The Heaton File

Then he spoke to the children of Israel, saying: “When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What are these stones?’ then you shall let your children know, saying, ‘Israel crossed over this Jordan on dry land’; for the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over, that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever.” (Joshua 4:21-24)

Children Need To Know

Children need to know about the mighty hand of the Lord. Memorials tell the stories of past events, invoking a message of hope in the power of God to protect and provide safety for His people. When Israel crossed the Jordan River for the first time, God told Joshua to construct a memorial of twelve stones to teach the children the story of how the Lord delivered His people. Crossing the Jordan during the flood stage was a very dangerous and nearly impossible feat. When the feet of the priest, carrying the ark of the covenant, touched the river, the waters backed up, allowing the multitude of people to cross on dry land. This was not a seasonal event or natural occurrence. Only through the power of God were the waters held back.

The crossing of the Jordan River was like the crossing of the Red Sea. God delivered Israel from the hand of the Egyptians, allowing them to walk across on dry land, and when the Egyptian army came into the sea, destroyed them by returning the waters upon them. Children needed to know how mighty the hand of the Lord was. The twelve stones set up in Gilgal became teaching moments for the children. When the children asked their fathers what the stones represented, they would be told about how powerful God was to deliver Israel, giving them the victory over their enemies.

Joshua led the people in the conquest of Canaan. The first city was Jericho, and through the power of God, the city fell to the Israelites. Over the next seven years, city after city fell before the might of the army of Israel because the hand of the Lord destroyed the enemy. Jericho did not fall through the wisdom of man or the might of horses and chariots. The power of God destroyed the great fortified city. Joshua was a mighty leader, but he led the conquest of Canaan, showing the hand of the Lord defeating the people. It was important to tell the children how the cities were destroyed.

Children have natural curiosity. They need to learn many things in life to find happiness and success, but none is more important than knowing God. Parents will spend endless hours and great amounts of money to give their children everything they need, but when they do not give their children God, they have wasted their time and energy. If a child learns how to become wealthy, what have they gained when they die? Popularity is but for a moment and comes to nothing. Preparing children for life and not preparing them for God is an eternal failure. Parents spend their lives giving their children everything to help them succeed. Children need to know about the mighty hand of God. They discover that life is about the will of the Lord and that life is not for their own purpose but for the reason God created them.

Parents have a lot to teach their children. God must be in first place, first priority, and first love. Children who know and love God will find greater happiness in life than those who do not. It begins with the parents. They must learn the meaning of the twelve stones first so they can tell their children. Parents must be in awe of the mighty hand of the Lord first, so they can tell the children how powerful the mighty hand of the Lord is. They must learn that God’s hand holds the universe—the mighty hand of the Lord. Children need to know!

Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men. (Acts 17:10-12)

Learning Requires Effort

Lee Trevino was a professional golfer regarded as one of the greatest players in golf history. He won six major championships and 29 PGA Tour events with a lifetime of 92 professional wins. Trevino was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1981. His philosophy about golf is when he said, “There is no such thing as natural touch. Touch is something you create by hitting millions of golf balls.” Trevino knew the value of long hours in honing a skill to be as complete as possible. Winning 92 tournaments did not come by luck or birthright. He put in the effort to achieve the successes he enjoyed throughout his stellar career.

The apostle Paul reminded the saints in Rome that faith did not come by photosynthesis or osmosis. Faith did not come because of nationality, family pedigree, or sitting in a pew. A person was not lucky to have faith. Paul explained that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. The Lord has never left the world without a revelation to know His will. In the early history of the world, God spoke to men in various ways by direct conversation, dreams, or visions. The Law of Moses was the written word of God for the nation of Israel. In these last days, God has spoken through His Son, Jesus Christ. The completed revelation of the will of God is found in the Bible. There is no other book that reveals the mind of God.

The challenge for man is to understand that the word of God cannot and will not enter the heart unless time is taken to read and understand His word. Faith comes by hearing. That is an act of the will to seek the word of God. Being religious will not bring faith. Acting like a religious person will not instill faith. Sitting in a pew week after week by itself will not cultivate the faith necessary to understand God’s will. A common mistake is believing what someone says without consulting the Bible itself. The faith of an individual stems from their effort to open the book, read, understand, and apply the message to their heart.

