Divine Appointments
When both are blown, all the congregation shall gather themselves to you at the doorway of the tent of meeting. Numbers 10:3 NASB
Congregation – What connects the elect of the Lord to the feasts, the place of atonement, the marriage of YHVH to Israel, the assembly of the apostolic times and the worshipping community? One word— yāʿad. The Hebrew verb, yāʿad, “to appoint, betroth, assemble or meet” is the root of ʿēdâh (congregation), môʿēd (appointed time or place), môʿād (place of assembly) and the synonym of qāhāl, the worshipping community of the apostolic writings. In other words, allof these are based on the idea of God’s appointments.
When the English translations substitute “church” for ekklēsía (assembly), they obscure the inherent connection between God’s appointments and the appointed community. They remove the essential historical relationship between the ʿēdâh of the Tanakh, the môʿēd of God’s festivals, and the continuation of all these appointments in the apostolic writings. There are not two congregations of the Lord, the Jews and the Church. There is one ʿēdâh, appointed by YHVH centuries ago, continuous over the course of YHVH’s purposes and plans, with us at Sinai and with us today. All that the Lord has appointed remains exactly as it was intended when He first used the verb yāʿad to describe His favor toward men.
This fact is especially important in a world where religious sectarianism predominates. God is not the God of 42,000 denominations. Nor is He the God of a dozen sects of Judaism. He is the God of ʿēdâh, the one appointed fellowship of those who are called to Him. His instructions provide one môʿād, one order of môʿēd, one qāhāl. We are called to be in fellowship under His one banner. Our divisions are artificial, human attempts to delineate boundaries of identification. But they are not His and until we act toward each other as ‘edah, we will diminish His name on the earth.
Let us lay down those differences that separate us from each other, remembering that He gives guidance for all who follow Him according to His choosing. Are we so concerned with being correct that we refuse to be a community? Of course, we are striving for truth and understanding, but do our present differences prevent us from praying together, worshipping together, celebrating together? If you and I met Abraham on the road, would we pass by because he couldn’t tell us the proper name of the Messiah? Have we insulted the God who calls us when we decline friendship?
What would change in you if instead of arguing theological points you and I simply held hands and offered our lives together to His service? How would your participation with me change if we spent an hour together in prayer? What would happen if you invited me to break bread with you? Is it really so important that we agree doctrinally before we can laugh with each other or stand in amazement at the colors of a sunset?
Topical Index: yāʿad, ʿēdâh, môʿēd, môʿād, qāhāl, ekklēsía, appointment, Number 10:3
