Chapter 6
God’s Path of Worship

Right reasons to worship God
1.	Why did God consider it necessary to teach the Israelites how to worship him?
He saw it necessary because of the pagan worship surrounding his people.  Also, sinful, natural man does not know how to worship God.

2.	What would be wrong reasons for a person to worship God?
Because you are afraid of what might happen if you don’t
Because you hope to persuade God to love you

3.	What are the proper reasons to worship God?
Because of who God is – your Father who loved you even before he created the world and made it possible through his Son for you to live with him forever in heaven.

4.	What similarities, if any, do you see between your worship and the worship practices of Cain and Abel?
-	Offerings – way to express thanks to God for his gifts
-	First and best – off of the top
-	Abel’s offerings were a fruit of his faith (this is what we want our worship to be)
-	Cain’s worship was going through the motions and self-serving (sometimes we have to admit our worship teeters close to this)
-	It also was a family worship (Lord willing, so is ours)

5.	In what way is your worship different from theirs?
Much of what was said under question 4 can be included here.  Mine might be different if I’m not giving my first and best like Abel.  Mine might be different in that I don’t go through the motions like Cain.  Certainly, what we give is not burned up, like their offerings.  

6.	What new feature did the Sethites introduce into the worship of God (Genesis 4:26)?
Public worship.  That is what is meant when we read, “At that time men began to call on the name of the Lord.”  (The NIV footnote helps in the understanding of that phrase as the verse can also be understood as “At that time men began to proclaim the name of the Lord.”
7.	Characterize the worship of Noah’s family after they left the ark. (2 answers) 
a.	Altar – so theirs was a public worship
b.	Burnt offerings and blood sacrifices

Pagan worship practices
1.	What heathen religion did the Israelites encounter when they entered their new homeland?
Baal worship
2.	Why is Canaanite worship described as a “fertility cult”?
Because they believed that “spreading their seed,” producing offspring, enticed their god to do the same in the form of rain, etc.
3.	Can you think of a couple reasons why the Israelites might have been tempted to practice Baal worship?
-	Lust, sins of the sexual kind are and always have been enticing to the sinful flesh
-	The Canaanites seemed to have it better than they (they had fortified cities, good crops, etc.)
-	It follows what human, natural religion is all about – satisfy me
-	The Canaanites were zealous and sincere

4.	How did God make it clear that he did not allow Baal worship?
He gave the command to destroy anything that has to do with it

A place to worship
1.	Saint Paul tells us that God treated the Israelites like immature children (Galatians 4). How does this become clear in the worship instructions he gave them?
He specified their worship down to the very last detail

2.	Can you think of a reason why God insisted that they worship him at one central site?
It would have been in sharp contrast to the pagan worship around them
It would help to keep their family of faith intact until Christ would come to trade places with sinners

3.	Name a couple reasons why the tabernacle was ideally suited to be the place of worship for the descendants of Abraham for almost five hundred years.
-	It was suited to Israel’s desert wandering
-	Every detain of its design taught the Israelites something about the sinners relationship with the Holy God

4.	Of which two great events, both in the future, was the tabernacle a foreshadow?
a.	When the Son of God would take on a human body in the womb of Mary
b.	When we will be with God forever in new heaven and earth

Tabernacle furnishings
1.	Which important truth, at the very heart of Christianity, did the altar represent?
Sin is serious!  Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

2.	Explain how each piece of furniture in the tabernacle expressed a sinner’s relationship with God.
1)	Golden Lampstand – Symbolized how the Israelites enjoyed uninterrupted fellowship with their God.
2)	Table of Bread (12 loaves each Sabbath) – Symbolizing the 12 tribes of Israel were constantly in the presence of the Lord
3)	Altar of Incense – Their prayers were pleasing to God
4)	Curtain – Sinners’ way to God is blocked by sin
5)	Day of Atonement – God was teaching the people that he will accept the death of a substitute (of course, the fact that it had to happen on a daily basis and yearly basis showed these substitutes weren’t good enough)
6)	Ark of the Covenant – It symbolized the earthly throne of the heavenly God

The temple
1.	What similarities were there between the tabernacle and Solomon’s temple as a place of worship? 
-	They shared some basic design and some furnishings
-	Same two rooms as the tabernacle
-	Symbolized God dwelling among his people

2.	In what way, however, were the two completely dissimilar?
The temple was made of stone, wood and precious metals and contained unbelievable amounts of gold
The two rooms were twice as large
There were three stories of meeting rooms, apartments, and storage
There was a huge altar of burnt offering
Sea of bronze
Movable bronze carts

3.	Since God had chosen the temple as his earthly dwelling place, why did he permit the Babylonians to plunder and destroy it?
Because of Israel’s sin – it symbolized the punishment come upon them as a fulfillment of God’s promise – “If you do not obey, I will not be your God”

4.	When the Jewish exiles returned home after 70 years in exile, what types of problems accompanied the rebuilding of their temple?
-	Samaritans – The Samaritans offered their help but were refused.  So, they sent a letter to the Persian authorities saying that the Jews were planning a revolt.  As a result, the temple rebuilding was shut down for 16 years.
-	Life was hard and many gave their personal needs a higher priority

Israel’s worship leaders
1.	By instituting the priesthood, what important truth was God teaching his people?
He was teaching that all sinners need the mediation of a priest before they can ever approach God (this is a picture of Christ as he would fill the role of mediator)
He was teaching – don’t think you can simply barge into God’s throne room whenever you feel like it and say whatever is on your mind.  Don’t forget, your iniquities have separated you from your God!
2.	What surprising truth did Saint Peter teach the early Jewish Christians (1 Peter 2:9)?
That they were all priests (this is what Peter teaches each of us to this day)
3.	How did Martin Luther’s teaching of the priesthood conflict with the Roman Catholic Church’s teaching about it?
Catholic – they teach that the priesthood is a privilege the church confers only on certain select leaders
Luther – taught the universal priesthood of all believers.  That all believers are priests before God (cf. 1 Peter 2:9)

4.	What does it mean for you that God has called you and equipped you to be a priest?
Answers will vary.  But here are a few things:
-	We need to properly represent him
-	There is work for us to do
-	It means we have direct access to God
-	We have a call to share the message

5.	What specific act of priesthood do you think God has equipped you personally to carry out for him today?
Answers will vary.  But it is valuable to take time to access the spiritual gifts that God has given you.  

