The Question God asks about Fasting as outward ritual in Isaiah 58:
CRY aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. Isaiah 58: 1
A trumpet is:
Showphar (g7782) sho-far'; or shophar sho-far'; from 8231 in the orig. sense of incising; a cornet (as giving a clear sound) or curved horn: - cornet, trumpet
The showphar or shofar was NOT a musical instrument. Alfred Edersheim notes:
Of wind-instruments we know that, besides their silver trumpets, the priests also blew the Shophar or horn, notably at the new moon, on the Feast of the New Year (Psalm 81:3), and to proclaim the Year of Jubilee (Leviticus 25:9), which, indeed, thence derived its name. Originally the Shophar was probably a ram's horn (Jos., Ant. v. 5, 6.), but afterwards it was also made of metal.
The Shophar was chiefly used for its loud and far-sounding tones (Exodus 19:16,19; 20:18; Isaiah 58:1). At the Feast of the New Year, one priest with a Shophar was placed between those who blew the trumpets; while on fast-days a priest with a Shophar stood on each side of them--the tones of the Shophar being prolonged beyond those of the trumpets.
Yet they seek [as a Necromancer] me daily, and delight to know my ways [Seek like a necromancer], as (if they were) a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God. Isaiah 58: 2
Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and enquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at En-dor. 1 Sam 28:7
Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Are ye come to enquire of me? As I live, saith the Lord God, I will not be enquired of by you. Eze.20:3
Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Isaiah 58: 3
Delight is:
Chaphec (h2654) khaw-fates'; a prim. root; prop. to incline to; by impl. (lit. but rarely) to bend; fig. to be pleased with, desire: - * any at all, (have, take) delight, desire, favour, like, move, be (well) pleased, have pleasure, will, would.
Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power? Job 21:7
Their seed is established in their sight with them, and their offspring before their eyes. Job 21: 8
Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them. Job 21: 9
Their bull gendereth, and faileth not; their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf. Job 21: 10
They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance. Job 21: 11
They take the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ. Job 21: 12
They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave. Job 21: 13
Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for WE DESIRE NOT the knowledge of thy ways. Job 21: 14
Rather than to reform their lives and gain God's blessing it was much more exciting to continue their evil lives and then try to make up for it with "prayer services" or "prayer and fasting" services.
Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, Matt 15:7
This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. Mt.15:8
But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. Matt 15:9
Their worship was really "religion" which consists of ceremonial rituals.
Sebomai (g4576) seb'-om-ahee; mid. of an appar. prim. verb; to revere, i.e. adore: - devout, religious, worship.
GREGORY NAZIANZEN. OR Oration XXXIX. V. And where will you place the butchery of Pelops,17 which feasted hungry gods, that bitter and inhuman hospitality? Where the horrible and dark spectres of Hecate, and the underground puerilities and sorceries of Trophonius, or the babblings of the Dodonaean Oak, or the trickeries of the Delphian tripod, or the prophetic draught of Castalia, which could prophesy anything, except their own being brought to silence?18 Nor is it the sacrificial art of Magi, and their entrail forebodings, nor the Chaldaean astronomy and horoscopes, comparing our lives with the movements of the heavenly bodies, which cannot know even what they are themselves, or shall be.
Note 17 The gods came to dine with Tantalus, and he, to do them honour, boiled his son Pelops for their food. They, however, found it out, and restored him to life; not, however, before Demeter had unwittingly eaten his shoulder, in the place of which they substituted one of ivoryNor are these Thracian orgies, from which the word Worship (qrhskei/a) is said to be derived; nor rites and mysteries of Orpheus, whom the Greeks admired so much for his wisdom that they devised for him a lyre which draws all things by its music.
Nor the tortures of Mithras 19 which it is just that those who can endure to be initiated into such things should suffer;
nor the manglings of Osiris, 20 another calamity honoured by the Egyptians; nor the ill-fortunes of Isis 21 and the goats more venerable than the Mendesians,
and the stall of Apis, 22 the calf that luxuriated in the folly of the Memphites, nor all those honours with which they outrage the Nile, while themselves proclaiming it in song to be the Giver of fruits and corn, and the measurer of happiness by its cubits.23
See also Clement of Alexander against heresies VolII
Note 18 S. Jerome, commenting on Isaiah xli. 22, says:"Why could they never predict anything concerning Christ and His Apostles, or the ruin and destruction of their own temples? If then they could not foretell their own destruction, how can they foretell anything good or bad?"Note 19 These Mysteries were of Persian origin, connected it is said with the worship of the Sun. The neophytes were mad to undergo twelve different kinds of torture.
