People today know very little about Temple worship. In the days of the Temple’s existence the Hebrew people would come singing psalms as they made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem and offering animal sacrifices in dedication to God, in thanksgiving, or for the absolution of sins.
In its simplest form, the Tabernacle had three areas: The courtyard where sacrifices were made; the Holy Place where Priests serviced the Menorah, Table of Shewbread and the Altar of Incense; and the Holy of Holies which the High Priest entered once a year to atone for the sins of the people of Israel. We can learn a great deal about approaching God and worshipping Him through a study of the Tabernacle.
During the time of Solomon the Temple and its ritual was expanded. The families of the Levites were organized serving at various times and for various services at the Temple. King David, Levites and others wrote Psalms to be sung. The High Priest and Teachers wrote prayers. And people came with offerings to worship God in the Temple. There is something in us that desires the richness and meaning of this worship.
Today’s worship is often centered around our likes and dislikes. We come and listen (if the time is convenient), and our worship costs us nothing. Sometimes worship means singing three songs and give an offering of our finances, then hear special music and a sermon. Sometimes there is an occasion for response at the end of the sermon. In some churches there is a contemporary form of worship with a praise team who guides the music. Messages of the Pastor along with drama and video challenge us on how to go out and life as a believer in today’s world.
In the days of the Temple people came with a gift for God and left with a sense of awe. All too often in today’s world our arrival is so rushed we do not have time to prepare our hearts for proper worship, and we go critiquing the musicians, the pastor and the quality of our experience.
Jesus said, “A time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." (John 4:23-24)
Jesus criticized the people of his day saying, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: `These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.' You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.” (Matthew 7:6-8)
Through our prayers we must remember the times when we were closest to God. We must seek the awe that for ages has brought people to worship God. We must have more love for God than for our preferences. We must help others to have an experience with God as they come to worship. And we must leave the house of prayer closer to God than when we came.
Paul wrote: “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:17-19)
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