2 Samuel 16-18

Luke 17:20-37

“Worship the LORD your God, and His blessing will be on your food and water.”        —Exodus 23:25

After the time of Abraham, God formalized altar worship in the book of Exodus after He brought the Israelites out of their bondage of slavery to Egypt and Pharaoh and established a covenant with them. The worship of God was the very reason why God wanted to free the Israelites as God instructed Moses to tell Pharaoh: “This is what the LORD says: Israel is My firstborn son, and I told you, ‘Let My son go, so that he may worship Me’” (Exodus 4:22-23). 

When the Israelites left Egypt, God provided them with resources for altar worship in the wilderness (Exodus 12:36) and because God is faithful, He protected His people. By faith, Moses and the people of God experienced freedom from captivity, and they worshipped God at the altar as a response to His saving activity in their lives. Moreover, on Mount Sinai, God introduced the whole sacrificial system and gave Moses detailed instructions on how to build the Tabernacle. God also dedicated a whole tribe—the Levites—to serve as priests in worship. Although the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for 40 years because of their disobedience, God’s presence was with them every step of the way.

After Moses died, Joshua became the leader and led the people of God into the Promised Land. They built an altar to commemorate God’s deliverance as they lived into that promise that God gave Abraham in the book of Genesis. Joshua 8:30-31 tells us, “Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the LORD, the God of Israel….On it they offered to the LORD burnt offerings and sacrificed fellowship offerings.” Yet, the days of celebration and worship did not last long. After the people of Israel settled in the Promised Land, their fidelity to God began to wane, and they struggled in their worship of God. During the period of judges, a time of oppression and national distress, God raised judges to reestablish worship, but “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit” (Judges 21:25). 

As we reflect on our own worship of God, are we like Moses, Joshua or the period of judges? Like Moses, are we experiencing a newfound relationship with God and experiencing the joys and delights of what it means to walk with God and to worship Him? Or, maybe we are like Joshua, where God delivered us, and we are worshipping and giving thanks to Him for the victory. Or, maybe we are like the period of judges, where there is no God in our life. 

Even when we are faithless, He is faithful—may we worship God for this truth today.

Father God, thank You for all that You are in my life. I worship You as the God who never leaves me nor forsakes me. Praise You!