The Power of Knowing God...

Isaiah 11:1-9 is a Messianic passage and is one of those passages in which Jesus is referenced as the “Branch” from Jesse’s line. The first five verses describe Messiah and his attributes and the last four the results of his rule, an image of perfect peace and harmony. Let’s review it here:

1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of power,
the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD -

3 and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
or decide by what he hears with his ears;

4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.

5 Righteousness will be his belt
and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

6 The wolf will live with the lamb,e
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
and a little child will lead them.

7 The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.

8 The infant will play near the hole of the cobra,
and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest.

9 They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD
as the waters cover the sea.

While this is clearly the prophet’s vision from God of a world controlled by God’s Anointed Messiah, there is one phrase that seems to jump out among the rest: “for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord.” The reason this seems to call so much attention is the preposition “for,” which is give the reason or cause of the previous verses. What things, specifically? The lion living with the lamb, leopard and goat, calf and lion, all hunters and their natural prey, and being led by a child. Lions and bears eating straw, no longer carnivores, but grass eaters and infants playing with once deadly vipers. Surely this is a world completely upside down, at least to those ears who would have first heard it, and even to us today. Such behavior is not characteristic of the nature of those predators. What made the difference? The difference lies in the earth being full of the knowledge of God.

I am not trying to take away from the beautiful messianic picture the prophet has given through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. When the Messiah comes it would be a time of righteousness, justice, and peace.

This is just a simple observation. When God is in control and those under His control know Him their very nature is transformed. Coming to know God in salvation completely transforms life. When we yield the control of our lives to God as Lord & Master and accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, we are changed. This is not only a word of hope for a future time, and a description of the incarnate Christ as He came and what things might be when He reigns after the culmination of all things. This is also a basic truth to understand. When God is in control and those under His control know Him, their very nature is transformed.

The question must be raised how is this knowledge of God given? Obviously, through His Word, yes. But God also reveals Himself everyday as we trust Him for each day’s provision [give us this day our daily bread], as we see Him in control of heaven and earth [Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven]. Remember what the psalmist said in Psalm 50:8-15:
8 I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices
or your burnt offerings, which are ever before me.

9 I have no need of a bull from your stall
or of goats from your pens,

10 for every animal of the forest is mine,
and the cattle on a thousand hills.

11 I know every bird in the mountains,
and the creatures of the field are mine.

12 If I were hungry I would not tell you,
for the world is mine, and all that is in it.

13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?

14 Sacrifice thank offerings to God,
fulfill your vows to the Most High,

15 and call upon me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you will honor me."

As we recognize what God has done and give Him thanks and praise, He receives glory, as He delivers us from our troubles and we respond in praise and gratitude, we honor Him. We grow in our knowledge of the Holy One as we live through the difficulties of life.

How else can we grow in our knowledge of God? Our praise and gratitude, our exalting God for who He is and what He has done is the essence of worship. Within this prophecy of about Messiah, Isaiah might be saying as we worship, as we get to know God, understand His authority, control, power and majesty, as we are filled with the knowledge of God, our own nature and character will be changed.

Avoiding the Extremes

There is a tendency in worship to push to the extremes: studying the elements and structure and defining worship in relationship to a strict adherence to these, or struggling free of a bondage to set form and coming to God and worshiping Him any way we desire or in whatever way comes to our hearts and minds.  Both of these extremes of worship are problematic.
Psalm 50 is a wonderful reminder of what can happen when we just maintain structure and loose the real meaning of worship:
    7 "Hear, O my people, and I will speak,
           O Israel, and I will testify against you:
           I am God, your God.           
     8 I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices
           or your burnt offerings, which are ever before me.
     9 I have no need of a bull from your stall
           or of goats from your pens,
     10 for every animal of the forest is mine,
           and the cattle on a thousand hills.
     11 I know every bird in the mountains,
           and the creatures of the field are mine.
     12 If I were hungry I would not tell you,
           for the world is mine, and all that is in it.
     13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
           or drink the blood of goats?
     14 Sacrifice thank offerings to God,
           fulfill your vows to the Most High,
     15 and call upon me in the day of trouble;
           I will deliver you, and you will honor me." [bold emphasis, mine]

Here, the people were worshiping, and obviously following the prescribed laws for offering their sacrifices, that is, their worship. However, it seems to be implied that the motive was to supply a need that God had. As we listen to God’s comments, we understand that God has no needs. So, why offer sacrifices? Sacrifices are important for at least three reasons: [1] they are a recognition of sin and the need of forgiveness, [2] they are a means to show gratitude for what God has done, [3] they are a means of being obedient to what God has commanded.  Though the context for this psalm are from the Old Testament, we could substitute the word “worship” for sacrifice and see a present application for us today. When we offer true thanks in worship, we are recognizing that God is our Provider, our Protector, and our Sustainer.

