Tag Archives: Worship

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Judges 11

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Molech or chemosh When [Jephtha] realized who it was, he ripped his clothes, saying, "Ah, dearest daughter—I'm dirt. I'm despicable. My heart is torn to shreds. I made a vow to God and I can't take it back!" Judges 11:35 (MSG)

The story in today's chapter is a horribly tragic event that is incredibly confusing in today's world. It's easy to walk away from the story scratching our heads and throwing our hands up in the air. Yet, God's message is like Aesop's stories. There is generally a reason the story has been told. We just have to find the clues.

The first clue is a theme that has been running throughout the book of Judges. The people of Israel have been in a continuous cycle of idolatry. Try as they may, they keep mingling God, Jehovah, with the gods and idols of the people around them. They keep falling into idolatry despite God's numero uno command in the Top Ten List of commands God gave them through Moses. At the beginning of Judges, the theme is announced and highlighted when God warns Israel not to get mixed up with foreign gods or "their gods will become a trap" (Judges 2:3).

In the midst of Jepthah's parley with the Amomnites (vss 14-27), he mentions their god, Chemosh and he sets up the battle as a clash of between Jehovah and Chemosh. Here, the second clue is revealed. One of the things scholars know about the ancient god Chemosh is that human sacrifice was used on special occasions to secure the god's favor. If bowing before idols is against the rules, then sacrificing humans to those gods is a downright abomination.

As soon as Jepthah's victory on behalf of Jehovah is complete, however, he makes a silly vow and ends up sacrificing his own daughter in a despicable, senseless act. Jepthah sacrifices his daughter to God the way the Ammonites would sacrifice someone to Chemosh (a.k.a Molech, pictured above). For all of Jepthah's high spirited talk, his actions reveal that his faith has gotten mixed up with the gods of the Ammonites. It' reminds us of what Jesus said of the people of Israel: "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me." The moral of the story is revealed and points back to God's ominous warning at the beginning of the book: "don't get mixed up with other gods, or the consequences will be tragic."

Today, I'm thinking about the gods of this age and culture. I'm thinking about the god of sex, the god of money, the god of materialism, the god of convenience, and the god of self. I'm wondering how these gods have affected my relationship with God. How do my own actions reveal that my heart is incongruent with the words from my lips (and the words from my qwerty keyboard). 

Maybe I'm more like Jepthah than I care to admit.

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Judges 3

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But the People of Israel made themselves at home among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. They married their daughters and gave their own daughters to their sons in marriage. And they worshiped their gods. Judges 3:5-6 (MSG)

I love being at home. I'm comfortable here. I relax here. It's a warm, loving, cozy place.

They say, "home is where the heart is." Jesus took it a step further when he said, "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Home says a lot about your heart. Home reflects who you are. Observe me in my home, and you'll get a much clearer picture of who I truly am.

I find it interesting that the people of Israel "made themselves at home." among the people of the land. They got comfortable and cozy. They even adopted their gods. There is archaeological evidence that the Israelites even worshiped the fertility goddess, Asherah, as the wife of Jehovah, who told them coming out of Egypt that they were to have no other gods.

Today, I'm contemplating where my heart is. I've always echoed the sentiment, "this world is not my home, I'm just a passin' through." But do I really believe that? Where have I made myself at home in this world and become too cozy? Where have the eyes of my heart been pulled away from God to become enamored with that which is worthless?


Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Exodus 35

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What I have I offer. Then they came back, every one whose heart was roused, whose spirit was freely responsive, bringing offerings to God for building the Tent of Meeting, furnishing it for worship and making the holy vestments. Exodus 35:21 (MSG)

Everyone was at the meeting when Moses came down from the mountain. Everyone saw his face shining with God's glory. Everyone heard God's Message from his lips. Everyone dispersed. Not everyone came back. 

Those who returned were those whose hearts were roused and whose spirits were responsive. They came back with something to offer.

I don't want to be the person who was merely checked off for my attendance before God. I want my heart roused. I want my spirit to be freely responsive. I want to reciprocate with something tangible to offer.

Creative Commons photo courtesy of Flickr and uncleboatshoes

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Exodus Chapter 19

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Gathering together.

God said to Moses, "Go to the people. For the next two days get these people ready to meet the Holy God. Exodus 19:10 (MSG)

Anticipation. Preparation.

What am I looking forward to next weekend? Football friday night? Tailgating on Saturday? The big game on Sunday? A family get together?

I was struck by God's call for the people to prepare themselves for worship. I find it interesting that God told the people to anticipate their upcoming meeting with Him. It's Tuesday morning as I write this and I realize that next Sunday's worship is not even on my radar. If there is something that I'm anticipating and preparing myself to do this coming weekend, I confess it's really not gathering with others to worship God together.

How different would my experience be if I spent my week anticipating worship on Sunday morning? What might happen if I consciously did things, during the week, to prepare my heart and mind to meet the Holy God?

I often hear people complain that the experience of church is dry and boring. Could it be because we have not done our part in anticipating God's presence and preparing to meet Him there?

Creative Commons photo courtesy of Flickr and OldShoeWoman

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Psalm 150

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The Divine Hours Hallelujah! Praise God in his holy house of worship, praise him under the open skies; Psalm 150:1 (MSG)

Over the past two weekends I've been able to spend a lot of time "under the open skies." It never ceases to amaze me how our little place at the lake is as much spiritual refuge as it is vacation play place. For several months now I've been enjoying "The Divine Hours." It's a selection of daily prayers divided into four daily offices. It's a return to the ancient idea of taking time each day, at different times of the day, to stop what you're doing and pray.

At the lake, the daily prayer times took on a deeper meaning for me. I felt the depth of the water, the rootedness of the trees, and the expanse of the skies as I quietly prayed through each office in the morning, mid-day and evening. As I read the opening lyric to Psalm 150 this morning, I caught the contrast of the author. Praise God in church, but praise Him under the open skies, too. There is much to be gained from learning to praise God inside church and out.

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Psalm 149

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Dance like no one is watching. Let them praise his name in dance; strike up the band and make great music! Psalm 149:3 (MSG)

Q: Why do Baptists forbid couples to make love standing up?
A: It might lead to dancing.

Ha! That joke is an oldie, but a goodie. The humor, of course, is rooted in the fact that we often become so rigid in our religious rules that we miss the point entirely. We diminish things of real importance like love, obedience, peace, patience, goodness, faithfulness and in their place we raise up religious rules and regulations to manage the behavior of the masses.

I remember attending a church many years ago. One of the staunch, old denominational members of the church was talking to me after church. He was uncomfortable with the fact that, during the worship service, several people had raised their hands while singing.

"I don't get it," he said to me with a shake of his head, "Why do these people raise their hands in the air during the service?"

I shrugged my shoulders, "I don't know, Jim," I answered, "Maybe it's because the Bible tells us to."

Ouch! You know what? I think the church would benefit from us letting our hair down, striking up the band, and, in obedience to Psalm 149, doing a little dancing before the Lord!