When the subject of worship is discussed, the attitudes and definitions are almost as varied as the number of people engaged in the discussion. What truly is worship? Does it only occur when there is music or a particular type of music? Do certain types of music make worship possible or impossible? Can it occur outside the church building or even off the church campus? Are there certain elements that are essential to worship and without which it cannot take place? Does it involve a particular position or posture…hands raised or clapping? The questions seem endless.
For the next little while we will examine the topic of worship. However, this is not to be considered an exhaustive study of the subject. We will merely be looking at a few of the aspects of the nature of worship and some of the attitudes toward it. We will be limiting our thoughts to the attitudes of either worship or waste and two factors that can be viewed as determining whether an act is or is not worship; those factors being faith and obedience.
One of the most remarkable pictures of worship in all the Bible and one that receives a special commendation from Jesus Himself is found in Matthew 26:6-13. Jesus is in Bethany at the home of a leper named Simon. In verse 7 a woman identified only as “a woman” comes in and anoints Jesus’ head with very costly and fragrant oil.
Now there is some debate as to whether this is the same woman at the Pharisee’s house (whose name is also Simon) of Luke 7 or even Mary who is mentioned in John’s Gospel. Were there multiple anointings? Did she anoint His head or His feet? Wiped with tears and hair or not? For the purposes of this study, it does not matter. Our focus is elsewhere and that is the matter of the attitude displayed.
In nearly all the accounts there is an expression of the anointing having been a “waste”. In John’s, the voice is identified as that of Judas Iscariot. Oh! Can’t you just hear that old thief?! “We could have sold that for a year’s wages!” And he then seems to add, “To give to the poor” as almost an afterthought.
A waste...Is anything done for the Lord a waste? What about David? In II Samuel 23 we see him laying siege to his hometown of Bethlehem itself, which is occupied by the Philistines, and longing for a drink of water from the town’s well that is by the gate. What sweet childhood memories he must have had of that well’s refreshing water! If only he could have a sip and be transported back to those carefree days and be revitalized!
Three of David’s men were keenly aware of his wishes and “broke through” to get him that desired drink. Upon their return David is overwhelmed by their daring and in response cannot bring himself to drink the water, viewing it as the very blood of those brave men! Instead, he feels compelled to pour it out on the ground as an offering to the Lord.
If I had been one of those guys, I am not so sure that I would have responded in a very spiritual manner. At that moment I might have sounded a lot like Judas Iscariot…what a waste! I risked my life for this?
Herein is the issue – waste or worship. From the world’s point of view, very likely all of our worship is a waste. They have “better” things to do with their Sundays, really “self” things. The difference is a matter of relationship.
We have a tendency to be extravagant in our love relationships. There is no expense too great, no distance too far, no time to minimal to spend with the one we love. We shower them with gifts and want to spend every moment we can with them.
Let us look again at the woman at the leper’s house. Somehow, she knew that her Jesus would not be with her much longer. She must do something! She chooses to lavish upon Him the costly oil…worship…not waste. What is worship, if not an expression of love within a relationship with Creator God? She loved Jesus and thus was driven to pour out the oil on His head. The expense was a matter of indifference to her.
Perhaps her worship is easier to accept than that of David. She likely was worshipping out of her own resources; whereas David worshipped rather at the expense of his men. How would we have responded? We have just braved the Philistine army to please our commander and he just takes the water and pours it out in the dirt?! How easy it would have been to view it as a waste rather than an act of worship! But, if we can get past our own personal feelings to seeing things from God’s perspective, we can get a glimpse of David’s extravagance. How completely selfless! How pleasing to Yahweh! The real question is whether we would be able to see ourselves as having had a part in bringing a smile to the Lord. David’s men were a major part of his ability to offer such an offering to the Lord.
So what is our attitude when we read these accounts? I have to admit that when I first encountered David’s lavish worship, I did not see it from God’s perspective. David was not so much pouring out water as he was giving of himself. To give to God that which you could have used for your own benefit is true worship. I think of the widow who gave even that which she needed to live, believing that the one she worshipped would supply (Mark 12:41-44). There is a relationship between worship and faith.
Faith Says, “God will meet my needs, so I can give Him my all.” David displays the same faith. Rather than consuming upon himself the water that is brought to him, he pours it out as a kind of first fruits offering. He has faith that Yahweh will abundantly supply his needs and the victory he needed. The woman at Simon’s house also manifests her faith that Jesus will supply all her needs even though she spent so much on her offering.
The principle of first fruits has been very effectively explained by Robert Morris in his series The Blessed Life. He even likens the city of Jericho, the first city in Israel’s conquest of the Promised Land, to the first fruits of the land. As one understands this, the severity of the judgment upon Achan (Joshua 7) comes into better focus.
The children of Israel had been clearly instructed to “abstain from the accursed things” and that “all the silver and gold…shall come into the treasury of the LORD.” (Joshua 6:18-19, emphasis added) The Hebrew word translated “accursed” in verse 18 can also be translated “devoted” and is the origin of our English word “harem”. The root idea is that which is devoted to God’s use in the same way the wives in the harem were exclusively for the one whose harem it is. Combine the two concepts of the “devotedness” of that which was in Jericho and the clear command that the precious metals were to go to the LORD and one begins to get a clearer picture of the magnitude of Achan’s actions. It could be understood as being the same as sleeping with another man’s wife and then stealing money out of the offering plate at church.
When we apply these principles to the situations of the woman at Simon’s and David, we see that while their actions did not make sense to those present and may not even make sense to us, for them to do something contrary to the leading of the LORD could have its own dire consequences. We do not often think of worship as obedience.
To our minds, worship is something we do for God. But what if we viewed it as giving back to God what He has told us to give Him? The woman at Simon’s house was led to anoint Jesus with the costly oil and may not have even known the reason why until Jesus Himself revealed it to her. David may not have had any better idea why he needed to pour out the water than those who observed it or we do, but the key is that he obeyed. In both cases, the LORD must have been very pleased.
What do we do when God tells us to do something that does not make sense to us? The woman at Simon’s and the widow obeyed and received personal commendations from the Lord Jesus Himself. David obeyed, giving us one of the purest pictures of worship of all time.
One could even see that obedience and worship are tied together in Genesis 22, where we see Abraham being obedient to the Lord’s command to offer Isaac as an act of worship. We, of course, know on this side of the event that it was also to test Abraham’s faith as well as his obedience. Thus both of these aspects are again brought together in this one act of worship and Abraham passes the test with flying colors, as it were. Certainly, it did not make sense to him that the son of promise should perish, but he trusted the One Who commanded it. He was going to obey, no matter what! In Hebrews 11:19 we are even told that he believed that God would be “able to raise him up, even from the dead.”
Therefore, when we offer our worship to the Audience of One, it is clear that we are actuating our faith and obedience in the process. It is our faith that the Holy One will supply, raise up, provide, meet the need whatever it may be that is the result of our worship that allows us to fully worship. Indeed, “without faith it is impossible to please Him.” (Hebrews 11:6) It is also through our obedience that we are able to please Him for “to obey is better than sacrifice.” (I Samuel 15:22). Our praise, our worship in faith and obedience pleases the LORD of Hosts. While these may only be a part of true worship, they certainly are two of the most important facets of the jewel of worship that is offered to the Holy One of Israel and it is, at least, these two that can make the difference between what is worship and what is a total waste in the eyes of the One that truly matters, GOD. The LORD bless you as you worship Him in spirit and in truth.
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