WORSHIP AT BETHEL

Introduction

-When you were a kid you may have done this little saying that went with hand motions: here is the church, here is the steeple, open the doors and see all the people.

~From a very early age we connected the church building with the gathering of people for worship. There is no doubt that our gathering together as the people of God during our regular services is an important time of Christian fellowship and growth. But we should never tie our entire spirituality to a building, and we should not limit our worship to a place.

-Sometimes we call the building that we meet in THE HOUSE OF GOD. The house of God is most definitely a place to meet God and to worship God, but the house of God is not tied to the building with the steeple. It becomes the house of God when the doors are open and there’s all the people. Wherever the people of God go, whether a group or individual, there is the house of God.

-Today we are looking at time in the life of the patriarch Jacob. God calls Jacob to go to Bethel. That Hebrew name BETHEL literally mean HOUSE OF GOD. Jacob named that place HOUSE OF GOD prior to our passage because there he encountered God when he was fleeing from his brother Esau. And now he is going to encounter God again, but it is going to be different this time.

-All those years before, Jacob didn’t really know God. You see him refer to God as the GOD OF MY FATHER. He didn’t claim God as his own. But now, all these years later, through so much, Jacob finally got it. Jacob finally understood who God was. So now, after Jacob finally learned the character of God and trusted in the promises of God, he then learned the importance of worshipping God for himself.

-Worship is not a matter of place or mere liturgy, but is a special time of hearing from God, learning from God, growing in God, and demonstrating our trust in God.

-I want us to leave here today with a renewed passion for biblical worship. I want us to have our own Bethel experiences wherever we decide to worship we are Bethel, we are the house of God.

Genesis 35:1–15 ESV

1 God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.” 2 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you and purify yourselves and change your garments. 3 Then let us arise and go up to Bethel, so that I may make there an altar to the God who answers me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.” 4 So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had, and the rings that were in their ears. Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree that was near Shechem. 5 And as they journeyed, a terror from God fell upon the cities that were around them, so that they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. 6 And Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him, 7 and there he built an altar and called the place El-bethel, because there God had revealed himself to him when he fled from his brother. 8 And Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried under an oak below Bethel. So he called its name Allon-bacuth. 9 God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Paddan-aram, and blessed him. 10 And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” So he called his name Israel. 11 And God said to him, “I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body. 12 The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you.” 13 Then God went up from him in the place where he had spoken with him. 14 And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he had spoken with him, a pillar of stone. He poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil on it. 15 So Jacob called the name of the place where God had spoken with him Bethel.

-I want to consider four aspects of Jacob’s experience with God in worship at Bethel that are important for our own understanding and participation in meaningful, biblical worship:

1. The command to worship

-In v. 1 Jacob is told by God to go to Bethel and make an altar, which means to make it a place of worship. We have seen this with most of the patriarchs. There was no specific place of worship at these times, so people like Noah and Abraham would build altars at various places and at various times to make sacrifices to God in worship.

-God most likely chose Bethel as a place for worship because it is there where Jacob had his first real encounter with God. In fleeing from Esau, Jacob stayed the night in that area and had the dream of the ladder reaching to heaven. Jacob was given a vision of God and heaven. Jacob at the time did not take God very seriously, but maybe paid him some lip service. But now, after the years of encountering God in different ways and seeing God at work, Jacob had a newfound appreciation for who God was, what God had done, and what promises God had passed down to him. Bethel would be the perfect place of a new or renewed worship.

-So God commands: Arise, go, dwell, and make. God calls for worship. God expects worship. God demands worship. And why shouldn’t he? He is God. There is nothing and no one that exists that is as worthy of the recognition that He deserves. God is great in character and attributes. God is awesome in power and might. God is filled with love and mercy. God is perfectly holy and righteous. Who else is there like that? There is no one. As the only eternal being who created all things and sustains all things, God has every right to call His creation to worship Him.

-And so, we have to remember that worship is a sacred duty as well as an awesome privilege. We have turned worship into some sort of rote action that we go through every Sunday, and some will stick a Wednesday in there too, without any thought that we are coming before the eternal God of the universe to show Him His worth, because He deserves it and because He demands it.