Note 20 The Egyptian Mysteries.
Note 21 Zeus fell in love with Isis, and carried her off in the form of a heifer. Here, discovering the fraud, sent a gadfly, which drove Isis mad.
Note 22 Apis, the sacred bull, worshipped at Memphis.Note 3 i.e., that the prosperity of the country was proportionate to the annual rise of the River.
This public "worship" in an attempt to force God as we might be forced through our human senses is compared by God to the "worship" of a prostitute:
Also, thou son of man, the children of thy people still are talking against thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the Lord. Ezekiel 33:30And they come unto thee as the people cometh,and they sit before thee as my people,and they hear thy words,but they will not do them:And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument:
for with their mouth they shew much love,
but their heart goeth after their covetousness. Ezekiel 33:31for they hear thy words, but they do them not. Ezekiel 33:32
The Answer Directly from God
Worship at the temple was national worship conducted by the priestly class for the entire nation. The people were not present except at national festivals and were spectators. Therefore, God condemned fasting as an act of worship
Along with renewed fasting as an ACT OF WORSHIP, goes the mocking animal sacrifice sounding, tithing and taking CASH from those who are not Jews, do not live in Canaan, are themselves the PRIESTS and therefore the MINISTRY CLASS according to the Melchizedek and Abraham event and proven by Paul that the MINISTERS should serve the BODY:
"Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours.
Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. Isaiah 58: 4
Is it such a fast that I have chosen?
No. God defines the fast
which He has not called by asking
"Is it: a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord? Isaiah 58: 5
Heb. 12:27 And this word, Yet once more,
signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made,
that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
Heb. 12:28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved,
let us have grace, whereby we may serve God
acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
Heb. 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.
God's answer is a resounding, NO! Remember that fasting really means to "close the mouth." That eleminates public prayer as a way to force God to hear you with much praying which is just fighting against God.
Rather, the fast God has called us to is described in the next verse:
Is
not this the fast that I have
chosen? to loose the bands of
wickedness,
to undo
the heavy burdens,
and to let the oppressed go free,
and that ye break every yoke? Isaiah 58: 6
One form of Burden
h4853Massa.gif
1Chr. 15:27 And
David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, and all the Levites that
bare the ark, and the singers, and Chenaniah the master of the song
with the singers: David also had upon him an ephod of linen.
1Chr. 15:28 Thus all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the
LORD with shouting, and with sound of the cornet, and with trumpets,
and with cymbals, making a noise with psalteries and harps.
1Chr. 15:29 And it came to pass, as the ark of the covenant of the LORD
came to the city of David, that Michal the daughter of Saul looking out
at a window saw king David dancing and playing: and she despised him in
her heart.
This burden was calling assemblies as an ACT OF WORSHIP rather than RESTING on God's day and devoting it to study of His word.
Aguddah (h92) ag-ood-daw'; to bind; a band, bundle, knot, or arch: - bunch, burden, troop.
And the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together after Abner, and became one troop, and stood on the top of an hill. 2 Samuel 2:25
The burden of the Jews Jesus came to unbind was:
Phortizo (g5412) for-tid'-zo; from 5414; to load up (prop. as aa vessel or animal), i.e. (fig.) to overburden with ceremony or spiritual anxiety): - lade, be heavy laden.
Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Matt 7:13
A strait gate is:
Stenos (g4728) sten-os'; prob. from the base of 2476; narrow (from obstacles standing close about): - strait Stenochoreo (g4729) sten-okh-o- reh'-o; from the same as 4730; to hem in closely, i.e. (fig.) cramp: - distress, straiten.
We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 2Co.4:8
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christs sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. 2Co.12:10
1 Chr 15:27 And David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, and all the Levites that bare the ark, and the singers, and Chenaniah the master of the song with the singers: David also had upon him an ephod of linen.
