Worshiping G-d in His Holidays

Psalm 19:14 May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be acceptable in Your presence, ADONAI, my Rock and Redeemer.

The issue of worship has been central in this recent season and will be central in the next season coming up. DH and I had a conversation this morning where he was thinking of his day ahead of him and the people he’s having running conversations with. The subject of worship has been key in those conversations. He is anticipating this question, “Where does it say that I should worship like that?”. He asked me to find some Scripture references for him to take to work with him and that got me thinking that I might post them here as well.

We looked and looked a few years ago for Scripture references that said, “Don’t worship Me like this: 1)….2)….3)….etc”. We didn’t find that. What we did find was a multitude of verses that said, “Do not worship other gods”. Well duh! We don’t worship other gods, we worship the One True G*d! But the question we had was how – what is acceptable in His sight and what does He want? We had been looking for something that said, “This is bad, this is good.” We didn’t find it.

What we did find was that HaShem is proactive in instructing us what we SHOULD do as opposed to instructing us by what we should not do. Yes there are some places where He says, “Do not…” but there are more places where He says, “Do…”. For example, some of the few verses we could find concerning how we shouldn’t worship Him was Exodus 23:24 which says, “You are not to worship their gods, serve them or follow their practices; rather, you are to demolish them completely and smash their standing stones to pieces.” and Deuteronomy 12:30 which says, “be careful, after they have been destroyed ahead of you, not to be trapped into following them; so that you inquire after their gods and ask, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I want to do the same.’” We are told, in no uncertain terms, that we are not to inquire of how the strangers worship their gods and that we are not to imitate those ways.

He gave us instructions about how to worship Him rather than instructions how not to worship Him. The list of those verses could take days to complete. Worship occurs 108 times in 102 verses in the Blue Letter Bible and serve occurs 209 times in 193 verses. It is no difficult task to find out how He wants His children to worship Him. Rather than focusing on how we may be worshiping Him with practices that He abhors and expects to be wiped out, we decided to focus on how we ought to be worshiping and do what He said to do. As a natural by-product of obedience the unacceptable will fall away, and it has. Granted, I am certain that we still have more things to cut away from our lives, more of the “old man” that needs to die in regards to our worship. We surely are NOT perfect!! But we’re working out our salvation with fear and trembling and in the process the dead flesh is being cut away.

HaShem tells His children to completely demolish all the items and forms of pagan worship (Exodus 23:24) and He expected His children to do just that (Deuteronomy 12:30). After that is done we are to forget those ways and not be snared by them, even though they are neat and pretty and interesting and fun. (Aren’t His holy days neat and pretty and interesting and fun? If not, then it isn’t HaShem that got it wrong but it is we who have lost something.) Acts 15:19-21 is part of a discussion about a letter written by the High Council of the Apostolic Church and it is regarding the new Gentile believers, what should be required of them. In that letter the very basic and very minimum is listed for what the new Believer should avoid in his life, for our very lives are how we worship. The list contains the basic entry point practices of pagan worship: consuming blood, things polluted by idols, fornication, and what has been strangled (aka not slaughtered kosher and still containing blood). What is following the list of what to avoid is the expectation that every Believer (Jew or Gentile) will be in the synagogues every Shabbat hearing the Torah being preached, and as the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) leads every Believer into obedience to HaShem they will naturally follow what has been handed down by HaShem to His children. Jacob (known in Christian circles as James), the brother of our Master, wrote that we should be doers of the Word and not just hearers only. He was very insulting of one who hears the Word and does not do it – it is like being one who looks at himself in the mirror and does not remember what he looks like. The early church, Gentile and Jew alike, were instructed and expected to keep the Torah and included in the Torah are special days set aside by YHVH Himself for His children to meet with Him as well as with eachother. These are significant days, important days. Never was it considered okay to take a pagan day and keep that as a day to worship YHVH. Those days were nothing days, days of non-gods, days for fools and those living in darkness. Those days were replacements and often imitations of His holy days. Why settle for second best? Why give Him second best? Does He even want something other than what He outlined for us to do? Is “second best” acceptable?

The holidays outlined in Leviticus 23 are days that HaShem set aside as special times for His people. Not for the Jews only (there were no Jews in that time, only children of Israel and other peoples who accompanied Israel out of Egypt who submitted themselves to HaShem, the G*d of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.), but the festivals are for all of this mixed multitude. The whole of the mixed multitude was given the Torah and accepted by Him and included in/accepted the ketubah (see previous message here about the ketubah and Shavuot/Pentecost). Anyone who comes under the headship of HaShem and under the lordship of the Messiah is now accepted into the family of HaShem, we’re all His children (either natural children or adopted children) and His standards for His children are consistent for all of His children. There is but one law for all of His children, as stated in Numbers 15:15 and Exodus 12:49.

Rather than focus on the history and deep (sometimes hidden) meanings of some traditional festivals and holidays, lets spend our time focusing on what He designed for His children and decide to keep them for ourselves. I cannot even begin to describe to you how fulfilling and what a blessing these holy festivals are like and how He blesses those who are obedient. There simply are not sufficient words in my vocabulary. As I once wrote, Just Do It! and Just Do It! part 2. :~) He blesses the obedient, He finds pleasure in the obedient, and in His pleasure we find our strength.