“Then men began to call
upon the name of the Lord.” Genesis 4:26
Over
the years I have made it my practice to read through the entire Bible every
year. As I began in Genesis 1:1 again this year I picked up a different translation
so that I would be more likely not to gloss over familiar verses. On the second
day a verse stood out to me:
“When Seth
grew up, he had a son and named him Enosh. It was during his lifetime that
people first began to worship the LORD.” Genesis 4:26 (NLT)
The
first question I asked myself was, what did that look like? And why was it
recorded (obviously it was important). It didn’t just have to do with music
because earlier in that same chapter we are introduced to ‘Jubal, the first musician—the inventor of the harp and flute’(Genesis
4:21 NLT)
As
I looked in other translations I found a different perspective, ‘then men began to call upon the Lord’ (NASB)
God had revealed himself to his people as worthy of worship and they in
turn showed their faith by offering the sacrifices that God required. The Old
Testament is full of examples of altars being built and sacrifices given. But
what does that look like for me?
I
picked up my Dictionary and was struck by some of the definitions of worship…reverence
offered a divine being or supernatural power…the extravagant respect, or
admiration for or devotion to an object of esteem(Webster’s New College
Dictionary) True worship is born out of our reverence for who God is and all
that he has done for us.
Today
I too need to call upon the name of the Lord. I need to revere him, and give
him that extravagant respect that he alone deserves. I love that…extravagant
respect! In sunshine and rain, through the good times and the hard, God alone
is worthy of my worship and praise.
Is
worship your first response in every situation? Or do you come before your
Heavenly Father with grumbling and complaining about the injustices you face? I
have been admonished in this new year to first of all worship him, revere him
and give him that extravagant respect!
1 comment:
Thank you, Doris, for a look at what worship means. Today we tend to think of music, but the words "reverence and extravagant respect" lead us to more than the songs we sing.
What I have wondered about is why did they start at that time? Did Adam and Eve not teach their children to worship God? I also wonder what it was that would have changed their perspective of God.
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