Lookahead: But the song wasn’t totally the focus of the controversy. It was the rendition of the song that seemed to be the issue. One podcaster put a comic spin on some of the remarks which I’ll use because it takes the judgmental sting off. “The church is trying to be too much like the world…he’s there with his shirt off and his vest on shining like a strobe light with his shoulders out; we don’t know if he had baby oil on, we don’t know if he had shea butter but what we do know, it wasn’t the anointing.” 🙂
I took a Google survey to see how various contributors weighed in on the question, “Who were the major worshippers in the Old Testament?” One blog post seemed to give a good summary about Old Testament Worship1 (Note: I assigned numbers.):
“In the Old Testament, many figures were known for their deep and varied expressions of worship toward God. Some were known for their immediate obedience, while others were famed for their musical praise, intercession, and righteous living.
Early patriarchs
#1 Abel: The first recorded act of worship in the Bible was Abel’s sacrifice of the best of his flock to the Lord. This act of devotion was acceptable to God, in contrast to his brother Cain’s offering.
#2 Noah: After the flood, Noah built an altar to the Lord and made burnt offerings, demonstrating his faith and gratitude for God’s deliverance.
#3 Abraham: Often called the “Father of Faith,” Abraham demonstrated his worship and devotion through immediate obedience to God’s commands. He built altars and called upon the name of the Lord wherever he journeyed. His willingness to sacrifice his son, Isaac, is the most profound example of his faith and worship.
Prophets and leaders
#4 Moses: Moses was known for his intimate relationship with God, speaking with him “face to face”. His worship and intercession often averted God’s wrath and secured mercy for the Israelites, such as after the golden calf incident.
#4 Miriam: After the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea, Miriam led the women in a celebratory dance and song of victory, making her the first worship leader mentioned in the Bible.
#5 Hannah: As recorded in 1 Samuel, Hannah gave a prayer of thanks to God after he granted her petition for a son, Samuel.
#6 Elijah: A great prophet who bravely confronted King Ahab and the prophets of Baal, Elijah was known for his courage and powerful prayers.
#7 Daniel: While captive in Babylon, Daniel distinguished himself by remaining faithful to God. He prayed three times a day, refusing to compromise his devotion even when faced with the lion’s den.
#8 Isaiah: The prophet Isaiah had a transformative worship experience in which he saw the Lord seated on a throne in the temple. This revelation led him to confess his unworthiness and respond to God’s call to service.
Kings
#9 David: King David is arguably the most famous worshiper in the Old Testament, often described as a “man after God’s own heart”. He was a musician, songwriter, and psalmist who expressed a full range of emotions in his praise to God, from celebration to grief. He celebrated the return of the Ark of the Covenant with uninhibited dancing and music.
#10 Solomon: While Solomon’s later years were marked by idolatry, he began his reign with a prayer of dedication for the temple, thanking God for providing for Israel.
Faithful individuals
#11 Job: A blameless and upright man, Job’s worship was exemplified by his patience and faithfulness to God during immense suffering and loss. He refused to curse God, maintaining his faith even when accused by his friends.
#12 The Levites: This tribe was set apart to serve in the Tabernacle and later the Temple. King David appointed some of them to lead worship, praising God with singing and musical instruments.”
Having identified these OT Major Worshippers, I will assess them against the criteria in my Worship #2 Post which basically analyzed whether the mode of expression was one of: C for Conditional, S for Supplication, P for Praise , D for Directed (thou shalt worship), T for Thanks, or pure worship, i.e., had a worshipful heart.
#1 Abel considered sacrificial system adherence to be worship, but it was an attempt to show reverence and respect for God–in trying to understand what would bless Him. I would say that Abel had a worshipful heart.
#2 I believe Noah offered the sacrifice in thanks.
#3 Abraham also considered sacrificial system adherence to be worship. Nevertheless, this was a specific attempt to show reverence and respect (fear) for God–in (mistaken) belief and obedience to what Abraham thought would bless Him. I would say that Abraham had a worshipful heart.
#4 Moses: There is one “fall on your face” incident in Exodus 34:8 – After God passed by, revealing His Goodness: Moses “bowed down to the ground and worshiped.” But for the most part, I believe that his was a supplicatory and conditional approach. And in addition, Moses encouraged others to worship.
