Where Should I Worship? KI TAVO TORAH : DEUTERONOMY 26:1-29:8 PROPHETS : ISAIAH 60:1-22 GOSPEL : MATTHEW 4:13-24
Proper Place of Worship Deuteronomy 12: 5 Rather you are to seek only the place Adonai your God chooses from all your tribes to put His Name to dwell there you will come. 6 There you are to bring your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes, the offering of your hand, your vow and freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock. 7 There you and your households will eat before Adonai your God and rejoice in every undertaking of your hand, as Adonai your God has blessed you. 8 You will not do all the things as we are doing here today everyone doing what is right in his own eyes.
What is True Worship? What Defines the Proper Place of Worship? YHVH places His name there A place where offerings are received The Presence of YHVH A proper Priesthood who officiates in the Avodah
What is True Worship? Deuteronomy 12: 11 Then the place Adonai your God chooses to make His Name dwell, there you are to bring all that I command you your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes, the offering of your hand, and all your finest vow offerings that you vow to Adonai. 12 Then you will rejoice before Adonai your God you and your sons and daughters, your slaves and maids, and the Levite in your towns, for he has no portion or inheritance among you. 13 Be careful that you do not offer your burnt offerings in any place you see. 14 Rather do so only in the place Adonai chooses in one of your tribes there you are to offer your burnt offerings, and there you are to do all I am commanding you.
What is True Worship? There are times in the Kingdom where we will do what is right in our own eyes Judges 17: 6 In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes. This usually happens when there is no centralized leadership. Today we have 33,000 denominations in Christianity Thousands of Messianic splinter groups There are at least a dozen Jewish sects today maybe as much as double that number who aren t official There is no centralized leadership but everyone is doing what is right in their own eyes.
What is True Worship? So when we read in John the following: John 4: 19 Sir, the woman tells Him, I see that You are a prophet! 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you all say that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem. 21 Yeshua tells her, Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But an hour is coming it is here now when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people as His worshipers. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.
What is True Worship?
What is True Worship? So when Yeshua says that we will no longer worship in Jerusalem a place where we know YHVH placed His name Does His statement in John contradict Torah? Is YHVH s original intent for us to worship in anyway we see fit? Do we here at Shiloh worshipping the Father in what is right in our own eyes? These questions are extremely important because we all want to do what our Heavenly Father requires of us. Before we answer these questions let s look at places where Altars where built for worship, that were not in Jerusalem.
Altars Before Jerusalem Altar at Beth EL Genesis 12: 7 Then Adonai appeared to Abram, and said, I will give this land to your seed. So there he built an altar to Adonai, who had appeared to him. 8 From there he moved to the mountain to the east of Beth-El and erected his tent (with Beth-El to the west and Ai to the east). There he built an altar to Adonai and called on the Name of Adonai. Altar at Beersheba Genesis 26: 23 He went up from there to Beer-sheba. 25 So he built an altar there and called on the Name of Adonai. He pitched his tent there and Isaac s servants hollowed out a well there.
Altars Before Jerusalem Shechem (Near Gerazim and Ebal) Genesis 33: 18 So Jacob arrived in shalom to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Paddan-aram, and camped right in front of the city. 19 He purchased the portion of the field there where he had pitched his tent from the sons of Hamor, Shechem s father, for 100 pieces of money. 20 There he set up an altar, and he called it, El is Israel s God. Mt Sinai or Horeb: Exodus 17: 6 Behold, I will stand before you, there upon the rock in Horeb.. 15 Then Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Adonai-Nissi
Altars Before Jerusalem Altar at Gilead: Joshua 22: 9 So the children of Reuben, the children of Gad and the halftribe of Manasseh returned and departed from Bnei-Yisrael at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, to go to the land of Gilead, to the land of their inheritance that they had possessed, according to the mouth of Adonai by Moses hand. 10 Now when they came to the region near the Jordan in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben, the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by the Jordan a large, conspicuous altar. 15 So they came to the children of Reuben, the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead Notice where the name was placed at that time:
Altars Before Jerusalem Jeremiah 7: 12 Indeed, go now to My place that was in Shiloh, where I first made My Name dwell. Now see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel. 13 While you were doing all these things, declares Adonai, I spoke to you early and often, but you did not listen, and I called you but you did not answer. 14 Therefore I will do to the House that bears My Name the one in which you trust, the one that I gave to you and to your fathers as I have done to Shiloh. 15 And I will cast you out of My sight, just as I cast out all your brothers, all the offspring of Ephraim.