True worship is not a matter of checking off a list of things to do: [1] attend service, [2] closed eyes to pray, [3] gave the dollar, [4] sang, [5] clapped at the right time, [6] listened to entire sermon, [7] shook hands with 3 people, etc...  Some people as so obsessed with doing certain things that they miss why they are there in the first place. The psalm is right on target.

To draw a parallel to current worship practices, the psalm could have said:
    “I do not rebuke you for your songs, offerings, prayers and sermons; but that in and of itself is not enough. It is not the mere act of showing up for a worship service, singing, or preaching that I am looking for, it is a clean and thankful heart! When you show true gratitude for how I work in your life you bring honor to me.”
           
           
The other extreme involves those who desire to shed the chains of any liturgical function and desire the freedom to worship God anyway that they might see fit, — out with any “mindless habits,” everything must be fresh and new! As good as this might sound, there are dangers here as well.  Review a part of the story of Uzziah, a king who had restored the worship of Jehovah and was instrumental in bringing the nation back to God:

    16 But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the LORD his God, and entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense. 17 Azariah the priest with eighty other courageous priests of the LORD followed him in. 18 They confronted him and said, "It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD. That is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful; and you will not be honored by the LORD God."
   
     19 Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the LORD's temple, leprosy broke out on his forehead. 20 When Azariah the chief priest and all the other priests looked at him, they saw that he had leprosy on his forehead, so they hurried him out. Indeed, he himself was eager to leave, because the LORD had afflicted him.
   
     21 King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in a separate house  —leprous, and excluded from the temple of the LORD. Jotham his son had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land. [2 Chronicles 26:16-21]

Without trying to over simplify the situation, there were several issues that were wrong, not the least of which was the burning of incense was strictly forbidden except for the priests, and even then only under specific directions. [1Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, contrary to his command. 2 So fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD. 3 Moses then said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD spoke of when he said: " 'Among those who approach me I will show myself holy; in the sight of all the people I will be honored.' " Leviticus 10:1-3]

It was the mercy of God that the King wasn’t killed. Besides offering incense in direct disobedience, it is necessary to go back and look into the motivations behind the actions. No doubt the King thought he was above the law, being “God’s anointed.” But rather being above the law, he was to be the example and model for keeping it. Pride can sneak up on someone even before they realize it and plant the seeds of twisted thinking, thinking that because of a position that might be held, God’s commands don’t apply in those specific circumstances. Both of the examples, the sons of Aaron and Uzziah, also show that it really does matter to God how we worship, not just who we worship.

What does this mean for me?
1. Repeated rituals that loose their meaning really loose their function as well. Sacrifices were to remind the people that God was their Provider, that they needed to restore the broken relationship with God, that there was always to be an outflow of gratitude toward the goodness of God. We need to heed the direct command in Psalm 100:4: “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” We thank God for what He has done and praise Him for who He is.
2. God is holy. Because He is holy, we must come to God on His terms, not ours. Our responsibility is not to dream up new and creative ways to approach God as much as it is to discover what His Word says we must do. We must be students of the Word in regard to worship. We must be “doers of the Word, and not hearers only,” as James says.

The Unseen Enemy

Hezekiah led one of the greatest returns to the worship of Jehovah in all of history of the divided kingdoms. His father, Ahaz, had completely abandoned the worship of Jehovah and led the nation into complete ruin and disaster over a period of 16 long years. Hezekiah’s grandfather, Jotham, though not perfect, had been  determined to follow the Lord: “Jotham grew powerful because he was determined to please the Lord his God” [2 Chron. 27:6 NET] The influence and heritage of the grandfather as well as great grandfather [Uzziah] perhaps made the difference in young Hezekiah’s life. As a young adult of 25, his first act as king was to reopen the Temple, have the priests & Levites consecrate themselves and then clean out the Temple.

After the temple had been re-consecrated, the young king assembled the city officials for worship and to consecrate themselves to the Lord.
    “As they began to offer the sacrifice, they also began to sing to the Lord, accompanied by the trumpets and the musical instruments of King David of Israel. The entire assembly worshiped, as the singers sang and the trumpeters played. They continued until the burnt sacrifice was completed.” [2 Chron. 29:27-28 NET]
Notice that the singing was part of the sacrifice and that they all worshiped. This was not for entertainment or show; this was a re-consecration to the Lord so that the leadership of the city would realize God was their ultimate authority. This preceded their own personal sacrifices for worship [v. 31] initiating the regular sacrifices in the Temple once again. 
               
