Good Morning.
Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: “On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household.” (Exodus 12:3)
The Hebrew word that is translated here as “congregation” is adat and is the very first time this Hebrew term appears in Scripture. First of all, this was to signify that a nation was being born in conjunction with Passover, which is quite logical considering that Passover speaks prophetically to those who would be born again through belief in the Blood of the Lamb.
Secondly, I should point out that the Hebrew word adat (“congregation”) is related to the Hebrew word, ad, or “witness.” This connection in terms infers that the congregation of the LORD are His witnesses. Those who experienced the deliverance from Egyptian bondage were to be witnesses of this event in the future. Actually, those who are witnesses of anything great and mighty that the LORD has done are to be witnesses of these things. As it is written:
Tell your children about it, Let your children tell their children, And their children another generation. (Joel 1:3)
When the Messiah, the Lamb of God, was raised from the dead, He instructed His disciples and those who witnesses of His resurrection to go out and testify of this truth. They were His witnesses and, as such, His congregation. Fifty days after the resurrection, Peter, who along with others, had been empowered by the Spirit of God addressed a mass testifying that God had indeed raised Messiah from the dead:
“This Yeshua God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses.” (Acts 2:32)
The point today is that a congregation is much for than a gathering of people for a common purpose; it is a gathering of people with a common function, that is, to be His witnesses. The congregation of the LORD may assemble together to be encouraged and energized but their mission is to go out into the world and testify of the Risen Messiah. Congregation is a term that implies action, not just an association. So let us be those congregants who live up to the essence of the term and testify of Him each day of our lives.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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