Worship is a necessary part of our Christian life. We worship each Sunday morning when we gather together. We worship when we pray. We worship at various times of the week. This worship is important because it gives us a balance and a perspective of our position before our God.
The word “worship” which is often used in our English scriptures, is translated from the Hebrew word “shachah.” However, if we were Israelites reading our Hebrew scriptures, this word would probably carry a much greater impact than does our English word “worship,” which we have become so accustomed to reading. The Hebrew word “shachah” carries the idea of completely humbling one’s self. It means to bow down or fall down; to prostrate one’s self and do obeisance with sincere reverence, before one’s God.
Our Christian life could be thought of in three separate parts: 1) Study; 2) Service; 3) Worship. The first two of these constitute a way of life, following the principles of Christ and the apostles.
Study of the scriptures is necessary to learn and to love the Word of God. Paul reminded Timothy that from a child he had known the scriptures which were able to make him wise unto salvation. And we remember the brethren and sisters at Berea who were described as being noble “in that they received the Word with all readiness of mind and searched the scriptures daily whether those things were so. “
The Good Samaritan Served
Service is the giving of one’s self for others. It is the result of a genuine concern and interest of others. The parable of the good Samaritan is given as an example of service. Here is a case where a man saw his supposed enemy in need of help and gave himself, his time, and his money to provide for this man.
Worship, unlike these other two parts of our Christian life, is not the result of a commandment or an admonition. Worship is a natural result of our recognition of the power of God and our love of Him and His Word. It is the result of a sincere reverence and deep respect for Him.
If we respect someone, that respect is the result of our knowing that person for some period of time. Our respect grows as we understand that person and come to know his or her character, thinking, points of view, abilities and personality. This respect and affection grows with continued association. And so it is with God and the Word. Our reverence, our respect, and our worship of God can be developed only by a process of association. This necessitates continual contact with the Word by regular reading and familiarity with it. It means regular reading, thinking and meditating on those things given to us in the Scriptures. It involves talking about the Word and our hope with our brethren and sisters. In particular, it means our own personal prayers by which we contact our God, and feel His presence, and our insignificance before Him. These things will result in a process of learning to love God and His Word. If developed, it will bring us to our knees and cause us to humble ourselves before God and give Him our praise and adoration.
Visualization Helps
Whenever we worship God, we must try to visualize what He is and where He is, and realize His omnipotence and wisdom. God is the Almighty Power of the universe, the creator and sustainer of life and the source of all life-giving energy. Yet the Apostle tells us that we can not approach unto our God, but that He dwells in light which no man can approach unto, whom no man hath seen nor can see.” However, God does reveal himself to us in a way that we as human beings can understand. An example of this is in the 40th chapter of Isaiah, beginning at verse 12, where the prophet describes, in terms which we can visualize, the power of our God.
“Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being his counselor hath taught him? With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance . . . All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity. To whom then will ye liken God ? or what likenesses will ye compare unto Him?”
And the Psalmist says, “When I consider the heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and stars which thou hast ordained, what is man that thou art mindful of him and the son of man that thou visitest him ?”
The prophet Isaiah gives a good parallel of our position before God, using the simile of the potter and the clay. The prophet says that God is to us as the potter is to the clay. And what can the potter do to the clay? He can do whatever he pleases. He can form it; he can mold it; he can destroy it.
Man Can Think
God wants us to recognize Him in the sense of worship. God has always required worship. For this reason, God created man with the ability to reason and to think and to be aware of himself and his creator. In the first chapter of Genesis, man was given dominion over the beasts. This God-given dominion is obvious today. Scientists tell of the tremendous intelligence gap between man and the highest form of beast. The difference is that man has the ability to think and to reason with logic. Man has the ability to be conscious of himself and his God. No beast has such awareness.
After the creation in the early chapters of Genesis, we notice the relation between God and man. God gave the first man and woman a commandment. They obeyed this commandment without question, which became obvious when the woman told the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it lest ye die.” The man and woman kept this commandment with childlike obedience. They were aware of their God, but not necessarily aware of themselves. This we could call an ideal sense of worship. Here was simple obedience, unhindered by human nature of thinking of the flesh. However, this ideal condition was interrupted when the man and woman disobeyed the commandment of God. After transgression, sin came alive in these human beings. Worship continued, but now it was in fear. The man and woman became aware of themselves and felt guilt, insecurity and fear of God. Worship became the result of a fearful awareness of their position before God. This is the condition in which we find ourselves today.
