The Siddur Project

Worship on His Terms

By Aaron Eby  | Comments (5) | Posted on January 23, 2007

In an earlier post I explained the multifaceted nature of our relationship with God, and how this must manifest itself in a person’s prayer life. I noted that it comes natural to us to approach God as Father, as many of us have been raised knowing how to pray spontaneously and in intimate terms. This type of prayer is essential, and we must never lose it.

I mentioned that another essential approach to our relationship with God is to acknowledge His kingship. Among disciples of Yeshua, it seems to be less commonly understood how do to this, and that is why I am primarily focusing on this type of prayer on this blog.

Drawing Near to the King

By definition, to draw near to God as King means to approach Him on His own terms. If we invent our own rules of how to do this, then we have already failed to submit to His authority! So we must consult Scripture to learn the proper way to draw near to God as King.

Had we lived in the days of the Temple and sacrifices, the answer would be obvious. Do you want to go and meet with God? Make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, ascend to the Holy Temple, be immersed in its ritual baths, pass through its gates and courts, and bring an offering from your flock or your field. We must not view the sacrifices one-dimensionally as merely a means for atonement or forgiveness of sin alone. It was also intended as a way to experience a true connection with God. The Temple was a place of the Presence of God like no other, where people could draw near to God in a real and meaningful way. They could worship Him with the fruit of their own hands and the songs on their lips, and they had the opportunity to make their petitions known to Him and know that they would be heard. We know that this type of worship meant everything to the early followers of Yeshua. They were “day by day continuing with one mind in the Temple” (Acts 2:42).

When the Tabernacle Temple stood, offerings were made in accordance with the commandments in the Torah. For example, the Torah instructs:

Command the sons of Israel and say to them, “You shall be careful to present My offering, My food for My offerings by fire, of a soothing aroma to Me, at their appointed time.” You shall say to them, “This is the offering by fire which you shall offer to the LORD: two male lambs one year old without defect as a continual burnt offering every day. You shall offer the one lamb in the morning and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight…” (Numbers 28:2–4 NASB, emphasis mine)

We can see from this passage that consistently every day, two lambs were offered in addition to the variety of sacrifices that might occur for numerous reasons. One was offered in the morning, and one was offered late in the day. The remaining offerings were sandwiched in between these continual sacrifices.

It is stated in the passage I cited that it is important for the sacrifices to be offered at their appointed time. It is interesting to note that the word translated “appointed time” is מועד (mo’ed), the same word that is used to describe the biblical feast days (compare Leviticus 23:2).

Prayers Accompany the Sacrifices

Prayers were offered in order to accompany each sacrifice that was offered. For example, the opening line of Psalm 100 reads, “A psalm of thanksgiving,” which in Hebrew is מזמור לתודה (mizmor le-todah). This Psalm was read to accompany the thanksgiving sacrifice, which is called in Hebrew זבח תודה (zevach todah). Compare Leviticus 22:29.

The decision of what prayers accompany the sacrifice was determined when the second Temple was rebuilt in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. A council was formed which was known as the Great Assembly, consisting of 120 scholars and leaders, including a great number of prophets—perhaps even the biblical prophets Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi. These men established an order of service that has remained largely intact even today. Paul affirms this system of worship in Romans 9:4, paralleling it with the adoption as sons, the glory, the giving of the Torah and the promises.

Eventually, it became common for worshipers in synagogues across the Land of Israel and the Diaspora to offer these prayers at the times of the day that they would be offered in the Temple. It was a way to participate in the Temple services even if you were hundreds of miles away.

Prayer Without A Temple

When the Temple was destroyed again in 70 CE, it became impossible to offer sacrifices. The Jewish leaders convened to determine how Judaism should proceed, and it was stated that although the sacrifices could not be offered, there is no reason that the prayers that accompanied them could not still be offered. They determined that these prayers and good deeds were capable of standing in for the sacrifices until they could be resumed, citing this passage from the prophets as proof:

Take words with you and return to the LORD.
Say to Him, “Take away all iniquity
And receive us graciously,
That we may present the fruit of our lips.” (Hosea 14:3[2] NASB, emphasis mine)

This passage is conspicuously different in Jewish translations. For example:

Take words with you
And return to the LORD.
Say to Him: “Forgive all guilt
And accept what is good;
Instead of bulls we will pay
[The offering of] our lips.” (Hosea 14:3[2] JPS, emphasis mine)

So which translation is correct? There are some unusual features in the Hebrew of this passage. First, the word translated by the NASB as “fruit” is פרים (parim). However, the plural form of the word for fruit is not פרים (parim), it is פרות (perot). The word פרים (parim) is the plural of פר (par), which means “bull” or “calf” (e.g., cf. Exodus 24:5). The words for “bull” and “fruit” are very similar, and Hosea was employing wordplay, intending for us to think of both sacrificial “bulls” and “fruit.”

