Contents
1.
Introduction
2.
The Verses
3.
Conclusion
4.
Application
Each
of these pages about prayer form part of a series of Worship Seminars.
To that end we hope that they will be used to stimulate worship and
not merely provide information.
1.
Introduction
We now simply look at some key verses that
specifically mention ‘worship'. We are not looking, here at least, at
the many associated verses that could be considered. We'll look at the
wider picture later.
If you are concerned about New Testament practices you may wish to go
directly to Page 5 which considers 1 Corinthians
14 gatherings, or if you wish to consider basic ways of expressing meaningful
worship using the Old Testament model, go directly to Page
6. These first pages seek to consider a wide range of verses from
Old & New Testaments in order to focus on just what worship is.
As in the first page we'll simply work our way through
verses, mostly in the order they come in our Old Testament.
2.
The Verses
Gen
22:3- 5
3
Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took
with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough
wood for the burnt offering , he set out for the
place God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up
and saw the place in the distance. 5 He said to his servants, "Stay
here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship
and then we will come back to you."
Notes:
1.
This is the first use of the word ‘worship' in the Bible.
2.
Abraham referred to the act of worship and clearly it involved a
‘burn offering' and the account shows it as a ‘sacrifice'.
3.
The Hebrew words for worship simply mean, ‘to bow down or prostrate
oneself in homage'
Gen
24:26
26
Then the man bowed down and worshiped the LORD,
27 saying, "Praise be to the LORD, the God of my master Abraham,
who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master.
As for me, the LORD has led me on the journey to the house of my master's
relatives."
Notes:
1.
This was Abraham's servant who had been sent on a task.
2.
When he realizes that the circumstances have been working out to
fulfil his task, He realizes that it is the hand of the Lord behind
it.
3.
His natural response is to fall down and worship. He acknowledges
God's greatness and wonder. Is this something he has learnt from his
master, Abraham?
Exo
3:12
And
God said, "I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you
that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out
of Egypt , you will worship God on this mountain."
Exo
24:1,4,5
1
Then he said to Moses, "Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab
and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel . You are to worship
at a distance… He got up early the next morning and built
an altar at the foot of the mountain…. Then he sent young
Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings
and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the LORD
Notes:
1.
God told Moses that when he and the people came back to this spot
(Sinai) and met Him, they would worship there.
2.
The Lord assumed (knew) that worship was a natural response to an
encounter with Him.
3. When it did happen, it involved and altar and sacrifices.
Exo
4:29
29
Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites,
30 and Aaron told them everything the LORD had said to Moses. He also
performed the signs before the people, 31 and they believed. And when
they heard that the LORD was concerned about them and had seen their
misery, they bowed down and worshiped .
Notes:
1.
The elders of Israel are convinced by what Moses tells them and miraculously
shows them.
2.
They natural response is to glorify God by bowing down and worshipping
Him, for they recognise this is all of Him.
3.
We find the people similarly responding at the Passover (Exo 12:27
)
Exo
7:16
Then
say to him, `The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say
to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship
me in the desert.
Notes:
1.
This was God's word again and again through Moses (see also Exo
4:23 , 8:1,20, 9:1,13, 10:3,7,8)
2.
The reason that Pharaoh was to release the Israelites was so that
they could go to an isolated place, encounter the Lord and worship
him.
3.
Worship is thus assumed to the outcome in mankind of an encounter
with the Lord.
Exo
23:25,26
Worship
the LORD your God, and his blessing will be on
your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you, 26
and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you
a full life span.
Notes:
1.
In this early set of laws, worshipping the Lord was a prerequisite
to blessing of health and life.
2.
Worship here is seen as having a right attitude and a right relationship
in respect of the Lord, and out of that will flow the blessing of
life.
3.
It is also seen as a counter to the previous warning not to worship
the idols of the nations they were dispossess in Canaan (Ex 23:23,24)
in line with the instruction of the 2 nd of the Ten Commandments (Exo
20:5).
Gen
47:31
"Swear
to me," he said. Then Joseph swore to him, and Israel worshiped
as he leaned on the top of his staff.
Exo
33:10
Whenever
the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the
tent, they all stood and worshiped , each at the
entrance to his tent.
Notes:
1.
We pick these two verses together as they indicate a mode of worship
that didn't actually involve bowing down.
2.
Jacob ( Israel ) realised God's word to him about the land was being
fulfilled and this prompted him to acknowledge the Lord's greatness
as he worshipped. Being an old man, he didn't get down on his knees
but simply bowed his head over his staff.
3.
The people of Israel , whenever they saw the cloud which was the visible
sign of the presence of God coming to the Tabernacle, acknowledged
His greatness by standing and worshipping. For them standing was a
sign of respect, in the way we might stand when a person to be honoured
enters the room. It was still a sign of respect and honour.
Deut
12:4-7
4
You must not worship the LORD your God in their
way. 5 But you are to seek the place the LORD your God will choose
from among all your tribes to put his Name there for his dwelling.
