If you have listened to a news broadcast or any political discourse lately, then you are aware that there are wide differences of opinion out there. And you cannot help but be aware of how one side consistently accuses the other of being "wrong" about everything, and in fact blames the other side (those with a different opinion than theirs) of being at fault for everything that is wrong with everything!!! It's unbelievable, isn't it??!!
The sad thing is that so often the same thing happens when the topic of worship comes up. There seems to be a rush to jump into one camp or the other, and to find fault with those whose opinion differs. And most often it is opinion that is at issue. In other words, personal opinion/personal preference/personal taste becomes the issue. It is my hope that, as we examine this topic of worship from a biblical perspective, we will check our personal opinions and be open to what God has to say to us about the topic. I'm hoping we can move beyond our preferences about liturgical or not, hymns or choruses, formal or informal, contemporary or traditional, etc. Let's leave the "worship wars" as the disagreement is often called, and let's see what the Bible has to say, and then let's examine how our individual preferences (and we all have them, whether or not we agree about them!!!) line up with what the Bible teaches us about worship. And further, let's take a moment to decide if we will be willing to give up our personal preferences, to change our opinions, if what we learn in the Bible calls us to do so!! That's application!!
You might want to go back and review what we learned earlier (last year!!) as we looked at Abraham, Moses, and the structure of the tabernacle. With that background in mind, we'll continue looking at the two principal questions of our study: what is true worship, and what does it mean to live a life of true worship? To do that, we'll go back to the tabernacle. We're going to follow the priest in his path through the tabernacle. Our goal will be to see what path we must follow to experience true worship. We'll look at how the priest related to every part of the tabernacle and how this foreshadowed Jesus, and we'll then consider what all this has to do with us. And of course, this will not all be accomplished today!! This is a journey!!
So today, look first at Exodus 28:1. "According to Exodus 28:1, God said that He was calling Aaron and his descendants to the priesthood in order that they might 'minister as priest to Me.' The priest was to minister to God. To do this then would be worship." (quoted from Living a Life of True Worship, Arthur/Vereen). Our first task today is to consider that verse and the quote........do you agree or disagree?
One more thing to think about today. Look at Leviticus 9:7. Notice the reference to Aaron. What was his assignment? To make atonement for himself and the people. Well, what in the world does that mean? You might want to consult a Bible dictionary or an on-line word study tool (such as http://www.blueletterbible.org/). What did you learn? And how does it connect to our topic?
Think about that today and we'll continue tomorrow.
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