The second odd thing about this passage is that this word פרים (parim) is not in a noun construct form, it is in an absolute form. Put simply, this means that there is no explicit “of” in “fruit of our lips.” In fact, the cantillation marks indicate that there is a slight pause between the two words, making that reading even less likely.

A third item worthy of discussion is the word translated “that we may present” in the NASB and “instead of…we will pay” in the JPS. This is not one of the typical words used to refer to offering a sacrifice or presenting a gift at the altar. The word is ונשלמה (uneshalmah), which happens to be from the same root as שלום (shalom). It is in the piel form. This is the semantic range of the word according to the Holladay lexicon:

1. make intact, complete, make amends, pay a debt;
2. repay, reward, requite;
3. pay, fulfill a vow;
4. restore;
5. finish, complete.

We can see that the word conveys the concept of payment, which means some sort of exchange, and also fixing and completion of something which is broken or lacking. A hyper-literal rendering of the last phrase of the verse would be like this:

and-let-us-repay bulls, our-lips

My analysis of this verse is that both interpretations are reasonable, and that the Jewish interpretation has particularly firm ground to stand upon. But even if one does not interpret it to mean that our lips actually substitute for bulls, the passage and its context underscores the importance of going to God in prayer and repentance beyond relying upon the sacrificial system.

Prayers as a Substitute for the Temple Service

D. T. Lancaster suggests that the book of Hebrews was written a few years prior to the destruction of Jerusalem. He indicates that it might have been written in response to the expulsion of the community of believers from the Temple. As stated above, the Temple was the center of worship for the believers in Jerusalem, and this event would have been devastating. They would need to learn how to draw near to God even when the earthly Temple was unavailable to them.

Amazingly, the author of Hebrews reassures them by making reference to the same passage in the book of Hosea that the Sages would employ decades later:

Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. (Hebrews 13:15–16)

It is clear that the Sages were right: prayerful words and good deeds can be counted as equivalent to the Temple services. Of course, this is not the only verse that draws a comparison between prayer and the Temple service. There are numerous verses that connect the two. For example, King David said:

May my prayer be counted as incense before You;
The lifting up of my hands as the evening offering. (Psalm 141:2 NASB)

The Worship of the Early Believers

The early believers were devoted to prayer. The book of Acts explains:

They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. (Acts 2:42 NASB, emphasis mine)

But is the traditional Jewish system of prayer the type of worship they employed? When they met in the Temple day by day, did they set up an alternate service that was more like a Catholic, Baptist or Pentecostal service, or did they continue to engage in the worship that they had always known?

Two important facts can be pointed out about the word translated “prayer” in Acts 2:42 cited above, which reads in Greek ταις προσευχαις (tais proseuchais). First of all, it is plural: “prayers.” Second, it contains a definite article: “the prayers.” The verse should read “They were continually devoting themselves…to the prayers.”

“The prayers” is a clear reference to the traditional system of worship employed in the Temple where they met every day. The early believers, the disciples and even the Messiah Yeshua Himself prayed in this way.

The system of prayer employed by Jewish people all across the world today is one divinely established method of approaching God on His terms. People who oppose any type of tradition, especially when it is Jewish tradition, could never be satisfied with this idea, but the testimony of both Scripture and history bears it out. So if you would like to learn how to worship, sanctify, revere and enthrone God as King, let me encourage you to explore the traditional Jewish method of prayer. It will transform and enhance your relationship with God.

In future posts, I intend to share with you more about what the traditional mode of Jewish prayer looks like.

I would love to hear from you if this type of prayer has enhanced your walk.

Aaron Eby
4 Shevat, 5767

About the Author: Aaron Eby writes for messiah magazine and other FFOZ publications. He is also the author of the forthcoming siddur project, as well as the forthcoming Hebrew lesson DVD.

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