#4 Miriam: I believe that Miriam was actually a praise leader, who transparently/enthusiastically demonstrated her sincere thanks for God’s miraculous deliverance at the Red Sea. As a leader and prophetess, she directed the women to praise God in what may have been a responsorial format (“And Miriam sang back to them“) WRT Moses’ Song about God’s crushing victory over Pharaoh (D, P, and T Categories).
#5 Hannah: This woman had a genuine heart for God and a revelation of Who He was/is as evidenced by her unforgettable doxology 1 Samuel 2:1-10 which gave all the glory to God, and none to her. I believe that hers was a truly worshipful heart.
#6 Elijah: I believe that when God revealed Himself to Elijah, it evoked conviction and possibly fear versus worship. After the whirlwind/earthquake/fire experience, Elijah walked to the opening of the cave and obediently received his new marching orders.
#7: Daniel: (a) He had a couple of “fall on your face” experiences, but it’s possible that each was in response to an angelic being, not God. 🙂 (b) He (and his other Hebrew friends) refused to worship/pray in accordance with the Babylonian methodology – as commanded by the kings in Babylon (Nebuchadnezzar, later Darius). But that methodology would have been “directed” and “conditional” (D or C) had the Hebrews chosen to participate. It also would have been blatant idol worship.
#8 Isaiah: I believe that Isaiah had a genuine “fall on your face” experience and a worshipful heart (“transformative” as previously referenced blogger said).
#9 David: We have covered David and the Psalms in my Worship #2 Post when I concluded that David taught us how to worship although he wasn’t necessarily worshipping at the time. He was able to do so, based on having received break-through revelations of Who God was. David knew things about God that nobody knew. I believe that God positioned David for worship, and that the latter had a truly worshipful heart.
#10 Solomon: Solomon’s attempts to honor God were moreso along the lines of prayer, thanks, and praise.
#11 Job: I had previously written a blog post that related to Job’s transformation from…someone who was a grateful man, and a father who entreated for his children…to a bonafied worshipper.
Unpacking #36
When a period of (his children’s) feasting had run its course, Job would make arrangements for them to be purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” Job 1:5 (Side Note: Where did Job get this definition/type of sin? Can this help us determine when the Book of Job was written?)
Bottom line, Job was interceding for his children’s salvation! Talk about blameless!
Having said that, Job might not be a glowing example of patience and perseverance in the midst of his paradigm…a paradigm in which the door had not yet been opened by Jesus (to a vast frontier of lofty learning opportunities about the true nature of God v. enemy). Without this pivotal understanding, Job was giving the LORD an earful in the midst of his suffering. At one point, I believe that he was actually asking God to kill him Job 6:8,9 (possibly after only a matter of weeks or a few months).
I believe that finally, prior to his redemption, Job demanded an audience with the Most High. Would I have done the same without Jesus’ revelations? Absolutely. Even with these revelation I have, at times, checked Job’s behavioral response boxes (except for nuh-uh on the killing request).
I do not believe that Job became a true worshipper until God honored his request for a personal audience. It only took one look for Job’s heart to become worshipful..for the duration.
#12 Levites: I believe that their expression, like David’s, solidified the worship paradigm of that era. Therefore, it was moreso along the lines of praise and adherence to/reinforcement of established worship practices
In addition to the twelve from Google AI, five more names came to mind: Jacob, Jehoshaphat, Zadok, Josiah, and Eliezer.
#14 Jacob: Hebrews 11:21 is an interesting verse about Jacob – By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff. The Greek word for “worship” is the same “bowed his face to the ground” equivalent to the Hebrew. At this time, scripture says that Jacob was dying (plus Genesis 48 says that Jacob had to rally his strength to even be able to sit up); And in fact, Jacob’s subsequent act was to speak a blessing to each one of his sons who were gathered at his bedside. I believe that these blessings were actually powerful prophesies. The fact that Jacob summoned his last ounce of strength to honor God, and bow his heart to Him, is worship at its finest.
#15 Josiah came to mind as probably the best king after David; the former obeyed the LORD and was the impetus for a huge revival in the Southern Kingdom. Essentially Josiah decimated idol worship in Judah and “got people back in the Word.” Although Josiah completely bowed himself to the will of God, I did not see specific instances of him bowing his heart in worship.
