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SESSION 1

OUR HEBREW ROOTS

A Study of Worship in Old Testament  Times

Most people in North America are not fond of history. Here and there, of course, you will find a history buff—someone here who loves to read about the early American settlers, someone there who is interested in the Native Americans, or someone else who has read everything there is about the Civil War.

In the 1970s when Alex Haley wrote his book, Roots, a lot of people who read the book or watched the television series became interested in the origins of this or that movement.

Consequently, a love of history grew among many people.

Some don't like history because of the way it was taught to them—facts, dry facts to be memorized. In this lesson we will study a lot more than facts. We will study how God worked among a living people, Israel, to bring salvation to the world. Our study is, you might say, a study in the history of salvation.

In worship we recall God's saving deeds, which were accomplished in history, and we anticipate the future—the new heavens and the new earth. For that reason it's important to know the history of God's saving deeds—the deeds of God that worship proclaims, recalls, and celebrates. Let's look at the history of the salvation that we celebrate in worship by studying how God initiated salvation with Abraham, Moses, and Christ.

ABRAHAM

When Adam and Eve (and all of us in them) fell away from God, God began to work in history to redeem and to restore us to fellowship. In worship we remember the saving deeds of God through which our relationship to God is restored. Our praise is directed to God, not to ourselves, because there is nothing we can do to save ourselves (Eph 2:8–10).

In worship we remember how God initiated a relationship with Abraham. Abraham was called to follow God in faith. As a result of Abraham's obedience, God entered into a covenant with him and promised to bless him as stated in Gen 12:1–3 (trans. Richard Leonard):

The Lord said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people, and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.

   I will make you into a great nation

      and I will bless you;

   I will make your name great,

      and you will be a blessing.

   I will bless those who bless you,

      and whoever curses you I will curse;

   and all peoples on earth

      will be blessed through you."

The worship of both Israel and the church is rooted in this promise. Both Jews and Christians regard Abraham as their "father in the faith." When Christians worship, we are mindful of Abraham because we believe that the blessing given to the whole world is the salvation that God offers to us all through Jesus Christ.

MOSES AND EXODUS

We all know the story of how Abraham's seed grew into the tribe of Israelites, how the Israelites were then held in bondage by Pharaoh, and how they called out to God from their cruel captivity, asking God to remember the covenant made with Abraham (Exod 2:23–25).

Cecil B. DeMille in his classic movie, The Ten Commandments, captured on screen the great drama of Israel's liberation from Egypt. We call this the Exodus event. In this event God delivered the people of Israel, made them a great nation, and entered into covenant with them at Mount Sinai.

By accepting this covenant, Israel agreed to be the people of God. The ceremony that established this covenant, which consisted of the people assembling before God at Mount Sinai for the reading of the Book of the Covenant and the ratification of the covenant with blood, was a worship event. From that moment on, Israel's worship would look back to this as the historic event that they would continually proclaim, recall, and celebrate. (For a study of the worship character of this event, see Exod 24:1–8.)

By accepting this covenant, the people of Israel agreed to obey and to worship God. Consequently, God gave them the Ten Commandments to live by and the tabernacle to worship in (Exod 25–31).

Israel has become the people of God's saving event—the Exodus.

This event will always stand at the center of Israelite worship. Israel will recall and enact this event when it celebrates the Passover and when it presents sacrifices to God at the tabernacle and later at the temple.

THE CHRIST EVENT

Christians believe the Exodus event is a type of God's saving action in Jesus Christ.

  • Just as Israel was in bondage to Pharaoh, so all people are in bondage to the power of evil (Eph 2:2).
  • Just as God sent Moses to deliver Israel from their bondage, so God sent Jesus to deliver us from our sins (Matt 1:21).
  • Just as God entered into a covenant with Israel, so God enters into covenant with the church (Heb 8:8–12).
  • Just as God established a tabernacle with a high priest for worship, so God established a new high priest and an entrance into the Holy of Holies through Jesus Christ (Heb 9:11–14).
  • Just as the tabernacle was characterized by sacrifices, so the new covenant is characterized by the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus Christ (Heb 10:15–18).
  • Just as Israel looked forward to the promised land, so Christians hope for the new heavens and the new earth (Rev 21:1).

CONCLUSION

In this lesson we have recognized the simple but profound truth that worship proclaims, recalls, and celebrates God's saving events. We have focused on the two great saving deeds of God that define the worship of Israel and the worship of the church.

Israel is the people of the Exodus event. Their history and their worship hearken back to this event.

Christians are the people of the Christ event. Their history and their worship hearken back to this event.

Today in worship God's people celebrate God's saving events and in so doing bring praise, glory, and honor to God.

 

Read Session 1, "Our Hebrew Roots," before starting the study guide.

PART I: PERSONAL STUDY

Complete the following questions individually.

1. Life Connection

  • Remember a history course that you took in either high school or college. Was this course (a) a memorization of facts—dates, places, and people or (b) a study of trends, shifts in power, development of ideas? What was your response to the course?

2. Content Questions

  • What do we do in worship?
  • What is the blessing given to the whole world that worship remembers?
  • What aspects of the covenant between God and Abraham were fulfilled in the Exodus event?
  • Read Exodus 24:1–8. What elements of worship do you find in the covenant agreement made between God and Israel?
  • Explain how this event—the Exodus, and the covenant at Mount Sinai—will always stand at the center of Israel's worship.  
  • What is the saving event of the New Testament? 
  • Draw a picture or graph that compares Old Testament worship with New Testament worship.

3. Application

  • Think about a recent worship service in your church. How were the events of the living, dying, rising, and coming again of Christ proclaimed, enacted, or celebrated in Scripture, sermon, song, or prayer during the service? (You may want to glance over a recent church bulletin to refresh your memory.)

PART II: GROUP DISCUSSION

The following questions are designed for group discussion.

1. Life Connection

  • Begin by asking several members of the class to tell stories about history classes in high school or college. Then ask, "What is your impression of the approach toward the history of worship in this course, Rediscovering the Missing Jewel?"

2. Thought Questions

  • Many people define worship as "giving honor to God." This lesson expands on that definition, saying that worship is a recitation of God's saving deeds that brings God's saving action to the worshiping community through proclamation, enactment, and celebration. How does this view expand your understanding of worship? Write your answers on the board.
  • Read Exodus 24:1–8 together and answer the following questions:

    • What elements of worship do you find in this passage?

    In what way are these elements of worship a recitation of God's saving work in the Exodus event?

    What do you think the people of Israel experienced in this worship?

    What parallels, if any, do you find between the Exodus event and the worship of your church?

    Develop an order of service from this text.

  • Compare the worship of Israel and the worship of the church. Put two columns on the board. Put Israel on the left and the church on the right. Drawing from the text, identify parallels between the two. Ask, "How is the Exodus event a type of God's saving action in the New Testament? What does this say to us about Christian worship?"

3. Application

  • Review a recent worship and answer the following questions. (You may want to consult a church bulletin or whatever service material your group uses.)
  • What act of worship was directed toward "honoring God's worth"?
  • What act or acts of worship proclaimed, enacted, or celebrated God's saving events?
  • Was the worship a narrative of God's saving action or was it a program?
  • What did you learn in this lesson that: (1) strengthens your understanding of worship? (2) you would like to see added to the worship of your local church?