worship

A double life

After Jeroboam and then Baasha reigned over the northern kingdom of Israel, there was a steady decline in the moral character of the nation’s kings. Beginning with Omri and then later his son Ahab, established Samaria as an alternate royal city or capital of Israel. Ahab had a foreign wife named Jezebel who influenced him to worship and serve the god Baal. It says in 1 Kings 16:32-33 that Ahab “reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria. And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him.”

The primary offense of Ahab was that he established a house of worship for Baal, aka Satan. Even though the gods of the Canaanites were never linked to Satan, the Israelites knew that rebellion against God meant cooperation with his enemy, the devil. I think it is safe to assume that Ahab was under the influence of Satan and his marriage to Jezebel opened the door for him to become an instrument of destruction against God’s kingdom both in the physical and spiritual realms. Ahab’s evil actions were intentional. He knew what he was doing was wrong and he did it anyway.

In light of Ahab’s wicked behavior, it seems surprising that his son’s names reflected a relationship with God. Ahab’s oldest son’s name, Ahaziah meant “The LORD grasps” and the younger son’s name, Jehoram meant “The LORD is exalted.” The reason Ahab gave his sons these names is unknown, but it could be an indication that Ahab was leading a double life. Although he openly worshipped Baal, Ahab’s heart may have belonged to God. That could explain why he remained in power for 20 years in spite of his evil practices.

Ahab did not choose to marry Jezebel. The marriage was arranged by his father Omri in order to seal an alliance with Ethbaal, the ruler of Tyre and Sidon. It is likely Ahab agreed to the marriage to please his father and he probably built the house of worship for Baal to honor his father’s intentions in the alliance with Ethbaal. As much as Ahab was responsible for his evil actions, he was also following in the footsteps of his father as Solomon had done with his father David. Ahab was surrounded by wicked men that had been rebelling against God for decades. Ahab’s greatest crime may have been that he wanted to have it both ways, to worship God and Satan, so that all his bases would be covered.

Division

The divided kingdom of Israel represents the two areas of a believer’s life that can also sometimes get divided, the secular and the sacred. The area of a believer’s life referred to as the secular involves things like a job or the work we do, our family or the community in which we live, and careers that affect the choices we make. The sacred area of our lives clearly belong to God and involve such things as going to church or a synagogue, reading the Bible, and prayer. The way God dealt with the divided kingdom of Israel demonstrates his sovereignty over all areas of our lives.

Judah, the southern part of the kingdom, remained under the control of king David’s descendants. Judah correlates to the sacred area of our lives. The temple that existed within Judah’s borders made it possible for the people to connect with God and worship him as he prescribed in the Mosaic Law. The rest of Israel was governed by kings appointed by God to make sure the nation continued to exist until God’s plan for his people was accomplished. Secular activities are necessary to sustain life. Otherwise, God could have wiped out the rest of Israel and left Judah on its own.

Even though God sustained the entire nation of Israel, he did not protect the northern kingdom of Israel in the same way he did Judah. When God brought judgment on king Jeroboam for his idolatry, God destroyed his entire household. Not one descendant of Jeroboam was left when Baasha took over as king (1 Kings 15:29). The extermination of Jeroboam and his descendants conveyed the message that God would not tolerate pagan worship. What he wanted his people to understand was that they could shut him out of their everyday lives, but he was still their God and would discipline them as he saw fit.

The wars that took place between Asa and Baasha king of Israel (1 Kings 15:32) are similar to the internal conflict that a believer experiences when the secular and sacred areas of their lives get disconnected. The man that goes to church every Sunday and has an ongoing affair with his secretary will not sleep peacefully at night unless he is a psychopath. Guilt will eventually cause him to quit going to church or stop having the affair.

The queen mother

The institution of a queen in the rule of Israel appears to have taken place when Solomon “caused a seat to be set for the king’s mother; and she sat on his right hand” (1 Kings 2:19). When Rehoboam began to reign in Jerusalem, his mother’s name is mentioned indicating she probably took the position at her son’s right side as Solomon’s mother had (1 Kings 14:21). After Rehoboam died, his son Abijam reigned in his stead and it says in 1 Kings 15:2 that “his mother’s name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom.”

Maachah was the wife of Rehoboam who died at the age of 58 (1 Kings 14:21). Abijam’s age is not stated, but he reigned only three years and then his son Asa “reigned in his stead” (1 Kings 15:8). It says in 1 Kings 15:10 that Asa’s “mother’s name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom.” Apparently, Maachah was not only Asa’s mother, but also his grandmother.

It is likely that Maachah was much younger than Rehoboam and after he died, she began an incestuous relationship with her son Abijam in order to secure her position as queen mother for a longer period of time. Fortunately, Maachah’s plan didn’t work. It says in 1 Kings 15:11 that “Asa did that which was right in the eye’s of the LORD, as did David his father.” Asa began a reform effort to get rid of idol worship and to cleanse Judah of the pagans that had taken up residence as a result of Solomon’s and Rehoboam’s compromises.

