The Bible and Places of Worship - Part Two

 

The Bible and Places of Worship – Part Two

 

When I started Part One of this topic, I made the following introductory comment:

“In my previous post to this blog I began by discussing “Why Christians Should Worship Jesus”.  At that time it was apparent that the Bible’s specific reasons for that worship were directly related to the places of worship.  Now I’d like to continue this discussion by looking at the “altar” and other places of worship, and their relationship to Christianity today.”

As I pursued that line of thought, the  discussion placed an emphasis on the physical locations where man began his worship  “paying homage to his Creator”.  The most prominent location for worship was the “altar”, in its various forms of progression over the many centuries. I continued that discussion with references to the altar found in Israel’s Tabernacle (and later their Temple), closing with some remarks about the Ark of the Covenant found there. The post concluded with the following statement:  “In Part Two of this post we will look more closely at what the Bible tells us about how Israel’s practices of worship have influenced the nature and places of Christian worship.”

Many Christians and others begin their Bible study in the New Testament with the Four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  They then place their focus on the Earthly Ministry of our Lord Jesus. Regrettably they have missed many of His most critical contributions to the existence and well-being of mankind dating back to and including the Creation. (John 1: 1-14; Colossians 1: 12-17) Also, and very importantly they missed the basis for why the Lord was born as a member of the Nation of Israel.

Further they found it hard to understand why He commanded His newly identified Disciples to “Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:  But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”  (Emphasis added) (Matthew 10: 1-7)

But hopefully, all Christians will have read and understood the impact of Israel’s rejection of Jesus as their long-awaited Messiah and King. ( See: https://israelmyglory.org/article/what-is-the-mystery-of-israels-blindness-and-the-gentiles-fullness/ )    Following His death by crucifixion and shedding His Holy Blood; and His burial and resurrection;  Jesus accomplished His primary objective of defeating His and man’s Enemy as identified in Genesis 3: 1-15.  Following Adam’s sin, and having subjected all mankind to the penalty of death, Jesus had paid that death penalty for all of us.  (Isaiah 52: 14-15, Chapter 53; Hebrews 9: 11-28)

Most critical for Christians to understand is what happened since the Lord’s Resurrection and Ascension back to the Father in Heaven.  Our Lord Jesus has done all that He could do to redeem man. Now the choice is up to each individual as to whether or not to believe what He has done…the Gospel of His Grace. (1 Corinthians 15: 1-4; Romans 10: 9-13).

The Bible tell us that if we believe, the Holy Spirit comes to live within us. (John 16: 13; Ephesians 1: 12-14; 1 Corinthians 2: 9-16, 6: 19-20, Chapter 12; Romans Chapter Eight).  That was the promise of Jesus to His Disciples near the end of His Earthly ministry, and came to reality after His Ascension, and “when the day of Passover was fully come.” (John Chapter 14,  Acts Chapter Two)  That promise also applied to Christian believers since then and including today. Note the Scripture records that when the Lord made that promise to His Disciples, He also confirmed His direct relationship with our Heavenly Father.

Perhaps most important to this discussion of worship to God is the context provided by the Apostle Paul in his message to Christian believers, saying:

“¹⁴ For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

¹⁵ For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

¹⁶ The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

¹⁷ And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. (Emphasis added) (Romans 8: 14-17)

Because of this very unique and special relationship with our Lord Jesus and our Heavenly Father, as Christian believers our “worship” takes on an entirely new meaning. We are members of “God’s Family”!!  If we believe the Gospel of Grace, we are “paying homage to Jesus”, not only as our Creator, but also as our Savior. That is how we “worship” Jesus, and our Heavenly Father, through the Holy Spirit. We don’t need a special day or a special “altar” or other location to acknowledge who He is, or what He has done for us.  We give thanks for all the love and many blessings They have bestowed on us in the past and continue to do.  We give thanks every day, and all day…even on some of what appear to be our “darkest of days”.  (John 3- 16; Isaiah 53: 4-5; Ephesians 2: 4-8)

Dr. W. A. (Bill) Robinson

https://christianityandbiblestudy.blogspot.com

The Bible and Places of Worship - Part One

 

The Bible and Places of Worship – Part One 

 

In my previous post to this blog I began by discussing “Why Christians Should Worship Jesus”.  At that time it was apparent that the Bible’s specific reasons for that worship were directly related to the places of worship.  Now I’d like to continue this discussion by looking at the “altar” and other places of worship, and their relationship to Christianity today.