Israel’s worship service
1.	In what sense did an Israelite worshiper participate less actively in the worship service than we do in our worship?
Us – We hear and respond; we join together in prayer and praise
Israel – Simply watched the priests and Levites do things on their behalf
2.	In what sense did an Israelite worshiper participate more fully in worship than we do?
For the Israelite, every sense was engaged – their ears heard the bleating sheep, their noses smelled the burning flesh, roasting meat and burning incense, their eyes saw the sacrifice.
3.	Why did God ask the Israelites to kill and sacrifice perfectly good lambs and goats?
-	It was a reminder that sin causes the death of an innocent victim
-	It was a reminder that sin cannot be swept under the rug – sin costs a life
-	It was a reminder that God will accept a substitute
4.	In what ways were the four blood sacrifices similar?
In each…
-	The animal victim had to be a perfect specimen
-	The life of the animal had to be taken
-	God made announcement, “I have made atonement for your sin.”

5.	What is the significance of the fact that all four were blood sacrifices?
Blood makes atonement for one’s life – without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness

The burnt offering
1.	What made the burnt offering different from the other three blood sacrifices?
It was the only offering in which the entire sacrificial animal went up in smoke
2.	When an Israelite brought a burnt offering, what was he saying to God?
They were expressing complete dedication to the God who had made a covenant of mercy with them – “Our covenant God, we dedicate ourselves totally to you.”

The fellowship offering
1.	When an Israelite brought a fellowship offering, what was he telling God? What was God saying to him?
a.	They were expressing a loving relationship with God – trust in a solemn contract
b.	God was saying, “Be my guest.  I want to be close to you!”

2.	Where in our New Testament worship is this same truth emphasized?
In the sacrament of Holy Communion.

The sin offering
1.	What was the specific purpose of the sin offering?
To offer guilty sinners an opportunity to confess the sin that had interrupted their fellowship with God and to receive God’s assurance of forgiveness (we see this especially on the great Day of Atonement)
2.	Why was the ceremonial use of blood especially prominent in this offering?
To remind – blood must be shed for the forgiveness of sins

3.	What symbolism do you see in the ceremony involving the scapegoat?
Psalm 103 helps us see the symbolism – “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”

The guilt offering
1.	When an Israelite brought a guilt offering, what was its special emphasis?
To make restitution to God and to the person offended

2.	Why did God command four different blood sacrifices?
To point forward to the atonement Christ would make for our sin

3.	Read Isaiah 1:13. Since God had commanded the Israelites to bring animal sacrifices, why did he tell the people of Isaiah’s time to stop bringing them?
Because they were bringing them only to bring them.  Their hearts were far from the true meaning of these sacrifices and they meant nothing to them.

4.	By designing the path of worship for his Old Testament people, how was God equipping them to resist the falsehood of idolatry?
Helped build their worship life around the true God
Helped point to Jesus Christ, who would complete God’s plan of rescue
It trained them in how to bring offerings to God

Israel’s worship and ours
1.	In what way was Israel’s worship completely different from our Christian worship?
Israel’s was prescribed down to the very last detail, ours isn’t
In the worship Israel was given, God treated them as immature Christians, in ours he doesn’t

2.	In what way was Israel’s worship remarkably similar to ours?
In both, God asks for the first and best of us
In both, God is saying, “My child, you are special to me.  I want to be close to you.”
In both, God is saying, “I have made atonement for your sin.”
In both, what God is concerned about it attitude and heart.
3.	How is a Christian to know which of the Old Testament worship regulations are still binding on us today?
The ones found and commanded on the pages of the New Testament
4.	Is it possible for you to participate in a worship service and not see Christ? (Have you ever attended church, and God was there, and you were there, but you never met?)
Yes.  This question highlights what we should be looking for in our worship services.
5.	Luther said: “A heart which believes that God has been reconciled to us on account of Christ will produce a cheerful countenance and happy eyes. It will loosen the tongue for praising God.” How does your worship affect your voice? your face? your hands?
Answers will vary.  Certainly here are some thoughts:
-	Give each joy
-	Give each proper motivation for proper use of each
-	Give us reason to do as Paul says – Rejoice, I will say it again, rejoice.  Let your gentleness be evident to all.

6.	What might you do to improve your own worship life?
Answers will vary.  Here are some thoughts:
-	Get adequate sleep the night before
-	Come to worship realizing that here God is doing something marvelous for you (that is an important point – while we get to sing praises to God in worship, worship is primarily something God does for us.  Understanding this, we are less likely to wake up on Sunday morning or plan on Saturday evening and say, “I don’t need what you have for me, Lord.”
-	Spend more time in the word from Monday to Saturday, because then I will have a greater understanding of lessons and sermon.
-	Come with a spirit that says, “I want to be here!”