seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Deuteronomy 12:8 You are not to do as we do here today, everyone doing as they see fit, 9 since you have not yet reached the resting place and the inheritance the Lord your God is giving you. 10 But you will cross the Jordan and settle in the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and he will give you rest from all your enemies around you so that you will live in safety. 11 Then to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name—there you are to bring everything I command you: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, and all the choice possessions you have vowed to the Lord. 12 And there rejoice before the Lord your God—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites from your towns who have no allotment or inheritance of their own. 13 Be careful not to sacrifice your burnt offerings anywhere you please. 14 Offer them only at the place the Lord will choose in one of your tribes, and there observe everything I command you.
It took some doing but I found the blueletterbible.org site this morning.
A particular place is important to worship. The man who tells himself, "I can worship God just as well out on the golf course" is a man doing whatever is right in his own eyes. It is fine for him to worship God out on the golf course; but there must also be a specific place where he comes to worship with God's people.
Worship at God's appointed place must be marked with joy. It is a good thing to come and honor our God, and should be done with pleasure and joy.
The emphasis on shall shows that rejoicing is commanded. It is also commanded in the New Testament; Rejoice always (1 Thessalonians 5:16); Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! (Philippians 4:4). If you can't rejoice out of feeling like it, then rejoice out of being commanded.
Worship at God's appointed place must be marked with joy. It is a good thing to come and honor our God, and should be done with pleasure and joy.
The emphasis on shall shows that rejoicing is commanded. It is also commanded in the New Testament; Rejoice always (1 Thessalonians 5:16); Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! (Philippians 4:4). If you can't rejoice out of feeling like it, then rejoice out of being commanded.
I've also heard it said that you can't regulate happiness. I know that feeling though, I use to be so happy going to church. As a kid I looked forward to the Sunday School lessons and the singing in church. I could sit still for a few minutes during the preaching because I was sitting beside my dad and we were going to sing one more time. As an adult, a happy feeling was required in the choice of church. IMHO If everyone feels forced then the church isn't a very good church.
Then again... now there are hundreds of churches all around. In some towns I've visited, there seems to be a church on every corner.... so there is always one church that had that happy and safe feeling.
Not so for the Israelites.... they would have only one church. That church had to be a good place from the git-go. Imagine how sad it would have been to plant a church and over 2,000,000 people thought of it as a gloomy, horrid, unhappy place.
