Hebrew Word Study – Endurance – ‘Avad  עוד  Ayin Vav Daleth 

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II Chronicles 34:33:  “And Josiah took away all the abominations out of all the countries that pertained to the children of Israel, and made all that were present in Israel to serve, even to serve the Lord their God, and all his days they departed not from following the Lord the God of their fathers.”

“How can I be useful, of what service can I be? There is something inside me, what can it be?”  Vincent Van Gogh

Josiah purged the nation of Israel of all its idolatries and caused the people to serve God. The word serve that is used here is abad which is in a Hiphal form. Without a paragogic, I would be reluctant to render this as Josiah forcing the people to serve God.  In just a simple Hiphal form he would be causing the people to worship God, or create a situation for people to worship God.   

Vincent Van Gogh expressed it well, there is something inside of us that longs to be of service to someone or something. You see famous movie stars to whom much is given, getting involved in “causes” from saving whales to building refugee camps in Haiti.  Even those who receive the service of others have some inward drive to provide a service.

In II Chronicles 34:33 the word service is repeated in the Hebrew. Some translations, like the KJV, will render this as “to serve, even to serve the Lord.” That really is about the best you can do to put this into English. However, that sounds a bit redundant. When a word is repeated in Semitic languages it is to create an emphasis. Hence, what the text could be trying to express with this repetition is that Josiah’s primary focus was that the people would serve God totally, and entirely with all their hearts. If they served him as a king, then they had to serve God.  If they didn’t serve God, they could not serve him as a king.  In this way Josiah caused the people to serve God. 

That brings us to the primary question, the question that I have been pondering for many weeks.  How do you serve God? What does it mean to serve God?  I am seventy-two years old, I grow tired easily, and I have many aches and pains. Every morning when I get out of bed I am crying out to God, “God, why must I go to work today, most people my age are retired, but I have to go to an eight-hour job. Isn’t there an easier way to serve you than driving a disability bus? Why can’t I just stay home and write and study your word in those eight hours? 

But then when I finally go through my preparations for the day, I get in my car to go to work and I get into my bus and look at my assignments for the day, I do whisper a thank you to God that at seventy-two years of age I can still drive a bus, I can still push a wheelchair, I can still help people get on my bus who are too weak to get on by themselves.  I can still ‘avad” serve with the Name of God on my lips and I suddenly feel a thrill, a joy run through me. As I push that first wheel chain onto the lift, I am aware of something Samson Hirsch wrote about the word ‘avad – service. He said it is closely related to another Hebrew word that sounds identical to the word ‘avad only it is spelled  Ayin Vav Daleth and not Ayin Beth Daleth. That ‘abad means endurance. 

‘Avad – service is spelled with a Beth which represents our hearts.  When we serve ‘abad, with a Vav, that Vav is a connection with heaven and earth. Thus, when we serve with our hearts we form a connection with heaven which gives us the endurance to carry out that service.  I know so long as I am getting up in the morning to drive that disability bus with a heart directed to God, I will have the endurance to work through all those aches and pains of growing old to accomplish my service to God. 

Many times, I am too tired to study God’s word and to write my insights which I share as a service to God. I find that if I do this with my heart toward God, I will have the strength and power of endurance to finish my task, even if I have an aching back, my service to God is still a labor of love. 

I do it because like Vincent Van Gogh and I know like you, there is this deep burning desire within me, within us, to serve and that desire is merely the light of God within me.  If you grow weary in your service then remember to serve God with the Beth, your heart, and then you will discover the Vav which connects you to heaven and will give you the strength and endurance to continue your service. 

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