What is worship?
All religion is a blend of truth and convention, Worship implies distinctive things to various individuals.Generally it means to indicate regard to a superior being by bowing down or prostrating.
Worship in the Old Testament
In the Old Testament worship is depicted as a demonstration of reverence and dedication to God. It generally occurs at specific circumstances and spots.
Jerusalem was the focal point of worship.
Daniel 6:10
Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.
At the point when in presence, the Temple was likewise a essential part of Old Testament worship
Psalm 138:2
"I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name."
Demonstrations of worship are related with sacred places
2 Kings 18:22
But if you say to me, “We are depending on the Lord our God”—isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, “You must worship before this altar in Jerusalem”
Jeremiah 7:2
"Stand at the gate of the LORD's house and there proclaim this message: "'Hear the word of the LORD, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the LORD.
For the Jews, Jerusalem was the place of worship. Their feast days and blessed days were the events of worship as observed even in the season of Jesus and the disciples.
The conspicuous issue with this sort of worship is that it deviates the focus of people. . On numerous occasions individuals were so diverted by the ceremonies of worship that they missed the genuine embodiment of modesty before God, love for each other and a heavenly life
Micah 6:8
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
This was most obvious with the Pharisees. Their worship involved benefits with their hearts a long way from God
Matthew 15:8,9
‘“‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.’”
Worship in the New Testament
There are numerous New Testament sacred texts that discuss worship. Most of those in the synoptic gospel and Acts have a tendency to depict worship from the point of view of old testament, Jewish practices instead of setting an example for believers today. Notwithstanding, plainly the most critical bible verse of worship in our time is 'John' An examination of this verses would uncover cuts, wounds and serious discharging after the many years of mishandle it has endured on account of evangelists.
John 4:21-26
21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.
23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.
24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”
Here Jesus uncovers a dispensational change in the method of worship. "The time is coming and is even now when the genuine worshipers worship in [their human] spirit and in truth." Some have recommended that to worship in spirit and truth is essentially to have the correct mentality before God.
This does no justice to the selection of words. It implies much more than that,Jesus showed that the time had come at the point when there would not be any extraordinary place or time for worship.
Since God is a Spirit and he is every were, He can be worshiped anyplace and any time.
Furthermore worship doesn't involve outward activity yet a spirit to spirit commitment to God. We worship from our spirits. In such manner it is comparable to talking in tongues, where our spirits implore while our mouths talk.
We worship from our spirits, yet there is dependably an outward reaction. worship me in vain;their teachings are merely human rules.’
Isaiah 29:13
The Lord says:
“These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been
taught
In conclusion, worship in the Old Testament was more about religion & liturgy, it was based on the law. and the fear of God was the ultimate. He was revealing Himself to His people using prophets and priests who acted as middlemen between God and us and so a distance was created.
While in the New Testament Worship is more about relationship, it is based on love as shown by Jesus death on the cross and the response to that love.
After the death of Christ the temple veil that separated the inner courts from the holy of holies was torn right down the middle, this was symbolic of access being granted to us to become our own advocates and accept Christ as our one true lord.