The first description of formal worship appears in the account of Cain and Abel. Both of these brothers were commanded to worship in the form of offerings of animals before God. Abel obeyed the commandment without question. Cain rebelled. Cain was self-willed and was determined to sacrifice to God those things which he produced by his own occupation. He was a tiller of the ground. He was given a second chance, but still would not obey. Cain was rejected and became a man without God. Scripture says that Cain left the presence of God and became the father of those who were non-believers. They had no contact with their Creator. This account is put here for a lesson. It indicates the progression of human nature when left on its own. Cain did not want to worship God in the way appointed because of his self-will. Human nature took control and led to envy, hatred, violence, murder, and removal from the presence of God.
Seth was Appointed
But God proved Seth, a name which means appointed”. Eve had not lost her recognition of the power of God. She acknowledged that Seth was provided by God to replace Abel. However, Seth was more important than just a replacement for Abel. He was “appointed” just as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David or Jesus were appointed for God’s purpose. Seth was the progenitor of those who were God-fearing people or worshipers of God. The genealogy of Seth included Enoch who “walked with God,” and Noah who was “just” and “perfect.” The lesson here is the progression of simple obedience and worship of God. Here is a line of believers from Seth which produced Noah whose faith was an example to all generations. His obedience did not falter, even in the face of the pressures of ridicule and opposition around him. Hebrews 11 says that by his faith, he condemned the world; that is, by his example and his actions he showed the rest of the world that they were guilty before God. Noah was a true worshiper of God. And the height of that worship must have come when Noah, his sons, his wife and his sons’ wives came out of the ark and saw the world around them cleansed of sin by the power of God. In the account, a true and sincere worship is indicated. Noah built an altar and offered a burnt offering. This was worship in God’s way. And we can sense the solemnity of the occasion when we think of the reverence and sense of awe these people must have felt as they descended from the ark and saw the power of God around them. And here in this ceremony of a burnt offering, there was a period set aside for solemn worship. These people could mentally prostrate themselves before their God, and see themselves in a true perspective before Him.
A Wife for Isaac
In Genesis chapter 24 there is the account of Abraham providing a bride for his son, Isaac. Here in this account, the word “worship” from the Hebrew word “shachah” is used for the first time in the sense of a person experiencing the true meaning of worship as conveyed by the Hebrew word “shachah”. In this account, Abraham sent his servant to his own country in Mesopotamia to find a wife for his son Isaac. He wanted Isaac’s wife to come from his own people and not from the Canaanites who surrounded him in the area where he lived. In verse 7 of this chapter, he gave his servant assurance that the angel of God would be with him. In verse 12, the servant arrived in the city of Nahor in Mesopotamia. And now he must have suddenly felt the dilemma of locating the right woman to be Isaac’s wife and the responsibility of bringing her back to Canaan. In spite of the words of Abraham, that the angel of the Lord would be with him, the servant must have felt at a loss at this point to know what to do. He turned to prayer before his God and asked for a sign. He prayed that the first woman that came out to the well and offered to provide water for him and for his camels should be the one appointed to be Isaac’s wife. The account says that before he finished speaking, Rebekah came out. Abraham’s servant went to her and asked if he could have water from the pitcher. She provided water for him and for his camels also. And it says “the man wondered but held his peace.” He must have thought of his prayer and that this might be God’s answer to it. Then he asked the woman who she was. She explained that she was the granddaughter of Nahor, Abraham’s brother. Abraham’s servant must have suddenly been struck by the presence of the power of God. This was the woman he was looking for and this was an immediate answer to his prayer. A miracle was happening right in his presence. “The man bowed down his head and worshiped the Lord.” This was genuine and sincere worship as he mentally prostrated himself before his God, knowing that God’s presence was there with him and that God was working a miracle there before him.
Worship is not natural. If human nature is left to itself, unenlightened by the Word of God, it pursues only those things that are opposed to God. In no way can it know or worship a creator. Human nature must be enlightened and worship comes only when God reveals himself to man. God has done this through the patriarchs and the prophets and Christ and the apostles.
