Genesis 20-22 The First Use of "Worship" in the Bible

Bill Blurb: There will not be a Daily Truthbase during the weekends. You can use the time to review what you might have missed. Pick out your favorite thoughts, and let me know what was helpful in your walk with God. Then, if you have time, go back over the “God and Us in a nutshell” sections (under Digging Deeper in previous posts), and start building your own Biblical Theology. See Introduction in the Sidebar for help. Don't miss Genesis 22 (below) and the Digging Deeper note on it. It's totally “worth” it :)

Psalm 5:1-4 Do You Watch for the Answers?

5:2 ”Give ear to my words, Yahweh. Consider my meditation. 2 Listen to the voice of my cry, my King and my God; for to You do I pray. 3 Yahweh, in the morning You shall hear my voice. In the morning I will lay my requests before You, and will watch expectantly. 4 For you are not a God who has pleasure in wickedness. Evil can't live with You.“

Observation: If God is our King, doesn't it make sense to check in with Him in the morning and see what He has to say about your day? Do you actually believe that God will answer you? If so, do you watch for it?

Application: Bring your To-Do list before God every morning. Instead of a check, put a cross next to the item you did with a Power Assist. Or keep a journal or prayer list so you can develop a track record of God's faithfulness.

Prayer: My King, here are my plans and requests for the day, anything You want to change? OK, I'll be on the lookout for how You're going to answer. Amen.

Proverbs 2:1-4 Wisdom is Not an Accident

2:1 “My son, if you will receive my words, and store up my commandments within you; 2 So as to turn your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; 3 Yes, if you call out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding; 4 If you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures: 5 then you will understand the fear of Yahweh, and find the knowledge of God. 6 For Yahweh gives wisdom. Out of His mouth comes knowledge and understanding."

Observations: Note the verbs (action words) indicating what we must do to get wisdom.

Application: A good way to store up the commands is to memorize them. When was the last time you memorized a verse?

Prayer: God who formed the world by Your word, I will treasure everything You've said. Amen.

Genesis 20-22 The First Use of "Worship" in the Bible

[Skip ahead below to Genesis 22 for a BIG chapter on Worship if you're short on time.]

Genesis 20 More Righteous than Abraham and Sarah

20:1 "Abraham traveled from there toward the land of the South...2 Abraham said about Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah. 3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man, because of the woman whom you have taken. For she is a man’s wife.” 4 Now Abimelech had not come near her. He said, “Lord, will you kill even a righteous nation? 5 Didn’t he tell me, ‘She is my sister?’ She, even she herself, said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands have I done this.” 6 God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also withheld you from sinning against me. Therefore I didn’t allow you to touch her. 7 Now therefore, restore the man’s wife. For he is a prophet, and he will pray for you, and you will live. If you don’t restore her, know for sure that you will die, you, and all who are yours.”

8 Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ear. The men were very scared. 9 Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said to him, “What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done deeds to me that ought not to be done!” 10 Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you see, that you have done this thing?” 11 Abraham said, “Because I thought, ‘Surely the fear of God is not in this place. They will kill me for my wife’s sake.’ 12 Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.13 It happened, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said to her, ‘This is your kindness which you shall show to me. Everywhere that we go, say of me, “He is my brother.”..."

Observations: God communicates with Abimelech, a non-Israelite with a clean heart and hands, who fears and obeys God impressively. Abe is up to his old tricks of self-preservation, even though he saw how God could protect in the last chapter. God could even send angels just as He did for Lot. Abe actually endangers the promise of Sarah bearing his son, but God overrules his folly. God gives Abimelech the choice of obeying. (Well, He did apply a little persuasion with promised consequences.)

20:7 So now Abe's a “prophet”? First use of the word in Scripture; ditto the Hebrew word for intercessory prayer (although bargaining for righteous folks in Sodom is intercessory action).

Application: Fearing man more than God leads to foolish actions.

Prayer: God Who Intervenes, may I fear You more than anyone or anything on earth. Amen.

Genesis 21 Laughing and Weeping and Swearing

21:1 "Yahweh visited Sarah as he had said, and Yahweh did to Sarah as he had spoken. 2 Sarah conceived, and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.4 Abraham circumcised his son, Isaac, when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him...5 Abraham was one hundred years old when his son, Isaac, was born to him. 6 Sarah said, “God has made me laugh. Everyone who hears will laugh with me.” 7 She said, “Who would have said to Abraham, that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age.

”9 Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking. 10 Therefore she said to Abraham, “Cast out this handmaid and her son! For the son of this handmaid will not be heir with my son, Isaac.” ...15 The water in the bottle was spent, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs. 16 She went and sat down opposite him, a good way off, about a bow shot away. For she said, “Don’t let me see the death of the child.” She sat over against him, and lifted up her voice, and wept. 17 God heard the voice of the boy. The angel of God called to Hagar out of the sky, and said to her, “What ails you, Hagar? Don’t be afraid. For God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. 18 Get up, lift up the boy, and hold him in your hand. For I will make him a great nation.” 19 God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. She went, filled the bottle with water, and gave the boy drink. 20 God was with the boy (Ishmael)... 22 It happened at that time, that Abimelech and Phicol the captain of his army spoke to Abraham, saying, “God is with you in all that you do. 23 Now, therefore, swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son’s son. But according to the kindness that I have done to you, you shall do to me, and to the land in which you have lived as a foreigner.”24 Abraham said, “I will swear.” 33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and called there on the name of Yahweh, the Everlasting God. 34 Abraham lived as a foreigner in the land of the Philistines many days."

