S) "7 But if you say to me, 'We trust in the Lord our God,' is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away and has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, 'You shall worship before this altar'?"
Isaiah 36:7 (NASB)
O) When the armies of Assyria came against Judah, after already taking Israel captive, they assumed that the LORD was like all of the other gods of the lands - powerless, ornamental, or otherwise inconsequential. When Rabshakeh spoke this taunt to the Judeans, they made the mistake of completely underestimating the LORD, and completely misunderstanding who He is, and what He required. When Hezekiah removed the high places and altars, it was because they had become installations of profanity. In order for something to be profaned, it must first be holy. Then, the act of profanity is to make the thing common, that is, to remove it's holy attributes. The people had reduced the LORD to the same kinds of common superstitions that the idols always were. So, when Hezekiah removed those profane places, those common acts of superstition, he was purifying the worship of the people. He was regulating that they worship the LORD the way God Himself required it. On the surface, to an uneducated outsider, it must have seemed that the people were worshiping the LORD less, since they had fewer locations (high places and altars), when in fact, the people were worshiping the LORD more purely. Their worship had become qualitative instead of quantitative.
A) First, I must remember that Jesus clarified in John 4, that worship is no longer a matter of location. That was always about regulating how the people were worshiping the LORD. Like much of the Old Testament law, the regulations about worship were about controlling the outer person, in order to affect the inner person. When the Holy Spirit came, the power of the gospel brought a new dynamic. Now, the change begins within us, and it is expressed outwardly (e.g., faith leads to works). So now, my worship of the LORD must never be profane. Like Jesus said in John 4, it must be in spirit and in truth. As such, my worship will be qualitative, even if it is not necessarily quantitative. Through all of that, my worship should also serve as testimony to others. When I am singing worship in my car, that should not be the same as when I am singing any other songs. Otherwise, isn't that singing becoming common? If I find myself singing worship without really giving any thought to the words, then it isn't really worship. On the other hand, if I am setting a standard, that when I am singing along with a worship song, that I am truly worshiping (like, that I do not want to be interrupted or distracted, etc.), then it can be a point of apologetics when I am telling others about my faith. Worship is not a pastime, hobby, or musical preference. Singing more worship songs is not the same as worshiping more. If this kind of commitment to purity in worship, means that I am worshiping less often, then that's probably a good thing, if it also means that my worship is pure, in spirit and in truth.
P) Father, You deserve pure worship God. I confess that I have sang worship, without worshiping You. Please forgive this profane kind of lip service. You deserve my undivided attention. You deserve worship of the highest quality, not just the highest quantity. That has never changed. Help me to identify the sort of "high places and altars" of worship I have erected. Help me to see where my worship has become profane. If that means I don't sing along to worship in certain circumstances, then that is fine. I don't want to become legalistic about this, so let the Holy Spirit guide me. I am encouraged to give You the best of my worship, Lord, because I love You and You deserve it. Be glorified in how, when, and why I worship You. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.
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