A Revelation of Worship
“For you shall not worship any other god, for YHWH, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” Exodus 34:14
Worship – In order to avoid idolatry, we must know what it means to worship. This might seem like a fairly simple thing, but we soon discover that it isn’t. One problem is our rationality paradigm. In this Greek-based culture, the question of idolatry has been limited to the proper object of worship. We think that as long as we are worshipping the one true God rather than some false god we are worshipping properly. We think that as long as we are worshipping the one true God it no longer matters how we worship. We are free to express our religious devotion to God by whatever means we wish, just as long as the object of our worship is the right God.
But this fixation on the philosophical issue of the correct God bypasses another Hebrew concern. From an Hebraic perspective, no worship is proper worship unless it is in accordance with God’s instructions for worshipping Him. And His revelation is the only way we can know what proper worship is. In other words, we are not free to make up any approach we wish to worship. We must worship as He specifies. Anything else, even if is directed toward the one true God, is still idolatry. In Hebrew, it is not simply the object of worship. It is also the method of worship.
The Hebrew verb, shachah, means “to bow down, to prostrate oneself.” It is universally regarded as a sign of worship. But I don’t recall ever being in a church service where the congregation was prostrate on the floor. We rarely even bend the knees. Why? No modern believer intends to be idolatrous. But almost all modern believers have accommodated themselves to the Greek-based rationality paradigm. Without realizing it, they have drifted toward a cognitive and intellectual view of idolatry. They don’t pay any attention to the method of worship that God reveals to His people because, as far as they are concerned, they are worshipping the correct God. So, as you attend one church after another, you will find a wide variety of worship expressions. You will discover that worship as we know it is the invention of human minds. From choreographed stage performance to well-crafted sermons, from stirring anthems to rocked-out decibels, today’s worship format is the product of centuries of tradition and innovation. But it barely resembles the instructions given by the God who is worshipped. Have you ever wondered why?
Because we accept the philosophical approach to the question of God, we no longer consider the fundamental concern, “What does God demand of me?” when it comes to worship. But worship isn’t for us. It is for God. How can we worship Him if we are the ones making up the program? Do we make up the commandments and instructions in the rest of our lives? Don’t you suppose that God intended us to follow His directions in honoring Him too?
Topical Index: worship, shachah, bow down, Exodus 34:14
I totally get what you’re saying, but isn’t much of the way God wants us to worship tied into the whole sacrificial system (which would be pretty difficult these days)? Or is that different? Where does God say how He wants to be worshiped? I’m not asking out of protest; I genuinely want to know so I can find out because I don’t want to be committing idolatry in this area!
Also, Skip, I don’t know if you got my email last night, but I have an interview today at 1pm, which I’m pretty torn about. I already have a job, but in some ways this would be better and in others it wouldn’t. So if you guys would pray for me with all this. If the question is “What does God demand of me?” I’m not at all sure how this plays into that (or even how to answer that to begin with).
Peace today. 🙂
I did get your email, and I replied. I will be praying for you today. Discernment is all you need. He will do the rest.
Good Morning Skip,
I would like to hear more about how we are to worship God… shachah “to bow down, to prostrate ones self” sounds like the best place to begin. Any more teachings on the specifics of how God wants us to worship Him would be well appreciated. My memory verse this week has been Psalm 25:4,5 “Show mw Your Ways, O Lord, Teach me Your Paths; Guide me in Your Truth and teach me, For You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You, all day long.”
And to Amanda, I will keep you in prayer this afternoon as you go into your interview. May God’s will be done in your life.
In His Love, Linda K. Morales
Linda and Kelvin Morales
Bayamo’n, Puerto Rico
Jesus said to the woman at the well, who was looking at the exterior, that there would come a time when those who worship Him will worship Him in Spirit and Truth which was what the Father’s heart desired. When He compares the prayer of the Pharisee and the publican, again He points to not method and proper words but the heart toward Him. He tells His disciples go into your closet and pray in secret, not as the Pharisee did which again emphasizes the heart that desires to be with Him, and fellowship with Him, seeking to know Him. If we do get prostrate, it needs to be that our heart is prostrate, in Spirit and in the truth of what is really inside it toward Him, or we are back to focusing on our performance method and analyzing the show again and how it should be done, which is what the woman at the well was doing.
