The Posture of Worship
He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth.
Gen 18:2
In Part One of our “Made to Worship” series, I argued that God is passionate about worship. Another way to say this is that God made all things for His glory. In the book of Genesis, which records the beginning of all things, we rather quickly see worship “gone wrong.” Our first parents, Adam and Eve, chose to exalt themselves to the place of God and were justly banished from the Garden of Eden for their treasonous act of self-aggrandizement.
Worship continued to spiral downward, as Cain’s offering was rejected, and the Tower of Babel was erected in defiance of God. But we do see glimmers of God-glorifying worship within the line of promise.
For example, in Gen 4:26, following the birth of Seth, we read, “At that time people began to call upon the name of the LORD.” To call upon the name of the Lord is an act of deferential prayer, seeking the Lord’s will and favor. To call upon the name of LORD is an act of worship, because to do so one must acknowledge God exists, that He rules over humanity and is the source of blessing, not ourselves.
In short, worship requires a posture of humility.
Bowing As a Sign of Respect
In Genesis 18:2 (quoted above) Abraham shares a meal with three visitors, one of whom is called the LORD (18:22). When these visitors arrive, Abraham “bows down” before them. The Hebrew verb is ḥāwâ, and it means “to bow down low,” “to prostrate oneself,” or “to pay honor” (specifically in the hishtaphel stem, for those interested!).
Thus, Abraham’s external posture reflected his inward disposition of humility. The verb ḥāwâ is used in this sense nearly 20 other times in Genesis, and it is most often used as an expression of humble service.
For example, Lot “bows down” before the two angels in Sodom (Gen 19:1). Abraham bows down before the Hittites who agree to sell land to him so he can bury his wife Sarah (Gen 23:7). In these cases, clearly Lot and Abraham are not worshiping angels or men. That would be blasphemous. They are merely showing gratitude and respect.
Bowing As a Sign of Submission
However, there in one time in Genesis where ḥāwâ is rightly translated as “worship” (e.g., in the ESV):
Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.”
Gen 22:5
The context is God’s command to Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. Because ḥāwâ is connected with the offering of a sacrifice in this situation, the idea of “bowing down” as worship is to the fore. Bowing down in worship is an act of submission to God’s will.
Worship Today
Worship gone “wrong” is a life of defiance towards God that flows from a prideful inward disposition. “Right” worship is a life of deference towards God that flows from a humble inward disposition.
As we seek to live lives of worship in general and as we gather as God’s people in particular for corporate worship, we must not forget both of these dimensions of biblical worship: humility and submission.
In fact, submission to the LORD requires humility before the LORD. We may call ourselves worshipers. We may gather with other worshipers. We may sing worshipful songs.
But unless our internal disposition matches our external expression, we are not genuine worshipers. What is more: if we do not live lives in submission to the will of God, we can in no way claim to be worshipers of God.
— David Camera
