October 9, 2003

Preparation for Worship

Much is said and written these days on the subject of worship. There are conflicting opinions on the mode of worship, the music of worship, and the motives for worship. (Like that little alliteration? I just made it up!) The differing perspectives and practices have caused a virtual cacaphony on the worship scene.

Old Testament saints seemed to have no confusion as to what constituted true worship. Take Jacob, for instance. He was no goody-two-shoes, by any stretch of the immagination. Cheating his brother (twice!), lying to his father, deceiving his father-in-law--not the greatest resumé for a worship leader. Yet Jacob had conversed personally with God twice, and wrestled with Him once. This in Genesis 35, when God commands Jacob to go Bethel (House of God) immediately following the sordid Dinah incident, we find him putting his house in order. The command he gives to his family members is very revealing:

Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments.

It seems that Jacob knew that he was heading for another meeting with God. He had three commands for his household:

1. Put away your idols. Jacob knew that when he approached God, he had to approach Him wholeheartedly. God would not look kindly on anything taking His place as an object of worship.

2. Be clean. This has to do with lifestyle. Jacob is telling his family to remove anything from their lives which would defile them as they came into God's presence.

3. Change your garments. This appears to deal with the outward appearance of Jacob's family. He seems to be saying "Don't you dare embarrass me by going into God's presence looking like slobs!"

I think we can take a cue from Jacob. When we go into God's presence, whether it be in church on Sunday, or at our family altar, or in our private devotions, we need to (1) remove anything in our lives that is robbing God of His rightful place as the only object of our worship, (2) make sure there is no sin which is obstructing our fellowship with Him, and (3) show the proper respect accorded to Deity by dressing tastefully and modestly according to our own cultural norms.

Another interesting nugget from this passage: when Jacob's family brought out their idols, and their earrings (apparently inappropriate attire even in those days!), what did Jacob do? He hid them under a tree (Gen. 35:4).

Could this be an Old Testament image of what we do with our idols, our sins, and our old way of life? We bring them to the foot of the cross, where they are buried--permanently hidden from the sight of all.

Posted by Andrew on October 9, 2003 12:35 AM.

Comments

Posted by: The Chairman at October 13, 2003 9:32 AM