1 Timothy 3:14-15  These things write I unto you, hoping to come unto you shortly:  (15)  But if I tarry long, that you may know how you ought to behave yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

 

Genesis 4:3–8  Cain brought fruit while Abel brought firstlings and fat.  First Cain’s offering was rejected but eventually, Cain himself was rejected.  Cain was worried about being cut off himself, while the Bible says, his murdered brother still speaks.  The dichotomy of worship with its simplicity yet mystery has been teaching mankind for nearly 6,000 years that not all actions, and not even all worship is acceptable in God’s sight. 

 

Uzzah an appointed attendant, noticed a need, quickly acted, stretched out his arm and touched the Ark of the Covenant and (applause? No)…..he died.    2 Samuel 6:6–8

Conversely, the woman with a 12 year bleeding issue (likely by the law and society was considered unclean) reached out and touched Jesus (the True Mercy Seat) and…was healed.    Mark 5:25–34; Luke 8:43–48   

Why the difference.  Faith driven vs Fear driven action/approach.

 

Uzziah the King of Judah, marched into the temple, approaching the Ark of the Covenant, and…got leprosy.    2 Chronicles 26:16–21

Conversely, Uriah a Gentile servant, refused to go to the comforts of his own home because “…the ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents…”  (2 Samuel 11:11),… and Uriah died (and had his name written in the Genealogy of Jesus.

 

Nadab & Abihu (Aaron’s sons)Leviticus 10:1–3

unauthorized fire = strange fire = H2114  זוּר  zûr = to turn aside; whether they were physically intoxicated their worship did not walk the straight and narrow.  Wrong incense, wrong time, wrong way of lighting the incense, wrong something…  Why were Aaron and his family not allowed to mourn?

 

Eli’s sons (Hophni & Phinehas) à 1 Samuel 2:17  Thus the sin of the young men was very great in the sight of the LORD, for the men treated the offering of the LORD with contempt.

 

Saul offering sacrifice (presumption)à 1 Samuel 13:8–14 (cf. 15:17–23)

1 Samuel 15:22  And Samuel said, “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.

Why were Saul’s offerings rejected?  They were not prescribed.  They were against the will of God.  They were made out of fear, impatience and perhaps pride and lust. 

 

The 10 lepers; one Samaritan returns àLuke 17:11–19 

The other 9 lepers apparently listened to Jesus and did as they were told.  Something was different in the heart of this “foreigner” that led him to “return” and “give praise to God”.  Faith led him to the True High Priest where he was truly “made well”.

 

Ananias & Sapphira à Acts 5:1–11

Acts 5:1-5  But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property,  (2)  and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet.  (3)  But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land?  (4)  While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.”  (5)  When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it.

What was the big deal, they probably gave at least 10%?  The big deal was that Satan filled their hearts, even while giving their offering; the problem was that they lied to God.  Worldly wisdom and reasoning would here question the justice of God; get what You get and don’t throw a fit, right?  No.  This type of attitude might work in the downward flow of authority, but it certainly doesn’t work with God. 

 

Cornelius (a God-fearer) falls down before Peter à Acts 10

Acts 10:1-2  At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort,  (2)  a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God.   Acts 10:25  When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him.

Wow, it would seem that Cornelius should have been stoned, or at least heavily rebuked.  But he wasn’t; why?

 

The sinful woman of Luke 7:36–50. 

How awkward and even inappropriate:  to weep in public, to touch Jesus with her hair, to kiss His feet.  Think of it.  Jesus said “she loved much” and was forgiven.  If I could choose to be anyone else in the room, I would have chosen to be her. 

 

Mary of Bethany anoints Jesus (alabaster jar) à; John 12:1–8

Even some of the disciples could see how wasteful this woman was being and spoke of her indignantly.  Wasteful, no; rather, it was the best investment she could possibly make. 

