Physical Worship
Worship is a verb. There are things we can do physically to worship the Lord, and when we involve our whole body, soul, and spirit in worship, we worship in a much more meaningful way. The people of Nehemiah's time realized this when they experienced a revival after rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem.(Nehemiah 8:5,6) Let's see what we can learn.
Not only did the people listen to Ezra read the book of the Law, the first five books of the Bible, but they stood up to listen. It is hard to fall asleep standing up. In fact, it is much easier to physically participate in worship when we are standing. Ezra did not just read the Word of God, but he blessed the Lord or praised the Lord for what he read. Then, all of the people responded by saying out loud, "Amen." They used their voices to worship God by agreeing with Ezra. Amen means "so be it" or "I agree." Then, they lifted their hands to the Lord while bowing their faces to the ground. They were reaching out to God, and showing their humility before Him. He is the Great God, so we must bow before Him. It is almost like people at a sports game, isn't it? They were so excited about God's Word, they could not stay seated, and they put every part of themselves into their worship of their mighty God. I believe that God smiles when He sees us worship Him with all of our being like they did.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Nehemiah 9-12.
Not only did the people listen to Ezra read the book of the Law, the first five books of the Bible, but they stood up to listen. It is hard to fall asleep standing up. In fact, it is much easier to physically participate in worship when we are standing. Ezra did not just read the Word of God, but he blessed the Lord or praised the Lord for what he read. Then, all of the people responded by saying out loud, "Amen." They used their voices to worship God by agreeing with Ezra. Amen means "so be it" or "I agree." Then, they lifted their hands to the Lord while bowing their faces to the ground. They were reaching out to God, and showing their humility before Him. He is the Great God, so we must bow before Him. It is almost like people at a sports game, isn't it? They were so excited about God's Word, they could not stay seated, and they put every part of themselves into their worship of their mighty God. I believe that God smiles when He sees us worship Him with all of our being like they did.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Nehemiah 9-12.