Genesis 24:26 – Worship - Shachah

And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the LORD.
– Genesis 24:26

The word Shacah here is translated as worship.  This is the “most widely used Old Testament word for worship.”  As we see in the context of this chapter, the bowing or falling often accompanied this word for worship (Genesis 18:2; 47:31; Isa. 49:7; Ex. 12:37; 2 Samuel 14:22; 1 Kings 1:16; Ps. 95:6).  “The literal meaning of the verbal root is the act of falling down and groveling.”  Furthermore, the basic idea of this prostration is very simply, humility.  In the Old Testament, it is almost customary for the worshipper to bow down and worship the Lord.  In our contemporary society, our pride or station in life often restricts us from such displays of devotion.  I will admit that the outward expression of humility isn’t the focus.  The focus is our attitude or hearts.  On the other hand, I will point out the parable of the just publican and the unjust Pharisee.  If you will remember, “The Pharisee stood [emphasis added],” and “the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven.”  In other words, our outward expressions often say much about our hearts (Luke 6:45).  Now, in the context of our passage we see Abraham’s servant (most likely Eliezer of Genesis 15:2) worshipping God due to the answer to both his prayer and Abraham’s desire for Isaac.  The servant had asked God to do a miracle in finding Isaac a wife, and God answered that prayer.  Humbled by the providence and provision of God, the servant bowed down and worshipped the Lord of his master, Abraham.  He was overwhelmed, humbled if you will, by God’s answer to his prayer.  The Shacah of the servant was essentially “a gesture of awe and surrender to God, often with thanksgiving, in response to some gracious revelation of the Lord in word or deed.”  Over and over in the word of God, we see that the true and acceptable element of our worship is our humility.  In the famous Psalm of David, after he had sinned with Bathsheba, David wrote:

For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

Another example would be in Isaiah 66:2, where the scripture defines the individual who gets God’s attention, “For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.”  You see friend, what we must understand is that the intent of our worship is simply to praise the God whose attention we already have because of the humility of our hearts.  Worship is simply the expression.  Here we see it as the outward expression of our inward humility and devotion to God.

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