Clean Hands And A Pure Heart
I love God. And I love to worship God. Amen!
People that know me, know that I don’t often refer to worship as coming to church and singing and playing guitar and music. Not that we don’t or shouldn’t do those things.
But for a lot of people in the modern church, that’s where our minds go when we hear that word; worship.
So here’s a spoiler alert. I’m not going to refer to any of those things in this blog entry.
I’d like to talk about the heart of worship and what that means to us. But most importantly, what it means to God.
My previous blog entry was focused a bit on living each day out in what Paul the apostle describes as our spiritual service of worship to God. I submit to you that our spiritual service of worship to God has to start with our hearts.
As Christians, we study Scripture because God reveals Himself to His people through His Word. Through His Word He reveals to us His wonderful, amazing attributes.
We develop a deep relationship with Him as we learn Who He is.
We come to know Him in a very intimate way. The Holy Spirit works in us, renewing our hearts. Revealing to us what is pleasing to the Father, and convicting us of what isn’t.
That’s part of the process of Sanctification: the progressive work of God to make a believer more like Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit does the work of making us more like Christ. We have to participate in that work by a life of continually turning away from sin and demonstrating our faith in Christ by obeying God’s commands. It’s impossible for us to do this without the Holy Spirit; as we walk in the power of the Spirit we learn to “not gratify the desires of the flesh”.
If we don’t have that relationship with Jesus, if we haven’t fully surrendered and let the Holy Spirit renew our hearts, then no matter what we think, say or do, we just aren’t capable of offering up our spiritual service of worship in a way that is pleasing to Him.
It’s all external. Going through the motions. Clanging cymbals. It’s not in reverence. If it’s not from our heart, it simply will not please God.
It’s Cain’s worship offering as opposed to Abels.
I believe in the short saga of that biblical text and the events that follow, God reveals just how important the posture of our hearts is to Him.
Let’s start in Genesis Chapter 4, Verse 1:
1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD.” (emphasis mine)
Here we have Eve; the first woman, who in the previous chapter was deceived by Satan and with Adam sinned against God causing Spiritual separation.
Here she is, acknowledging God blessed her with a son even after her disobedience.
The bible doesn’t specify if she repented. However, she is acknowledging the Lord.
She knew she was responsible for the painful birthing process she just experienced.
She didn’t blame God. She acknowledged and thanked Him!
Verse 2:
2 And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. 3 In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4 and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. (emphasis mine)
“but for Cain and his offering he had no regard.”
That just begs the question of why?
Why does God show favor to Abel and his offering and not to Cain and his offering?
Obviously they both knew about God. Their parents must have raised them and trained them with the knowledge of Who God is. And obviously the Lord spoke to them.
So, why?
Was Cains offering smaller or less sacrificial than it ought to have been?
Maybe it wasn’t the best grain he had that he offered up.
Maybe he just picked up a random handful and thought, “This is good enough….”.
The text doesn’t specify. Although In Malachi 1, God does rebuke the Israelites for offering blemished sacrifices.
Was Abel and his offering acceptable to God because his was an offering of blood as opposed to Cain’s grain or fruit of the ground offering?
The text doesn’t specify, but I would argue no, because God ordains grain offerings; the type Cain gave. Both animal and grain offerings become part of the Levitical structure presented to Israel.
So let’s look at the word “offering” itself for a second.
The word offering used here is the Hebrew word minḥâ.
And minha is defined as: a gift, tribute, offering, present, oblation, sacrifice, meal offering, meat offering, grain offering….(and this is interesting).... specifically a sacrificial offering (usually bloodless and voluntary).
So Cain and Abel were paying tribute to God:
A tribute is something given or contributed voluntarily as due or deserved, especially a gift or service showing respect, gratitude, or affection in acknowledgement of submission. In essence; Worship
And the Hebrew word for “regard” that’s used here is the word “shâʻâh” which means to gaze (steadily, with interest).
And the thing I find most interesting is that the text reads: The LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard.
That’s specifying the individual and his offering. Not just the offering itself.
So that kind of tells us there is more to it than “well it wasn’t a blood offering!”.
There is something more involved here. Something deeper that lies beneath the surface.
It has me asking, “What’s going on with you Cain? What’s going on inside there that the Lord does not regard you nor your minha?
Let’s dig a bit deeper here. Into the book of Deuteronomy.
To add a little context here, the book of Deuteronomy restates the Ten Commandments and many other laws given in Exodus and Leviticus.
The nation of Israel is just about to enter the Promised Land, but before that can happen, the Lord reiterates through Moses, His covenant with them. All of God’s instructions on how to lead a blessed life in the Promised Land.
Now, unlike the unconditional covenant God made with Abraham, the covenant between God and Israel is mutual. It’s cooperative, communal, shared, consensual and reciprocal.
This covenant relationship is based on loyalty, and love. Very similar to a marriage.
At the heart of the covenantal relationship is the one true living God, the love He has for His people, and His demand for absolute reciprocation of that love through sacrifice and worship.
Marriage vows…..Remember; the church is the bride of Christ.
The book of Deuteronomy, with all its rules and commands and structure, is a book of love and blessing, and encouragement; where rejoicing is a commandment as well. It speaks of the heart!
