So picking up where we left off in the previous two Hanukkah discussions, we reviewed the first Feast of Hanukkah/Dedication, which was the rededication of The Temple of YAH, and we also reviewed how we should live out our lives in dedication/hanukkah to YAH following the examples of our ancestors in Scripture. I also encourage you to read/review 2nd Chronicles chapters 29-30, and then consider & meditate on the dedication/hanukkah service which King Hezekiah carried out at the beginning of his reign:
“He (King Hezekiah) in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house (The Temple) of Yahuah, and repaired them.”
DIVREI HAYAMIYM SHENIY (2 CHRONICLES) 29:3 את CEPHER
And before we go any further, let’s connect the service of The Temple (which you will see throughout 2 Chronicles 29-30 when you read those chapters), with our reasonable service unto YAH; understanding that our bodies are the living temples of YAH:
“What? know ye not that your body isthe Temple of the Ruach Ha’Qodesh (The Holy/Set Apart Spirit of YAH) which is in you, which ye have of Elohiym (God), and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify Elohiym in your body, and in your ruach, which are Elohiym’s.
QORINTIYM RI’SHON (1 CORINTHIANS) 6:19-20 את CEPHER
“I BESEECH you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of Elohiym, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy (set apart), acceptable (pleasing) unto Elohiym, which is your reasonable service.”
ROMAIYM (ROMANS) 12:1 את CEPHER
Let us also lookup service in Hebrew, Greek, and English for a more complete understanding:
And if we keep reading down the etymology of service, we will see this:
“Meanings “state of being bound to undertake tasks for someone or at someone’s direction; labor performed or undertaken for another” are mid-13c. Sense of “service or employment in a court or administration” is from c. 1300, as is that of “military service (especially by a knight); employment as a soldier;” hence “the military as an occupation” (1706).”
So, our service, our most reasonable service unto YAH, is not only our worship but it can also be likened to military service. I served in the Air Force for 20 years, I was a sergeant, and sergeant comes from the word servant, look it up. My life whilst in the Air Force was not my own at all. I lived under the laws and Constitution of The United States of America, and I also had additional laws, statutes, and commands which governed my life via the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ)— I had a reasonable service commitment to the USA. I understood living under multiple levels of service. While I was in military service, I was also a Christian, and I believed that I was living my life, serving/following/worshiping The Messiah. That changed abruptly when I had to sit & reconcile my servitude with Scriptures like the ones below… I had to test and consider if I was living out my reasonable service to The Messiah, My King, according to the instructions & commands found in Scripture, against my church doctrine & my own understanding. I found out rather quickly, that I was not serving Him according to His Word, no matter much dedication I believe I had — I was living in opposition to His Instruction (Torah).
So I now encourage you to do the same. Ask yourself: “How does my life (my heart, soul, and might), line up with what is required of me according to Scriptures like these?”
“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: FEAR Elohiym (God), and GUARD(keep/obey) His COMMANDMENTS:for this is the whole DUTY(“service”) of man. For Elohiym shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”
QOHELETH (ECCLESIASTES) 12:13-14 את CEPHER
“And now, Yashar’el (Israel), what does Yahuah Elohayka (YAH your God) require of you, but to FEAR Yahuah Elohayka, to WALK in all His ways (see below how we walk in His ways), and to LOVE Him (see below how we love Him), and to SERVE (see previous service verses) Yahuah Elohayka with all your heart and with all your soul, To guard (keep/obey) The Commandments of Yahuah, and His statutes, which I command you this day for your good?”
DEVARIYM (DEUTERONOMY) 10:12-13 את CEPHER
“And hereby we do know that we know Him, IF (and only if) we guard (keep/obey) HIS COMMANDMENTS. He that says, I know Him, and guards NOT HIS COMMANDMENTS, is a liar, and the Truth is NOT in him. But whoso guards (keeps/obeys) HIS WORD (which includes His Commandments), in him truly is the love of Elohiym perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him. He that says he abides in Him ought himself also so to WALK, even as He WALKED.”
YOCHANON RI’SHON (1 JOHN) 2:3-6 את CEPHER
“For this is the LOVE of Elohiym, that WE GUARD (keep/obey) His COMMANDMENTS: and His COMMANDMENTS are NOT grievous (burdensome/too hard to keep).”
YOCHANON RI’SHON (1 JOHN) 5:3 את CEPHER
“Here is the patience of the qodeshiym (set apart ones/“saints”): here are they that guard (keep/obey) The Commandments of Elohiym, AND (not “or”) the faith of Yahusha (The Messiah).”
CHIZAYON (REVELATION) 14:12 את CEPHER
“Blessed are they that DO (keep/obey) His Commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, AND may enter in through the gates into The City (of paradise, aka “Heaven”). For without (those on the outside of The City) are dogs, and sorcerers and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loves and makes a lie. (A huge lie is that you can enter in through the gates while breaking His Commandments)”
CHIZAYON (REVELATION) 22:14-15 את CEPHER
“Not everyone that says unto me, Adonai, Adonai (“Lord, Lord”, Master, Master), shall ENTER INTO the Kingdom of Heaven; but he that does the will of MY FATHER (His will is His Torah) which is in Heaven. Many will say to ME in THAT DAY, “Adonai, Adonai (“Lord, Lord”), have we not prophesied in Your name? and in Your name have cast out devils? and in Your name done many wonderful works?” And then will I profess unto them, “I never knew you: depart from me, ye workers of iniquity (LAWLESSNESS, you who break YAH’s Commandments).””
MATTITHYAHU (MATTHEW) 7:21-23 את CEPHER
I implore you, to reread, meditate, and reconcile yourself with passages like the ones above. As the Feast of Hanukkah/Dedication, draws to an end, let us pray to YAH, asking Him to help us to live our lives in hanukkah/dedication to Him, each & every day—HalleluYAH! And let us also remember to pray for one another, and to love & forgive our achiym & achyot (brothas & sistas), why? Because we are in this thang together family!
“By this we know that WE LOVE THE CHILDREN OF ELOHIYM, WHEN WE LOVE ELOHIYM, AND GUARD (keep/obey) HIS COMMANDMENTS.”
What Is He Brewing? 