Worship

Worship is the response of the creature to the Creator: the acknowledgment of who God is and what he has done, expressed in reverence, praise, prayer, and obedience. It is the most fundamental activity of human existence, because mankind was made for relationship with God, and worship is that relationship in its most direct expression.

Scripture is highly specific about what acceptable worship looks like. When Nadab and Abihu offer “strange fire” before Yahweh in Leviticus 10, they are killed. When the Israelites build the golden calf in Exodus 32 and worship it as the god who brought them out of Egypt, the same God who performed the Exodus treats it as an act of covenant adultery and judges it severely. The concern throughout is that worship be directed to the right God, in the way he has prescribed, and not according to what feels right or appears reverent to human judgement.

Jesus’ statement to the Samaritan woman in John 4 reorients the question from location to spirit and truth: true worshippers worship the Father in spirit and in truth. This does not free worship from all structure; it frees it from the particular structures of the Old Covenant tied to the Jerusalem temple, and points it toward the new covenant reality in which Christ is the mediator and the Spirit enables genuine access to God. The articles below trace worship through several key passages.

Primary focus

Exodus 15: Yahweh Saves, Judges, and Reigns Forever Exodus 15 Exodus 27: The Altar, the Courtyard, and Approaching Yahweh Exodus 27 Exodus 30: Incense, Ransom, Washing, and Anointing Before Yahweh Exodus 30 Exodus 35: Israel's Obedience in Building Yahweh's Dwelling Exodus 35 Exodus 36: Construction of Yahweh's Dwelling Begins Exodus 36 Exodus 37: The Making of the Sanctuary's Most Holy Objects Exodus 37 Exodus 38: The Altar, the Courtyard, and the Sanctuary Accounting Exodus 38

Also covers this theme

Exodus 18: Yahweh's Salvation Reaches the Nations Exodus 18 Exodus 20: The Ten Commandments and the Holiness of God Exodus 20 Exodus 23: Truth, Justice, and Life Under Yahweh's Rule Exodus 23 Exodus 25: Yahweh Commands the Construction of His Dwelling Exodus 25 Exodus 26: The Structure and Veiling of Yahweh's Dwelling Exodus 26 Exodus 28: The Priestly Garments and the Representation of Israel Exodus 28 Exodus 31: Craftsmen, the Sabbath Sign, and the Covenant Tablets Exodus 31 Exodus 39: The Priestly Garments Completed in Obedience Exodus 39 Exodus 40: The Tabernacle and Yahweh Dwells Among His People Exodus 40 Genesis 26: Yahweh's Covenant Faithfulness to Isaac Genesis 26 Genesis 35: Jacob Returns to Bethel and God Reaffirms Blessing Genesis 35 Genesis 4: The Escalation of Evil and the Hope of a New Seed Genesis 4 Hebrews 13: Living in the Grace and Reproach of Christ Hebrews 13