-Worship is treated so lightly in our day. Again, it’s not about the place. But there are people who do not come to church or join the church online who do nothing else throughout the week to worship God. I find it so ironic and frustrating that most of the people who argue that they don’t need to come to church to worship don’t worship God at all at any other time either. No, you don’t have to be here to worship. But you better be worshipping God somewhere at some time in some way, because God commands and demands worship.

2. The preparation for worship

-In v. 2 Jacob prepares himself and his family to worship by telling them to get rid of the foreign gods that were among them. Some translations might call them household gods or some might even transliterate it to call them teraphim. These were small idols considered to be sacred objects that were used for various divinations and other pagan spiritual rituals. We almost might liken them to what we would call good-luck charms. These things were carried around and sometimes worshipped or given sacrifice so that the individual or household would be kept safe.

-It reminds me a little bit of what I saw in Japan when there on some mission trips. Many homes in Japan set up altars in their homes that have some sort of representation of ancestral gods and they would burn incense and pray to them. And we also found these small altars out in the streets of the city. In case you forgot to do your little ritual at home, you could do it on the way to work or whatever.

-What Japan did and what the people in Jacob’s time did was completely pagan and idolatrous. It may sound strange for people in Jacob’s household to do this, but you have to remember that Abraham was called out of a polytheistic, pagan way of life. The true God Yahweh was relatively unknown among the people, so some of their past habits of idol worship would follow with them.

-But now Jacob called his family and servants and everybody to get rid of them. They did this physically by giving them go Jacob who then buried them away never to be found again. But then they also had to do it mentally and emotionally. Just because you don’t have the physical representation doesn’t mean that the idol or altar in the heart has been taken away.

-You see, the reason they did this is because you cannot serve two masters, and you cannot worship two gods. God will have no rivals. He alone is God. Jacob’s household would not be able to properly fulfill the command to worship God if their hearts were still knit to the teraphim that they had. True, biblical worship entails that God has center stage in your heart. If there is something in your heart that takes even a smidgen of honor or glory away from God, that is idolatry. God makes it clear:

Isaiah 42:8 (ESV)

8 I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.

-If your heart is so full of someone or something else, there is no room for God. And God will not accept any worship where what is due to Him is given to another. So, when we worship, we need to rid our hearts and minds of everything else to focus in on him. In fact, because it’s sermon time, some of you are zoning out right now and thinking about something else. Whatever you’re thinking about right now, if it isn’t God or His Word, that’s your idol. Before you can truly worship, get rid of your foreign gods—get rid of your idols.

3. The reasons for worship

-In v. 3 Jacob tells his household that they are headed to Bethel to worship Yahweh God, and he gives the reasons for this worship. He specifically says:

Genesis 35:3 (ESV)

3 [He is] the God who answers me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.”

-And if that were not enough, when God appears to Jacob in v. 9 and onward, God reiterates the promises and says they will be fulfilled in Jacob. So, for Jacob, God is the one who walks with him, helps him in distress, and keeps promise. Jacob lists these out as reason for worship, they are his motivations for worship, and they are the points he brings up when he worships. These are reasons God is worthy.

-It’s interesting—in just a few short weeks it will be Valentine’s day. And so for our loved ones (significant others, children, etc.) we get them cards that list out all the reasons we love them. The cards will tell them that they are an inspiration, and thank them for their perseverance in the relationship, and speak of gratefulness for their loyalty and love. These cards spell out the characteristics and actions that make us want to demonstrate to them our own love and affection.

-Well, in a sense, God’s character and actions and promises to us inspire us to communicate to God the reasons He is worthy of our attention and affections. Now, there are right ways and wrong ways to do that. There is biblical worship and then there’s a bunch of worship that is merely about getting an emotional high. That’s wrong worship. We definitely don’t do it here, but if you’re singing a song that sounds more like you’re singing to your girlfriend or boyfriend than you are to Almighty God, then you’re not worshipping right.