True words, Kay! But God did establish an order of worship, content to worship and rituals that define worship. All must be done with the heart – and the hands. So there are things to do, but none matter if your point isn’t also true.
How often the clues we are looking for are contained within the very words we use. “Worship” is based on worth or value. “Worth-ship.” We worship what we value or what we perceive to have “worth”.
Faith is our response to what G-d says. Worship is our response to who G-d is and G-d is holy. (But wait, there’s more!- always more..)
YHWH does tell us how to “worship” Him. He does not leave us clueless or confused. His instructions are clear and contained within the Lamb’s book of life, our Bible.
Even today’s word “shachah”, means “to bow down, to prostrate oneself.” The word “shacah” gives us another step to stand on, another “clue” of the “how to.”
Long ago, in the presence of Pharoah, (the sun god), those who came into his presence would say something like this (while prostrating themselves before him)- “on my back seven times, on my belly seven times”. Some serious groveling going on here for fear of Pharoah who held absolute dominion and power over life and death. If he didn’t like the color of your eyes, you would be exterminated without the blink of an eye or the bat of an eyelash. Yes, -those who came into the presence of Pharoah did so trembling with fear.
When is the last time you “trembled” before YHWH? Oh Skip!.. I’m afraid we have lost our “fear of the LORD.” We just don’t know “who” He is anymore. Pharoah’s words are more than prophetic: “Who is the LORD that I should obey Him?” is just as up-to-date as today’s newspaper. We just don’t need a Savior anymore. All we like sheep (with the brain the size of a walnut) have gone astray. Amen. (It is so)
I “worship” the ground she walks on. I “see” (perceive, understand,know) she has tremendous “worth” or “value”. What do you give your time and attention to? Golf? Hunting? Sports? – You “see” worth or value in these things. (yeah, I have to give the “disclaimer”- there’s nothing wrong in and of themselves with golf, hunting, sports, etc..), but when they move up to the number one spot- then there’s trouble in paradise.
YHWH is a jealous G-d. (It says so in His book of instruction). What on this green planet would make G-d jealous? I don’t know about you, but I find this to be very interesting. More than interesting, it is flat out amazing! Our Lover/Giver is jealous! Jealous of our affections, attractions and attention. – What “attracts” me? What do I give my time and (focused) attention (kavannah) to? Where are my affections? What do I hold in high regard and esteem? Is is YHWH Himself? Does He hold the number one place in my heart 24/7? Do I think of Him when I wake up in the morning and when I lay my head down to rest? Do I “remember” Him throughout the course of the day and maintain intimate contact with Him through prayer? Is G-d in all my thoughts?
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.'” (Luke 4.8) Just in this one verse, there is enough to keep us busy for quite some time. This “worship” comes from our recognition and realization of “worth” or “value”. Is He (the perfect Lamb of G-d) “worth” our worship? Should we give unto Him the glory due His name? Do we give unto Him the glory due His name? -(this is the purpose of eternity!)
Here is another “clue” concerning “worship.”
-In a loud voice they sang: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” (Revelation 5.12) -Is He worthy? “They” seem to think so. (I do too!- I am going to be among these who “in a loud voice sing- “worthy!”)
“Every knee shall bow” (yes, it is written). This my friends is a mighty inclusive word. Must be a cousin to “all.” Let the Bible speak for itself. “Every knee.” This includes the two I’ve got. I’m going to practice “falling at His feet” today. For you see, “the LORD,- He is G-d” and He is worthy! “Behold, the Lamb who was slain and has redeemed us to G-d by His blood”
Skip: Are You saying that only by worshiping according to the Torah touches God’ heart?
Thank You
Rex George
Remember Jesus Is Lord
From where I sit, God seems to give us instruction so that our hearts will follow. The problem with that (and we have an entire Bible to show us how this paradigm failed and certainly not because of God’s inadequacies nor the inadequacies of His instructions but because of “stiff necked” people) is that following God’s instructions became its own end and rather than humbling us, we took pride in our ability to follow instructions and to require it of others…but our hearts were far from God….Now God says He will write His instructions on the hearts of His people (fleshy hearts and not stone), through His Spirit, and will see to it that His instructions are followed with hearts that are changed and motivated by love for Him.
