“And it came to pass that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.” Genesis 15:17
In the book of Genesis, we find a moment when the Lord makes a most remarkable statement to Abraham. He says, “I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.” (15:7) For some reason only known to Abraham and the Lord, he asks the Lord: “Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?” (v.8) The Lord then basically leads Abraham to a point, place, and practice of worship. Out of that response of faith to the Lord’s instructions concerning an offering to God, there will come a knowledge of God, His ways and purposes, even extending over hundreds of years, and confirming to Abraham that His promise concerning the land was a valid one, and that He would certainly fulfill it. The important note to grasp is that it was in worshipping the Lord, according to His ways, that God would not only reveal Himself to the heart and mind, but that there would be the unveiling of His will and purposes to come. And lastly, there would be the all-conclusive affirmation that all that He had communicated to Abraham was true and would be done in His time and way. How then do we know God, the knowledge of His will, and grasp something of what He is going to do, bringing us to a position of faith and assurance going forward? It will be in the pattern and power of worshipping God.
From what we gather in Scripture, there was not a central worship place designated and designed by God until He instructed Moses to build one in the wilderness, while Israel was on her way to the promised land. It was there in great detail that He would show Moses exactly the “pattern” for worship, and a place for all to come who would truly seek the Lord, acknowledging that pattern, to seek and find God. Later, when Israel was in the Land of promise, the temple of Solomon was built. Again, it was built according to the specific guidelines and instructions given by God. The structures of the tabernacle in the wilderness, this “tent of meeting,” were similar in their layout, and specifically, the same in revealing God’s way of worshipping Him. Both the tabernacle and the temple were physical symbols concerning the proper spiritual worship of the invisible God. After the tabernacle was replaced by the temple, and later, the temple was destroyed, it was a declaration that true worship had been abandoned long before, that man had reverted to the worship of himself, or another god. Hence, the blessing of God was no longer on the physical structures, indeed, “the glory of God had departed.” However, God would again stir up His people to “build the house,” His house. Why? Again, it was to give to the people, His people, a visible symbol of His ways, the pattern and the power involved to know Him.
There would come a day during the ministry of Jesus that He would tell a Samaritan woman, “…the hour cometh when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.” (Jn. 4:21) Why did He say this? By Jesus going to the cross, shedding His blood for the salvation of all men, and finishing the work He had to do as Redeemer, and immediately after He cried, “It is finished,” the veil in the existing temple ripped from top to bottom, signifying that a permanent, unchangeable way had been provided for man to enter into the holy of holies, there to worship God in Spirit and truth. The pattern was through the sacrifice of Christ, His precious blood, His everlasting Priesthood, ever making intercession for us. The Spirit would later be poured out at Pentecost, and the power of worship became a reality. God will reveal Himself to the true worshipper of Christ.
Dear Father, Make us faithful worshippers. In Jesus’ name, Amen.