Measuring faith is to measure time spent in the word. If a person does not meditate on the word of God, their faith is vain. The more time spent in the word, the greater faith will grow. If there is no time spent in the word, there will be no faith. Hearing the word of God is the basis of faith. It is not miraculous or magical. If more people would read the Bible for themselves, there would be less false teaching accepted as truth.

Searching the scriptures daily is where faith comes. Every child of God must come to know the Father through the word. Like the Jews in Berea, fact-checking Paul took time and energy, but they were concerned enough about what God’s word said; they left no stone unturned. They took the time, put out the effort, and gleaned the scriptures daily to gain greater knowledge. That is how faith grows. Knowledge is power, and that power comes from a steady meditation on the divine word of God. A mind is a terrible thing to waste – a soul without the word of God is an eternal waste. Read the word of God. Study its precepts. Come to know the God of the Bible. He will introduce you to His Son!

Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the children of Israel, one man from every tribe; and Joshua said to them: “Cross over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?'” (Joshua 4:4-6)

Children Need To Know

Children are naturally inquisitive. They want to know why dogs chase cats, where snow comes from, why the sky is blue, how birds fly, where babies come from, and why they must eat vegetables. There are fifty thousand more questions that young minds must answer. Asking questions is the basis of learning and discovering knowledge. God impressed on the minds of His people not to forget about the children learning about Him. When Israel crossed the Jordan River, He instructed Moses to have twelve men pick up stones from the midst of the river. The twelve stones would be a monument to the story of God’s power and glory as He gave them the promised land.

Memorials are important to establish truth. The twelve stones represented the story of Israel and how God delivered them from Egypt and their enemies and gave them the land of promise. Each time someone would pass by the twelve stones, they would know how great the power of God delivered them and blessed them. The twelve stones would also serve as an object lesson for teaching children about God. Moses told the parents of Israel to teach their children in the home, when they walked by the way, when they lay down, and when they rose up. God wanted the people to teach the children to know Him.

The twelve stones represented an important part of the history of Israel to teach children. God wants the children to know His testimonies, His statutes, and His judgments. This can only be done through teaching. Faith comes from hearing and hearing by the word of God, and children learn faith because they are taught to know the word of God from birth. Knowledge does not happen sitting in a room. It takes teaching, reminding, illustrating, and explaining the significance of the twelve stones and why serving God is important.

Parents are concerned that their children receive a proper education (reading, writing, and arithmetic). More than twelve years will be spent on that pursuit. When the child graduates, they may go on to college for more education or pursue some other form of education to find success in life. Tragically, the one education so many children never get is the teaching of the word of God. They grow up illiterate of truth, righteousness, holiness, and grace. Knowing about God is a veneer of knowledge that has no practical purpose in life. Life is filled with things of this world, never preparing for the world to come.

God wants children to know about Him, and parents who fail to teach their children the word of God fail the most basic need of their child. Twelve stones taught children about the will of the Lord. They asked questions to learn the meaning of the stones. A parent cannot teach a child something they do not know themselves. The twelve stones served to teach the parents first and then instruct the child. When that is done, the family is united in a common bond of divine knowledge. Children need to know about God! Learn all you can about the Lord and share that knowledge with your children.

So it was, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel again played the harlot with the Baals, and made Baal-Berith their god. Thus the children of Israel did not remember the LORD their God, who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side; nor did they show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal (Gideon) in accordance with the good he had done for Israel. (Judges 8:33-35)

Gideon’s Folly

Gideon was not the best of character, but he was the judge of Israel for four decades. He was a reluctant leader. One of the great victories of Gideon was defeating the Midianites with only three hundred men. The armies of Zebah and Zalmunna numbered one hundred thirty-five thousand. One hundred and twenty thousand men who drew the sword were killed. Gideon went after the remaining fifteen thousand and routed the whole army. He punished the leaders of Succoth for not helping him and pulled down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city. During the forty years of the reign of Gideon, the Lord showed His power and might to the people by the hand of Gideon.

In the cycle of the Judges, Israel could never get enough of idolatry. The people asked Gideon to rule over them, but Gideon refused, telling the people the Lord must rule over them. For unknown reasons, Gideon made an ephod from the offerings of the people and set it up in his city. All Israel played the harlot with it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his house. There was peace in the land during the rule of Gideon for forty years. As soon as Gideon died, the people immediately reverted to their idolatrous ways. They played the harlot with Baal, and made Baal-Berith their god.

