“Vessels of Worship”

Tuesday, January 29, 2019

"...the heart of Asa was wholly true to the Lord all his days. And he brought into the house of the Lord the sacred gifts of his father and his own sacred gifts, silver, and gold, and vessels." (1 Kings 15:14-15)

The story of those gold & silver vessels becomes a bit of a theme throughout the story of Israel and God. Through the books of Kings & Chronicles, as various monarchs give away parts of the set, we get the impression that they are giving away part of their national relationship with God. And when the vessels are finally taken away by the king of Babylon (2 Kings 24:10-13 & 25:14-15), it is because the people have so fully rejected God that their home and their nation must be wrenched from their hands.

The evident problem with all of this is that these vessels were used for worship, and to see the people giving them away shows the extremely low value that they place on that worship. It reminds us that honest, heartfelt worship should always have a place of prominence in our lives. When we love God, we worship him. And conversely, when we do not worship him, it indicates our lack of love for him. King Asa's addition to the vessels of worship speaks to his deep appreciation of God's worthiness, and it is a lesson for us. To neglect worship is to neglect God himself. We dare not treat our worship with the same negligence as Israel's kings treated the Temple vessels.

- Dan Lankford, minister

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