The book of Genesis does not record God giving his people clear directions concerning how he was to be worshiped (that wouldn’t happen until Sinai), yet they observed standard practices of sacrifice, offering, and meal in worship to the Lord, just as had Adam’s sons and Noah (Gen 8:20–21).

The first Patriarch of Israel, Abraham, was not originally a worshiper of the true God; he dwelt the land of Ur, worshiping many false gods (Josh 24:2). God initiated his contact with Abraham (Gen 12:1), confirming a central that principle that all true worship begins with the God who reveals himself to his people.

Each specific act of worship during what is known as the patriarchal period of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is a response to God’s revelation to his people. For example, Abraham built an altar to the Lord after God commanded him to leave his land (Gen 12:7). He also worshiped Yahweh when he expressed his willingness to sacrifice his son (Gen 22:1–14). Likewise, Isaac built an altar to the Lord (Gen 26:24–25), and Jacob set up a stone altar after his vision of the ladder to heaven (Gen 28:18).

During this time of the nation of Israel’s beginnings, the worship of God’s people came naturally as they responded in faith to God’s self-revelation. Worship practices, traditions, and liturgies were apparently passed on by tradition and took place in the family setting. The book of Genesis does not record God giving his people clear directions concerning how he was to be worshiped (that wouldn’t happen until Sinai), yet they observed standard practices of sacrifice, offering, and meal in worship to the Lord, just as had Adam’s sons and Noah (Gen 8:20–21).

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