The hearts of the people were not wholly devoted to God. It is remarkable that immediately upon the death of Gideon, they returned to the immoral worship of Baal. They forgot all the Lord had done for them. The Law of Moses recounted the victories of God against Egypt and the nations of Canaan. Gideon’s victory over the Midianites testified to the power of God, but the people did not believe it. They enjoyed the pleasures of idolatry and spared no time to immerse themselves back into the works of the flesh. To make matters worse, they took no consideration for the family of Gideon and what he did. There was no loyalty to the man who judged them for forty years and drove away the Midianites. Their ingratitude was immense.

Whatever reforms Gideon tried to put in place were ineffective. What Gideon was unable to do was to change the hearts of the people toward God. It is unclear why they kept allegiance to Gideon as long as he lived, but it is abundantly clear they shared no loyalty at his death. Their hearts were corrupt. They could not wait for Gideon to die to return to their old ways. Time and again, they fell back into idolatry, and God punished them. The human spirit takes a long time to learn eternal lessons, and Israel was no exception. It is a wonder God has allowed the world to remain for so long with such rebellious souls.

The heart of man remains unchanged. Sin continues to drive men away from God to the pleasures of a life that ends in death. The heart must be devoted to God. Gideon’s death sparked a backlash against the Lord God, but their disobedience was punished by the wrath of God. Serving God demands allegiance to the Lord at all times. It is not the leadership of a man that commands respect and honor. Worship is given to God alone, regardless of who the leader is. Gideon failed to guide the hearts of the people. After his death, he was forgotten. Sin does that. It fills the heart with ingratitude and distrust. Do not let your heart trust in a man – trust in God.

Then you say in your heart, “My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.” (Deuteronomy 8:17)

The Illusion Of The Self-Made Man

The nation of Israel prepares to cross the Jordan River and take the land promised to their forefathers many years before. Moses speaks to the second generation of Hebrews who came out of Egypt, reminding them of the past forty years and exhorting them not to be like the generation before them. Because of rebellion, their parents had died in the wilderness. The land of Canaan stood before them to be given to them by the mighty hand of God. They would not need to build cities, plant crops, or gather herds together. God would provide all of that. The danger of blessings and prosperity is that when the heart of man becomes satisfied, he forgets the God who gave him all things.

Prosperity is a curse because it takes the heart away from the One who provides all things. The rain falls on the just and the unjust because the Creator determined the cycles of showers on the earth. Each morning, the Sun rises according to the will of God. Every human being has the breath of life through the power of the Lord who made man. Crops grow in abundance through the power of God. The bounty of the sea is harvested according to those things provided by God. There is nothing in the universe that does not come from the hand of God.

When a man fills his heart with pride, believing that by his power and his might, he has gained his prosperity, he is a fool. Job was a man who had incredible wealth that was taken away in one night. Jesus tells the parable of a man who had a fertile farm producing great crops. He was blessed beyond measure and decided to tear down his barns and build bigger ones to store all his crops and other goods. His heart believed only he had made his riches possible. The mistake he made was believing he also had control over his life when he thought he had many years left to live. He died that night. He was a fool because he thought more of himself than his relationship with the One who provided everything to him.

The danger of a prosperous world is the belief that all things come by the hand of man. God is forgotten and ignored. It is true that while God has promised to feed the birds of the air, He did not promise to bring it to the nest. The first thing God did for man in the garden was to put him to work tending Eden. That job became harder after the fall of man. God wants His people to be thankful for what they have, share the blessings that are given to them, and always acknowledge that wealth (at whatever level) is a blessing from Him. To arrogantly believe that by man’s power and might blessings come is a fool’s errand.

Thanksgiving is a heart that knows from whence all blessings come. Showers come through the power of God to provide the earth with sustenance. The breath of life is a blessing from God. Children are a heritage from God. Happy marriages are built upon the knowledge that God builds the home. Everything about life should be measured by a thankful heart to the God who provides all things necessary for the good of man. The challenge of the human heart is to acknowledge where those blessings come. That is the litmus test that separates believers in God and those who deny the power of God – where do the blessings come from? Be thankful, but make sure the thanksgiving is in God, not the self. There is no such thing as a self-made man. What man has today can be taken away in an instant.