To that place you must go; 6 there bring your burnt offerings and
sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, what you have vowed to
give and your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds
and flocks. 7 There, in the presence of the LORD your God, you and
your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put
your hand to, because the LORD your God has blessed you.
Notes:
1.
Here Moses was instructing Israel , before entering the Promised
Land, to reject all false idol worship in the land. He then gave
instructions on how they should worship.
2.
They should worship together, in one place designated by God. This
would prevent people going off into false worship. Worship would thus
have a corporate dimension.
3.
Worship would then involve sacrifice and giving and celebration.
4.
This requirement to worship God's way was then reiterated in v.31.
5.
Many of the subsequent used of the word ‘worship' are in warnings
against wrong worship, of idols from foreign peoples.
1
Kings 1:47 ,48
And
the king bowed in worship on his bed 48 and said, `Praise be to the
LORD, the God of Israel , who has allowed my eyes to see a successor
on my throne today.' "
Notes:
1.
David, as an old man, has just been told that in accordance with his
wishes, Solomon has just been made king.
2.
His response is to acknowledge God's goodness in bringing this about
– and he worships.
3.
Worship here includes praise.
4.
The Hebrew word for the verb ‘To Praise' in its simplest form means
‘to boast' or, if you like, to acclaim the achievement, here of God.
5.
Worship can thus be seen as an acknowledging of God's greatness in
His activity as well as His being.
2
Kings 17:35-39,41
35
When the LORD made a covenant with the Israelites, he commanded them:
"Do not worship any other gods or bow down
to them, serve them or sacrifice to them. 36 But the LORD, who brought
you up out of Egypt with mighty power and outstretched arm, is the
one you must worship . To him you shall bow
down and to him offer sacrifices . 37 You
must always be careful to keep the decrees and ordinances, the laws
and commands he wrote for you. Do not worship other gods. 38 Do not
forget the covenant I have made with you, and do not worship
other gods. 39 Rather, worship the LORD
your God; it is he who will deliver you from the hand of all your
enemies. 41 Even while these people were worshiping the LORD, they
were serving their idols.
Notes:
1.
The recorder of 2 Kings summarises the past history of Israel .
2.
He blames the plight of Israel on their refusal to worship properly.
They worshipped God AND idols. No way!
3.
Associated with worship is bowing down and sacrificing.
4.
Integral with this, it seems, is the requirement for them to remember
they are a special covenant people with a whole variety of instructions
from the lord that they were to follow.
5.
Thus true worship is also to involve obedience to the Lord.
1
Chron 16:29
Bring
an offering and come before him; worship the LORD
in the splendour of holiness.
Notes:
1.
This comes as a psalm of thanks by David. It seems to be a combination
of parts of Psalms 105, 96 and 106.
2.
In these verses together we see a number of things that contribute
to worship:
- giving
thanks (v.8,34)
- singing
(v.9,23)
- declaring
God's acts (v,9,24)
- giving
praise to Him (v.9,25,36)
- giving
credit or glory to Him (v.10,24,28,29,35)
- rejoicing
because of Him (v.10,31)
3.
The fact is that worship is actually bowing down in awe before the
Lord, but each of these may be seen as aspects of acknowledging His
greatness and wonder, as means of holding a right reverential perspective,
of honouring and submitting to Him.
Neh
9:1-3,5,6
1
On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered
together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and having dust on their heads.
2 Those of Israelite descent had separated themselves from all foreigners.
They stood in their places and confessed their sins and the wickedness
of their fathers. 3 They stood where they were and read from the Book
of the Law of the LORD their God for a quarter of the day, and spent
another quarter in confession and in worshiping
the LORD their God.
5
And the Levites ….. said: "Stand up and praise the LORD your
God, who is from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be your glorious
name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise. 6 You alone
are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and
all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and
all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes
of heaven worship you.
Notes:
1.
This was a time of facing their failures (v.1,2)
2.
Components of this day included:
- reading
(declaring) God's word
- confessing
their sins in the light of it
- acknowledging
God's greatness in the light of it (worshipping)
3.
It was accompanied by declarations and instructions by the Levites,
the temple servers, to acknowledge the Lord's greatness – just as
the hidden angelic hosts do, i.e. worship, get a right perspective,
and bow down!
Job
1:20,21
20
At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he
fell to the ground in worship 21 and said: "Naked
I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave
and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised."
Notes:
1.
Job has just had a great loss but determines to maintain a right perspective.
2.
He acknowledges his grief but he also falls down and worships God,
acknowledging His sovereign greatness that only does good.
Psa
22:29
29
All the rich of the earth will feast and worship ;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him.
Notes:
1.
In this prophetic, messianic psalm, David declares the outworking
of the work of the Messiah – even the rich who feast will eventually
die and then they will have to acknowledge the greatness of God and
kneel before Him.
2.
The interpretation of this verse may also mean, of course, that every
person who comes to Him will have to die to self to receive His righteousness
and their riches will mean nothing as they are humbled and bow in
worship as they come to Him.