 

The Pharisee and the Tax Collector à Luke 18:9–14

Who went home justified?  Was it the one who was not unjust like other men and who fasted and tithed or ….the “sinner”.   Why?

 

The Widow’s Mite à Mark 12:41–44; Luke 21:1–4

Jesus here reveals that God is watching how much we tithe; He even compares it with others.  But His measuring stick and scale are not like ours.  Who gave more?   Why. 

Matthew 5:23-24  So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,  (24)  leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Human reasoning says, “offer your gift while you are there, (Check)(convenient), now you’ll have more time to get things right with your brother.  Nope, God prescribes differently. 

Heart and faith vs mere ritual or presumption
Scripture repeatedly evaluates worship by the condition of the worshiper: faith, humility, repentance, and dependence. Abel, Cornelius, the bleeding woman — all come by faith. By contrast, Cain, Nadab & Abihu, Uzzah, Saul, and Ananias & Sapphira show presumption, hypocrisy, pride, or disobedience.

Presumption vs penitence
There’s a difference between presuming to take privileges that belong to God’s appointed mediators and coming humbly, even brokenly, to God’s appointed means.

God’s holiness and prescribed mediation (pre-Christ)
In the Old Testament the presence of God is mediated through the tabernacle/ark/temple, priests, blood, and sacrificial forms. Approaching God outside of His rules could profane the Holy; the rules safeguarded God’s holiness and the people’s access. Uzzah and Nadab/Abihu display the danger of trampling those safeguards.

 

Hear the warning of Jesus:

Matthew 7:21-23  “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  (22)  On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’  (23)  And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’      Clearly, there are people today that are “following God”, being fruitful and feeling good about it and their relationship to God, but they are deceived and headed for disappointment.  Lord save us.

It matters how we approach God.  The House and Kingdom of God does not follow Burger King’s old motto, “Have it your way”.   “Have it your way,” sold the idea that customers should get exactly what they want:  customization, autonomy, personal preference.   At heart it celebrates consumer choice: you’re the boss of your order, your taste is supreme, and the business exists to satisfy you. That’s attractive but it’s also a tidy expression of a deeper human instinct: to put my will, my comfort, and my preferences first.   When it comes to real life, spiritual life, I am sorry, the “customer is not always right”.  No, instead, as Christians, we learn that “God is always right”.   Again, a popular modern-day saying is “You do you”.  But the Christian’s anthem is “You do or I do Christ” for “I have been crucified with Christ… and now Christ lives in me.”  God’s word directs that there is a proper time and place for personal preferences and opinions;  however, these always come secondary to Christ’s.

In a life-and-death moment, Queen Esther was careful how she approached the king and then appealed to him on his terms. How much more solemnly should we bring our requests and our gifts before the Holy and Almighty God of all Creation? Who is really in charge of your life, you or God? Modern culture urges, “Have it your way.” Scripture, however, shows that God will have it His way. This is not legalism; it is the reality of God’s kingdom. Our Lord prayed, “Father, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done.” That must be our prayer and our desire in everyday life and especially as we approach our Holy God in worship.

Exodus 25:40  And see that you make them after the pattern (H8403) for them, which is being shown you on the mountain.

תּבנית H8403

tabnı̂yth 1) pattern, plan, form, construction, figure

 

Exodus 26:30  Then you shall erect the tabernacle according to the plan (H4941) for it that you were shown on the mountain.

משׁפּטH4941

mishpâṭ 1) judgment, justice, ordinance

 

When God ordained the OT Worship system, He did so with order.  This is certainly seen in the Heavenly pattern that was delivered at Mount Sinai, but it can be seen even earlier.  Right from the beginning we see Redemption revealed in the Garden of Eden through sacrifice and covering after Adam and Eve sinned.  We then see their sons, Cain and Able, approach God; one did so according to the clear prescription, while the other (Cain) did not.  Prescriptions don’t write themselves; they come from someone who knows better and has authority to sign.  God knows all and God knows best, as for us, we have a lot to learn.     

