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Adore
The Merriam-Webster
Dictionary defines the word Adore as “to worship or
honor as a deity or as divine; to regard with loving admiration and devotion;
to express reverence and homage.”[1]
Some of the ways adoration occurred is found in the Old Testament when the
Israelites took off their shoes (Ex 3:5 and Josh. 5:15[2]),
and also prostrated themselves before the Lord (Gen. 17:3, Ps. 95:6, and Is:
44:15). We will discuss the word Adore, as well as it’s derivative, adoration.
The Israelites were first discovering
what worship was all about when God began to manifest Himself with Moses. His first encounter with the Divine was when
the Lord revealed His presence in the burning bush and told him to take off his
shoes, since the place he was standing was now ‘holy ground.’ (Ex. 3:5) This act of removing his shoes was to show
awe and homage before the Creator…not to mention overwhelming fear of what was
taking place.
“Worship in the Old Testament is an attitude
of homage or adoration to God as a great king….
Adoration was not a form of intimacy with God or an indication of
special affection towards him, but rather an expression of awe or grateful
submission.”[3]
In the Old
Testament, we find that the word Adore
is used in Psalm 119:2, 10, and 68, as well as the Song of Solomon (1:4). “Take me away with you--let us hurry! Let
the king bring me into his chambers. Friends we rejoice and delight in you; we
will praise your love more than wine. Beloved How right they are to adore you!” (SS 1:4).
To adore the One
True God, we follow the admonition of the First Commandment: “You
shall have no other gods before Me.” When we commit our heart, mind and soul to the
great King of Kings, we find that we separate ourselves from all other earthly
influence and other gods in our lives.
According to
Father John Hardon, “Adoration is the recognition with our minds of who God is
and the response with our wills to this recognition.”[4]
I contend that worship is not what we
experience in the natural, but rather the supernatural. Not with just our
minds, but with our souls. And, when God
reveals Himself to us, whether through dreams, visions, circumstances, prayer,
or deep impressions of the Spirit, our response should be to worship Him with
humility and adoration.
[1] Encyclopedia Britannica Company, Merriam
Webster Online, Incorporated Merriam Webster, 2010,
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adore (accessed Aug 28, 2010).
[2] Zondervan, The Holy Bible, NIV, ed. Kenneth Barker (Grand Rapids, MI:
Zondervan Bible Publishing, 1985).
[3] David Peterson, Engaging With God
(Downers Grove, Il: IVP Academic, 1992), 72-73.
[4] Rev. John Hardon, The Real Presence
Association, Inter Mirifica, 1999,
http://www.therealpresence.org/archives/Commandments/Commandments_005.htm
(accessed Aug 28, 2010), ¶ 4
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