Respect And Adoration Together

“Bless the LORD, O house of Levi: ye that fear the LORD, bless the LORD.” (Ps 135:20 AV)

 

The word ‘bless’ and its derivatives have varied definitions.  At the root of these definitions is the understanding of happiness.  The difference in distinction is the manner from which, and to whom, this happiness comes.  Israel is promised they will be a blessing to the world through prosperity.  The beatitudes promise happiness through the application of spiritual principles.  In the above text, the understanding of adoration is the source of that happiness.  This happiness is directed toward the LORD.  This distinction draws a comparison to worship.  Worship is the acknowledging of who God is and what God has done and is not necessarily involved with the emotion of adoration.  However, here the word for bless means to kneel in adoration before the LORD.  In simple terms, those who fear the LORD should also love the LORD.  The two are not mutually dependent.  It is possible to love the LORD without fearing Him.  It is also possible to fear the LORD without adoring Him.  The two should be present to please the LORD who has created us and saved us.

It is very difficult to find a human equivalent to the truth above.  Our earthly fathers were eighter stern, requiring fear above all else; or, they sought to be our best friend so as to be loved.  Rarely would you see a father/child relationship that could establish both.  It seems our fathers tended to err on one side or another.  I grew up in the age of the television family sitcoms.  Leave It To Beaver, The Brady Bunch, and Father Knows Best were popular shows.  There was the Cosby Show, The Waltons, and even Happy Days.  These TV shows were escapes into an ideal world where everything ran as it was supposed to.  Especially when there was adversity.  The fathers all shared a common trait.  Respect came from family.  The family was not terrified of their father, but they did respect the authority he had.  When he spoke, the family complied.  I remember the dad on Happy Days.  He owned a plumbing and hardware store.  His wife’s name was Mariam.  He didn’t have to raise his voice.  His word was his command.  However, when there was a rare difficulty, the love he had for his child or wife, and even for the Fonz, was apparent.  Their love was equally strong.  Greg Brady, Mr. Huxtibul, and even Ward Cleaver were the authority in the home.  Mom and the kids did exactly what they were told and there was no dispute as to who ran the home.  But there was never a moment of out-of-control anger, manipulation, or aloofness that kept the family terrified of Dad.  Things kind of changed in the nineties and beyond.  If there is a father figure, he is usually effeminate and under the dominion of an assertive wife and out-of-control kids.  He is their best friend and a lousy leader.  There has been a change in the American home and not for the better.  There seems to be no balance between respect and love.

In our passage, Levi is told to bless the LORD because they fear Him.  They are told to worship the LORD in adoration as opposed to fear.  In this case, respect came first.  Fear was already there.  Fear manifested by obedience to His word.  Now that fear has been established, it was time to adore the LORD who brought them out of Egypt.  It was time to love Him and appreciate His presence while still maintaining that healthy respect they had for Him.  Many a saint errs one way or the other.  We cannot say we love Him and live in disobedience.  We can say that we do.  We may even have a feeling of love toward God.  But if we do not learn the word of God and walk in its precepts, we cannot say we love God as He desires to be loved.  Others say they fear God and walk in obedience to the LORD, yet they do not adore Him.  They do not love Him emotionally.  They may respect Him and fear Him as they walk in the word, but their devotional life and prayer life is stagnate.  There is little of the heart involved.  There are no heartaches for the presence of God.  No strong desire to be absent from the body and to be present with the LORD outside of the desire to be free from this wicked world.  Adoration is absent.  The writer is striving for a balance.  A balance between respect and adoration.  The two must be present to be as close to God as possible.  To be stronger in one over the other misses the true blessing of what it means to love God with all the heart, mind, soul, and body.