It seems like every day I receive mail that tells me how to have a great worship experience. From banners with scriptures on them, worship bulletin templates to catch the eye, to church furniture that looks great, there are robes I can wear to make me look spiritual, there are fancy new communion trays lined with gold, and you can even buy some valentine worship hearts to please the romantics at church. I think Israel must have had some exciting worship experiences with their motionless gods that they sang and danced around and felt good about. God says, don’t do it. Do not make gods out of gold and silver and put them alongside of me (Exodus 20:23).
Have we lost the true meaning of worship? It is not a panacea of great experiences that make me feel good. Isn’t worship about developing a relationship with a holy God (the creator). He says don’t worship things or bring those other gods near me. This is so foreign to us because we may have forgotten that our sin is appalling to God. We no longer see a Sovereign. We no longer tremble in the presence of the Almighty. We no longer appreciate or remember that our God is about commitment, covenant, sacrifice, and loyalty. I guess, we need to tell God to get a chill pill because we live under grace now and He doesn’t need to bark out a bunch of commands. He tells them to use natural stones that have not been worked on with a tool (Exodus 20:25). Come on God, don’t you want some of that polished stone that looks pretty to us and will make our worship go easier? Come on God, we have talented stone carvers that are not being able to use their gifts. How can the stone carvers worship if they can’t modify your altar?
I bet Moses got a lot of mail too and everyone was just dying to set up the multimedia system around the golden calf. Have we forgotten what grace is? Isn’t grace what is happening here with the Israelites? God draws near to them and instructs them how they can draw near to Him. Isn’t that the story of Jesus? God draws near to us by paying the cost for our sins. It was not a gold plated cross that Jesus died on. It was a cross of suffering and shame. If we really want to worship, maybe we should drop on our knees and be quiet and listen to the Most Holy One. “Do not make any gods to be alongside me…” (Exodus 20:23).
By the way, I worshipped God today and it felt awful. I came before the most Holy Throne and like Isaiah said, “Woe to me!” I cried, “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty (Isaiah 6:5).
Woe to me! I deserve death and Jesus came over and touched me with His blood. Whew! Worship is exhausting.