Also in my previous post I made the following comment:   “Although the word “worship” doesn’t appear until much later in man’s history, the concept of “paying homage to our Creator” was implied early in Genesis Chapter Four. Remember that was when Cain and Abel (the sons of Adam and Eve) were to bring “offerings unto the LORD.”

The story of Cain and Abel rightfully focused on more important issues, but my topic today highlights the question of where their offerings were made to the LORD. The Bible gives no indication that they were given specific instructions as to the structure or location of their worship offerings.

The subject of “offerings unto the LORD” does not appear again in the Bible until Genesis Chapter Eight. Note that over hundreds of years without God being prominent in their lives, mankind had progressively become so evil that the LORD (Jesus) had flooded the Earth to destroy all but Noah and his family. After leaving the Ark, the Scripture says: “And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD, and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.” (Genesis 8: 20)  Note this is the first use of the word “altar” in the Bible.

Having received these burnt offerings from Noah, “the LORD said in His heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake, for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth;…” (Verse 22)  The LORD (Jesus) was well aware of man’s weaknesses inherited from Adam’s sin. Therefore this tribute of worship from Noah had to have had a significant impact on Him.  I believe He is similarly affected when we worship Him.

The next mention of an “altar” came hundreds of years later.  Noah’s descendants had determined they would build a city and a tower (the Tower of Babel) to heaven to “make a name for themselves”, rather than to obey the instructions the LORD had given to Noah and his family. (Genesis 9: 1; 11: 4)  Note men’s focus on themselves, and not on their Creator.  It was after more centuries of man’s continued disobedience that the LORD moved to implement the next phase of His Plan to offer mankind the eternal salvation of their souls. That Plan was His instituting His landmark Covenant with Abram (later named Abraham). (Genesis 12: 1-3; See also: https://www.gotquestions.org/Abrahamic-covenant.html )

The Bible then records the following: “And the LORD appeared unto Abram , and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land (“The Promised Land”) and there builded he (Abram) an altar unto the LORD , who appeared unto him.” (Genesis 12: 7-8)   Still, the Bible gives no record as to the specific make-up of Abram’s altar, nor an exact location.  The LORD and the Holy Spirit were focusing on our knowing that he, like those noted above, performed these acts of worship, rather than telling us those extra details.

Interestingly, the first use of the word “worship” does not appear in the Bible until many years later.  Abraham was obeying instructions from the LORD, and was on the way to sacrifice his son Isaac on an altar.  Abraham told his servants: “Abide ye here…;and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.” (Genesis 22: 5) 

My Strong’s Expanded Concordance  provides the following additional commentary in the Hebrew Dictionary while defining the word “altar” (Strong’s # 4196 – “mizbeach”), saying: “Countless ‘altars’ are referred to as the story of Israel progresses on the pages of the Old Testament:…” Then it gave specific citations which I recommend for your reading.

Key to understanding worship in the Bible is recognizing the role God gave to His Chosen People Israel. Christians and others who study the Bible should remember these important verses from Exodus 19: 1-8: “In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. ² For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount.

³ And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;  ⁴ Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself.  ⁵ Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:

⁶ And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.  ⁷ And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him.  ⁸ And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord.”

