“The tabernacle (and temple) faced east, allowing the sun to shine directly into the complex at the beginning of the day … given the pervasiveness of sun worship, one practical side of this is that people would have to turn their back on the sun to approach the Lord.”
— Allen P. Ross, Recalling The Hope Of Glory: Biblical Worship From The Garden To The New Creation
Worship is an act of battle, and our songs are war anthems. When we worship the Lord, we are declaring war on the false gods of this earth. We’re saying that we are no longer “following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience …” (Ephesians 2:2). We are turning our back on the “sun god” and every idol.
We publicly affirm our allegiance to the one true king, in spite of all that Satan may do to us. This is not for the faint of heart. Fortunately, we know that God purifies and fortifies our hearts.
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
— Ezekiel 36:25-27
Declare war this Sunday.
- Photo by Russell Trow, used via Creative Commons license.