We have pointed out that of the five major sacrifices, only two—the burnt offering and the peace offering—are mentioned here in Exodus 20. The burnt offering is for God’s satisfaction, and the peace offering is for the people’s enjoyment with God mutually. To present a burnt offering means that we offer Christ to God for God’s enjoyment and satisfaction. To present the peace offering means that we offer Christ to God for our enjoyment and satisfaction mutually with God. The proper worship of God must include the burnt offering and the peace offering, something of Christ offered to God for His enjoyment and satisfaction and something of Christ which we enjoy with God. This kind of worship cannot be found in Judaism, Islam, or degraded Christianity.
John 4:24 is a development of the word in 20:22-26. According to the Lord Jesus, we must worship the Father in spirit and in reality. This reality includes Christ as the burnt offering and the peace offering. Once again we see that, with the mention of the sacrifices, the basic principles of genuine and proper worship are revealed in 20:22-26.
Exodus 20:22-26 refers to the worship of God before the children of Israel entered the good land. As they were on the way to the good land, they had to worship God according to the principles in these verses. But after they came into the land, they were to worship Him in a designated place, the place chosen by God for His habitation and the place where He would cause His name to dwell. But the principle remains the same. Whenever we meet to worship God, God’s name, not any other name, must be remembered. However, with many Christians today, names such as Lutheran or Wesleyan are used in addition to the name of the Lord. The use of such names is an abomination to the Lord. On the one hand, in the proper worship of God there should not be any idols; on the other hand, there should not be any name other than the name of the Lord. When we come together to worship God, we must drop every other name and exalt the Lord’s name (Deut. 12:11; Matt. 18:20). Only His name should be remembered in our worship of God.
If we worship God in the proper way according to these verses, He will come to bless us. This means that if our worship is genuine, it will be an invitation to God to visit us and bless us. In order for God to do this, He must be the living and speaking God. A God who does not speak cannot bless. Remember, in verse 22 the Lord says that He spoke to the people from the heavens. Hence, He is the living and speaking God. Our worship must be of such a kind that it invites the living God to come to us and bless us. If in a certain meeting there is the proper worship of God, we must have the assurance that God has been invited to visit and bless those in that gathering. This is always the result of the proper worship of God. Praise God for His visitation and His blessing! This is proof that the God whom we worship is the living and speaking God.