Hezekiah’s next act as king was to send out messengers throughout the lands of all 12 tribes inviting them to return to the Lord and celebrate the Passover in Jerusalem. [Some did return, but most did not. Little did they realize that in less than five years the Assyrians would carry the Northern Kingdom into captivity.] The celebration of Passover initiated by leadership was almost always tied to great revival in the Old Testament and this was no different. Not only was the celebration great, they decided to extend the length another entire week. Afterward, they destroyed the other altars dedicated for pagan worship.  The king called for the restoration of the offerings so that the priests and Levites could do the work of the Lord without having to work outside of their assigned responsibilities and God richly blessed.

Rumors began to fly that the Assyrians were about to invade the land, so Hezekiah began to make preparations: re-routing water supplies, manufacturing weapons and rebuilding the walls. The representative of the Assyrian king came mocking Jehovah God and declaring that the situation was hopeless, that no god could stop the powerful Assyrian king. Hezekiah cried out to God in prayer and God struck down the Assyrian army, leaving the few survivors to return to Assyria in shame.  Revival had come, the people and their king were worshiping and depending on God. It seemed as if no enemy could touch them.

However there was one enemy that Hezekiah failed to see. It was the same enemy that had defeated his great grandfather, Uzziah,  years before— pride. Listen to what Scripture says about Uzziah:
    “But once he [Uzziah] became powerful, his pride destroyed him. He disobeyed the Lord his God.” [ 2 Chron. 26:16]
Now compare that to Hezekiah:
     “In those days Hezekiah was stricken with a terminal illness. He prayed to the Lord, who answered him and gave him a sign confirming that he would be healed. But Hezekiah was ungrateful; he had a proud attitude, provoking God to be angry at him...” [2 Chron. 32:24-25]   
How do we know that Hezekiah was proud? Later when visitors from Babylonia came to see him, he tried to impress them with everything he had and had done. Verse 31 of the same chapter offers great commentary about the visit and Hezekiah’s response: “God left him alone to test him, in order to know his true motives.” Not long after, Isaiah the prophet declared that everything the visitors had seen would be carried off to Babylonia. No where in the biblical account did Hezekiah explain that he had recovered from his illness as a direct result of God’s gracious intervention. He might have thought that because he had done so much, God owed him his health. The spirit of entitlement very well could have been the source of leading the king toward his fall.

Pride had been the enemy of worship in the life of Uzziah, as he disregarded God’s commands to worship in a way the he as king wanted. God struck him with leprosy and he could never enter to worship again. [2 Chron. 26:16-23] Sadly, all the reforms Hezekiah led, the revival he promoted, and the great victory over the Assyrians could not prepare him for the enemy he did not see, his own pride and the consequences of letting that pride rule his actions.  Hezekiah's greatest battle was not lost during difficulty, but in prosperity, looking to what he saw as his own accomplishments, rather than as God's grace and blessing.

So what? That’s a tragic story, but what difference does mean for me, thousands of years later? I’m glad you asked. I imagine that books could be written, or may even have been written just on these chapters in 2 Chronicles. To get the entire background, go back and study the parallel passages in 2 Kings 15-20. For right now, I would just like to highlight some lessons as they might apply to worship and leading worship.

1. God decides what worship is and how to do it; we don’t. Uzziah learned the hard way and we can learn from his mistake.
2. Worshiping anyway we please has serious consequences. Again, Uzziah serves as an example of what not to do.
3. Past victories do not guarantee future ones. We must praise and thank God for what He has done in the past, but there is never a time when we can let down our guard, thinking that we cannot be defeated. Hezekiah had displayed amazing spiritual leadership in worship and in war, yet was totally caught off guard by his own pride.
4. Times of blessing can be the times we are most vulnerable. We cry out to God in our need, and we should. Yet, when we do not sense great need, it is easy to forget that we still are dependent on the Father for our “daily bread.”
5. Music used in worship should facilitate worship, not be done for entertainment.
6. Pride is a enemy of everything God wants to do in our life. It is directly opposed to the will and purposes of God. One of the fruits of pride is a spirit of entitlement, thinking because we have done so much, God owes us.
7. Sincere praise and thanksgiving can help remind us all that God is and what He has done and avoid allowing pride and a spirit of entitlement to control our actions and attitudes.