It is very instructive to note in the Scriptures the
\nengagements or circumstances which brought forth worship from believing men or
\nwomen. The attractiveness of divine worship, and the variety of events which
\nstirred that worship are both inspiring and informative.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Abraham Offering Isaac<\/strong> Eliezer Finding a Bride<\/strong> Israel Joshua’s Entrance into the Promised Land<\/strong> Gideon Hearing God’s Word through a Dream<\/strong> Samuel In His Infancy<\/strong> A Congregation for the Offering<\/strong> A Remnant at the Reading of God’s Word<\/strong> Job in the Loss of all Things<\/strong> These are all acts of worship which God has regarded as worthy of permanent
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153And Abraham said unto his
\nyoung men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and
\nworship<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (Gen. 22:5). The Lord God was
\ntaking Abraham into His own heart to know the fellowship of His sufferings.
\nGod’s passion was derived from the sacrifice He was to make of His own beloved
\nSon. Abraham therefore was asked for the sacrifice of his only son, and in
\nresponding to this, Abraham performed one of the most extraordinary acts of
\nobedience that was ever known from the foundation of the world. The most
\namazing thing in this record\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand there are things of the heart over which the
\nDivine Recorder has cast a veil\u00e2\u20ac\u201dis that Abraham calls this tremendous sacrifice
\nan act of worship: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I and the lad will go yonder and worship.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Abraham esteemed
\nGod worthy of the surrender of his dearest possession.<\/p>\n
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153And the man [Eliezer] bowed down his head, and worshiped the
\nLord\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (Gen. 24:26). Abraham had sent his faithful servant to find a bride for
\nhis beloved son, Isaac. It was a long, arduous journey through hundreds of
\nmiles of desert, since the bride was to come from Abraham’s native land, from
\namong his own kindred. It is a lovely picture of God sending His Spirit to choose
\nout and bring home a bride for Christ, that bride being the great company of
\nthe redeemed (Rev. 21:9). The faithful servant was divinely led to Rebekah, who
\nwas endowed even before she received the message concerning Isaac, but who, on
\nhearing the testimony, fully responded, and left all that was represented by
\nher relatives to go on that long journey, at the end of which she would meet
\nher Isaac. The point to remember is that the faithful servant was so led by
\nGod\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I being in the way, the Lord led me\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (Gen. 24:27)\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthat \u00e2\u20ac\u0153he bowed\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6his head,
\nand worshiped the Lord\u00e2\u20ac\u009d for such unerring guidance.<\/p>\n
\nHearing of God’s Concern for Them<\/strong>
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153And the people believed: and when they heard that the Lord had
\nvisited the children of Israel,
\nand that He had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and
\nworshiped\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (Ex. 4:31). Moses, after being on the mount with God, brought them
\nthe good news of God’s visitation and His purpose to deliver them. It was a
\nword of salvation. They were no longer to be vassals of a cruel taskmaster, but
\nsubjects of the Lord’s own kingdom, and forged into a people for His using. The
\npresence of Israel in Egypt was due
\nto failure, but God was to redeem them from all the consequences of that
\nfailure and bring them out. When the people heard from Moses that God was to be
\nthe God of their salvation and that He would \u00e2\u20ac\u0153come down to deliver\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00e2\u20ac\u201da word
\nwhich pointed forward to the incarnation of the Son of God\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u0153they bowed their
\nheads and worshiped.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Art Thou for us, or for our adversaries? And He said, Nay; but
\nas captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face
\nto the earth, and did worship\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (Josh. 5:13-14). Moses had laid down his
\nleadership. Though he had strong and holy desires to enter the land, yet God
\nhad forbidden it. In a public demonstration of anger he had dishonored God, and
\nsince he personified the law, which he and all others had broken, it was not
\npossible for him to lead Israel
\ninto the Lord’s inheritance. Joshua (meaning Saviour) fittingly took over.