[At that time, as “a kingdom of priests”, the Nation of Israel was to have learned and practiced God’s standards for righteousness (“good”), including how to worship Him. Then they would have taught / evangelized the rest of mankind / the Gentiles.  But as we know today, the people of Israel had the same weaknesses that we have today, brought about because of Adam’s sin. The Omniscient Creator / Jesus was well aware that Israel would not be able to keep their part of the Mosaic Covenant and even alerted them in the Scriptures. (See:  https://www.gotquestions.org/Mosaic-covenant.html ; Romans 11: 7-11; Deuteronomy 32: 21; Isaiah 65: 1-2) 

 Keeping the Commandments would be impossible for man, because breaking one Commandment would be equivalent to breaking all of them. (Deuteronomy 27: 26; James 2: 10; Galatians 3: 10)  The key point was to teach Israel of their (and mankind’s) need for a Savior who was able to defeat sin and death. (It is important to remember that was the LORD’s objective dating back to the Garden of Eden in Genesis Chapter Three. Our Lord Jesus accomplished that at the Cross. (Romans Chapter Three)  Because of Israel’s rejection, the Lord would turn directly to the Gentiles through the Apostle Paul. (Acts 9: 1-16)   Israel’s mission would be delayed for thousands of years, until some future time after the Lord’s Second Coming. (Zechariah 8: 20-23; Revelation 20: 6) ]

Returning to our theme, the first time the Scripture provided instructions for how to build an altar to worship God  was after the LORD had given the Ten Commandments to Moses. (Exodus 20: 1-17)  The LORD told Moses (for the people of Israel): “²⁴ An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.  ²⁵ And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.  ²⁶ Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.” (Exodus 20: 24-26)

From that point in the Scripture, there is no focus specifically on “worship”  until the LORD gives the following first commandments to the Nation of Israel through Moses on Mount Sinai:  “And God spake all these words, saying, ² I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. ³ Thou shalt have no other gods before me. ⁴ Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. ⁵ Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; ⁶ And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.” (Exodus 20: 1-7)

The LORD was giving His Chosen People another opportunity to make the choice between good and evil on behalf of mankind.  As part of His Plan, the LORD instructed Moses how Israel should implement the formal process of worship.  That process included the construction of the portable / movable “Tabernacle” where the worship would take place, and the consecration of the priests who would oversee the worship.  As the Nation of Israel would move across many miles of land to get to the Promised Land, the place of their worship would move with them, and would meet the exact specifications the LORD required. (Exodus Chapters 25 – 31, and 35 – 40.)  I recommend that you search some of the several internet sites that show artists’ images of how the Tabernacle could have looked.  See also: https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/246637/jewish/The-Tabernacle.htm ; and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabernacle .

With this moving site of the location, and the institution of specific procedures of worship in Israel, there was also a change in the concept of the “singular altar”.  Now, there had been established phases of the process of worship that utilized different altars…for animal sacrifice, for burning incense, and for sprinkling blood (Mercy Seat above the Ark of the Covenant). These functions continued, even as the temporary “Tabernacle” in the wilderness was “upgraded” to the magnificent “Temple” constructed many hundreds of years later by King Solomon. (See: https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-first-temple-solomon-s-temple )

However, because of Israel’s continued disobedience through idolatry and breaking His Commandment regarding the “sabbath for the land”  the LORD allowed them to be conquered by the Babylonians. (Exodus 23:10-11; Leviticus 25:1-7; See also https://gracethrufaith.com/ask-a-bible-teacher/why-seventy-years-in-babylon/ )  That Temple was destroyed circa 600 B.C., and unfortunately for Israel the Ark of the Covenant went missing.

The Ark of the Covenant was the most sacred and holy component of Israel’s Tabernacle and the Temple. (Exodus 25: 1-21)  It was located behind the curtain called the “Vail” in the “Holy of Holies”.  The Ark represented the presence of the LORD, who had said to Moses: “And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.” (Exodus 25: 22)  See also: https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/what-is-so-important-about-the-ark-of-the-covenant.html .

After the Babylonians had been defeated by the Medes and Persians, The LORD prompted the conquerors to facilitate the rebuilding of a less grandiose, second temple circa 520 B.C.  (See: https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/6529608/jewish/What-Was-the-Second-Holy-Temple.htm

Israel’s Second Temple was still functioning in a literal sense even up to and including the time of the ministry of our Lord Jesus.  I say, “literal sense”, because neither the true purpose of Israel’s worship nor the Divine presence of God had been present for hundreds of years. Note especially the period described as the “Four Hundred Years of Silence”. (https://www.gotquestions.org/400-years-of-silence.html )

The current location of the Ark is still in question. There are several theories but only God knows with certainty. (See: https://www.gotquestions.org/ark-covenant.html )

 

In Part Two of this post we will look more closely at what the Bible tells us about how Israel’s practices of worship have influenced the nature and places of Christian worship.