My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. (Psalm 62:5-8)

The Blessings Of Knowing God

A man who walks without God is a man who is lost and does not know peace and happiness. There is nothing in life that will bring a level of understanding of how to navigate the currents of life filled with trials, suffering, and uncertainty. Man has no idea how to walk by himself. It is not possible that human wisdom can guide the heart to find true peace. History is filled with the attempts of human wisdom to solve the human equation, and how spectacular the failure is. Suffering can only be understood from the view of God. Trusting in the riches of the world has been found empty. Seeking a deeper understanding of life has never been answered by human reasoning. Man is made in the image of God, and only God can recreate the image of man, where peace, hope, and joy are found.

David knew three thousand years ago that the only source of comfort is in the Lord God. Nothing has changed in the last three thousand years, but man keeps trying to find the answers to life in himself. David says true peace is found when one allows God to work in their lives. The only rock or security that will give man comfort is in God. Strength and refuge come from the Lord because He is greater than the universe. Trusting in the world of the Lord brings happiness. Prayer is the communication from a needy creation to a benevolent Creator. Pouring out the heart before the Lord will give answers to life.

Every part of life must be based upon a relationship with God. David said he silently waited on God with an expectation of all blessings coming from the Divine. There is but one source of security, and David calls God his rock and his salvation. This is where complete trust in the word of God filters into life to embolden the spirit with courage. The only defense is found in God. Trusting in the Lord brings about the confidence that nothing can move the spirit from the blessings of the Father.

The soul must trust in the Lord. Without trusting fully in God, there can be no peace. God is a refuge to those who seek Him, and it requires seeking after Him. The Lord is an infinite source of blessings, but He will not bestow those blessings unless they are sought after. David shows in his psalm that making God his refuge and salvation was the product of his seeking after the Lord. David was steadfast in his faith in God through the deep personal relationship developed over the years as God worked in his life. The psalmist could easily see how often God had blessed him and cared for him. Now, David waits silently for God alone and finds peace, joy, and happiness.

The blessings of knowing the Lord are immeasurable. Spending more time in the word opens the heavenly vistas of God’s grace to see how much the Lord offers to His children. Prayer life should be a vibrant expression of trust that God works in the hearts of the faithful. When one trusts in the Lord completely, they have nothing to fear. Trials come, but faith endures. Heartaches will come, and joy is found in Christ. Come to know the God of the Bible. He is a Rock.

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:24-26)

Seeking The Wrong Things

Philip, king of Macedon, as he was wrestling at the Olympic games, fell down in the sand; and when he rose again, observing the print of his body in the sand, cried out, “O how little a parcel of earth will hold us, when we are dead, who are ambitiously seeking after the whole world while we are living.” The human frame does not occupy a significant amount of space in the grand scheme of things. Death reminds us how little value there is in the pursuits of life because there is nothing taken and everything left behind. A cemetery plot typically measures approximately 24 square feet, with varying depths. Some monuments are larger than the burial plot containing the little parcel of human remains. The point is clear – King Philip was right.

There is a misguided desire to pursue a world that can never be gained. If a man gained all the wealth in the world, what value would there be? Does wealth bring happiness and satisfaction? There is value in being as healthy as a person can be, but stopping death is impossible. Healthy people die. If a man gained as much wisdom as possible in a lifetime, he would die ignorant of so much more. The human mind is limited in what it can contain and process in a lifetime. Pleasure is the joy of life and is found more often in youth than in older age. The human body can be transformed into a living sculpture of beauty, only to fade with the approaching ravages of time. Everybody grows old, and everyone dies.

What man has failed to appreciate is that he is an eternal creature that will never cease to exist. The human body is a tent to be folded up one day and returned to the dust from whence it came. What will not cease to exist is the spiritual nature of man that God created on the sixth day. When God said He wanted to make man in His image, He made man in the image of an eternal creature that had a beginning but no end. Abel was the son of Adam and Eve. He is the first man to die (according to the Bible), and while his death was thousands of years ago, he still exists. Jesus calls Abel a righteous man. Angels carried Abel to Paradise. All the people on planet Earth who died in the flood still exist, as does Noah.

The human frame occupies little space as an imprint on the ground because God is trying to remind His creation of how small they are and how great He is. In that comparison, the Divine declares His love for that small creature He created. He sent His only Begotten Son to die for that small creature. God also gave us a book to learn who we are and why we were created. Reading the Bible helps us see how important we are to Him. Seek God and He will reward you. Learn how important you are in the eyes of the Lord God who made you. In this vast universe wherein we dwell as small particles of dust on an expanding canvas of darkness, God loved us enough to give His Son to die for us. He gave us light. That is the true worth of life.