A Nation Formed by God
Throughout history, God has chosen those who would worship and give glory to His name. God raised a nation for this purpose. The nation of Israel was a people formed by God and raised up as a people for Himself who would glorify His name and worship Him. God revealed himself to them by demonstrating His omnipotence and infinite wisdom. God first revealed himself to the nation of Israel after they had been in bondage for hundreds of years. They seemed to be hopelessly subjected to slavery yet they must have known the promises which were in their writings and which were handed down from generation to generation. In Exodus chapter 4, God called Moses and told him that he would be the appointed leader to bring God’s people out of bondage. Moses came to the elders and gave them the message which God had given to him. He showed them the three miracles which God had provided to demonstrate that he had been contacted by God. And the elders believed when they heard these things and they bowed their heads and worshiped. Once again, we can imagine the emotional impact felt by these men as they suddenly realized that their God had not forgotten His promises, but had now contacted His people and was planning to carry out His purpose. Once again these men felt the presence of God around them as they mentally prostrated themselves before their God and worshiped. And so the account continues describing how God revealed His mighty power to Israel and to the Egyptians, virtually destroying their country with nine terrible plagues. Israel watched in awe and terror as they saw the power of God focused on the Egyptians and they themselves unharmed. Then on the day before they were to leave, Moses told them to prepare. They killed the sacrificial lamb and placed the blood on the doorposts and lintels marking their homes for the passover. And the people bowed the head and worshiped.” Here in this verse, all of Israel fell before God in awe and reverence and worshiped, prostrating themselves before Him.
The Red Sea Parted
Several days later the Israelites were trapped between the Red Sea on one side and the Egyptian armies on the other. And Moses said unto the people, “Fear ye not. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord which he will show to you today. For the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more for ever.” And so Moses stretched forth his hand toward the sea and the water turned back, and the Israelites crossed through the Red Sea on dry ground. They looked back and saw the sea coming back over the Egyptians and scripture says, “And Israel saw that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians and the people feared the Lord and believed the Lord and his servant Moses.” This belief, as they watched the power of God, was a form of worship.
God revealed himself again at Mount Sinai by the spectacle of the mountain, the thunder, the lightning, the fire and smoke, the sound of the trumpet and the voice of God as He spoke to the people. And they said to Moses, “Let not God speak to us lest we die.” God provided every means to make Israel aware of His presence with them and His love for them. He gave them the Law, full of rituals, sacrifices, and daily services as a constant reminder of His loving care and presence with them. The priests were provided, through whom they could worship, and through whom they could approach their God. They were surrounded by these activities to bring them to God in worship and subjection to Him.
We review these things in history to remind ourselves of what God wants of us and what an important part worship is in our service to God. In Israel, the true sense of worship and reverence to God began to deteriorate and become unsound and untrue. Each time the visible manifestation of God’s power was gone, they lost their reverence and their feeling of submission to God. They became rebellious, arrogant, and self-centered and they kindled the wrath of God. God dealt with them accordingly and each time He brought them back to their knees in true worship.
The history of Israel and the account of God’s dealings with them was put in our scriptures for us. These things are a parable for our example, to show how easily human nature can take us away from God as we follow our own human inclinations. When we look at Israel objectively, we see not only a nation with whom God is dealing, but we see ourselves. These Israelites were men and women just like us, with the same human weaknesses and inclinations. God’s workings with Israel were designed to bring His people nearer to Him in their worship and dedication. But because of human nature, their worship became habitual and meaningless. They began to use God’s law to glorify themselves instead of God. And through them we have an example provided by God to show us what He requires.
Under Grace, Not Law
Now we are under grace and not under law as were the Israelites. There are no rituals or priests. There is no temple. But worship has not been done away in the true sense of its meaning. It has been expanded. It is a most necessary element in our lives in the Truth. Now we worship, not by fear or by daily rituals, but by our knowledge of the promises of God which are ours if we hold fast to the word. We worship by our faith and trust that God will bring about what He has promised. We worship by the hope that lies within us. Now our worship is full of thanksgiving for the promise of life eternal; for Jesus Christ the Son of God, who overcame the power of sin; for our baptism, the provision of God for the washing away of our sins and starting again in Christ; for our high priest Jesus Christ who stands before God asking for forgiveness of all our sins. And we are especially thankful for the power of prayer which gives us the most intimate and real part of our worship. Prayer is provided by God, not for us to tell Him what we need or to ask for His help, but as a means by which we can condition our minds before Him. Prayer gives us a real perspective of who we are and what God is. When we pray, we humble ourselves before Him. We cannot come away from a sincere personal prayer without feeling the power of God, and the security of being within His care. And God has given us the memorial service which is the one ritual we are required to follow. Here we can prostrate ourselves before God and fall before Him in genuine worship. Whatever else we do during our week this is our solemn hour when we mentally prostrate ourselves before our God, and humble ourselves before Him.
Worship is essential for the conditioning and preparing our minds for the day of judgment. And it is our way of showing God our deep reverence and love for Him. It is only by sincere worship that we can give glory to God. And we pray for the day when we will be able to worship Him throughout His Kingdom of Glory.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One