Day 4: Worship the Lord Thy God

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When Do We Worship God?

“If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.” Isaiah 58:14

We have looked at three reasons why we should worship God.

1. God is Our Creator
2. God is Our Redeemer
3. God is Our Savior

Now, honestly, I could go on and on forever about why we should worship God. After all, He is God. But, I want to move past that wonderful subject and look at what the Bible says about worship. Through the ages, people have struggled with worshiping God. The Israelites, although chosen by God, were very naughty. They struggled to obey God – even when He was right there among them!

I would like to think I would not have been so thickheaded and stubborn as the Israelites were, but, if I am completely honest I will say, yes, I have a stubborn streak just like they did!

Let’s look at what God told the Israelites about worshiping Him. Exodus 20: 2-11 says,

“I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.”

The verses above are the first four commandments in the Ten Commandments. I was not taught about God’s Holy Law as a child. Yes, I read the Ten Commandments. I heard them spoken of. I knew it was important to keep God’s law. God’s Law, the Ten Commandments, are a testimony of His perfect character.

From the Bible we know that God’s law, the Ten Commandments were special. They were different from the Mosaic laws which showed the Israelites how to keep the law. The Israelites were a very stubborn people who easily forgot how much God had done for them. The Mosaic laws were needed to remind them of the wretchedness of sin.

The Ten Commandments were written by God’s own finger. The stone tablets were placed inside the ark of the covenant and the Mosaic laws were placed on the outside of the ark. This showed God’s people the sacredness of God’s law. God told us that His words would not be altered or changed.

“My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.” Psalm 89:34

When I first began keeping the Sabbath, it was hard. I was so used to being busy, that I had to force myself to stop. Just STOP. No TV, no shopping, nothing secular, no work, no housework, etc. The Bible says:

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days thou shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work … For in six days the Lord made the heavens and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.” Exodus 20:8-11

Most people will say that the Sabbath is for the Jews only. However, you can see in the verses above that God blessed the Sabbath day at the time of Creation – before the Jewish people existed. God knew we would forget and he asked us to remember.

God’s law has always been and always will be. It is the law of Heaven. When Satan fell, it was because he had broken God’s law. We know this because without God’s holy law there can be no sin. The law tells us what sin is. The Bible says:

“Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” Romans 3:20

“… for sin is the transgression of the law.” 1 John 3:4

We know that Abraham kept God’s commandments.

“Abraham obeyed My voice, and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.” Genesis 26:5

And if God’s law was not in existence at the time of creation, how would Cain have known that killing his brother was a sin? He knew because sin is the transgression of the law.

It is impossible to commit a sin and not break one of God’s laws. The Bible tells us that:

“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.” Psalm 19:7

“I delight to do your will, O my God, and Your law is within my heart.” Psalm 40:8

“Happy is he who keeps the law.” Proverbs 29:18

Worshiping God is how we express our love for Him. Jesus said,

“If you love me, keep my commandments.” John 14:15

So, one of the ways we worship God is by keeping His Holy Law to the best of our ability and by asking for forgiveness for our transgressions. When we give God full control over our lives, we understand how sin grieves His heart. We understand the wretched nature of sin. We understand that sin is the barrier that prevents us from coming fully into the presence of God.