worship

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.

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.

The importance of singing

The ministry of music is one that I think often gets overlooked in church services. Its importance may be missed because it does not usually take up much of the time that is spent in the service overall. What most people probably don’t realize is that without singing, our hearts are not affected by the message we hear. Singing is like opening the door to the spirit and saying, come in and minister to me.

The musicians that ministered in the temple of God “were instructed in the songs of the LORD” (1 Chronicles 25:7) so that they could understand the deeper or sometimes hidden meaning contained within the words. The purpose of their study was to discover the message that each song contained in order to plan worship services that ministered to the congregation’s spiritual needs.

It says in 1 Chronicles 25:1 that David and his military leaders selected the musicians that served in the temple. Three men and their families were designated to lead the music ministry. It is possible that they were selected for their ability to inspire courage and perseverance among the people. Since the attitude of the congregation was important for victory in battle, David wanted musicians that would have a positive influence on the people.

An attitude of happiness

During the time when Lucifer was the worship leader of heaven, he probably discovered the power music has to affect moods. I think one of the ways he gets us to do what he wants us to is to get us in a bad mood. Some people seem to always be in a bad mood, especially older people that suffer from chronic pain and have disabilities.

Music can not only affect our moods, it can reinforce or develop attitudes that are responsible for our behavior patterns. That is why worship through music is so important to the health of our relationship with God.

In addition to making sacrifices in the tabernacle of God, the Levites were designated musicians that performed specific songs of worship. Initially, the musicians were like strolling minstrels that were constantly moving while they played instruments and sang. After the ark of the covenant came to rest in a permanent location, the musicians waited or stood still (5975) and ministered based on their right or privilege to enter into the presence of God (1 Chronicles 6:31-32).

There is an element of transformation that occurs during the worship of God. In a sense, we are able to transcend circumstances. We connect with God in a spiritual realm that we typically do not have access to, similar to the holy of holies in the tabernacle of God. Satan does everything he can to keep us out of this realm because he knows that it is where an attitude of happiness begins to enter our hearts.