To me, the “why” behind worship goes all the way back to the beginning, the very beginning. In fact, when God called everything “good”. After creating everything and placing man in the Garden of Eden, he instructed Adam to “tend and keep” it. In fact, there are very strong arguments to translate that phrase “worship and obey”. I was able to take Hebrew from a professor who had worked with some translators of a newer version of the Bible (I think it was ESV, but I’m not too sure on that…), and he actually talked with us about how he presented a complete argument for this translation, but he was over-ruled by others. Yet he is not alone in his opinion, for there are many scholars who agree with him in this.

That translation would highlight an aspect of the creation story which is not quite as evident at first glance. Unfortunately, to me, it seems that most read the creation account as a story of “how we got here” – a historical account. And though the Bible contains an historical record, it’s actual purpose is theological, not historical. Therefore the real reason God saw fit to include an account of creation in his revelation of himself  to us (that is, the Bible) is so that we will know “why”. Thusly, Genesis 1-3 becomes less a historical record (though it is that) and more a revelation of “why we are here.”

Noel Due, in his book Created for Worship, writes that “God’s decision to create the universe is the effective cause of worship.” (p. 35) When God moved and created, the only correct response of that creation was worship. What I really want to emphasize here is that worship, as a purpose to life, predates the fall. Before man turned to sin, his only purpose was to worship (I will not even go into the connection between work and worship which this understanding also draws out). Though we worship the Lord because of Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross, that is not only why. Had there never been sin, never been a need for the cross, there still would have been worship. And if Adam and Eve had never eaten that apple, we would all have an unfallen nature – but we would still be worshipping.

I challenge you to take a little bit of time and meditate on this concept of worship being a purpose to all life. How the command to worship actually predates the fall. Think about how sin hinders our worship, and how Christ, in coming, dying, and rising again brought about a way to redeem our worship and enable us to worship as God intends us to.