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Worship wasn't invented by Matt Redman or even Graham Kendrick!

Worship isn't a recent invention.

It dates right back into the Old Testament.
To understand what the New Testament teaches us about worship, we have to first understand the Old Testament.

Many people find the OT hard to understand or struggle with how to relate it to living in 2008. Especially when it talks of the temple and sacrificing. But these seemingly unhelpful rules and instructions are at the heart of ancient views of worship.

So even though OT worship seems far from our 2008 christian worship, this is why it's important to start here. Patterns and values that are birthed in OT laws can be seen in our services today.

Again, we need to make sure that we don't treat this OT worship as a single absolute.

There are different forms used to express worship.

Obviously, the OT spans a large period of time and of course during the 39 books, worship wasn't static.

It changed.

It developed.

It grew.

This is mainly down to God's progression of revealing Himself to His people.

_DEVELOPMENTS IN OLD TESTAMENT WORSHIP_

Patriachal period = Sacred places

Exodus/Settlement in Canaan = Tabernacle

Monarchy = Temple

Exile = Synagogues

Restoration = Second temple

Love you X

Lost in translation

There is one verse in the Old Testament that uses all 3 Hebrew words that we've looked at.

The 3 windows into worship captured in just one verse.

2 Kings 17:35

It's interesting to see how different translations handle this verse.

"When the LORD made a covenant with the Isrealites, He commanded them: Do not worship [yare] any other gods or bow down [hawah] to them, serve them [abad] or sacrifice to them." NIV

In principle the words could all be translated "worship"_ "Do not worship . . . or worship . . . or worship . . .", even though this would be translated correctly, it is flat and misses the point. Alternatively, the RSV doesn't translate ANY of the words as "worship".

This passage is most deffinately about worship. Yeah sure, it's about what NOT to do. But what we should NOT do for other gods, we SHOULD do for the one true God.

The main thing to remember is that submission, service and reverence aren't alternatives of different forms of worship, but different angles of a single, complete activity.

WORSHIP.

Love you X