Observations: 21:1 God does what He promised, despite the dismal prospect of their age, causing laughter at the incongruity. Isaac's name means “he laughs.”

21:9 There are lots of parallels with Israel's experience in this chapter. The theme of separation for the sake of blessing continues. Freeing a slave and her child deprived them of any inheritance rights according to Mesopotamian law.

See Digging Deeper for Paul's use of this passage in Galatians 4.

21:19 Sometimes the solution to our problems are right in front of us, but while fixating on the problems, we don't see the solution until God opens our eyes.

21:22 Even though Abe wasn't perfect in his dealings with Abimelech (see last post), God's purposes in separating and blessing Abe so others could be blessed is being realized. A lesson for both Israel and us. The covenant between Abe and Abimelech sets the stage for peaceful influence on one's neighbors.

Application: Make a break with anything that will mess up your blessing; make friends so others seek God thru you.

Prayer: Everlasting God, I praise You for being so faithful to keep Your promises. May I keep the ones I've made to You. Amen.

Genesis 22 Worship is Response to Revelation

22:1 "It happened after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” He said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Now take your son, your only son, whom you love, even Isaac, and go into the land of Moriah. Offer him there for a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I will tell you of.” 3 Abraham rose early in the morning...went to the place of which God had told him. 4 On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place far off. 5 Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go yonder. We will WORSHIP, and come back to you.” 6 Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. He took in his hand the fire and the knife. They both went together. 7 Isaac spoke...where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”

8 Abraham said, “God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they both went together. 9 They came to the place which God had told him of. Abraham built the altar there, and laid the wood in order, bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, on the wood. 10 Abraham stretched out his hand, and took the knife to kill his son. 11 The angel of Yahweh called to him out of the sky, and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” He said, “Here I am.”

12 He said, “Don’t lay your hand on the boy, neither do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”

13 Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and saw that behind him was a ram caught in the thicket by his horns. Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 Abraham called the name of that place Yahweh Will Provide*. As it is said to this day, “On Yahweh’s mountain, it will be provided.”

15 The angel of Yahweh called to Abraham a second time out of the sky,16 and said, “I have sworn by myself, says Yahweh, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 that I will bless you greatly, (in blessing I will bless you) and I will multiply your seed greatly like the stars of the heavens, and like the sand which is on the seashore. Your seed will possess the gate of his enemies. 18 In your seed will all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice”...

Observations: 22:5 This is the first time the English term “Worship” is used in the Scripture, although sacrifices and were offered previously, and Abe was falling on his face (Hebrew word for worship) before God a few times earlier. How did Abe worship? By obediently Responding to the Revelation God had given him. Abe demonstrated that God was worth more than what was most dear to him, and by withholding nothing, glorified God as Worthy of all. When God reveals His glory later on, people respond to that revelation by doing push-ups (face on ground). He reveals himself in answering prayer and saving His people, the response is praise and thanksgiving. He reveals His will, we do it. The essence of Worship is Response to Revelation, starting with cognitive understanding, expressed by our volitional will in sacrificial obedience, and culminating in emotional joy, because we know we are pleasing to God (in choosing what is best). How do you think Abe felt about obeying?

See Digging Deeper for how Abe used logic to come up with the concept of Resurrection.

22:12 Note how Fear of the Lord enters into obedience.

22:17 Double Blessing!! That's how the Hebrew text reads (using the Piel intensive, intentional form of the verb twice). As a result of his sacrificial, God glorifying obedience, God

increase the promised blessing. Since chapter 12, God hadn't talked to Abe about the blessing part of the promise. Now that Abe passed the test perfectly, God adds a plus to the A = A+.

Application: How are you at Responding to God's Revelation? Did you score well on any tests lately?

Prayer: O God of tests and double blessings, unite my ambitions to fear Your name above all in this world, and show that You are Worthy of all glory, by my unreserved, mind, heart and soul obedience. Amen.

Digging Deeper:

Genesis 21:9 Paul uses this passage in Galatians 4:21ff to argue against NT believers succumbing to Jewish pressure, and submitting themselves to the ceremonial requirements of the Jewish law (e.g., Galatians 3:10; Galatians 5:2). He sets up an analogy: Hagar, a slave has offspring according to the flesh, and represents the law (thru Ishmael there is no eternal inheritance); Sarah, a freewoman, has offspring according to the promise (thru which comes the eternal inheritance).
The promise of heirship/inheritance comes from God, thru Sarah's offspring, (Isaac, and eventually the freedom Christ offers), not thru the bondage of the flesh (desire for the temporal), represented by Hagar, and keeping the external law to get one's value from men.