Today’s Reading, Numbers 3-4
Focal Scripture: Numbers 4:30 “Register men from thirty years old to fifty years old, everyone who is qualified to do the work of the tent of meeting.”
Having order in worship matters. What I mean by that is certain aspects of the worship gathering should happen by skilled and God appointed people. These jobs should be done with passion, integrity, and purpose. When worship is approached half heartedly and without a plan it relies on the whim of feelings and emotions. This in turn can lead to sensationalism and a focus on everything other than the Lord.
In today’s reading we clearly see the Lord give directions to several different groups concerning the tent of meeting. These groups each had a specific job and role to play in worship. They were instructed on how to travel with the ark. They were instructed on how to pack the ark and its components. These groups were even instructed on how to conduct their own personal lives before they were obedient to the Lord.
God cares about how things are done and he wants them done with excellence in the worship gathering. I want to make it very clear that some spontaneity is needed during worship. It can’t be so rigid and detailed that God is scheduled out of the meeting. However, having no plan or structure can also cause men to lead the worship gathering instead of the Lord.
To give you an example, I once did a church wide prayer time that was very well received. It was planned out and explained. The purpose was to get the entire church involved in the act of prayer, not just have the same person pray a short 2 minute prayer as a transition into the next part of service. However, a person in leadership became distraught and angry because it was different. They wanted the same thing and for it to never change. They wanted to be in control of the service, not the Lord.
Imagine being mad that the entire congregation was praying together on a Sunday morning. God was the focal point of the service and it took emphasis off of individual men. When God is not in control of a service it shows up in people’s responses. This is exactly why God had the people assigned tasks during worship. It was to emphasize the focus of worship is on him not people. It was to instill a heart for the Lord, not for self indulgence.
I challenge you to evaluate how you worship and how your church worships. Who is the focal point of each aspect of the service? Are the singers the focal point during worship? Are the deacons the focal point during the offering? Is the preacher and his stories the focal point during the message? If so the worship service is not in order.
God wants the service to glorify and magnify his holy name. He wants the order to be about him and nobody else. Worship is God centered not man centered.
Tomorrow, I plan on reading Numbers 5-6