For it is written: “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. (Romans 14:11-12)

Knees And Tongues

The world is filled with different kinds of people. There are young and old, short and tall, skinny and not skinny, rich and poor, famous and infamous. Ever since the Tower of Babel, nations have populated the earth with people of diverse skin colors, languages, and cultures. There is immense diversity in the human story, but a common factor is shared by all. Regardless of what a man is or what he attains in life, his knee will bow before the Creator of the world, and his tongue will confess to God. It is hard for the world to believe such a day will come. Pride lifts the spirit of man to believe he is his own god. He dies arrogant and full of his own self-worth. When he awakens in eternity, he realizes too late that he was wrong. There is one certainty of life that will never change – every knee will bow before the Lord God and every tongue will confess to God.

Most men refuse to bow to God. They worship themselves, believing all that is in life is all there is. The pursuit of pleasure, fame, and fortune drives their lives with no regard for worshiping God. Bowing in humility before a God they cannot see is ridiculous. Religion is reviled. If there is any god to worship, it is themselves. What is ironic is how prevalent death is, and no one can deny its certainty; yet men live in such a way that they believe death will never come. And then they die. It is here that the truth of life becomes a reality that cannot be changed. Those who refused to bow a knee to God in life are now bowing a knee to God in eternity.

The certainty of eternity is that all men will bow before God. It will not be a question of whether one will or will not. There have been those who, in arrogance, have defied God in life, but when they step into the eternal realm, they have no choice. They are not forced to kneel. It becomes a natural response to standing before their Creator. They realize they were wrong to deny God, and now, in torment, look to God for mercy who cannot give mercy. Their knees are bowing because they have come into the presence of God, and they know with certainty that the righteousness of the Lord is true.

Jesus said that most people refuse to confess the name of His Father. In the Sermon on the Mount, the Son of God said few would be saved. The majority of the eight billion souls inhabiting the Earth will not confess God as Lord. They either deny God exists or worship their false gods. There is an open rebellion against submitting to the word of God, demanding acknowledgement that there is only one God, one Lord, and one faith. The heart of man refuses to confess Christ as Lord and accept the rule of God in their hearts. Their lives will be filled with the selfish desires of a corrupted spirit. Death will change that.

A man may live in arrogance toward God in life, but death opens his lips. Everyone – without exception – will confess to God. No man will stand before God and not confess to Him because all men will be bowing before the Great I AM. There are no exceptions. No one gets special privileges. Every soul that refused to confess the Father in life will confess Him through the eyes of eternal torment. Those souls who lived for Christ, serving the will of the Father, will confess to God with joy. Every knee shall bow. All men will confess to God. You will bow before the Lord God, and you will confess to God. Eternity will depend on where you bend the knee and where you confess to God. If you are lost, it will be eternal torment. Dying in a covenant relationship with Jesus Christ will bring everlasting joy. Where is your knee? What are you confessing?

For your obedience has become known to all. Therefore I am glad on your behalf; but I want you to be wise in what is good and simple concerning evil. And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. (Romans 16:19-20a)

Innocent Toward Evil Things

The devil is a powerful foe. He is like a roaring lion seeking all those he can devour, consume, and destroy. Satan knows he is doomed to the lake of fire and brimstone to be tormented day and night forever and ever. That is certain. Evil abounds in the world. Satan tries to fill the minds of men with every evil intent of the heart. The wiles of the devil are the abomination of a cruel and merciless adversary who opposes everything that is righteous. There is little doubt about the ugliness and horrific nature of sin. As dark as sin must be viewed, one of the greatest tools to fight against the temptations of Satan is to remain innocent and pure concerning evil.

No one should be ignorant of sin, and caution should always be taken when dealing with the works of the flesh. Paul commends the saints in Rome for their faith and loyalty to the kingdom of God. Their example has become known to many of the brethren in the church as a bastion of faith and courage in the midst of a corrupt and wicked city – Rome. However, their faith was resilient enough to withstand the influence of the evil political machine that sought to discredit the nature of truth and righteousness. The apostle encourages Christians to demonstrate their faith through their actions and to be discerning in all things that are good. Truth stands on the premise of believing and holding fast to the purity of those things good in the sight of God.