Altars Before Jerusalem Alter at Gilgal: 1 Samuel 11: 3 But Saul replied, No man will be put to death this day, for today Adonai has brought deliverance to Israel. 14 Then Samuel said to the people, Come, let s go to Gilgal and reaffirm the kingdom there. 15 So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before Adonai in Gilgal. There they sacrificed fellowship offerings before Adonai, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly. Now what does Beersheba, Gilgal, Gilead, Beth El, and Shechem all have in common?
Altars Before Jerusalem Everyone of these places other than Jerusalem and Shiloh were places that YHVH had not placed His name. They were places that would become places of mixed worship and confusion for Israel. We read in Amos: Amos 3: 14 For in a day I shall punish Israel for the transgressions of Israel, and attend to the altars of Bethel the horns of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground. Amos 4: 4 Come to Bethel and transgress, in Gilgal multiply transgression. Every morning bring your sacrifices and your tithes every three days.
Altars Before Jerusalem Amos 5: 5 But do not seek Bethel, do not go to Gilgal, do not cross over to Beersheba. For Gilgal will surely go into exile, and Bethel will come to trouble. 6 Seek Adonai, and live lest He rush like fire through the house of Joseph. Yes, it will devour Bethel, with no one to quench it... Amos goes on to tell them: 21 I hate, I despise your festivals! I take no delight in your sacred assemblies. 22 Even if you offer me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them, nor will I look at peace offerings of your fattened animals. All of these places where altars where built, that weren t places where YHVH placed His name became major snares to Israel.
Mt. Ebal and Gerizim Deuteronomy 27:1 Now Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, Keep the whole commandment that I command you today. 2 And on the day you cross over the Jordan to the land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall set up large stones and plaster them with plaster. 3 And you shall write on them all the words of this law, when you cross over to enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you. 4 And when you have crossed over the Jordan, you shall set up these stones, concerning which I command you today, on Mount Ebal, and you shall plaster them with plaster. 5 And there you shall build an altar to the LORD your God, an altar of stones. You shall wield no iron tool on them;
Mt. Ebal and Gerizim 6 you shall build an altar to the LORD your God of uncut stones. And you shall offer burnt offerings on it to the LORD your God, 7 and you shall sacrifice peace offerings and shall eat there, and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God. 8 And you shall write on the stones all the words of this law very plainly. The Priests and the Levites stood on Mt. Gerizim, while the altar was built on Mt. Ebal. Below this area was the town that would be known as Shechem. In was in this area that Jacob had built an altar several hundred of years prior. The confusion that we read about in John stems from the renewal of Covenant that was done here at Shechem.
Should we worship in Jerusalem? On Mt. Moriah, the present-day Temple Mount in Jerusalem the exposed bedrock under the Dome of the Rock is known as "the Foundation Stone"in Hebrew Even ha-shetiyah. Although the Jewish Temples were later built on the same foundation stone, or an extension of this same bedrock elsewhere on Mt. Moriah, the term "foundation stone" refers to the creation of the earth by God on the First Day. Isaiah 28: 16 Therefore thus says Adonai Elohim: Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, a costly cornerstone, [a] a firm foundation whoever trusts will not flee in haste. Ephesians 2: 20 You have been built on the foundation made up of the emissaries and prophets, with Messiah Yeshua Himself being the cornerstone
Should we worship in Jerusalem? So you can see that in Zion Jerusalem the foundation of the Earth was laid. Proverbs 8: 22 Adonai brought me forth, the first of His way, before His works of old. 23 From eternity I was appointed from the beginning, before the world began. 24 When there were no depths, I was brought forth, when there were no fountains abounding with water. 25 Before the mountains were shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth..
Should we worship in Jerusalem? Proverbs 8 (cont) 26 He had not yet made the land, the fields, or the first dust of the earth. 27 When He set the heavens in place, I was there. When He inscribed the horizon on the face of the ocean, 28 when He established the skies above, when He securely fixed the fountains of the deep, 29 when He set the boundaries for the sea, so that the waters never transgress His command, when He laid out earth s foundations 30 then I was the craftsman beside Him, I was His daily delight, always rejoicing before Him, In this amazing story of how the Earth is being laid out we see how Yeshua was the craftsman who laid the cornerstone. That is all began in this place where Abraham was told to sacrifice His son:
Should we worship in Jerusalem? Genesis 22: 1 Now it was after these things that God tested Abraham. He said to him, Abraham. Hineni, he said. 2 Then He said, Take your son, your only son whom you love [b] Isaac and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains about which I will tell you... 4 On the third day, Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from a distance. 5 Abraham said to his young men, Sit yourselves down here with the donkey. As for me and the young man, we ll go over there, worship and return to you. 9 Then they came to the place about which God had told him, and Abraham built the altar there, laid out the wood, bound up Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. [c] 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.
