Worshipping God
Posted 9/1/2001
How was He worshipped in the Bible?
- With sacrifices Ge 22:5, 1Sa 1:3,19,28, 2Ch 32:12
- With bowed head, often to the ground Ge 24:26,48, Ex 4:31; 12:27; 34:8, 2Ch 7:3; 20:18; 29:29, Ne 8:6, Mt 2:11; 18:26, 1Co 14:25, Re 5:14; 11:16
- Standing at home Ex 33:10
- With firstfruits De 26:10
- By glorifying Him 1Ch 16:29, Job 1:20-22, Ps 29:1; 86:9
- With music in song and instruments 2Ch 29:28, Ps 66:4
- With confession Ne 9:3
- With fear Ps 5:7
- On our knees Ps 95:6
- In the beauty of holiness Ps 96:9
- In the Lord's house Je 26:2
- In spirit and in truth Joh 4:24, Php 3:3
How does God want to be worshipped?
Inherent in the word is a bowing down, reverencing, giving homage. The Hebrew word in all these verses is simply "to bow down," translated also as bow, obeisance, fall down, reverence, stoop, crouch.
The Greek is a little different. The word used in John is similar to the Hebrew word, including the meaning of kneeling or prostrating oneself to do homage, deferring to the other's superiority. Worship in Philippians has to do with serving, ministering to. This is revealing, because all these examples or worship have to do with actions and externals, particularly with bowing. But, what does God really want other than our hearts? The motive for all these "religious" service actions must be a deep-rooted love for God, and a healthy respect for His deity.
How do we worship Him today?
All verses in this articleIn our worship service:
- With singing
- With bowed heads
- With our offerings
- In the Lord's house
- With holy hearts?
- In spirit?
- In truth?
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