 Yochanon again, the last Letter longer than a chapter – is replete with “we-us”.
Imagine if we together draw on this in our collective worship and prayer!