(Further reflection on “Hearing Dilemma” — Sunday 15-Nov-2020. If you missed it, you can Spotify it here: http://tiny.cc/9u05tz)
It was in Jerusalem, the worship center that God designated (cf. 1 Kings 11:13). But king Jeroboam had a better idea. He moved it to the Northern region where he took counsel perhaps from men (who were no longer able to hear and dare to speak God’s voice or being afraid of the king’s punishment or becoming unpopular) and made two golden calves, likely for two places, i.e. Bethel and Dan (cf. 1 Kings 12:25–33). He also assigned priests according to his own ideas (cf. 1Kings 13:33) which was based on his ability and not on God’s instructions regarding the Levites (cf. Numbers 1:50–54). He duplicated the feast like in Jerusalem and even went ahead offering sacrifices for people. Although he knew God’s law regarding worship, he ignored them all and ordained himself and non-Levites as priests. One may ask, why did Jeroboam do all of these things against God? One word, fear! The text (1 Kings 12:26–27) seems to indicate that. It was his fear for his kingship that eroded his trust in the Lord who allowed him to be king in the first place. It was his fear that led him to do the “worship coup.” God was no longer the center of His worship. It is only natural to see that God’s instruction was no longer Jeroboam’s concerns. In other words, he no longer feared the Lord but men. Even when the Lord sent a prophet from Judah to confront him with a sign of breaking his unauthorizedly built worship altar, he thought his kingly power can seize God’s spokesman, but he was wrong and faced God’s instant punishment with a “frozen/paralyzed” arm. Jeroboam repented and seemingly wanted to use his wealth to “lobby” and bring the man into his cabinet, so that he can carry on with his “worship coup” (cf. 1 Kings 13:1–7). Now Jeroboam’s repentance was short lived even after he witnessed God’s impartiality in the story of the man of God who just refused his huge/royal offer (1 Kings 13:8–10) but accepted the rather mundane (eating/drinking) offer of (possibly) one of his prophet in Bethel (1 Kings 13:11–19). God never showed partiality. He punished the disobedient prophet whom He sent to Jeroboam. The subtle imageries (cf. 1 Kings 13:24–25) of the donkey, which stood beside the prophet (from Judah) who was killed by a lion that also stood beside the corpse, seemed to suggest the animal-likeness (donkey) Jeroboam who witnessed the fate of the lying and disobedient prophets, an old lying prophet in his hometown, Bethel and the “partially-obedient” (means disobedient) man of God from Judah. We thought by now Jeroboam would have surrendered his “worship coup” and began to worship God the King and accepted His terms, keeping Jerusalem as the worship center. But it seemed that his “hardening heart” had moved beyond redemption (cf. 1 Kings 13:33–34).
Now Jesus came to Jerusalem and fulfilled God’s law, will, and plan at the cross for the redemption of all those who believe in God’s Son — Jesus Christ who must be the center of our worship. So anyone who unknowingly or knowingly made “human/self” as the worship center is doing the “worship coup” and will face similar outcomes.
First, they tend to experience that God’s word seems to speak against them (via God’s spokesmen/pastors) most of the time and don’t see it as opportunities to repent. As a result, they tend to switch to whichever “channels” (churches/spokespersons) that offer what they want to hear or medicate their pain or better still approve their own ideas about worship which can be “wildly wide.” For example, some think that staying home and watching different youtube channels on Sunday, they have done church. Well, maybe they did some religious activities, but that’s not what worshiping Jesus means. Christians cannot follow Jesus without the Body or the Head. People like this are headless/bodiless Christians or at best spiritual “orphans.” They don’t know where they should belong, so they belong to nowhere. They don’t know how to relate, build, and commit to relationships, so they commit to everything, everyone, or everywhere (we are not talking about making friends and reaching non-believers). Others think that all they need to do is to show up in a church building, halfheartedly/yawningly listen to God’s word on Sunday and wholeheartedly/actively don’t want to do/apply God’s word from Monday to Saturday. Yet others settle for occasional worship of Jesus depending on their mood or how nice the church/pastor will be or how important they feel or entitled to be treated in their self-defined worship lenses/parameters.
Second, they tend to experience an ongoing shame, guilt, fear, pain/hurt due to their own sins and sins of others who happened to sin against them or mistakenly offended them. They can’t forgive others, because they never received God’s forgiveness available through Jesus for themselves. Though they might agree in their mind, but they don’t believe in their heart that Jesus is able to forgive all their sins and the sins of others who believe in Christ. Why? Chances are high that the worship center is but “I, Me, and Myself” and not Jesus. Though they do not say it aloud, but deep inside they want to be a good/righteous Christian in their self-defined way or own measurement. When Jesus is not the center of their worship, God’s forgiveness through Christ Jesus is not at the center of their living.
Third, the saddest part is that though they know they are dying spiritually, they keep hardening their heart. Even God’s or others’ kindness can be viewed in negative or “self-victimized/pitied” light. They hold on to their “Jeroboam-like” unauthorizedly built worship altar despite of God’s kindness and impartiality. Tragically, the path of self-destruction is locked-in once people “instituted” (made their ideas as God’s law) their self-defined ideas or own plans of putting themselves, instead of Jesus, to be the center of their worship. Self-help resources, in general, are often at best self-centered solutions or at worse self-destruction pathway.
Now what? It is simple. No worship “coup.” Jesus must be the center of our worship. We cannot worship Jesus if we hear His voice (through reading His word, praying to Him, godly counsel) but have no intention to be doers of His word. We cannot worship Jesus, if we cannot forgive others or ourselves. We cannot worship Jesus if we keep on building our life based on our own ideas/will/plans/solutions instead of God’s.
May Jesus be the center of our worship in every aspect of our life and none of us blindly commit to the “worship coup.”
Amen.
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Pastor Lap
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