Allow me to elaborate on that a little here. A person much smarter than me compiled the following list, and I thought it was interesting:
Did you know that the book of Deuteronomy is among the top five books of the Bible in its frequency of the word “love”? Only Psalms, Proverbs, John and Song of Solomon use the word “love” more.
The phrase “bless you” is used the most in Deuteronomy. More than any other book in the Bible by far.
The frequency of the word “rejoice” used in Deuteronomy is tied with Proverbs. The third most frequent use in the entire Bible.
Now let’s read some examples of those concepts.
Deuteronomy 6:4:
4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
Deuteronomy 10:14-22 is all about encouragement and love and blessings and the posture of the heart:
14 Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. 15 Yet the LORD set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day. 16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn. 17 For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. 18 He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. 19 Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. 20 You shall fear the LORD your God. You shall serve him and hold fast to him, and by his name you shall swear. 21 He is your praise. He is your God, who has done for you these great and terrifying things that your eyes have seen. 22 Your fathers went down to Egypt seventy persons, and now the LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars of heaven.
Deuteronomy 11:13-15 tells us that promises of blessing are because of this relationship:
13 And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, 14 he will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil. 15 And he will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and you shall eat and be full.
Glory to God! There is however a caveat here:
Remember, this is a reciprocal covenant. And so being the good Father that He is, He offers a warning in the very next verse if the Israelites aren’t holding up their end of the relationship:
Deuteronomy 11:16-17:
16 Take care lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them; 17 then the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you, and he will shut up the heavens, so that there will be no rain, and the land will yield no fruit, and you will perish quickly off the good land that the LORD is giving you.
God let’s Israel know. This is a covenant. This is you and Me. It’s our relationship. Don’t let your heart become simple.
Israel is to remember what God has done for them. Bring Him tribute, the best offerings. Worship Him and rejoice. And He promises to bless their land, give them prosperity, and to elevate them above all other nations.
However, when they bring such offerings as worship, and recall His good works and say they are thankful…..they better make sure it’s with all their heart and soul. Do it in love. In acknowledgment of the love and mercy He has shown them.
It's not just about the act itself. It’s not about the routine complex structure of the sacrifices. God knew no person could possibly adhere to every detail involved in that. (although physically and outwardly they did, the heart part always drifted).
It’s about the posture of our heart as we bring worship before the Lord.
Our relationship with the Lord has and always will be about the heart.
Scripture reveals to us that God alone knows the condition of our hearts. He always has and always will.
Here are just a few examples:
Jeremiah 17:9-10 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? 10 “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”
1 Samuel 16:7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
1 Chronicles 28:9 “And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.”
Psalm 44:21 Would not God discover this? For he knows the secrets of the heart.
With all that in mind, let’s return to Cain.
Cain who’s offering hasn’t pleased The Lord.
Cain, who now stands very angry before God, the text says.
And, as an aside, can you imagine that? Just put yourself in Cain’s situation for a second.
You are in the presence of the Holy God, and He has no regard for what you have presented before Him.
You are at fault, and inside you know you’re at fault, but instead of trembling in fear and repentance, your response is anger. Anger?
Seems like a ton of pride there does it not?
Is that the heart God wants to see when He searches us?
Again, Psalm 44:21:
Would not God discover this? For he knows the secrets of the heart.
Let’s continue in Genesis 4:5
5 but for Cain and his offering He had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.
6The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? 7If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”
Now here we see God’s mercy. He doesn’t ask the question because He doesn’t know the answer. He knows the answer. He’s God. He wants Cain to understand why Cain’s angry.
Remember when I said earlier there is something more involved here. Something deeper that lies beneath the surface? This is what I meant:
There’s got to be a primary reason for Cain’s anger. Because anger is a secondary emotion.
It’s an emotion fueled by other emotions.
We feel wronged, we get angry.
We get disciplined, we get angry and defensive.
We’re disappointed; Angry.
Feel rejected; Angry.
Embarrassed; Angry.
The Miami Dolphins lose to the Buffalo Bills; Angry!
The point is, the Lord in all His mercy, is giving Cain a chance to look deep inside himself, and find the root of his anger – that is, the primary emotions fueling it –
(the obvious jealousy, envy, and contempt for his brother Abel; the PRIDE and DISOBEDIENCE in not bringing a suitable tribute; the embarrassment at being rejected),
so he can address its underlying causes, see his lack of obedience, and confess and repent.
I would argue that Cain still had the possibility of pleasing God if he did those things.
And the Lord warns him: If he lets these emotions brew, sin is going to devour his entire life. He must win that battle.
But Cain remains stubborn; eventually losing the battle, and as we know, murders Abel, his brother.
Such a tragedy. That tragedy is still being carried out everyday in this world we live in.
James 1:14-15 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
Thoughts lead to actions, and actions to sin. And it all starts with the heart.
In Mark 7:21-23 Jesus says:
21 “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
I’ll end with this:
1 John 3:12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous.
So let us properly worship our Lord. Not only when we are in His house, but at all times. With clean hands and a pure heart, as David wrote in Psalm 24:
1 A Psalm of David. The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, 2 for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. 3 Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. 5 He will receive blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation. 6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.
-Jorge Velez
Worship Director @ Living Faith