Why We Worship

The Hebrew word for worship is “שָׁחָה” /shah-khah/ and means to bow down. In scripture, worship is always connected to sacrifice.  God created man in Gan Eden for fellowship.  When man rebelled and sin entered the world, that fellowship was broken. The only way to restore that fellowship with a holy God was to cover the stain of sin so man could enter into His presence.  This is the origin of animal sacrifice.  It’s purpose was to provide a covering for sinful man so that he could enter God’s presence and have fellowship with Him.

When God agreed to meet with man in the Mishkahn, the tabernacle or tent of meeting, in the wilderness (and later the Temple), he put up boundaries to protect man from the holiness of His presence and ordained a sacrificial order of worship.  These sacrifices are listed in Leviticus 1-7:

Olah – burnt offering – “This one dies in my place”
Minchah – grain offering
Shelamim – peace offering
Chatat – sin offering
Asham – trespass or guilt offering

At the doorway to the Mishkahn, the burnt offering, the chatat, and the asham were offered.  The blood covering provided by these sacrifices covered the worshipper’s sin so he could enter this holy space and present a shelamim, peace or fellowship, offering.   After the animal had been sacrificed, the worshipper and his family ate the meat together in the presence of the Lord.   What a beautiful foreshadowing of the coming Wedding Supper of the Lamb!

Until that time, we enter into that holy place to fellowship with our God.  Our sin has not just been covered by the blood of the Messiah, it has been completely washed away. In Yeshua, we are a new creation and no longer slaves to sin. Now, we can enter to give Him thanks in a very intimate way. We speak to Him to honor Him for who He is, for what He has done, and for what He is going to do. He speaks to us through His word, the written word, the Living Word, and the prophetic word.

Come Let Us Go Up to the Mountain of the Lord! (Isaiah 2:3)