It says in 1 Kings 15:12-13 that Asa “took away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen.” This was a bold move by Asa showing that he was sincere about following God’s commandments. Even though he didn’t live a perfect life, it says in 1 Kings 15:14 that “Asa’s heart was perfect with the LORD all his days.

Civil War

After Jeroboam became king of Israel, Rehoboam had to decide whether or not he was going to let Jeroboam get away with it. In essence, what Rehoboam decided to do was start a civil war, north against south, similar to what the United States did in 1860 when the U.S. Army fought against its own citizens. “And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he gathered of the house of Judah and Benjamin an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against Israel, that he might bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam” (2 Chronicles 11:1).

Surprisingly, when the LORD sent Shemaiah the man of God to Rehoboam to tell him to stop what he was doing, Rehoboam “obeyed the words of the LORD” (2 Chronicles 11:4). Rehoboam was not an evil man. He merely got caught in the middle of God’s plan to take away the kingdom from Solomon’s descendants. As a result of his obedience, the LORD strengthened the kingdom of Judah under Rehoboam’s leadership for three years (2 Chronicles 11:17). During that time, everyone in all the northern tribes of Israel that had set their hearts to seek the LORD, disobeyed Jeroboam and came to Jerusalem to worship (2 Chronicles 11:16).

Out of the frying pan and into the fire

Due to Solomon’s idolatry, God arranged for the man Jeroboam to take over the territory of Israel occupied by the ten northern tribes (1 Kings 11:29-31). When Solomon died, his son Rehoboam “went to Shechem: for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king (1 Kings 12:1). There, Jeroboam confronted Rehoboam and turned the people against him (1 Kings 12:3-4). As a result of following the counsel of his friends, Rehoboam alienated the  people and instead of making him king, they abandoned him. “And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again, that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and made him king over all Israel; there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only” (1 Kings 12:20).

Less than 40 years after David’s death, the utopia he established had disintegrated. In spite of Solomon’s wisdom and wealth, his leadership of the nation caused the people to rebel against God and forsake his inheritance (1 Kings 12:16). Shortly after he began his reign as king of Israel, Jeroboam introduced fully pagan practices into Israel’s religious rites. He made two calves of gold and told the people “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt” (1 Kings 12:28). The tragic thing about Jeroboam’s sin was that it caused Solomon’s temple to be deficient in support. The temple was intended to be maintained by the sacrifices of all Israelites, but only a small portion of the people worshipped there. In essence, Jeroboam’s actions put the temple out of business.

Strength

Proverbs 31 is attributed to king Lemuel’s mother. The name translated Lemuel means “belonging to God” and is believed to be a symbolic name of Solomon (3927). If so, then the prophecy came from Bath-sheba, the woman king David had an affair with. Proverbs 31 deals with the role of women in Solomon’s life. In verses 2 – 3, Solomon’s mother warns him against having a large harem and sexual immorality. “What, my son?  and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my vows. Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.” Repetition of the what question three times indicates a tone of rebuke and concern for Solomon’s awareness of his problem. Today we might say something like, What are you doing? Have you lost your mind?

Solomon’s approach to marriage was to treat it like a business transaction. Many of his wives were acquired by forming alliances with neighboring nations. In order to maintain peace, Solomon lived a double life. Three times a year, Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar he built for the LORD (1 Kings 9:25), but he also “went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians” (1 Kings 11:5) and built a high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab (1 Kings 11:7). Solomon’s compromise resulted in the LORD taking away the majority of the kingdom from David’s descendants (1 Kings 11:11-13).

The  phrase that Solomon’s mother used, “give not thy strength unto women” (Proverbs 31:3) implies that Solomon’s wives were given power or control over the nation of Israel. In some way, they were influencing the course of Israel’s history. From an extreme perspective, Solomon’s foreign wives erased many of king David’s accomplishments. David and his army fought many years to gain control over Israel’s enemies. Solomon’s decision to worship his foreign wives’ gods made it seem as if his strength was coming from multiple sources and God was no longer calling the shots.

Thank you

A phrase that is sometimes used in business communication is “thank you in advance.” Expressing gratitude for something that has not yet happened is supposed to be a way of encouraging the person to actually do it. God does not need to be encouraged to bless his children. It says in Psalm 149:4, “For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.” The word translated salvation, yeshuwah (yesh – oo´ – ah) means something saved (3444) and it is derived from the word yeshuwa which means “he will save” (3442). The personal name Jesus contains a Greek form of the word yeshu’ah (3444).

Psalm 150:2 refers to the mighty acts and excellent greatness of the LORD. The word translated mighty in this verse is gebuwrah. “The primary meaning of gebuwrah is power and strength” which is associated with the Messiah’s special role (1369). The term praise has various meanings. In psalms 149 and 150, the Hebrew word halal is used. Halal means “to boast” (1984). The fact that the Israelites were expected to praise the LORD for acts not yet completed indicates an element of faith was at work in their worship of the LORD.