The big paradigm shift in worship that Skip is speaking to is that we no longer have any sense whatsoever that God has any regular demands on us – even the demand of how we come to Him (privilege of access through Jesus), how we are heard by Him (privilege of acceptance through Jesus) and how He communes with us (privilege of fellowship with the Father, through the life of Christ and made real by His Spirit) and therefore, our worship, is something that we decide how we come to Him, how we are heard by Him and how He is to commune with us…because rationality, control and methodology becomes ours in how we worship God…not God telling us how we are to worship Him. Whether you want to say that this is a Torah observance issue or not, the fact is that through the institutionalization of “Christianity” in America, we have decided what methods of worship (forms & procedures) are acceptable to God and then asked Him to join us in our paradigm. It is at its core a form of idolatry because we decide rather than letting God decide how He is to be worshipped.
You are so right, David. Tara and I have been studying how the Jews believe that the service of God is, in its broader sense, Torah obedience, giving charity, and (especially) the application of one’s emotions through prayer – that is fearing and loving the Divine. Believe it or not, none of this can really be rationally decided as it should stem from passionate response.
Prayer is called the ‘service of the heart’, and it can be dulled by a failure to develop an emotional relationship with God. Such a ‘blocked’ or ‘hard heart’ can even occur within a person who has an open mind. The ideal is a soft heart and a mind that readily rejects the suggestions of the yetzer ha’ra. Emotional deadness (that produces a lack in our service to God), shows itself when, if a person is reading about God’s greatness, they are not moved – they remain unchanged, like a stone. God says that if we consider Him fully, we should be in wonder: “I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh.” (Ezekiel Ch11 v19).
Service of the heart is demonstrated by actively choosing not to engage in sinful action – and by keeping ourselves away from those things that are permissible, but which may cause us to give in to the desires of the heart. However, true service of the heart is offered, Jews say – not when we do what we believe is expected – but when we break our own patterns, transcend habit and go beyond the letter of the Law. The sages say that this can only be done when we are full of joy, and are not dealing with a heavy or sad heart. “Dullness is a large log that will not catch fire.”
What truly limits our service to God is being ‘comfortable’. Scripture, and other Hebrew writings, urge that those who truly desire to serve God should go ‘beyond the comfortable’. That is, if we can’t find the time to pray, we should push ourselves to pray every day; if we find it relatively easy to pray for 5 minutes a day, we should pray for 10; if we can study Torah for 30 minutes, we should study for 45 minutes; if we can manage to give £100 to a good cause, we should give more… otherwise it is not service. A servant does not do only what he wants to do – that would be ‘comfortable’ – a servant does what he is commanded to do… whether he wants to or not. But let me repeat: this can only be done when we are full of joy, and are not dealing with a heavy or sad heart.
Have a great Shabbat!
Awesome!
Double up on that “awesome!”. (one added amen!) I love the concept of Hebrew prayer: to pray is to become fully human- and yes!- that does include our emotions! (Notice the exclamation point- a sign somebody might be excited!)
I love your quote- “Dullness is a large log that will not catch fire.” When is the last time you heard a song similar to “Oh, how I love Jesus” (sung to the tune of a funeral dirge). Deliver us from passionless people. “When is this church service going to be over- I have a football game to attend this afternoon.” Oh well, at least I can pick up a few zzz’s while I’m here. “Half-hearted worship is an insult to G-d.” Please read this until it sinks in. “Half-hearted worship is an insult to G-d.” Please, if you are not able to worship the LORD with ALL your heart,soul, mind and strength- please stay at home and watch t.v. or fold clothes or mow the lawn. Do not offer unto YHWH your sick, halt, lame and blind offerings. “Lukewarm hearts toward YWYH make Him ill. (I will spew you out of My mouth). How to make G-d sick- half-hearted worship.
We are to love (avad) the LORD our G-d with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. You are absolutely correct on this point brother Skip- it is not about the individual makeup of heart, or soul, or mind or strength. Our focus needs to be on the “all”. 100% of the “all” of me.
Exhibit A. For those of us who are married, we have an excellent example. Try this one on your spouse- I love you honey 95% of the time. I listen to you dear, 95% of the time. Sweetheart, you have 95% of my focused attention. Now, come on, 95% is a really high number! Whassup? What’s so wrong with that? Now imagine telling your wife you love her- one day a week. One very special day, reserved just for her. I just don’t think it’s gonna work here. My wife is a very jealous woman. She wants 100% of my attention, 100% of the time. That’s how it works!. I hate to use “numbers” (it’s so Greek!), but it’s all I can come up with at this point!) G-d wants (and deserves) our “undivided, focused attention.” (yes, kavannah..)