Psa
86:9
9
All the nations you have made will come and worship
before you, O Lord; they will bring glory to your name.
Notes:
1.
David is sure that worship is the right response of any person from
any nation to the greatness and wonder of the Lord.
2.
Indeed as people worship the Lord, as they acknowledge His greatness,
so He will be glorified by all who look on (see also Eph 3:10).
3.
When we truly worship we truly bring glory to God.
Psa
100:2
Worship
the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful
songs.
Notes:
1.
We are seeing a constant refining of the picture of worship. Although
it is a bowing in awesome reverence this is not to be a ‘hard' (see
Mt 25:24) thing but a joyful thing.
2.
When it is joyful it is recognizing the wonder of what God has done
as it affects us – we are children of God! There is a wonderful relationship
with the One who is Love (1 Jn 4:8)
Jer
7:1-4
1
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 Stand at the
gate of the LORD's house and there proclaim this message: "Hear
the word of the LORD, all you people of Judah who come through these
gates to worship the LORD. 3 This is what the LORD
Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions,
and I will let you live in this place. 4 Do not trust in deceptive
words and say, "This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of
the LORD, the temple of the LORD!"
Notes:
1.
These are verses of great challenge. This people apparently came to
worship.
2.
Yet the reality was that their coming was superstition – they thought
as long as they came to this particular building (the Temple ) they
would be all right.
3.
Their lives once outside the Temple did not match God's requirements
and therefore He held them accountable.
4.
While they lived unrighteous lives, the Temple and their so-called
‘worship' meant nothing!
We
see a similar thing in Jer 26:2
3.
Conclusion
From what we have noted, we observe that from the
outset worship involved sacrifice and offerings. The Hebrew word for
worship simply means, ‘to bow down or prostrate oneself in homage' although
on rare occasion it could involve specifically standing up. In addition
we have noted that:
1.
The Motivation for Worship
was seen as a natural response to the awareness of:
- God's
good will being observed
- God
Himself being encountered
- God's
miraculous powers at work
2.
The Purpose of Worship
was also seen as:
- having
a right attitude towards God and when that is there, relationship
flows and life is imparted from God,
- a
counter to worshipping things that are not worthy of worship
- something
to be done corporately to counter deviation from God-worship
- something
that can be joyful in the awareness of God's goodness towards us,
- a
means of maintaining proper perspective in the face of a crisis.
3.
Expressions of Worship
could also involve:
- sacrifice,
giving & celebration
- giving
thanks, singing, declaring God's acts, giving praise to God, giving
credit or glory to Him, rejoicing because of Him – all as helps towards
acknowledging His greatness
- reading
God's word, confessing sins in the light of it, & acknowledging
His greatness in the light of it.
4.
The RESULT of worship
will be that:
- others
see and understand and
- God
is glorified by others on earth and in heaven.
5.
A Warning about Worship
is seen as:
- performing
ritual while the heart is far from God
- trusting
in buildings etc. and not the reality of a saving relationship with
God.
4.
Application
So that this study does not remain as a mere academic exercise,
in the light of the above points we might ask ourselves the following
check questions:
1.
Do I really worship?
- Are
my expressions towards God genuine expressions of awesome respect,
thankfulness and praise?
- Do
I consider (through listening to preaching/teaching or by personal
meditation) the wonder of who God is and what He has done, to create
a release of genuine worship in me.
- Do
I simply participate in singing or listening in a ‘service' with it
creating any real ‘worship response' in me?
2.
Do I use worship?
- Do
I purpose to worship, to build awareness of the truth about God, in
me to counter negative and wrong thoughts?
- Do
I purpose to participate in corporate worship to counter the temptation
to be led astray into glorying in wrong things and in wrong ways?
- Do
I purpose to worship to remind myself of God's goodness towards me?
- In
the face of a crisis, do I purpose to worship God as a means of maintaining
a right perspective?
3.
How do I express worship?
Have I a right perspective of God so that I
not only see Him as Father, but also maintain an awesome respect for
he is the almighty Creator of all things? Does that involve bowing my
heart in humility before Him?
- Am
I willing to sacrifice my self-centred ‘needs' for personal peace
and comfort to become a God-centred, corporate worshipper who participates
in public worship?
- Am
I a giver of worship rather than a getter with a ‘bless me' attitude,
acknowledging that really seeking God will mean finding the Holy One
of Israel who is awesome, so that worship will mean me bending and
bowing?
- Am
I willing to face my failings in the light of His holiness, and
confess and change?
4.
What is the result of my worship?
- If
I genuinely worship, am I changed by my encounters with God?
- If
I genuinely worship, are others moved by me to seek Him for fully
for themselves?
5.
How is the rest of my life?
- Do
I allow music, buildings or ritual to make me feel good ‘in worship'
to cover up spiritual poverty in the rest of my life?
May
these questions help us come more fully to a place of genuine worship
of the One alone is worthy of our worship.
If
you want to ask anything further about these things, contact Tony Thomas:
tony.thomas@rochfordcc.co.uk
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