Dr. W. A. (Bill) Robinson

https://christianityandbiblestudy.blogspot.com

WHY CHRISTIANS SHOULD WORSHIP JESUS

 

WHY CHRISTIANS SHOULD WORSHIP JESUS

 

Worship : Strong’s Expanded Exhaustive Concordance  #7812 ; definition  in Hebrew Dictionary / Old Testament meaning  "to lie down prostrate in homage to royalty or God; to worship; act of bowing down by an inferior before a superior.", …#5457 ; meaning “to worship”……. and  #4352 ; in Greek Dictionary / New Testament  meaning “to do reverence to; an act of homage”.

This blog post is a follow-up to my previous post titled: “Removing Some Confusion About Jesus”. At that time I highlighted one source of the confusion that some Christians and others faced when reading the Bible.  That confusion stems from the different names that the Scripture used to identify the Lord Jesus at different times during the history of mankind. Remember, He was the Creator of the heaven and the Earth as described in Genesis Chapter One. ((John 1: 1-3, 9-10;  Colossians 1: 12-8) His existence pre-dated man. He was part of the Spiritual Godhead (as God the Son) before He took on human flesh and was born in Bethlehem. (Colossians 2: 8-9)

After further thought, I’d like to reconsider pursuing the title theme.  Instead I’d like to discuss  the subject “worship” beyond several reasons why Christians (and others) should worship our Lord Jesus.  Many Christians already recognize that the following reasons are more obvious than others, for example, through  our Lord Jesus’ love for man…

·       He created a perfect world of heaven and the Earth, and gave man dominion over it all. (Genesis 1: 26, 31; Also see above.)

·       He created man in the image of God as an eternal spirit-being. (Genesis 1: 27)

·       He made each of us to be a unique individual, and has given us the same choice He gave the first man Adam…whether to follow Him or follow His adversary (good vs. evil). (Genesis 2: 15-17)

·       He created us at this special time in man’s and the Bible’s history. Note my earlier blog post dated July 19, 2024, titled: “We Are Living in The Third Day”. Also remember that Israel became a Nation in 1948, fulfilling the prophecy of Ezekiel 37: 1-21.

·       Since we have sinned and incurred the death penalty because of Adam’s sin, to restore us to Himself Jesus has submitted Himself to pay that death penalty for us through His suffering and death on the Cross. (Romans 3: 21-26; 1 Corinthians 15: 45-49; See also https://www.gotquestions.org/Jesus-second-Adam.html  )

·       For those who will believe what He has accomplished for us through His death, burial and resurrection, we have obtained the salvation of our souls with Hin for eternity. (1 Corinthians 15: 1-4; Romans 10: 9-13) 

·       For believers, He has sent the Holy Spirit to awaken and guide our individual spirits to pursue “good”, and not follow after “evil”.  (Romans Chapter Eight)  Also, individually, He has given us innumerable blessings throughout our lives. (1 Corinthians Chapter 12) 

In light of my reconsideration of the focus of this post, I’d like to move to a closer look at what the Bible says about “worship” historically from different perspectives.  Some examples include:

·       The first instances of worship

·       The significance of “calling on the name of the LORD”

·       The “altar” as the place of worship, including the Tabernacle and the Temple

·       Jesus and the role of the Ark of the Covenant; and

·       Israel’s role in how Christians worship / High Holy Days, Passover, Feast Days, Wave offerings, etc.

To adequately address these various topics will require more than a single post.

BACKGROUND:

Remember that from the Creation and the Garden of Eden, the LORD God (Jesus) has given man a choice. God had given man total dominion over the perfect Earth and all its creatures. At  that time man was given the choice of whether or not to recognize The LORD God as  the Creator, return His love, and obey His singular commandment. (Genesis 2: 15-17)  Instead, Adam and Eve made the choice to follow the guidance of the Serpent / Satan, who was the Enemy of God.  (Genesis 3: 6)  Because of that bad choice,  Adam / mankind lost dominion over the Earth that the LORD God had given them. 

