HAPPY ARE YOU,

O ISRAEL!

Lesson 5, for July 30, 2011

YESHÛRÛN “For the last time Moses stood in the assembly of his
people. Again the Spirit of God rested upon him, and in the
most sublime and touching language he pronounced a
blessing upon each of the tribes, closing with a benediction
upon them all:
“There is none like unto God, O Jeshurun,
Who rideth upon the heaven for thy help,
And in His excellency on the skies.
The eternal God is thy dwelling place,
And underneath are the everlasting arms:
And He thrust out the enemy from before thee,
And said, Destroy.
And Israel dwelleth in safety,
The fountain of Jacob alone,
In a land of corn and wine;
Yea, His heavens drop down dew.
Happy art thou, O Israel:
Who is like unto thee, a people saved by Jehovah,
The shield of thy help" (Deuteronomy 33:26-29, R.V.)”
E.G.W. (Patriarchs and Prophets, cp. 43, pg 504)
 YESHÛRÛN
Jeshurun is a poetic name for Israel. It means “the righteous one”, “the just one”
God is God of Yeshûrûn; i.e. “God of the righteous”. He called Israel like that
because He wants His people to be righteous as He is.
But His people weren’t always righteous.

“Truly, this only I have found: That

God made man upright, But they have
sought out many schemes”
(Ecclesiastes, 7: 29)

In this week we will learn what happens when

we worship God with rectitude or with a
“perverted”, incorrect worship.
That rectitude or justice in worship must be
congruent with the divine will in its external
characteristics and at its heart (the inner
disposition)
WORSHIP AND FORM
RIGHTEOUS

After the rites of consecration of

Aaron and his sons, they must wait
for seven days of training.
That was a time for studying,
praying, meditating and repeating
the ritual so they would not make a
mistake when celebrating it.
That way everything would be
made as God had ordered.
After those seven days, Aaron and
his sons began to offer the
stipulated sacrifices according to
the ritual “as the Lord had
commanded Moses” (Leviticus, 9: 10, 21)
 THE RESULT OF WORSHIPPING GOD AS HE WANTS US TO DO
“And Moses and Aaron
went into the tabernacle
of meeting, and came out  God showed His
and blessed the people. glory to the people.
Then the glory of the  Fire came before
Lord appeared to all the God and consumed
people, and fire came out
from before the Lord the offering.
and consumed the burnt  The people praised
offering and the fat on God and bowed
the altar. When all the down to worship
people saw it, they
Him.
shouted and fell on their
faces” (Leviticus, 9: 23-24)

When worship is made according to God’s orders, it is

approved by Him and generates greater praise and worship.
 WORSHIP AND FORM
WRONG

God’s orders about the incense offering in

the Holy Place were very clear.

1. The incense must be prepared for the sanctuary on

purpose (Exodus, 30: 9, 30-34). Its ingredients and
their quantities were clearly detailed.
2. The fire for the incense offering must be taken from
the live coals of the altar by using a portable censer
(Leviticus, 16: 12)

According to the biblical text, Nadab and Abihu offered a

“profane fire”. Although they obeyed the first point, they
disobeyed the second one. When obeying God, half-
obeying is no obedience at all. In addition, they were
drugged with wine, so they couldn’t distinguish holy
from profane (Leviticus, 10: 9-10)
“God designed to teach the people that they must approach Him with reverence and
awe, and in His own appointed manner. He cannot accept partial obedience. It was
not enough that in this solemn season of worship nearly everything was done as He
had directed. God has pronounced a curse upon those who depart from His
commandments, and put no difference between common and holy things. He
declares by the prophet: “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put
darkness for light, and light for darkness! ... woe unto them that are wise in their
own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! ... which justify the wicked for reward,
and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him! ... They have cast away
the law of the Lord of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.”
Isaiah 5:20-24.

Let no one deceive himself with the

belief that a part of God’s
commandments are nonessential, or
that He will accept a substitute for that
which He has required”

E.G.W. (Patriarchs and Prophets, cp. 31, pg. 374-375)

THE RESULT OF WORSHIPPING GOD IN A DIFFERENT WAY THAN HE ORDERED

“So fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and
they died before the Lord” (Leviticus, 10: 2)
God doesn’t tolerate sin.
The fire of God consumes the sin.

Those who reject God’s ways and follow their own way
--like those priests-- will have to confront that fire by
their own (Revelation, 20: 9)

Those who accept the sacrifice

of Jesus will never have to
confront the consuming fire,
since Jesus has been
consumed in their place.
 WORSHIP AND DISPOSITION
RIGHTEOUS

Worship is more than an external

act. The people of God, Yeshûrûn,
“the righteous one”, must worship
God with a righteous heart.

In Hanna’s story we can find an example of the

right motivation to come before God. She
understood that God is a personal God and He
cares about our needs; He understand us and
is willing to help us.
Hannah worshiped the Lord from the
hollowest recesses of her soul. She came
before the Lord in an attitude of complete
self-surrender.
 The result was the
fulfillment of Hannah’s
request, which she made
with a righteous heart.
True worship should flow
from a broken heart
totally aware of its own
helplessness and
dependence upon God.

“Create in me a clean
heart, O God, And
renew a steadfast
spirit within me”
(Psalm 51: 10)
WORSHIP AND DISPOSITION
STUBBORN
“Then Samuel said: Has the Lord as great delight in
burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice
of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to heed than the fat of rams” (1 Samuel, 15: 22)

The orders given to Saul about the Amalekites were very clear:
total destruction.
However, Saul preferred to forgive the king’s life. He also forgave
the best of the livestock to offer it to the Lord, trying to show
mercy. Despite that idea seemed right to him, it really was total
disobedience.
Stubbornness, insisting on our own way, is idolatry because we
have made a god of ourselves, our desires, and our opinions.
Although Saul followed the form in his worship, his disposition
in that worship was not acceptable for God because his heart
was far from Him.
“For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I
would give it;
You do not delight in burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
A broken and a contrite heart-- These, O
God, You will not despise”
Psalm 51: 16-17