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NOVEMBER 6
The True Meaning of Worship

Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand
it is to make great, and to give strength unto all. Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name.
—1 Chronicles 29:12-13
Actually, basic beliefs about the Person and the nature of God have changed so much that there are among us now men
and women who find it easy to brag about the benefits they receive from God—without ever a thought or a desire to
know the true meaning of worship!
I have immediate reactions to such an extreme misunderstanding of the true nature of a holy and sovereign God.
My first is that I believe the very last thing God desires is to have shallow-minded and worldly Christians bragging
about Him.
My second is that it does not seem to be very well recognized that God's highest desire is that every one of His
believing children should so love and so adore Him that we are continuously in His presence, in Spirit and in truth.
That is to worship, indeed. WHT023-024
Lord, help me, in the midst of all the blessings You shower upon me, to keep my focus on the Giver and not on the gifts.
Teach me to love and adore You in genuine worship. Amen.
— Tozer on the Almighty God

Ezekiel 14:12-16:43 (NASB) Eze Then the word of the Lord came to me saying,
"Son of man, if a country sins against Me by committing unfaithfulness, and I stretch out My hand against it, destroy its
supply of bread, send famine against it and cut off from it both man and beast,
even though these three men, Noah, Daniel and Job were in its midst, by their own righteousness they could only deliver
themselves," declares the Lord God.
"If I were to cause wild beasts to pass through the land and they depopulated it, and it became desolate so that no one
would pass through it because of the beasts,
though these three men were in its midst, as I live," declares the Lord God, "they could not deliver either their sons or
their daughters. They alone would be delivered, but the country would be desolate.
"Or if I should bring a sword on that country and say, 'Let the sword pass through the country and cut off man and beast
from it,'
even though these three men were in its midst, as I live," declares the Lord God, "they could not deliver either their sons
or their daughters, but they alone would be delivered.
"Or if I should send a plague against that country and pour out My wrath in blood on it to cut off man and beast from it,
even though Noah, Daniel and Job were in its midst, as I live," declares the Lord God, "they could not deliver either
their son or their daughter. They would deliver only themselves by their righteousness."
For thus says the Lord God, "How much more when I send My four severe judgments against Jerusalem: sword, famine,
wild beasts and plague to cut off man and beast from it!
"Yet, behold, survivors will be left in it who will be brought out, both sons and daughters. Behold, they are going to
come forth to you and you will see their conduct and actions; then you will be comforted for the calamity which I have
brought against Jerusalem for everything which I have brought upon it.
"Then they will comfort you when you see their conduct and actions, for you will know that I have not done in vain
whatever I did to it," declares the Lord God.
Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
"Son of man, how is the wood of the vine better than any wood of a branch which is among the trees of the forest?
"Can wood be taken from it to make anything, or can men take a peg from it on which to hang any vessel?
"If it has been put into the fire for fuel, and the fire has consumed both of its ends and its middle part has been charred,
is it then useful for anything?
"Behold, while it is intact, it is not made into anything. How much less, when the fire has consumed it and it is charred,
can it still be made into anything!
"Therefore, thus says the Lord God, 'As the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire
for fuel, so have I given up the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
and I set My face against them. Though they have come out of the fire, yet the fire will consume them. Then you will
know that I am the Lord, when I set My face against them.
'Thus I will make the land desolate, because they have acted unfaithfully,'" declares the Lord God.
Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
"Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations
and say, 'Thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem, "Your origin and your birth are from the land of the Canaanite, your
father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.
"As for your birth, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water for cleansing;
you were not rubbed with salt or even wrapped in cloths.
"No eye looked with pity on you to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you. Rather you were thrown
out into the open field, for you were abhorred on the day you were born.
"When I passed by you and saw you squirming in your blood, I said to you while you were in your blood, 'Live!' Yes, I
said to you while you were in your blood, 'Live!'
"I made you numerous like plants of the field. Then you grew up, became tall and reached the age for fine ornaments;
your breasts were formed and your hair had grown. Yet you were naked and bare.
