Holy God, Unholy Worshipers

Worship can be a moving experience.  The opening of the soul, mind and spirit to the adoration of God, with music and spoken words, readings and movement often leads to a deeper appreciation for the love of God, the Person of God.   In worship, we can acknowledge our position as creatures, rebels, pardoned and purchased.  The joy of realizing the attention of God to our lives is something that overwhelms.  “What is man that you take thought of him,” as David wondered in Psalm 8?  And yet, David understood that God thought of him; he knew it and rejoiced.

Common to our culture in the west is the idea that worship is freely given and individually determined.  We give worship and adoration if we determine someone is worthy of it.  Our decision to convey our reverence begins and ends with us.  We are the source of what constitutes worship and how it is expressed.  The idea that worship has rules is antithetical to our independent nature.  If we decide an object is worth our time and worship, then we will also determine how that worship is conveyed.  Worship is about how we want to honor another, how we want to love another.  The object of our worship has little to say about it and in fact should simply receive it and be grateful to us. 

This thinking does not always result in glorious experiences.  In fact it may result in death.

Consider David’s attempt to move the Ark of God from a small town up to the capital city of Jerusalem. In accounts in the books Kings and Chronicles it is noted that David consulted with all the leaders and decided that since the Ark of God had been neglected in the time of the previous king, Saul, it was time to put it back in its honored position.  Everyone agreed with David; this was a good idea.  On moving day, the Ark was transported on a new cart, driven by two men.  As the cart moved along all the people were energetically celebrating.  With joy, they sang praise and played musical instruments.  In fact the celebration was so dynamic, the people are said to have celebrated with all their might!  Can you imagine the scene?  Joyful people, celebrating the return of the ark of the Lord God “enthroned above the cherubim,” as 1 Chronicles 13:6 notes.  The music was loud and varied as all the instruments played.  The dancing, as they people moved along with the cart carrying the ark, was vigorous, perhaps even rapturous.  As in any crowd, the joy and delight was infectious; with happy faces, the people of Israel were taking the ark to its rightful place; the place where the ark would be appreciated and recognized for what it was, the place where it belonged.

All it took was a clumsy ox to upset the entire celebration.  As the cart nearly tipped over and the ark almost fell to the ground, one of the drivers put out a hand to steady it.  That is all; just a steady hand, a helping hand; to keep the ark from dropping to the ground.  In the next moments, the atmosphere of joy and elation in worship turned into a chaos of dread as God struck down the helpful man.  Dead.  Right there Uzza died; in the midst of the celebration, anger and death proceeded from the One they were all worshipping.

 All the singing stopped, the trumpets were silent.  The parade ended there.  David was shocked and became angry at God. Furthermore David was afraid of Him. In response to the outburst, David indicated that the people turn aside to a local house and leave the ark there.  He had no stomach to continue on. 

Why would a loving God kill someone who was only trying to help?   The people all were worshipping Him, they all had good intentions.  Why would God get mad with that?

This is precisely where the holiness of God meets headlong with our attempts at worship.  Holiness us not a fluid concept, it is not something decided by a vote.  Holiness is a foundational characteristic of God.  It is that which sets Him apart from all else, all else.  He is other, He is not like us, there is no comparing us with Him.   In His character, in His person, there is an otherness, a sacredness that is intrinsic to Him alone.  To demean, dismiss or devalue it is to attack the very person of God. 

In a small way, it is why He gave rules of civil behavior to the Jews as they were His representatives on earth.  Even as an ambassador to a foreign country represents another government, he also lives in submission to the laws of his homeland.  So, also, God in His holiness decreed how He was to be worshipped.  He gave laws and procedures for all aspects of the worship of Him.  Because God is holy, these parameters for worship were to indicate and communicate His holiness and to also be a protection for the worshippers.

When two sons of Aaron the Priest decided to offer an incense of their own making, it cost them their lives.  They did not conform to the holy instruction for the worship of God; the instruction that He had given.

In today’s world we continue to assume that God welcomes all who desire to worship in any way they choose.  We have devised ways of worship that we determine are in line with the character of God.  There is an appropriate way to dress for worship, a proper way to arrange seating for worship.  We have various musical instruments that are suitable to use for worship and some that are not. Few of the parameters we set are found in scripture, leaving many to that are a result of improvising..  But what about the reason we worship and the Object of our worship?  Do we gather to worship because of Who God is or because of who we are?  It is a dangerous attitude to assume that we can do no wrong in worship, because clearly we can and have.  The One we praise must be worshipped first and foremost as the Holy God that He is.  We have no right to worship in such a way that demeans His holiness or falsifies His Person. 

To worship is a privilege and by invitation of the Holy One Himself.  It is not begun by us; we worship as a response to Him and His work and His rule in this world.  We must always be mindful that this God Who loves us and had rescued us is not our buddy upstairs, not the Big Man.  He is God Almighty.  He deserves to be revered in ways that are fitting, not ways of our own making.