1 Corinthians 14:33  For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints, 1 Corinthians 14:40  But all things should be done decently and in order.

 

Psalms 19:1-7  To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.  (2)  Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.  (3)  There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.  (4)  Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun,  (5)  which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.  (6)  Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat.  (7)  The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;

 

Genesis 1:1-2  In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  (2)  The earth was without form (desolate, waste) and void (empty), and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

While we may have questions about the desolation and emptiness of Earth in verse 2, God’s presence and intention are made clear; Earth was to be inhabited.  God did not leave the Earth without form and void. 

 

Day 1:

Genesis 1:3-5  And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.  (4)  And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness.  (5)  God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

When God made light, He did not just flip a switch on.  No, He created something with specific qualities that would have an intricate affect on the rest of creation to follow. 

Light is a form of electromagnetic radiation that travels through space at a constant speed and is detectable by the human eye. It is not made of matter, meaning it has no mass, and it exhibits properties of both waves and particles.  (https:/www.explainthatstuff.com/light)

• Electromagnetic spectrum: Light is not just visible photons but a wide spectrum (radio → gamma). The ordered behavior of waves (wavelength, frequency, energy) demonstrates predictable physical law.
• Wave phenomena: Interference and diffraction create repeating color bands (rainbows) (Genesis 9:12–17).
• Photon constancy: The speed of light (c) is a universal physical constant (186,000 miles per second).
• Photosynthesis dependence: Light’s spectral quality drives photosynthesis and powers ecosystems.
• Circadian entrainment: Light cues the master clock in organisms both plant and animal.

All of these show that light was not just a product of intelligent design but God designed. 

 

John 1:4-5  In him was life, and the life was the light of men.  (5)  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

John 8:12  Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

 

Day 2:

Genesis 1:6  And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

• Atmospheric layers & order: The troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere  each have a distinct layer with predictable behaviors.
• Hydrologic cycle: Evaporation, condensation, precipitation — a closed, repeating planetary cycle that moves water predictably between “above” and “below.”  We understand that because of gravity, water always flows to a lower position, except for when the Creator has told it to do otherwise.  
• Jet streams & weather belts: Large-scale atmospheric flows create latitudinal climate bands and ordered global patterns that direct storms, climates, and seasons.

As light is necessary for life, so is water.  Water covers about 71% of the earth’s surface and makes up 60% of our bodies.  Water has God given properties that make it a dynamic part of our lives.  Some scientists may call this “convenient for life”; we see it as created for life and are thankful to The Creator. 

 

Job 38:8-11  “Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb,  (9)  when I made clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling band,  (10)  and prescribed limits for it and set bars and doors,  (11)  and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed’?

2 Peter 3:5-6  For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God,  (6)  and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished.

 

John 4:10  Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”

God is the clear source of this life giving water. 

 

Day 3:

Genesis 1:9-11  And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so.  (10)  God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.  (11)  And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so.

• Plants have patterns of reproduction that make them exponentially productive.   
• Plant geometry: Leaf and seed arrangements follow spiral patterns (often Fibonacci-related) that not only maximize light capture but also make them more attractive.

“The Fibonacci sequence is significant in various fields such as mathematics, computer science, economics, and nature. It is often observed in natural phenomena, such as the arrangement of leaves on a stem, the branching of trees, the flowering of artichokes, and the arrangement of a pine cone”https://byjus.com/maths/fibonacci-sequence/          Formula: [ F(n) = F(n-1) + F(n-2) ] 

Psalms 104:14  You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth

John 12:24  Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

Jesus is the grain of wheat that had to fall to the earth and die so that we can partake of the Bread of Life. 

 

Day 4:

Genesis 1:16  And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

• Orbital mechanics & seasons: Earth’s tilt and orbital motion produce seasons that make repeatable cycles that humans have used for planting and calendars.
• Lunar phases & tides: The moon’s phases are regular, predictable and govern tidal cycles.
• Constellations & calendars: Star positions are not only like an ancient calendar but also act as a compass.