By following the deceitful guidance of the Serpent, man had chosen to “worship” (by paying  homage to) that Enemy above having faith in God. As a result, Satan took dominion and became the “god of this world”...the Earth  (2 Corinthians 4: 4); and the “prince of the power of the air”…the heaven of Genesis 1: 8.  (Ephesians 2: 2)  [Note: This does NOT include the “Third Heaven” which is the abode of the One True God. (2 Corinthians 12: 1-4)]

SOME HISTORY OF WORSHIP IN THE BIBLE:

Although the word “worship” doesn’t appear until much later in man’s history, the concept of “paying homage to our Creator” was implied early in Genesis Chapter Four. Remember that was when Cain and Abel (the sons of Adam and Eve) were to bring “offerings unto the LORD.” [As with some other areas of the Scripture, we weren’t told beforehand what instructions had been given to them and by whom.  But that is some of what makes the Bible such interesting reading!]  Both Cain and Abel were to bring offerings that demonstrated an animal’s “blood sacrifice”. We later learned that this was to be reflective of many coming uses of animal blood sacrifices.  Note that the LORD God (Jesus) had made such sacrifices to restore Adam and Eve to Himself after their sin in the Garden of Eden. (Genesis 3: 2; Hebrews 9: 19-22).

Following the killing of Abel by his brother Cain, Adam and Eve produced another son named Seth. The Bible then records the following: “And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.” (Genesis 4: 26) (Highlight added) The significance of “calling on the name of the LORD“ is that it confirms a recognition by the speaker that the LORD is the source of their blessing in good times, and/ or strength in times of trouble.

Several times in the Old Testament this practice of “calling on the name of the LORD” was accompanied by the speaker’s building an altar to worship the LORD. Note that after the LORD made His momentous Covenant with Abram (later Abraham), Abram did both these acts of worship. (Genesis 12: 1-8).  Years later,  the LORD made a related Covenant with Abraham’s son Isaac , who followed by building an altar and “called upon the name of the LORD”. (Genesis 26: 24-25.  Still years later, Isaac’s son Jacob purchased a parcel of land that would eventually be included in Israel’s “Promised Land”.  Jacob then erected an altar there. He didn’t literally “call on the name of the LORD” as his father and grandfather had done, but he called the altar “Eleloheisrael”, meaning: “the mighty God of Israel”, definitely paying homage to God / the LORD. (Genesis 33: 18-20)

Other Old Testament references relative to Israel and “calling on the name of the LORD” can be found in 1 Kings 18: 24, Psalm 116: 7, Joel 2: 32, and Zephaniah 3: 9.

In the New Testament the reference to the “name of the Lord” took on additional significance. Remember, the name “JESUS” occurs only in the New Testament.  There the reference was to have the people of Israel recognize that Jesus of Nazareth was their long-awaited Messiah, who would be their King, and save them from their sins and their enemies. Israel had only to believe it. (Matthew 1: 21; Luke 1: 68-75;  John 1: 1-12, 20: 30-31;  Acts 2: 21, 10: 38-43, 15: 14-17; 1 Corinthians 1: 1-2)   Further, even after His death, burial and resurrection, “the name of Jesus” was used by His Disciples to continue His practices of healing and bringing other blessings to the people of Israel. (Acts 2: 22-24, 36-43; 3: 1-16)

Some additional references that might help your study of this topic are:

https://www.gotquestions.org/call-upon-the-name-of-the-Lord.html

https://www.openbible.info/topics/call_on_the_name_of_the_lord

https://www.biblefactspress.com/bible-facts/names-of-god/

 

Collectively these and related references point to the Divinity of our Lord Jesus under His  identity as “LORD” (Old Testament) and “Lord” (New Testament)….both worthy of worship. In my next post I will continue this discussion by looking at the “altar” and other places of worship, and their relationship to Christianity today.

Dr. W. A. (Bill) Robinson

https://christianityandbiblestudy.blogspot.com