\nBefore any battle was joined to gain possession, he was confronted by One who
\nturned out to be a divine personage. Not knowing at first who He was, Joshua
\nchallenged His presence, but when the Lord explained that He had come to take
\nover as Captain in order to ensure victory in their battles and the right of
\npossession, Joshua \u00e2\u20ac\u0153fell on his face to the earth, and did worship.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and
\nthe interpretation thereof, that he worshiped\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (Judg. 7:15). Israel was now confronted with a
\nMidianite threat which had developed because of their own lapse back into
\nidolatry. Gideon, called by God, had broken down the images and idols of vanity
\nand cut down the groves. No deliverance could possibly come through such
\nreligious falsity. But God had come through in Gideon. To strengthen his
\nconfidence against such an enemy power, the Lord sent him and his servant into
\nthe camp of the Midianites. There they heard a man telling a dream about a cake
\nof barley bread tumbling into the camp and wrecking it. Whereupon his fellow
\ninterpreted the barley cake as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153nothing else save the sword of Gideon.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d This
\ngave Gideon the assurance of victory, inspired courage, and drew forth worship.<\/p>\n
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153And he worshiped the Lord there\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (1 Sam. 1:28). In the
\nbackground there is a husband with two wives, Peninnah and Hannah. Peninnah was
\nfruitful after the flesh, but Hannah was barren. Peninnah is spoken of as
\nHannah’s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153adversary,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d who by her ridicule caused her to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153fret\u00e2\u20ac\u009d so that Hannah
\nwas brought into \u00e2\u20ac\u0153bitterness of soul.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Hannah means \u00e2\u20ac\u0153grace\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and grace was not
\ncontent with barren love. But the age was one of spiritual declension and
\nHannah was exercised for a child, not to glory in the flesh, nor for her own
\npleasure, but that the Lord might have an instrument for His using. In a most
\nnoble passage, which manifests Hannah’s whole and complete consecration, she
\nsays: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153For this child I prayed; and the Lord hath given me my petition which I
\nasked of Him: therefore also I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he liveth
\nhe shall be lent to the Lord.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d That was Hannah. Then follows, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153And he [not
\nshe]1 worshiped the Lord there\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwhich means even the heart of old Eli was moved
\nto worship the Lord.<\/p>\n
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153And David said to all the congregation, Now bless the Lord
\nyour God. And all the congregation blessed the Lord God of their fathers, and
\nbowed down their heads, and worshiped the Lord\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (1 Chron. 29:20). David had
\nbeen denied the building of God’s house in favor of his son, Solomon. This may
\nhave been a blow to David’s desires, since the house was connected with the
\nglory of God, and in it God’s glory would be manifested. David, however, did
\nnot pout at God’s denial, but with great affection for the testimony, gathered
\nthe materials for the building, himself contributing a great deal of the
\ncostliest and weightiest of metals\u00e2\u20ac\u201dgold and silver. Following David’s noble
\nexample, the whole congregation \u00e2\u20ac\u0153offered willingly,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and after David had led
\nthem in thanksgiving, they spontaneously \u00e2\u20ac\u0153bowed their heads, and worshiped the
\nLord.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153And Ezra the priest brought the law\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6And he read therein\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6from
\nthe morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could
\nunderstand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the
\nlaw\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. And all the people\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6bowed their
\nheads, and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (Neh. 8:2-3, 6).
\nHere we see how the Word of God quickens the soul and energizes it to worship.
\nEzra’s day was toward the end of that dispensation. Only a remnant had returned
\nfrom the Babylonian captivity and did so with purpose of heart to raise again
\nthe Lord’s testimony in a new temple. Ezra’s strategy to inspire them to do
\nthis was to read the living Word of God to them, and the effect was so great
\nthat \u00e2\u20ac\u0153they bowed their heads, and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and
\nfell down upon the ground, and worshiped\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (Job 1:20). Satan had challenged
\nGod’s attestation of Job’s good character. His allegation was that self-interest
\nlay behind the allegiance. The trial of Job was therefore consented to by the
\nLord, and the trial turned to the honor of Job.
\nAt a second challenge, to meet Satan’s taunt that Job’s continued loyalty was
\nbecause nothing had touched the man himself, God permitted Satan to afflict
\nJob’s body, which he did with \u00e2\u20ac\u0153sore boils.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Added to this was the loss of
\nrespect, through his friends misinterpreting his sufferings, and also through
\nthe loss of his wife’s fellowship in faith. Job, however, had such love towards
\nGod’s holy name, and such moderation with respect to his losses and crosses,
\nand was of such fine resolution still to think well of God, that he \u00e2\u20ac\u0153fell down
\nupon the ground, and worshiped.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\nrecord in His Scriptures.<\/p>\n