Therefore, we might conclude that any special gathering of the "troops" to perform some ceremony not defined as Christian worship is "loading the people down like pack animals" with anxiety from religious rituals - Just hoping and anxious that God will repay me for fasting a lot or praying beyond Scriptural bounds.
To perform the true spiritual fast, God asked:
Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? Isaiah 58: 7
The Agapae was a pagan love feast with literal loving. However, some tried to make it into a daily feeding of the poor but it reverted to the old sacrifice warned of by God who said: "You offer the sacrifice to me but YOU eat the meat yourselves.
Paul commanded that people in one local who had "prospered" give to the destitute in Judae. Hoewever, Paul commended the poor who gave beyond their means but he denied that it was a "law of giving." Click to see Paul and history repudiate the poor giving to the rich to "preach" for them when the task was to read the Word of God. The hallel (song?) showed the method of "singing in that he READ as one read the hallel."
Shouldn't we be embarassed when we refuse to feed the starving and replace it with group prayer meetings or hold a fast on Friday and meet at the Ham and Eggs restaurant Saturday morning?
There is no benefit to hypocrite fasting or hypocrite prayer. However, if we fast to give the food to the poor then we are engaged in God's kind of "worship ritual." If we go without food while we relieve the heavy burdens then we are fasting in a spiritual sense. If we "close our mouth" in prayer we are not likely to be performing worship for the people.
What will be the result of this God-ordained "workplace religion"?
Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward (what you gather). Isaiah 58: 8
Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer;
thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am.
If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke,
the putting forth of the finger,
and speaking vanity; Isaiah 58: 9
H205 ’âven aw'-ven From an unused root perhaps meaning properly to pant (hence to exert oneself, usually in vain; to come to naught); strictly nothingness; also trouble, vanity, wickedness; specifically an idol:—affliction, evil, false, idol, iniquity, mischief, mourners (-ing), naught, sorrow, unjust, unrighteous, vain, vanity, wicked (-ness.) Compare H369 .
Ezek. 13:7 Have ye not seen a vain vision,
and have ye not spoken a lying divination,
whereas ye say, The LORD saith it; albeit I have not spoken?
Ezek. 13:8 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD;
Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies,
therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord GOD.
Vanities or the Latin:
Commmentary Vergil Aeneid 7.457
[457] For ‘atro lumine’ comp. 4. 384 note, and for ‘lumine fumantis’ comp. v. 76. The torch, being preternatural, penetrates the breast without wounding, like the serpent. See on v. 349. In the imitation by Stat. Theb. 2. 94 foll., the spirit of Laius appears to Eteocles in the form of Tiresias, and ends by taking his true shape, exposing the death-wound in his throat, and sprinkling the sleeper with the blood, which however in the next line is called “vanus cruor.”
Vānus I. that contains nothing, empty, void. vacant.
B. Transf., of persons, false, lying, deceptive, delusive, untrustworthy:
“orationi vanae crediderunt,” idle, delusive, Cic. Rosc. Am. 40, 117:
“voti vanus,” i. e. deceived, Sil. 12, 261: “turba vana sanctitudinis,”
2Pet. 1:19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy;
whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, [The ONLY worship word]
as unto a light that shineth in a dark place,
until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
2Pet. 1:20 Knowing this first,
that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
That means no further expounding or exegesis.
Fasting and prayer as an almost-violent attack upon God was based upon their total insecurity. The same is true of "prayer meetings" where people feel that they have to pray for hours or even days in order for God to "send revival" or some other human-perceived need.
To answer questions about Prayer Circles or Small Group Meetings devoted to prayer and meeting your needs, I have put another writer's views on my page which you can read by Clicking Here. This writer calls such forceful effort to find God White Witchcraft. White because it has no evil intent but Witchcraft because it is the use of magic to force God into something a quiet request would not accomplish. In the end, evil results because it has a magical view of God. It puts more trust in our ability to "pray through" or "fast through" than in the God Who is Always Near, is not inconsiderate and is not deaf.
And
if thou draw out thy soul
to the
hungry,
and satisfy the afflicted
soul;
then shall thy
light rise in obscurity,
and thy darkness be as the
noonday: Isa
58:10
Anah (h6031) aw-naw'; a prim. root [possibly rather ident. with 6030 through the idea of looking down or browbeating]; to depress lit. or fig., trans. or intrans. (in various applications, as follow): - abase self, afflict (-ion, self), answer [by mistake for 6030], chasten self, deal hardly with, defile, exercise, force, gentleness, humble (self), hurt, ravish, sing [by mistake for 6030], speak [by mistake for 6030], submit self, weaken, * in any wise.