In Psalm 149:1, the worshipper is instructed to “sing unto the LORD a new song.” The Hebrew word translated new, châdâsh (khaw – dawsh´) “means ‘new’ both in the sense of recent or fresh and in the sense of something not previously existing” (2319). The choice to believe God and praise or thank him in advance for what he will do is an act of faith. To a certain extent, it does encourage him because he wants us to act on our beliefs, therefore he often responds in a way that reinforces and builds our faith.

It is a privilege to receive God’s special favor, but there is more to our relationship with Christ than having our sins forgiven. After we are saved, God begins a process of sanctification that enables us to be like him and to receive honor as he does. This means that we are assured of victory over our enemies and can “shine” (1984) like he does (Psalm 149:5-9). Praise ye the LORD can simple be translated as, give God credit. We can do that by thanking him in advance.

Night Watch

It’s hard to say what exactly went on in Solomon’s temple because what was prescribed was not always carried out. One of the reasons Israel went into exile was they were not observing certain portions of the law. Temple activities were intended to be continuous, with some things happening on a 24/7 basis. The priests who were responsible for maintaining these activities worked in shifts, rotating in and out over a period of time. Some of them worked through the night during what were called watches. “During Old Testament times the ‘night’ was divided into three watches: from sunset to 10 P.M., from 10 P.M. to 2 A.M., and from 2 A.M. to sunrise” (3915).

I think the hardest part of becoming a mom is attending to the needs of a newborn baby around the clock. Although we are used to sleeping at night, newborns have no awareness of time and do not differentiate between night and day. Their patterns are based on activity in the womb and must be adapted to sleeping only at night.

The Levites that served in the temple had to adapt their behavior to God’s patterns and ways of doing things. It says in Psalm 134:1, “Behold, bless ye the LORD, all ye servants of the LORD, which by night stand in the house of the LORD.” The word translated stand, amad basically means “to stand upright,” but “cultically (with reference to formal worship activities) this verb is used of approaching the altar to make a sacrifice. It describes the last stage of this approaching, ‘to stand finally and officially’ before the altar (before God; cf Deut 4:11). Such standing is not just standing still doing nothing but includes all that one does in ministering before God (Num 16:9)” (5975).

Worship

Worship can be a supernatural experience. I think it is possible in the spiritual realm that our voices and those of angels are joined together as we worship the Lord. It could be that worship is the intersection between two realms and we and/or God are somehow transported into each others’ presence as we sing praises and lift our voices to heaven.

During the dedication of Solomon’s temple, when the ark was brought into the most holy place, it says in 2 Chronicles 5:13:

It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lift up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD.

The reference to “singers were as one” and “to make one sound” implies that the priests were performing in perfect unison. What is not stated, but could also be true is that the natural and supernatural were also as one, which is why the house was filled with a cloud indicating the presence of God.

Many times as I have been worshipping at church, I have felt the presence of God enter the sanctuary. Although God’s heavenly host is invisible, and typically imperceptible, I’m sure they accompany him wherever he goes, uniting the two realms in which he exists.

An act of worship

“And they told the king, saying, Behold Nathan the prophet. And when he was come in before the king, he bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground” (1 Kings 1:23). When Nathan bowed himself before the king, he was performing an act of worship. It was probably not typical for Nathan to bow before the king the way he did in this instance. The notation that he bowed with his face to the ground indicates that Nathan was lying prostrate, flat on the ground facing downward.

Nathan was most likely experiencing great distress because David’s son Adonijah had placed himself on the throne and the leaders of Israel were acknowledging him as their king. David had not yet appointed Solomon to be his successor. The transition of authority from David to Solomon was important because a gap in leadership could have led to chaos in the kingdom or instability in the region surrounding Israel.

Nathan’s act of worship emphasized David’s sovereignty as king and his position of authority as God’s representative on earth. At that time, there was no one more powerful than David in all the world. He was the closest to being equal with God that any man has ever come.

After Solomon was placed on the throne of the kingdom, it says in 1 Kings 1:47-48, “the king’s servants came to bless our lord king David, saying, God make the name of Solomon better than thy name, and make his throne greater than thy throne. And the king bowed himself upon the bed. And also thus said the king, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which hath given one to sit on my throne this day, mine eyes even seeing it.”

What I believe David thought he was seeing was the beginning of the Messiah’s reign. When Adonijah attempted to take the throne, it says in 1 Kings 1:5 that he “exalted” himself. The word translated exalted, “nacah is used of the undertaking of the responsibilities for the sins of others by substitution or representation” (5375). Recorded in 2 Samuel 7:12-16 is a promise from God to David that he would establish his kingdom for ever. Speaking of David’s successor, God said, “I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men.” Solomon committed iniquity and yet he was never chastened as described in this passage. On the other hand, Jesus never committed iniquity, but he was chastened because he was our substitute. Although he may have been unaware of it, Jesus was the one David was bowing himself to upon his bed.