And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting, and when they came out they blessed the people, and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar, and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces. Leviticus 9:23-24
This morning, I continued my study of Leviticus using the Christ-Centered Exposition series commentary for this book - moving on to chapter nine - Powerful Worship - covering Leviticus 9:1-24, looking specifically at the theme - Powerful Worship Follows Preparation for God's Presence. Here, the commentary focuses on how in Leviticus 9 we see a description of the "inaugural worship service for the tabernacle that God had commanded to be built during Israel's wilderness wandering. God had told them to build the tabernacle; they obeyed and built it. God had told them to consecrate Aaron and his sons as priests, and they did that [Leviticus 8]. God had told them what sacrifices to offer and how to offer them [Leviticus 1-7]. Now, the time of preparation was over and the time of worship had arrived, and, and if any worship experience could be described as powerful, this one was powerful. It was ordained by God, blessed by God, and visited by God. God can use it to teach us something about powerful worship."
The commentary describes powerful worship as an undeniable demonstration of God's power moving in our life or in the life of others near us. The commentary then pivots to how believers can consistently experience powerful worship as believers often do not experience such powerful worship because we are focused perhaps solely on secular aspects of the worship experience such as the music, or the sermon. Or believers may focus on earthly concerns or cares and such distractions prevent us from experiencing powerful worship. We are then urged to see how we don't experience powerful worship simply because we weren't ready to receive anything from God[, as p]owerful public worship is so often preceded by powerful private worship." The commentary points out how the Israelites inaugural public worship was preceded not just by preparation via learning about how to perform the sacrificial system as the means of atonement or or learning about how priests are to be consecrated and ordained. The inaugural worship was also preceded by a recognition and acknowledgement of all that God had done for Israel at that point: delivery from bondage in Israel (including the 10 miracles/plagues God demonstrated to Pharaoh/Egypt), provision for food and water in the wilderness, God's awesome presence at Mount Sinai, the giving of the Ten Commandments, etc. As we prepare for worship on Sundays, we too prepare our hearts for worship. We should recognize and acknowledge all that Jesus has done for us and how He is all that we need. We should pray that we exalt Him during our time in worship, and for God to prepare our hearts to receive Him and His Word for us.
Comment and discuss this post here.
My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who loves me and who has done so much for me - my words and worship cannot fully describe the breadth and depth of Your love for me, how You reign, and how awesome You are. Thank You Jesus for Your love for me and of course for my salvation - the greatest gift of all time. I am not dserving of such a gift and for how You love me. I am often harsh with others. Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You. Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me. Help me grow in my faith. Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength. Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo. Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior. Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior. Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin. Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.