#16 Jehoshaphat also decimated idol worship and mandated corporate praise. Per Google AI, he instituted what was called, “Strategic Worship: In a famous account, when facing an overwhelming enemy army, Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah turned to prayer and worship instead of military force. He organized a choir to sing praises to the Lord, who then intervened and caused the enemy armies to fight and destroy each other.” I would say that Jehoshaphat used powerful praise for intercession purposes.
#17 Zadok: One of my college professors recently mentioned Zadok as one of the key worshippers in the Bible. Per Google AI response: Zadok was crucial in establishing worship in Jerusalem. He helped bring the Ark of the Covenant into the city and was left in charge of priestly duties when David left the city during Absalom’s rebellion…His descendants, the Zadokites, were noted for their faithfulness in the Book of Ezekiel, where they are singled out as those who “kept charge of My sanctuary when the Israelites went astray”. I believe this was the same case as #12 Levites (P, T, and D).
#18 Eliezer – In addition, I searched for the expression “bowed his face to the ground,” which is the literal meaning of the Hebrew worship word and came up with seven hits which I reduced down to one more Old Testament figure, Abraham’s servant, Eliezer (Gen 24:26 and 52)! In these verses, it is clear that Eliezer is thanking God—and God alone—for leading him to Isaac’s future wife. Not only that, but it appears Eliezer was comfortable with talking/praying to God and making his requests known. We could call this a response of thanks. However, Eliezer seemed to have a genuine understanding of God as savior and provider which speaks to – relationship. The servant was focused on glorifying God Himself, with reverence and awe. This is also interesting because he must have learned this behavior from observing his earthly master. His behavior aligns with Hannah’s–who was awestruck by God’s greatness. The behavior contrasts with Moses and Miriam’s–in which they “rubbed their hands in glee” at Pharaoh’s demise, in the Song of the Sea. A worshipful heart drops the “me” and “us” and focuses on the “You.” Surrender is always involved. And pride has gone out the window…
And now circling back to Abraham – one Facebook Post read, “Trust is a Form of Worship. When God tested Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice, he told his servants he was going to the mountain to worship.”
So does it take trust or faith to worship God? I do think we need to believe that God exists in order to worship Him. But I also think that God will sometimes position people to worship by targeting them for a deeper revelation of Who He is. For example, God showed up in a huge way for Job and Isaiah (later, John the Revelator) and they were not able to remain standing when He revealed Himself. How ever He may choose to position the worshipper, I think the common element is that they have an amplified understanding of Who God is. The result is that they “can’t help but worship.”
Recently I watched a YouTube video in which I realized that a huge crowd of Christian celebrities and spectators could not possibly have an understanding of Who God is. The video featured a Christian artist, who had a joint-project with a famous rap star, receiving an award at a popular ceremony–in the Gospel Award category–as a gospel song. It created an uproar.
Firstly, in some YouTube circles, this song would be considered a worship/song. The lyrics to the song are essentially, “Bless me, bless me, bless me, God” with a hint of, “Thank you, LORD” and “Bless my enemies.”‘ So is it a worship/worshipful song? (I will be writing a post in the near future entitled, “Worship Song? Message Song?”) Well, God knows.
But the song wasn’t totally the focus of the controversy. It was the rendition of the song that seemed to be the issue. One podcaster put a comic spin on some of the remarks which I’ll use because it takes the judgmental sting off. “The church is trying to be too much like the world…he’s there with his shirt off and his vest on shining like a strobe light with his shoulders out; we don’t know if he had baby oil on, we don’t know if he had shea butter but what we do know, it wasn’t the anointing.” 🙂
Arriving at the point that I was trying to make: I was totally caught off guard when the camera, for a split second, landed on one of the “choir members” (background singers) with a brief profile shot. Her dress was so short, the question arose,”is she not wearing underwear under there?” Obviously I “voted with my remote” immediately thereafter. Nevertheless, I genuinely believe that if those people at the Award Ceremony had a clue about Who God was, they would put more clothes on and stop acting as if they were auditioning for a Hollywood producer.
The more we understand Who He is, the more our hearts change in the direction of being people who can’t help but worship–as God gloriously positions us with worshipful hearts
Cross-Denominational Bible Study 