-God has given us so many reasons to worship Him. All of us are breathing right now—so He’s given us life. All of us have been provided for in some way. All of us have some sort of relationship with someone—so He’s given us fellowship. But most importantly He has given us Jesus. Y’all, God demonstrated His ultimate love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. If you can’t think of any other reason that God ought to be worshipped continually, just remember that He sacrificed His Son in order to give you eternal life. Jesus willingly went to the cross to be your substitute. God willingly put your sins on His perfect Son so you could live.

-Eternal life is a quality of life, it is the divine life. It is something lived out now before we go to heaven as much as it is the life we live in heaven. We can live like saved sinners because we are saved sinners. If you can’t think of any other reason to worship God, there is your number one reason. If you haven’t trusted in Christ, then your worship of God is flat and false, and you need to get that fixed first.

4. The revelation within worship

-It says in v. 7 that God revealed Himself to Jacob in his first trip to Bethel, and then in v. 9 it says that God appeared to Jacob in this current trip to Bethel. We often think that worship is a one way street where there is no relationship or interaction or communication. But as much as worship is us praising God and committing ourselves to God, worship is also a time of God revealing Himself to us.

-When we worship rightly, God isn’t just stoically sitting back watching us like we’re some form of entertainment. As much as we are invested in worship, God is invested in worship. He desires for us to know Him better and through that knowledge then live by faith in a manner pleasing to Him. Worship isn’t about appeasing some angry spirit like the Japanese believe or the Greeks of old. It’s about building understanding and trust.

-Did you know that God is pleased to reveal Himself to you? He wants you to know Him. That’s why He gave the Bible. But then, in worship, God uses that Word and makes it come alive in you. It’s like putting the Word into action.

-God delights in the praises of His people, and we praise Him more when we know Him better, so He delights in making Himself known to us. The problem is that we don’t put ourselves in a position to hear from Him or notice His revelation and appearance. We’re so tightly wound around out own little worlds, we really don’t notice God at work around us.

-It’s kind of a running joke in our house that a few of us are pretty oblivious to what’s right in front of us. Usually it seems to be us male types. We just don’t see things and can’t find things because we just don’t look. I’ll call out: Trish where is this or that. And she’s like, You mean that thing that’s right in front of your face?

-If we are Christian, God is present with us in a very special way wherever we go. Our chance of worship and God revealing Himself in worship is boundless. God is literally right in front of our face, but we are oblivious. So, we go through motions of worship without meaning the words we sing or not truly listening to His Word being read or whatever other means of worship we participate in.

-No, God isn’t going to give a vision or show up in some physical manifestation, but He inhabits the praises of His people. He will reveal Himself to us in worship if we’re looking and paying attention and concentrated. If our hearts are not in it, we are missing out on so much. No wonder you think worship is boring, because you’re doing it wrong.

Conclusion

-One author wrote this:

True worship is God-centered worship. People tend to get caught up in where they should worship, what music they should sing in worship, and how their worship looks to other people. Focusing on these things misses the point.

Jesus tells us that true worshipers will worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). This means we worship from the heart and the way God has designed. Worship can include praying, reading God's Word with an open heart, singing, playing and instrument, participating in communion, and serving others. It is not limited to one act, but is done properly when the heart and attitude of the person are in the right place.

It's also important to know that worship is reserved only for God. The truth is we all worship something and this is why one of the Ten Commandments tells us to worship God alone -- because it is essential in our relationship with the Lord.

-If you are a Christian, worship should not be a chore that you are forced to do. It’s a joy and privilege. Yes, it’s commanded, but when done right will do more for your relationship with God than you could ever imagine.

-If your worship is stagnant, the problem isn’t with God or the church. It’s time to do some soul-searching. Maybe there are idols in the way. Maybe in ungratefulness you’ve forgotten all that God has done for you. Maybe you’ve complained that God seems so distant, but where has your heart of worship been? We think that worship is something to do when we feel like it or if we happen to be in a good mood or if we think God has done enough to deserve it. We might not say that last one out loud. But our attitude toward worship has been junky.

-So, Christian, why don’t you set up your altar in Bethel today. Determine that you are going to be a worshipper. The House of God goes wherever you go. So, determine that you will worship in spirit and truth.

-But you can’t worship a God you don’t know, and you can’t know God if you don’t come to Jesus Christ. So today, take the first step and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved.