| “So on the first day of the seventh month Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly.” |
| —Nehemiah 8:2 |
Whenever a Sunday rolls around, we pause on this first day of each week to worship God because He most certainly deserves our worship—not because of what He has done for us, but because of who He is: He is the God of All Creation, the God of the Universe, the Giver of Every Good and Perfect Gift, and many, many more wonderful attributes. God is, indeed, worthy of our worship.
Our worship follows a pattern that reaches back into the depths of history. Note this story from Nehemiah 8:1-6:
All the people came together as one in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the teacher of the Law to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded for Israel.
So on the first day of the seventh month Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand.
He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand.
And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.
Ezra the teacher of the Law stood on a high wooden platform built for the occasion…
Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up.
Ezra praised the Lord, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, “Amen! Amen!”
Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.
We join with other believers to attribute worth to our God—who created all things, who exists as one God, yet in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and who has chosen us before the foundation of the earth to belong to Him. We must remember that when we worship, we are joining countless millions who have gone before us.
In our worship, we are not alone. We become part of a vast, worldwide community of believers who have discovered the truth that God is exactly who He says He is. And, we have become blessed by the relationship He has forged with us through His Son, Jesus. God is truly worthy of our worship. In fact, He alone is worthy!
Originally posted on Monday, February 23, 2015
