Jacob seems to have had three or four life-changing encounters with God. Maybe I can learn from his experiences, so that I won’t be taken so much by surprise when it happens to me.

Perhaps like me you are surprised at how God did not scold Jacob for all that deception and ambition. Instead, that morning God changed his name from Gotcha to Israel (which means, Got God). Told him, You have struggled with both God and men and have overcome. That’s right, Jacob the girly-man, Jacob the deceiver, Jacob had fought God and won. 

“What do you want me to do, Lord? Speak, for Your servant is listening.” “I want you to stop using Me as an excuse for your indecision. Be an adult, make a decision, and go about My work.”

Sure enough, while he's still praying this very specific prayer, Eliezer sees Rebekah coming out of the village with a water jug on her shoulder. She's Nahor's granddaughter, which meant she is Isaac's second cousin. But that's okay. Because she was right pretty. And she was a virgin. 

Lot was tormented by the evil that was around him, as the Bible says. Yet, he was destined to become the founder of two nations that were just as evil, just as sensual, and just as lawless as the one he eschewed. If he had lived among his own descendants, his righteous soul would have been tormented over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard.

He goes on up with just Isaac and the torch and the wood. Laughter Boy asks his only question: “Where is the sacrifice?” And Abraham, against all hope, speaks by faith: “God will provide the sacrifice, my son.” And Isaac trusts his father, just as surely as Abraham did his.

Abraham sees the beginning of God’s covenant with him being fulfilled. He discovers several innovations to worship, and he even meets Jesus, you might say.

The book of Genesis contains many pivotal moments in human history. Yet, the main character in the book is not Adam or Noah, important as they are. The most detailed story that we have is that of Abraham, the father of our faith. Up to this point in biblical history, the story of Abraham is going to have more impact on our worship than any others. This is his story.

Maybe it’s time to pack my bags and leave Old Babel behind.

We’re continuing to seek biblical examples and teaching on worship. It doesn’t take long for people to get it wrong—again. And again, we see God’s response. Just in case it left you wondering how God felt about it.

The flood is over, and Noah and his family and all the animals have survived. Noah has been worshiping, and now God responds with the first covenant that we find in the Bible. Here is the Covenant of Noah, another encounter with the living God.

Noah was a man who pleased God with his worship. What can we learn about acceptable worship from Noah? This is Part 2 of 3 parts.

Most people know the story of Noah and the ark. Most know that it begins with how evil and corrupt the earth was. But there’s more to the background of it than that. Somehow even the godly line of Seth was thoroughly corrupted.

So it seems that perhaps the line of Adam through Seth and Enoch has discovered something: Repentance and reliance on the character and nature (“name”) of the Lord is the cure for self-will and reliance on self. A strong multi-generational family was beginning to incorporate intergenerational worship into their pattern of living. 

I know this one worship leader guy who, like Cain, follows his own definition of worship. He doesn’t lead others in confession and doesn’t center his songlist on atonement. Instead, he seems to think that worship is an emotion, and that it consists of psychologically manipulating people on a musical journey. He treats worship as if it were a concert all about him, a place to show off his talents and be a rock star with a built-in audience week after week. I can tell that his heart has been wrong from the beginning, because I see his jealous reaction to other worship leaders, who are in bigger venues and whose songs get more traction. He enters to worship and leaves proud and angry and with a downcast face! Can you believe it? Trust me. I know that guy well.

Perhaps you already know the account of what is often called The Fall, found in Genesis chapters 2 and 3. It gives the story of the first man and first woman, and how they fell into what is described as the first sin. The story of Adam and Eve is the same story as yours and mine, as well as pretty much every human who has grown up enough to choose the knowledge of evil. So what has come to mark worship under Plan B?