He is not interested in your 10%. He want you Mr. He wants you m’am. The “all” of you. Total, absolute, unconditional surrender to Him. Seven days a week, twenty four hours a day. “All” your heart, soul, mind and strength.
Is this possible to do? (insert big grin here..) -“Try it.. you’ll like it!”- I’m going to ask- straight out- have you ever worshiped G-d? Have you ever “entered in” to the holy place? Yes, to the very “holy of holies.” The veil of the temple was torn (the flesh of the Messiah) and we (all) now have equal access to the very heart of YHWH. Have you ever “been there?”
What prevents us from “entering in?” Fear? There is no need to fear Someone who loves us perfectly. “Come unto me” are His words. “Whosoever will” is His open invitation to all. Only one thing “separates” us from our Creator. We (all) know what this one thing is and we also know the way to deal with this “one thing.” – There is an Offering, there is a Covering, there is an Atonement for sin. There is a way for us to be clean. There is a Way for us to be holy. G-d has provided a sacrificial Lamb. Let the water and the blood from Thy wounded side which flowed- be of sin the “double-cure”: save from wrath and make me pure.
Yes, enter in.. but only “under’ the blood of the atonement. “Cover me and cleanse me, LORD with your precious blood, that I may draw near. Amen.
Yes, it is at its core a form of idolatry for idolatry is not only worshipping a false god, it is also worshipping the true God falsely. Consider the sheer volume of accommodation to cultural norms in our view of worship. The order, the content, the system, the technology, the marketing, the appeal. Where did those come from? You don’t find anything like this in the Bible. When did men determine that they set the procedures? When they discarded the Hebraic culture in favor of a Greek rationalism.
I’m no authority on worship, but I am deeply moved by music and video in my pursuit to worship the LORD from a pure heart in a way that pleases Him. Check out these sites for different versions of “Wrap Me in Your Arms.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDC5iWhKlfg&NR=1 This is about 8 minutes, featuring nature photos, with song lyrics in English and Spanish.
If you prefer a shorter version, this one is less than 4 minutes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkWiZJe8Xxs&feature=related
And for those acoustic guitar fans, here is Mark Gungor’s 3 minute audio portion:
http://www.tsrocks.com/m/michael_gungor_texts/wrap_me_in_your_arms_acoustic.html
Here’s a hint of the message:
There is a God who loves me/ Who wraps me in His arms
And that is the place where I’m changed/ And that’s where I belong
[Chorus]
Take me to that place Lord/ To that secret place where
I can be with You/ You can make me like You
Wrap me in Your arms
Cyndee, I love this song and can relate to the lyrics tremendously, but King David also wrote songs, expressing his heart to Hashem, in the Psalms. But, he did not follow protocol when he was moving the Ark to the city, he used Uriah, (who was not a Levite) to transport the Ark of the Covenant, and he died…..Now David loved Hashem more than we can probably even begin to imagine, but he did not follow directions and disaster happened. I think this is what Skip is trying to convey, there can be dire consequences in slack. For example, everyone knows protocol of wearing a hat in the presence of the Queen of England, and you are never to touch her. All of that was thrown out the window recently with our President and First Lady blatantly disreguarded the protocol of the Queen. How sad. Do you see how we need rules and regulations to protect us from ourselves. We cannot be left to our own devices or we will be destroyed. G-d is the G-d of order not chaos.
After King David had his little episode mentioned above, he pulled out the Torah Scrolls and started reading the instructions again. Then he realized he had made a big mistake by trying to do things his way, and out of a pure heart! What if Skip is right? We are in big trouble.
Do you see? By the way, the Torah portion for this week is Re’eh which is translated into “See” Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17 . Hmmmmm
Robin, thanks for noting the Torah portion. This is something from it that I thought was interesting and rather relevant:
Deuteronomy 12:4
“You shall not worship the LORD your God with such things…”
In other words… don’t do it their way. But the question remains: What would God demand of me? What is HIS way?
TORAH
In essence, worship is a way of showing submission. Whatever else is said about it is only a description of the form.
Just found this discussion, as I am searching and studying about worship. Shachah is used not only to refer to worship but also to bowing down in respect to other people. How does the Hebrew differentiate between the two? How did the translators translate the word differently?