Another way the Roman saints demonstrate their courage is by remaining harmless or innocent toward those things that are evil. Jesus illustrated this when He said that disciples must be like children. There is a pure innocence in a child’s heart that does not see prejudice, hatred, anger, and jealousy. A child’s heart is pure when it comes to the evils of the world. God designed the human spirit to begin with complete innocence, demonstrating the power of goodness and truth. All things are true to a young mind. Sadly, when a child becomes an adult, all the evils of the world become too clear.

Paul’s admonition to deal with evil was to have no plans to follow after wicked things. Staying as far away from evil was the best course to deal with the wiles of the devil. The Holy Spirit said of the man Job in the Old Testament that he turned away from evil, refused to allow evil things in his life, avoided evil, and stayed away from evil. The King James Version uses an interesting word: Job “eschewed evil.” The people of God need to be eschewing people! To be innocent of evil does not ignore evil but seeks to remain as far away from any form of evil as possible. Godliness is profitable in lessening the impact of sin.

If a man refuses to play with snakes, he is less likely to be bitten. Too many Christians play with the wiles of the garden serpent and are surprised when they get bitten. Sin will find its way into the lives of God’s people, but they should never invite the devil in either. Trying to live as close to the world and its evil influence and remaining pure in the eyes of God is playing a game that will end in disaster. God told Israel to stay as far away from the nations around them, and they refused. Israel was destroyed because it invited evil into its heart. Wisdom shows that when a man takes fire into his bosom, he will suffer terribly. When a man walks on hot coals, his feet will be burned. How do you crush Satan? Be simple concerning evil.

Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. (Genesis 8:20)

Noah Built An Altar

One of the fundamental characteristics of the human gene is the need to worship. Man is the only creature that worships because he is made in the image of his Creator. God formed man and woman as creatures that would glorify Him, but the devil changed that. What was not lost in the fall of man was the need for man to worship God. Cain and Abel, the sons of Adam and Eve, understood the importance of worship. In the process of time, the sons of Adam brought offerings to the Lord for worship. Cain brought of the fruit of the ground, and Abel sacrificed of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. Both sacrifices were prescribed by the Lord, although the text does not describe how Cain and Abel came to know the importance of sacrifice.

The evil heart of Cain shows that the first man knew the importance of true worship. God refused to accept the sacrifice of Cain because his heart was evil. Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice to God because he was righteous. The Lord accepted his offering, establishing worship as based upon doing the will of God and having a heart guided by truth and spirit. Worship has always been based upon the spirit and truth of the worshipper as he seeks the blessing of God. A man must worship God according to the will of God.

Noah lived in a world void of righteousness. He found grace in the eyes of the Lord because he was righteous and, along with his family, was saved in the ark. Noah obeyed the will of God when he built the ark. The ark had to be constructed according to everything required by the Lord – it was made of gopherwood, covered inside and outside with pitch, measuring 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high, with one window. Noah did according to all that God commanded him. Through his obedience, Noah was saved from the wrath of God. When the flood was over and Noah stood on dry land, Noah built an altar to the Lord. He took of every clean animal and every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.

There were only eight people on Earth when Noah built an altar. Who told him to build an altar? Why did Noah build an altar after witnessing the deluge of a global flood killing every human being on the face of the planet? Noah understood the laws of worship, including offering burnt offerings to the Lord God. This event took place long before Moses received the law from God on Sinai. Noah acted as a man who knew God required worship and worship in spirit and truth. Many years later, Noah’s descendant Abraham would leave his mark throughout the world by the smoke of his altars as he obeyed the voice of the Lord.

Abraham rescued his nephew Lot from an invading army that had taken him captive. On the return home from the rescue mission, Abraham met Melchizedek, the king of Salem, who was also the priest of God Most High. Melchizedek predates Moses, yet he was a priest of the Lord. A priesthood establishes law, which includes worship. During the days of Abraham, there was “organized religion,” as Melchizedek proves that God has always required man to worship Him in spirit and truth. From righteous Abel, Noah, Abraham, and Melchizedek, God has patterned the nature of man to serve Him in accordance with His word.

The covenant God offers man today is found in worship through His Son, Jesus Christ. There is no other way to eternal life but Jesus Christ. Worship is vain if it is not founded on the cross of Jesus Christ. Jesus taught that His Father demands worship in spirit and truth. This is not a new idea, but one as old as the earth. Does it make a difference in how we worship? Ask Cain. Nadab and Abihu, sons of Aaron (nephews of Moses), learned what worship meant. Jesus rebuked the Jewish leaders of His day for corrupting the worship of God. Vain worship leads to failure. True worship leads to victory.