Pairing Worship with Obedience

“And the people bowed [their heads] low and worshiped [God]. Then the Israelites went and did [as they had been told]: just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.” (Exodus 12: 27-28, AMP)

Just put yourself in this story for a moment. This passage is found in Exodus 12, which is the passage where God gives Israel instructions on the first Passover. 

So imagine, for just a moment, that you have been a slave all your life. You’ve broken your back building cities and monuments to kings and people that have abused and mistreated you. This slavery has been going on for generations… well before you were born. At this point, there is no before. This role and existence is all you’ve ever known.

You’ve spent endless nights praying to the God you believe in, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You’ve begged Him to deliver you and your people; praying fervently that He’d remember you and change your awful circumstances. And finally, there is an answer… sort of. 

Moses and Aaron have been working for weeks to try and get Pharaoh to let your people go to no avail. As a result crazy things have made the headlines. The Nile turned to blood. Egypt’s livestock died. Frogs, lice, and locusts swarmed through the land. People came down with horrible boils. Darkness that could be felt fell through the city. Hail fell from the sky and fire lit up the heavens. 

Now, Moses is saying that God has one more plague up His sleeve, and this one can bring judgment on anyone that doesn’t follow His rules to a T. If we can make it through this coming night, we’re free. Moses lays out a detailed plan of what God needs everyone to do, but the most important thing is to kill a lamb, apply its blood using a hyssop branch to the threshold of the door. 

It’s a bizarre ask, but easy enough when freedom is supposedly the outcome.

So just imagine, as an Israelite slave who has been waiting all your life for freedom, when God asks you to jump through one last, weird, crazy thing, what do you do?

Do you question Him first? “God, why do I have to use blood? I don’t want to kill a lamb. I don’t like doing that stuff. Can I just skip that part?” 

Do you grumble? “Why can’t God just save us like He said He would? Why does it have to be this whole production? If He’s really all-powerful God, then let’s see this power without so much theatrics beforehand.”

Do you lose hope? Do you look at all the plagues that have already happened and think, “God is never going to come through like He said. I’ve obeyed every task, been patient for the victory, and there’s STILL yet another plague to live through? There’s no promise that He comes through after this one, so I should just save myself the trouble now.”

Or do you do what Israel did and worship God, even BEFORE He’s worked His miracle on your behalf? Do you bow low in awe of the King of Kings before He ever gives you the victory? I have to say, it caught me off guard. With all the things Israel will get wrong as a country as the Old Testament goes on, this they at least got right. 

How many times do we worship God before our breakthrough gets to us? How many times do we posture ourselves in praise before we receive our freedom? Because even as slaves, with just a promise and a long to-do list to accomplish before this final plague, Israel bowed low in reverence to God in advance of the things He said He’d do.

You know what that means? It means that Israel had faith that the God that they believed in was going to deliver on every single thing He ever promised them. They wouldn’t have worshiped if they didn’t believe that God was going to set them free. And maybe even if they didn’t think it would be the very next day, they knew that He was unceasingly a good God.

And as beautiful as this moment of exalting God is, when it’s over, Israel continues their worship in obedience. Scripture says, “Then the Israelites went and did [as they had been told]: just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.” They didn’t go home and just wait for God to be good. They didn’t just wait for Pharaoh to let them go.   They went home, slaughtered a lamb, and wiped the blood on their doorposts as directed. They prepared the Passover meal as instructed. They prepared themselves to go in the faith that when Pharaoh let them go, they would be ready to get lost before he changed his mind.

Israel partnered their worship with obedience. They thanked God for the miracle in advance, but they did not neglect the directives from God to do what He told them to so that they could receive their freedom without judgment from God. 

And I think that’s something we should keep in mind. Whatever you’re waiting on God for today, whether it be a job, a spouse, a child, a letter in the mail– whatever it is– have you worshiped God and thanked Him for the answer, even before it comes? Do you trust Him to make good on every promise He’s ever made? And even if He doesn’t work in us the way we expected, do we trust that He would never let us walk into something that would harm us? Do we live a lifestyle of worship that exalts Him even when our answer doesn’t come?

But at the same time, are we walking in obedience to the last thing God told us to do? Are we following every detail? Are we allowing our desire to lull us into a comfortability that is making us stagnant and stunted? It’s not enough to thank God for His solution and passively wait for it. We have to also make sure that we are following His commands that ultimately make us ready to receive the promise.

If Israel hadn’t eaten their meal before Pharaoh let them go, they might have been hungry on the long journey from Egypt to the wilderness. If they weren’t dressed and ready, they might have cost themselves precious time in trying to get ready once freedom was already there.

So if you’re waiting on your own promise from God this morning, put yourself in the Israelites’ sandals. Ask yourself these important questions: Have I worshipped God for fulfilling the promise even though I haven’t seen it yet? Am I pairing my worship with obedience? Am I following what God told me to do and preparing myself to be the kind of person who is ready for that promise?

God has already done the work, friend, just make sure your faith is refined enough to steward your coming freedom as a testimony to God’s goodness. That’s not saying you can earn God’s favor by any means, but it does mean that there’s something to be said about spiritual growth that stretches our faith to receive.