Verse of the day: Exodus 20:24-26 “You shall make an altar of earth for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen; in every place where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you. 25 If you make an altar of stone for Me, you shall not build it of cut stones, for if you wield your tool on it, you will profane it. 26 And you shall not go up by steps to My altar, so that your nakedness will not be exposed on it.”
After giving the Ten Commandments, God proceeded to instruct the Israelites on how they should build the altars of worship. Why was He so specific about this particular thing? In verse 23, God, once again, warned them against idolatry; indicating how serious an offense it is. The LORD did not want them building altars by the same processes that idols were made. God was, and still is, adamant about them, and us, not intermingling pagan practices and rituals in our worship. He did not want them to be tempted to create and images, or their own form of worship and religion. In 2 Samuel 6, God killed a man named Uzzah for touching the Ark of the Covenant. Why did God do this? God had given specific instructions relative to how the Ark was to be transported (Exodus 25:12-14; Numbers 7:9). He also made it clear that the holy things were not to be nonchalantly touched, lest they die (Numbers 4:15). The Ark had been in the house of Abinidab, Uzzah’s father, for a period of time, and Uzzah may have become far too familiar with its presence, thereby become too familiar with God. I am sure that many of us have heard the term, “familiarity breed contempt”. Sadly, we become too familiar with God and forget that He is holy and to be revered. That is often reflected in the way we worship, and in how we interact with Him in our personal relationship with Him. God was, and is, very specific, in His Word, in relation to how He wants us to worship Him. In those days, to worship the LORD outside of the boundaries He commanded resulted in death. Today, God still commands us to worship Him as He prescribes. Jesus said, in John 4:23-24, “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” To worship God in spirit and truth is to worship him with our whole heart and in accordance to the truth found in His Word. It is more than getting together and singing a few songs together, and hearing some “feel good” message from some “feel good” preacher. There is a big difference between singing a song because it has a nice beat, versus a song that has lyrics that truly lift up the Lord and remind us of His goodness and majesty. There is a big difference between seeking to hear a message that moves our hearts because it convicts us, and ignites in us a desire to live for the Lord in holiness and righteousness, driving us to our knees in repentance and confession of our sinfulness, and motivating us to serving the Lord in whatever manner He calls us to, rather than seeking after a message that will tickle our ears and do nothing to cause us to change how we are living for God. To worship God, based on false doctrines and false teachings, and making up methods and rituals that will allegedly bring us closer to God, is not worshipping in spirit and truth. Living a life that does not put the fruit of the Spirit on display by our words, actions, and deeds, is not worshipping God in spirit and truth (Galatians 5:22-23). Thanking God only when things are going well, and spending the rest of the time complaining and whining, when we claim to know, and have a personal relationship with, Jesus, is not worshipping God in spirit and truth. We are to be thankful in all things, and under all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18). We are to offer up the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, at all times, no matter what He allows to happen in our lives (Hebrew 13:15). To prove our faith by our works, and how we sacrifice for both God and man, for God’s glory, is worshipping God in spirit and truth (James 2:15-18; 1 John 3:17). God's specific instructions regarding the height of the altar was for the purpose of avoiding inappropriate forms of worship when they came to offer their sacrifices. He also specified when, and where, they were to worship Him. Pagan religions worshipped using sexually lewd rituals to their gods. This is completely unacceptable with our God. He wants us to be proper and decent in our worship, which means being proper and decent in our living and corporate worship services. If we are to truly worship God, the way He has commanded, we must make every effort to know Him for who He is, and not who we want to make Him. We must worship Him in accordance to His Word and truth, and not according to corrupted doctrines, practices, and man-made rituals and traditions.
Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).
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