“Bethel, A picture of True Worship”
Worship: 1. A reverent love and respect for a deity of
sacred object.
2. Love of or devotion to a person or thing.
(American Heritage Dictionary)
Worship: 2. A reverence toward God, a god, or a sacred
object.
(Webster’s Dictionary)
Text: Genesis 28:10-22
And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.
And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not. And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first. And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, So that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God: And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.
In this message we are going to take a look at what worship meant to Jacob at Bethel, and then look at what worship should mean to us.
First let us take a look at Jacob’s view of worship. For Jacob, this was a time of reverently humbling himself before God. Although, Jacob had a humbling spirit, he was not ready to confess his sins. Even though he was still a sinner, he want to worship the Lord Jehovah. So, Jacob took the stone that he had used for a pillow and stood it up for a pillar. After setting up the pillar, Jacob poured oil on the top of it as a sign of reverence and praise to the Lord Jehovah.
Even though Jacob showed reverence to Jehovah, there was no sign of repentance or restoration of his sinful past. As scripture tells us Jacob was at Bethel because he was trying to run away from his sins of deceitfulness towards his father and twin brother. This experiences here at Bethel was just the starting point of his cleaning, that would take place twenty years later when he and his family moves back to Bethel.
Now, let us take a look at what worship should mean to us. There are four things that we will look at regarding what worship should mean to us. First, worship is the expression of our personal recognition of God. We should recognize God as being awesome, reverent and holy, just as Jacob did in verses 13, 16, and 17. “And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not. And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” God should also be recognized as a God of power. He has the power to save a person from a wicked life of sin and to bring life to the dead. First Peter 2:9b-10 shows us what we are to do when God saves us from a wicked life of sin. Here is what it says: “...that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.”
Secondly, worship is the expression of our relationship with God. We should have a relationship toward god that is pure and holy at all times. We are to be spotless and blameless in His presence. Then when people of the world look on us, they can tell that there is something different about us. When they recognize that different is something peaceful and contentment then they will be drown to you and you will have your chance of being a witness and get to witness to them verbally about Christ your Saviour. If we are true Christians, God is our redeemer and Father, that is why we Worship Him. Jacob recognized his need for a relationship with God in verses 20 through 21. “And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, So that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God.”
Thirdly, worship is the expression of our responsibility toward God. Psalms 145 tells us what our responsibilities are: “I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever. Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts. I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works. And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and I will declare thy greatness. They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness. The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.
All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless thee. They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power; To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom. Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down. The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing. The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works. The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.
The LORD preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy. My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.” We should extol God and bless His name forever and ever. Another responsibility we have is to lead sinners to Jehovah. Matthew 28:19-20 “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” Even another responsibility that we have Jacob reminds us in Genesis 28:22 “And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.” If we as true believer of Christ realize our true responsibility in worship we will tithe at least our ten percent that God ask of us if we are going to receive a blessing from God when we worship Him.
Finally, worship is the expression of our rejoicing in God. As true Christians we should be happy and excited and let it be heard so that others will want what we have. Psalms 33:1 says: “Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright.” Psalms 97:12 says: “ Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.”
If we as Christians would put these four expressions to practice, we would see a dramatic change in our worship services here at church and also in our own personal worship time with the Lord.