Jesus is the True Sun/Son that everything revolves around and all things exist of Him, through Him and to Him.  Beautifully, we see the Feasts of Israel all revolve around Jesus.   His Coming was not because of the feasts, but rather the feasts were there because of His Coming. 

Psalms 8:3-4  When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,  (4)  what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?

Romans 5:6  For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

 

Day 5:

Genesis 1:20-21  And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.”  (21)  So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

• Migration & navigation: Birds and many marine animals follow precise migration routes year after year; they are oriented by magnetic fields, star positions, sun angle, and learned patterns.
• Flocking & schooling: Simple local rules (align, separate, cohere); decentralized order from simple rules.

Psalms 104:25-27  Here is the sea, great and wide, which teems with creatures innumerable, living things both small and great.  (26)  There go the ships, and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it.  (27)  These all look to you, to give them their food in due season.

 

Day 6:

Genesis 1:24  And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so.

• The Circle of life: demonstrates the interconnectedness and dependency of living organisms.  The Food Chain…
• Social & ecological networks: Pack, herd, hive species form patterned social systems with division of labor.  Proverbs 30:27  the locusts have no king, yet all of them march in rank;

Genesis 1:26  Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

• DNA & genetic code: The triplet codon system is a universal information pattern that builds diverse life forms from a shared ordered code.
• Human patterning (language, math, architecture): Human cognition discovers and reproduces patterns (algorithms, music, architecture) and so reflect the Creator’s ordering mind.

Genesis 1:27  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Men are not from Mars and Women are not from Venus, even though we may act that way at times.  No, we were uniquely designed with strengths and weaknesses, roles and responsibilities.  Here in Creation, God teaches us the most about relationships and the most about Himself.  Herein lie some of our greatest opportunities to get it right, or do it all wrong. 

 

Day 7:

Genesis 2:3  So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

• Circadian and seasonal rest patterns: Organisms have built-in rest cycles
• Ecological recovery
• Thermodynamics & maintenance: Order requires ongoing maintenance; ecosystems and human institutions need pauses to prevent entropy from degrading the system.

Mark 2:27-28  And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.  (28)  So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”

Hebrews 4:9  So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God,

 

What a privileged planet;  what a blessing God has ordered for us.  But we know the “that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now” because of sin (Romans 8:22).  

Humanity in sinful selfishness has been poor stewards of God’s gift. 

God gave us light and we used it to worship the Sun.

God gave us water and we fouled it with our feet.

God gave us plants and we have chopped down all of the Truffula trees.

As for the animals, the Bar-ba-loots can’t eat and the Swomee-Swans can’t sing. (Dr Seuss, The Lorax)

As for each other, we can’t even agree anymore “what is a woman”, much less how to be a real man.

Lastly, we have forgotten how to rest.  God speaking through Jeremiah said, “…walk in it and you will find rest for your soul.  But they said, “we will not walk in it” (Jer 6:16). 

 

But we have not so learned Christ; He Himself is our Peace.  Our Redeemer is also this World’s Redeemer. 

Jeremiah 50:34  Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of hosts is his name. He will surely plead their cause, that he may give rest to the earth, but unrest to the inhabitants of Babylon.

 

From the beginning, God has been a God of order, not confusion. He formed the heavens with precision, set boundaries for the seas, and created life according to His perfect design. Each day of Creation reveals not chaos, but a carefully crafted pattern pointing back to Him. Even our rest was patterned by His wisdom. In Christ we see the ultimate fulfillment of these patterns; He is the Light of the world, the Living Water, the Bread of Life, the Lord of the Sabbath.

If creation sings of His order and glory, how much more should our lives reflect it? God calls us to walk in His design, to reject confusion, and to find peace in Christ, our Redeemer and our Rest.