"Then I passed by you and saw you, and behold, you were at the time for love; so I spread My skirt over you and
covered your nakedness. I also swore to you and entered into a covenant with you so that you became Mine," declares
the Lord God.
"Then I bathed you with water, washed off your blood from you and anointed you with oil.
"I also clothed you with embroidered cloth and put sandals of porpoise skin on your feet; and I wrapped you with fine
linen and covered you with silk.
"I adorned you with ornaments, put bracelets on your hands and a necklace around your neck.
"I also put a ring in your nostril, earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head.
"Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your dress was of fine linen, silk and embroidered cloth. You ate fine
flour, honey and oil; so you were exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty.
"Then your fame went forth among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was perfect because of My splendor
which I bestowed on you," declares the Lord God.
"But you trusted in your beauty and played the harlot because of your fame, and you poured out your harlotries on
every passer-by who might be willing.
"You took some of your clothes, made for yourself high places of various colors and played the harlot on them, which
should never come about nor happen.
"You also took your beautiful jewels made of My gold and of My silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself
male images that you might play the harlot with them.
"Then you took your embroidered cloth and covered them, and offered My oil and My incense before them.
"Also My bread which I gave you, fine flour, oil and honey with which I fed you, you would offer before them for a
soothing aroma; so it happened," declares the Lord God.
"Moreover, you took your sons and daughters whom you had borne to Me and sacrificed them to idols to be devoured.
Were your harlotries so small a matter?
"You slaughtered My children and offered them up to idols by causing them to pass through the fire.
"Besides all your abominations and harlotries you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and
bare and squirming in your blood.
"Then it came about after all your wickedness ('Woe, woe to you!' declares the Lord God),
that you built yourself a shrine and made yourself a high place in every square.
"You built yourself a high place at the top of every street and made your beauty abominable, and you spread your legs
to every passer-by to multiply your harlotry.
"You also played the harlot with the Egyptians, your lustful neighbors, and multiplied your harlotry to make Me angry.
"Behold now, I have stretched out My hand against you and diminished your rations. And I delivered you up to the
desire of those who hate you, the daughters of the Philistines, who are ashamed of your lewd conduct.
"Moreover, you played the harlot with the Assyrians because you were not satisfied; you played the harlot with them
and still were not satisfied.
"You also multiplied your harlotry with the land of merchants, Chaldea, yet even with this you were not satisfied.""'
"How languishing is your heart," declares the Lord God, "while you do all these things, the actions of a bold-faced harlot.
"When you built your shrine at the beginning of every street and made your high place in every square, in disdaining
money, you were not like a harlot.
"You adulteress wife, who takes strangers instead of her husband!
"Men give gifts to all harlots, but you give your gifts to all your lovers to bribe them to come to you from every
direction for your harlotries.
"Thus you are different from those women in your harlotries, in that no one plays the harlot as you do, because you give
money and no money is given you; thus you are different."
Therefore, O harlot, hear the word of the Lord.
Thus says the Lord God, "Because your lewdness was poured out and your nakedness uncovered through your
harlotries with your lovers and with all your detestable idols, and because of the blood of your sons which you gave to
idols,
therefore, behold, I will gather all your lovers with whom you took pleasure, even all those whom you loved and all
those whom you hated. So I will gather them against you from every direction and expose your nakedness to them that
they may see all your nakedness.
"Thus I will judge you like women who commit adultery or shed blood are judged; and I will bring on you the blood of
wrath and jealousy.
"I will also give you into the hands of your lovers, and they will tear down your shrines, demolish your high places, strip
you of your clothing, take away your jewels, and will leave you naked and bare.
"They will incite a crowd against you and they will stone you and cut you to pieces with their swords.
"They will burn your houses with fire and execute judgments on you in the sight of many women. Then I will stop you
from playing the harlot, and you will also no longer pay your lovers.
"So I will calm My fury against you and My jealousy will depart from you, and I will be pacified and angry no more.
"Because you have not remembered the days of your youth but have enraged Me by all these things, behold, I in turn
will bring your conduct down on your own head," declares the Lord God, "so that you will not commit this lewdness on
top of all your other abominations.
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