Sunday: Lift Up Your Hands in the Sanctuary
Daily Lesson for Sunday 17th of March 2024
Read Psalms 134:1-3. Where is the worship offered here? What is the outcome of the worship of the Lord?
Psalms 134:1-3 recalls the Aaronic priestly blessing in Numbers 6:24-26 (also Psalms 67:1) and highlights blessing as the underlying principle and outcome of the relationship between God and Israel.
Image © Steve Creitz at Goodsalt.com
The people bless God in the sanctuary, and God blesses His people from Zion. The blessings extend to all of life because the Lord is the Creator of heaven and earth. The mention of Zion as the place of divine special blessings underlines the Lord’s covenantal bond with His people. It is thus within the covenant of grace that Israel exercises the privilege to bless the Lord and is blessed by Him.
Read Psalms 18:1; Psalms 36:1; Psalms 113:1; Psalms 134:1-3:1, 2; and Psalms 135:1-2. How are the worshipers depicted here?
The Psalms often depict the worshipers as the servants of the Lord. “Who by night stand in the house of the Lord” (Psalms 134:1, NKJV) likely refers to the night guard of the Levites (1 Chronicles 9:23-27) or to the praise that was offered to God by the Levites both day and night (1 Chronicles 9:33).
Because the Israelites worshiped the invisible God, who could not be represented in the form of any image, the sanctuary served to reflect the glory of the Lord and provide a secure environment for sinful people to approach their holy King. This encounter is initiated by the Lord Himself and is regulated by His statutes and decrees.
“Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:4-5, NKJV). What we see here, in the words of Peter, is a New Testament expression of the same ideas presented in these psalms, that of God’s people, now a holy priesthood, offering praise and thanksgiving to their Lord Jesus Christ, their Creator and Redeemer, for all the good things that He had done for them.
As New Testament believers, we, also, have a priestly role in that we are called to mediate the good news of the gospel to the world. What are the most effective ways we can do this?
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I like cooking fruit buns. Bread dough, mixed dried fruits, citrus peel (I have to leave that out if my daughter is going to have some), and that special ingredient, cinnamon. When you bake them the whole house is perfumed with its flavour. Who would have thought that the ground-up bark of a tree could evoke such a magical, enticing, appetising aroma? And it lasts for days. Visitors come to our house and say "Hmmn, what have you been cooking?"
Worship is a bit like cinnamon. We have our formal worship times like church services, family worship and even our private study times, but the effect of that time should persist into the rest of our lives and the aroma should be so enticing that others enquire, "What have you been cooking?"
By this shall all men know ...
I really like that your comments are SO relatable. Thank you.
I think the most effective way to meditate the good news to the world is to live by example. Living according to the word of the Lord is more powerful than physical preaching. People have to see the fruits of the Holy Spirit in our lives first before we can share the Good News to them.
After reading: This encounter is initiated by the Lord Himself and is regulated by His statutes and decrees”, I can better understand the call for Israel to 'praise the LORD'. The lesson writer also highlights that: “Because the Israelites worshiped the invisible God, who could not be represented in the form of any image, the Sanctuary served to reflect the glory of the Lord ……. .”
When thinking practical, one could consider 'calling Israel to worship God in the Sanctuary' to establish the acceptable, practical framework until they became comfortable with worshiping their invisible God in Spirit and Truth. Statutes and decrees are given as guidelines and guard posts as they established their personal relationship with their yet unfamiliar God.
Has it become easier in our time to worship the invisible God? Man is still being called upon to acknowledge and worship God, though this same God has given us plenty of time to become familiar with Him. 1 Peter 2:4-5 reveals this New Way offered us by Jesus Christ to worship our God – worship through “spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ”; worshiping God in His Spirit and Truth.
All the ‘training’ our Creator offered mankind over millennia to help us get to ‘know’ Him has culminated in giving us Jesus Christ for the final spiritual and practical ‘training’ - the Holy Spirit stands ready to teach all who love God to worship Him in Spirit and Truth; being revealed to each individually as we live our new life in Jesus Christ.
There is no one answer to the last question - every situation calls for different approaches. But two things seem to be effective in most situations: living a life that demonstrates that the Good News really is good and sharing how God has changed you personally. No one can argue with either of these.
In one way, yes. Living by example is best preaching the gospel. ❤️
In the same way, we should also involve in touch ministering to people who don't yet know Jesus.
The most effective way to communicate the Good News is to live it. The best preaching is a material example. So first, I need to be impregnated with the gospel.
Psalm 134
I think that when we “bless the Lord”with praises, thankfulness, adoration, It should flow from the heart. “Bless the Lord” is mentioned twice.
It’s important. The “Lord Bless” is mentioned after we bless..not saying he won’t bless if we don’t “bless Him”. God loves to bless, loves to forgive, loves to love. Our relationship to our Creator determines the blessings we give to God and others…just my thought..
Imagine this:
Praising God even when I don’t see any apparent “benefits”. He is worthy to be praised.
Others praising God when they have no “benefits”
God is worthy to be praised
I just love the fact that whether I have “benefits” or not Jehovah is worthy to be praised. That means all creatures/people great or small have so much to praise God for that worship can continue in and out of the sanctuary at dawn or dusk, in good and bad.
God is just so awesome, Oh for a thousand tongues to sing his praises but for him ……just my one tongue will do.
So why are you praising your God when you have a Job experience.?
Because he alone is worthy of praise and my praise is not dependent on his “benefits” What a testimony for others
I like the discussion. May God bless all those following.
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Thanks, Maurice Ashton, for your input about "The Cinnamon Aroma" of our Worship Services.
There is a part of our Church Worship Service, in the beginning of it, where our Pastor will ask the worshippers to go around and greet each other. I have never paid attention to how much time goes into this part of our Worship Service. There is a church member there that I have really come to appreciate a lot but during this time he never comes back to where I am to greet me. I have taken the time at times to go where he is and also tell him that he failed to come back far enough to greet me too but he still fails to come back far enough. I have decided to see how much time the Pastor actually allows for this part of the Worship service to see if he needs to allow more time so that my special church member can have enough time to come all the way back to where I am to also greet me and not only those who are near to him where he sits. Maybe we need more time for this part of our worship service so that "The Cinnamon Aroma" of that part of our Worship Service will also reach me too.
Good morning, Pete.
Maybe you should be the special aroma in this brother's worship experience in a specific way to use the metaphor Maurice used. Infact go directly to him and allow the essence of the presence of God permeates his worship experience. Worship is giving.
Based on personal experience with God, lifting up my hands to Him symbolizes the following:
1. A total surrender to God (spirit, soul, and body)
2. Completely trusting in Him
3. Praising Him for who he is and thanking Him for what He
has done
4. Total reliance and dependence on Him
5. Accepting His will and His way while denying self's will
and way
I love Psalm 103:1-5, especially where verse 3 mentions six blessings that we can always praise God for and also lift our hands to Him for these things in Worship: 1. forgiveness for our all our iniquities, 2. Healing for all our diseases, 3. redeeming our lives from destruction, 4. Crowning us with loving kindness and tender mercies, 5. Satisfying us with good things to eat, 6. Renewing our youth like the eagles.
Pete,Thank you for sharing this text. It is just what I needed today.
Always i feel blessed by your comments