Anah (h6030) aw-naw'; a prim. root; prop. to eye or (gen.) to heed, i. e. pay attention; by impl. to respond; by extens. to begin to speak; spec. to sing, shout, testify, announce: - give account, afflict [by mistake for 6030], (cause to, give) answer, bring low [by mistake for 6030], cry, hear, Leannoth, lift up, say, * scholar, (give a) shout, sing (together by course), speak, testify, utter, (bear) witness. See also 1042, 1043.
Af-flīgo . Lit., to strike or beat a thing to some point, to cast or throw down or against, to dash, somewhere by striking; esp. of ships which are driven or cast away by the win
B. To reduce, lower, or lessen in value (syn. minuo): “hoc oratoris esse maxime proprium, rem augere posse laudando, vituperandoque rursus adfligere,” to bring down, Cic. Brut. 12.—Trop., of courage, to cast down, dishearten, to diminish, lessen, impair: “animos adfligere et debilitare metu,” Cic. Tusc. 4, 15, 34.—
O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent. Ps.22:2
Save me from the lions mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns. Ps.22:21
Qeren (g7161) keh'-ren; from 7160; a horn (as projecting); by impl. a flask, cornet; by resembl. an elephant's tooth (i. e. ivory), a corner (of the altar), a peak (of a mountain), a ray (of light); fig. power: - * hill, horn.
Qaran (h7160) kaw-ran'; a prim. root; to push or gore; used only as denom. from 7161, to shoot out horns; fig. rays: - have horns, shine.
Qeren (h7162) keh'-ren; corresp. to 7161; a horn (lit. or for sound): - horn, cornet.
That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up: Da.3:5
Music is:
Zemar (h2170) zem-awr'; from a root corresp. to 2167; instrumental music: - musick.
Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not,
ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? Da.3:15
Worship is:
Cagad (g5456) saw-gad'; a prim. root; to prostrate oneself (in homage): - fall down.
And
the Lord shall guide thee continually,
and satisfy thy soul in
drought, and make
fat
thy bones:
and thou shalt be like a watered garden,
and like a spring of
water, whose waters fail not.
Isa 58:11
Nachah (h5148) naw-khaw'; a prim. root; to guide; by impl. to transport (into exile, or as colonists): - bestow, bring, govern, guide, lead (forth), put, straiten.
Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies. Ps.27:11
And
they that shall be of thee
shall build the old
waste places:
thou
shalt raise
up the foundations of many generations;
and thou shalt be called,
The
repairer of the
breach,
The restorer
of paths to
dwell in. Isa 58:12
Sabbath does not mean Saturday but: intermission
A primitive root; to repose, that is, desist from exertion; used in many implied relations (causatively, figuratively or specifically): (cause to, let, make to) cease, celebrate, cause (make) to fail, keep (sabbath), suffer to be lacking, leave, put away (down), (make to) rest, rid, still, take away.
If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him,
nor finding thine own pleasure,
nor speaking thine own words: Isa 58:13
Jer 23:18 For who hath stood in the counsel of the Lord,
and hath perceived and heard his word?
who hath marked his word, and heard it?
Jer 23:19 Behold, a whirlwind of the Lord is gone forth in fury,
even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked.
Jer 23:20 The anger of the Lord shall not return,
until he have executed,
and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart:
in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly.
Jer 23:21 I have not sent these prophets,
yet they ran:
I have not spoken to them,
yet they prophesied.
Jer 23:22 But if they had stood in my counsel,
and had caused my people to hear my words,
then they should have turned them from their evil way,
and from the evil of their doings.Romans XV. 1 debemus autem nos firmiores imbecillitates infirmorum sustinere et non nobis placere
Sustinere I. to hold up, hold upright, uphold, to bear up, keep up, support, sustain 1.To sustain, support, maintain, by food, money, or other means (maintain, preserve with dignity of a citizen II. Concr., the citizens united in a community, the body - politic, the state, and as this consists of one city and its territory, or of several cities, it differs from urbs, i.e. the compass of the dwellings of the collected citizens;
Imbecillitas Caes. B. G. 7, 77, 9
Outlawed: Placeo to please, to be pleasing or agreeable, to be welcome, acceptable, to satisfy (class.).
