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