Worship

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

WORSHIP

Gen 47:27-31

27 Now the Israelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen. They acquired property there and were fruitful and increased greatly in number. 28 Jacob lived in Egypt seventeen years, and the years of his life were a hundred and forty-seven. 29 When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called for his son Joseph and said to him, "If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise that you will show me kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt, 30 but when I rest with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried." "I will do as you say," he said. 31 "Swear to me," he said. Then Joseph swore to him, and Israel worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.  

NIV

Jacob did not want to be buried in a foreign land, but in the land promised to his grandfather, Abraham, his father Isaac, and himself. He made Joseph swear that he would be buried in the land of his father and grandfather where he buried the love of his life, Rachel. At this point in Jacob's life, he was a hundred- forty-seven-year-old, and although he had told Pharoah his life was short and difficult, he now was enjoying prosperity and rest from a great famine. However, the story that brings us into this narrative is what Israel did after Joseph swore he would not bury him anywhere other than the land of Promise. He leaned on the top of his staff and worshipped God. We know that we have the promise of Jesus that although we might be buried or placed in some urn here on this earth, He would return and resurrect us to take us with him in the eternal promised land where He is. But, unlike Jacob, we will not be buried there, in that promised land, we will be glorified to live forever in the presence of our Lord and Savior, and with the Father and, yes, with the Holy Spirit. We will live in the full glory of the triune God. Now, we ask ourselves if in the here and now, do we lean on the top of our staff and worship? If we do, then we must ask what exactly Jacob’s worship looked like, which leads us to what our worship looks like. We have been in churches where worship was full blast, people raising both arms to heaven, singing as if they were in God’s presence. We have been in churches, where the people appear more like statues barely, if at all, resembling being in God’s presence. How can there be such an inconstancy, or difference between worshipping our Lord and Savior? Does it just come down to styles of worship, or the customs of certain denominations, or perhaps it is only within individual local churches and what they have been accustomed to for years upon years. Yet, no matter what style seems apparent, the point is whether true worship in spirit and in truth is happening. It is not about body mechanics; however, we would think if we are leaning on the top of our staff, or better yet, leaning on the everlasting arms of Jesus, worshipping in spirit and in truth there would, or should be a glow about us, a smile within our hearts that flows through us up into our faces. This is the kind of worship the Father seeks.