1. In scenic lang., of players or pieces presented, to please, find favor, give satisfaction: scenico placentiRom. 8:8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
Rom. 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit,
if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.
Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.Outlawed: Scaenicus I. of or belonging to the stage, scenic, dramatic, ORGANA, theatrical
I. Lit.: poëtae, dramatic poets, ludi, stage-plays, theatrical representations, : fabula, a drama,
2. Placere sibi, to be pleased or satisfied with one's self, to flatter one's self, to pride or plume one's selfI. Lit.: poëtae, dramatic poets, ludi, stage-plays, theatrical representations, : fabula, a drama, organa, Suet. Ner. 44 : coronae, id. ib. 53 : habitus, id. ib. 38 : gestus, Cic. de Or. 3, 59, 220 : modulatio Comedy. Orator
Poi-êtês II. composer of a poem, author, p. kômôidias Pl.Lg.935e ; p. kainôn dramatôn, b. composer of music, 2. author of a speech
Outlawed: Placeo to please, to be pleasing or agreeable, to be welcome, acceptable, to satisfy (class.).
1. In scenic lang., of players or pieces presented, to please, find favor, give satisfaction: scenico placentiRom. 8:8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
Rom. 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit,
if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.
Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.Outlawed: Scaenicus I. of or belonging to the stage, scenic, dramatic, ORGANA, theatrical
I. Lit.: poëtae, dramatic poets, ludi, stage-plays, theatrical representations, : fabula, a drama,
2. Placere sibi, to be pleased or satisfied with one's self, to flatter one's self, to pride or plume one's selfI. Lit.: poëtae, dramatic poets, ludi, stage-plays, theatrical representations, : fabula, a drama, organa, Suet. Ner. 44 : coronae, id. ib. 53 : habitus, id. ib. 38 : gestus, Cic. de Or. 3, 59, 220 : modulatio Comedy. Orator
Poi-êtês II. composer of a poem, author, p. kômôidias Pl.Lg.935e ; p. kainôn dramatôn, b. composer of music, 2. author of a speech
[2] unusquisque vestrum proximo suo placeat in bonum ad aedificationem [3] etenim Christus non sibi placuit sed sicut scriptum est inproperia inproperantium tibi ceciderunt super me
LOQUOR I. inf. loquier, Naev. ap. Gell. 1, 24, 2), v. dep. n. and a. [Sanscr. lap-, to talk, whisper; Gr. lak-, elakon, laskô], to speak, talk, say (in the lang. of common life, in the tone of conversation; cf. Quint. 9, 4, 10; 11, 3, 45).
1. To speak out, to say, tell, talk about, mention, utter, name: A. To speak, declare, show, indicate or express clearly:
Aedificatio III. Fig., building up, instructing, edification.
(a). Absol.: loquitur ad aedificationem, Vulg. 1 Cor. 14, 3 ; 14, 26.--
(b). With gen.: ad aedificationem Ecclesiae [church], Vulg. 1 Cor. 14, 12 ; ib. Eph. 4, 12.Rom. 15:3 For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written,
The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.
Rom. 15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime
were written for our learning,
that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
Rom. 15:5 Now the God of patience and consolation
grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus:
Rom. 15:6 That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God,
even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Then shalt thou delight
thyself in the
Lord;
and I will cause thee to ride
upon the high places of the earth,
and feed thee with the heritage
of Jacob thy father:
for the mouth of the Lord hath
spoken it. Isa 58:14
You cannot violate that and claim to be a RESTORER of THE WAY.
But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: Exod 20:10
Melakkah (h4399) mel-aw-kaw'; from the same as 4397; prop. deputyship, i. e. ministry; gen. employment (never servile) or work (abstr. or concr.); also property (as the result of labor): - business, * cattle, * industrious, occupation, (* -pied), * officer, thing (made), use, (manner of) work ([man], -manship).
Malok (h4397) mal-awk'; from an unused root mean. to despatch as a deputy; a messenger; spec. of God, i. e. an angel (also a prophet, priest or teacher): - ambassador, angel, king, messenger.
A work in progress
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