Lesson 1 for July 2, 2011

In the beginning, worshipping God was a spontaneous act of men. Worship came with a personal encounter with God face to face; everyday and especially on Sabbath which God set aside for Him. When Adam and Eve sinned, worship was immediately affected. Then, instead of coming to God, they ran from Him. Sin opened a breach between God and man and then two lines of worshippers emerged: 1.Those who worshipped God following the standard He had set. 2.Those who didn’t want to follow guidelines and invented their own kind of worship, following a wrong worship method.

FOLLOWING GOD’S ORDER FOLLOWING THEIR OWN CRITERIA God ordered that He must be worshipped by sacrificing an animal as a representation of Jesus’ blood that would be shed at the cross for our sins. Abel presented that kind of offer before God. Cain disobeyed God’s order and offered the fruit of his own effort. Abel offered a sacrifice by faith, but Cain offered his own works as a sacrifice. All true worship must center on the realization that we are helpless to save ourselves and that all our attempts at salvation by works are manifestations of Cain’s action here. True worship must be based on a realization that only through God’s grace can we have any hope of eternal life.

Since Abel died, the existence of two lines of worshippers became clear: Cain’s and Seth’s children. The lasts followed the living God, but the others followed their own impulses. That is very clear in the song of the seventh human generation: Lamech y Enoch. Lamech chose Cain as his example of worship. He only accepted God to save him (to avenge him) from his enemies. “Then Lamech said to his wives: Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; Wives of Lamech, listen to my speech! For I have killed a man for wounding me, Even a young man for hurting me. If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold” “Then Lamech said to his wives: Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; Wives of Lamech, listen to my speech! For I have killed a man for wounding me, Even a young man for hurting me. If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold” (Genesis, 4: 23-24) “Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” (Judas, 14-15) Enoch, on the other hand, worshipped God in the context of His Second Coming and His fair judgment.

“For some time the two classes remained separate. The race of Cain, spreading from the place of their first settlement, dispersed over the plains and valleys where the children of Seth had dwelt; and the latter, in order to escape from their contaminating influence, withdrew to the mountains, and there made their home. So long as this separation continued, they maintained the worship of God in its purity. But in the lapse of time they ventured, little by little, to mingle with the inhabitants of the valleys. This association was productive of the worst results. “The sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair.” The children of Seth, attracted by the beauty of the daughters of Cain’s descendants, displeased the Lord by intermarrying with them. Many of the worshipers of God were beguiled into sin by the allurements that were now constantly before them, and they lost their peculiar, holy character. Mingling with the depraved, they became like them in spirit and in deeds; the restrictions of the seventh commandment were disregarded, “and they took them wives of all which they chose.” The children of Seth went “in the way of Cain” (Jude 11); they fixed their minds upon worldly prosperity and enjoyment and neglected the commandments of the Lord. Men “did not like to retain God in their knowledge;” they “became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” Romans 1:21. Therefore “God gave them over to a mind void of judgment.” Verse 28, margin. Sin spread abroad in the earth like a deadly leprosy.” E.G.W. (Patriarchs and Prophets, cp. 6, pg. 81)

When evil filled all the earth, God destroyed the Earth with the Flood, but saved Noah and his family. When the Flood ended and the waters went down, Noah went out the ark and worshipped God. He built an altar and offered a sacrifice on it. His first thought was to thank God for saving them, recognizing his total dependence on God and showing his belief in the coming of the Messiah to redeem the human race.

The answer was: “Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws” (Genesis, 26: 5) ; “And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness” (Genesis, 15: 6) Once God’s promises had been fulfilled, Abraham was subjected to a severe test of faith. In that test, he understood how God felt when He had to give His Son to save this world. He understood how it’s only through Jesus –represented by the lamb God provided– that we can obtain salvation. God called Abraham to go out his land, so he could move away from idols and be able to freely worship the true God.

Jacob passed himself off as his brother Esau and deceived his father to get the birthright. His brother threatened to kill him, so hi runaway to Haran. “The evening of the second day found him far away from his father’s tents. He felt that he was an outcast, and he knew that all this trouble had been brought upon him by his own wrong course. The darkness of despair pressed upon his soul, and he hardly dared to pray. E.G.W. (Patriarchs and Prophets, cp. 17, pg ) But he was so utterly lonely that he felt the need of protection from God as he had never felt it before. With weeping and deep humiliation he confessed his sin, and entreated for some evidence that he was not utterly forsaken. Still his burdened heart found no relief. He had lost all confidence in himself, and he feared that the God of his fathers had cast him off. But God did not forsake Jacob. His mercy was still extended to his erring, distrustful servant. The Lord compassionately revealed just what Jacob needed—a Saviour. He had sinned, but his heart was filled with gratitude as he saw revealed a way by which he could be restored to the favor of God.”

Jacob’s response to the divine revelation was an act of worship. He recognized the holiness of that place by calling it “House of God”. He made a pact of obedience and loyalty to God. He promised to return God the tithe of all that God would give him. Jacob felt the greatness of God and his own smallness. Worship is not about approaching God as you would some buddy or pal. Our attitude should be that of a sinner in dire need of grace, falling before our Maker with a sense of need, fear, and gratefulness that God, the Creator of the universe, would love us and do so much in order to redeem us.

Why do we worship God? Noah Because we want to thank His salvation Abraham Because He ordered it Jacob Because we show reverence before His presence What has He done that makes Him worthy of worship? Noah Saving us from danger and giving us another chance Abraham He offered his Son to give us salvation Jacob He promises protection What purpose does our worship of God serve? Noah Showing gratitude Abraham Showing faith Jacob Showing the desire of acting according to His will