Should we worship in Jerusalem? From all the other places where altars where built, what makes the Land of Moriah Mt. Zion Jerusalem from all others? Original intent: The foundations of the Earth were laid out from here A type and shadow of Abraham and Isaac being sacrifices took place here. YHVH placed his Shin for Shaddai on Mt. Moriah. Yeshua came, and will come into this city and rule and reign from that Foundation stone.
King David and Jerusalem Mt. Moriah or Temple Mount: 1 Chronicles 21: 25 So David gave Ornan 600 shekels of gold by weight for the place. 26 David built there an altar to Adonai and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. He called on Adonai and He answered him with fire from heaven upon the altar of burnt offering. 27 Then Adonai commanded the angel, and he put his sword back in its sheath. Now what to some appear as a contradiction, we read in 2 Samuel the following:
King David and Jerusalem Mt. of Olives: 2 Samuel 24: 4 But the king said to Araunah, No, but I will surely buy it from you at a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to Adonai my God that cost me nothing. So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for 50 shekels of silver. 25 Then David built there an altar to Adonai, and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. So Adonai was moved by prayer of entreaty for the land, and restrained the plague from Israel. Many have concluded this was a mistake in translation, but there are actually two altars one inside the camp, and one outside the camp. Solomon would connect these two altars with a bridge across the Kidron Valley.
Should we worship in Jerusalem? John 4: 19 Sir, the woman tells Him, I see that You are a prophet! 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you all say that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem. 21 Yeshua tells her, Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But an hour is coming it is here now when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people as His worshipers. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.
Should we worship in Jerusalem? Original intent was for the Presence of YHVH to be where He laid His Cornerstone. It is His people who decided to cause the presence of YHVH to leave His Temple. It His People that were scattered for Mixed and False Worship. It is His people that rejected the Cornerstone. It is His people who worshipped at they saw fit in their own eyes. So what does it mean to worship in Truth and Spirit?
Should we worship in Jerusalem? 1 Kings 11: 36 To his son I will give one tribe so that My servant David may have a lamp every day before Me in Jerusalem, the city that I chose for Myself to put My Name there. Even as the nation is being split in two YHVH tells His prophet His Original intent. Jerusalem is to be the place of Worship. It is here that Yeshua will come back and rule and reign. Zechariah 14: 16 Then all the survivors from all the nations that attacked Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, Adonai-Tzva ot, and to celebrate Sukkot. 17 Furthermore, if any of the nations on earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, Adonai-Tzva ot, they will have no rain.
How do we worship in Spirit and Truth YHVH s original intent was for us to come to Him where the Foundation Stone was laid, and worship Him in Truth and in Spirit. Jerusalem and the Temple was removed from our view for nearly 2,000 years. During that time we were called to worship Him in Truth: What is Truth?
How do we worship in Spirit and Truth What is Truth? John 1: 17 Torah was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Yeshua the Messiah. 1. Truth is Torah the instructions, statutes and ordinances of YHVH, and the interpretation of Yeshua. 2. Through His life and example he showed us how to walk out the Torah. Yeshua s words interpreted Torah, and gave it life inside of us. 3. When the New Covenant says he will write His Words on our Heart this is the Truth that we must Shema Listen and Obey. 4. Torah, and Yeshua s fulfillment of this was not done away with it is our foundation to walk on.
How do we worship in Spirit and Truth What is Spirit? John 4: 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. Exodus 31: 3 "I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship, Job 32: 8 "But it is a spirit in man, And the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding. Psalms 139: 7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?
How do we worship in Spirit and Truth Isaiah 32: 15 Until the Spirit is poured out upon us from on high, And the wilderness becomes a fertile field, And the fertile field is considered as a forest. Isaiah 44: 3-4 'For I will pour out water on the thirsty land And streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring And My blessing on your descendants; And they will spring up among the grass Like poplars by streams of water. 2 Corinthians 3: 3 It is clear that you are a letter from Messiah delivered by us written not with ink but with the Ruach of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. [
Conclusion Original intent is for us to worship in Spirit and Truth from the place where He laid His Foundation Stone. It is us, within in His Kingdom who drove Him away, but not forever. He will bring us back to Himself on that Foundation Stone. Until He begins the process of establishing His Temple, and His Priesthood in Jerusalem. We are to continue to worshipping Him by studying and following His Torah, and following the example of the Living Torah Yeshua. We are to pray that His Spirit is poured out on us so our Worship aligns with His original intent as we wait for the return of His Son.