Hill Country Writer: Worship

Thursday, December 22, 2005

Worship

I originally posted this on Out of Ur, a blog hosted by Christianity Today.

At the end of Exodus, God calls Bezalel to build His tabernacle. Or more accurately, the pieces of His tabernacle. Bezalel's craft becomes his act of worship, and he helps create a place of worship for all Israel.

But Moses finishes the tabernacle. Bezalel and his men only make the pieces. Bezalel has one role, Moses has another. Both acts of worship lead to the creation of a place where God will live on earth.

Folks, we are that place. The tabernacle prefigured the temple. The temple prefigured Jesus Christ. And Jesus sent the Holy Spirit so that the church would become the body of Christ. This body gathers several times each week in many places to worship God.

During worship God equips us. God encourages us. God changes us everytime we meet Him--whether in the gathered church or the scattered church of our daily lives.

Like Bezalel and Moses we all have different jobs. If you want to deconstruct the church, you could say we carry different pieces like the Kohathites. God has called me to worship through drama and choir and writing. I love the hymns. I love a good repetitive praise song. But these things are only one tiny piece of God's tabernacle.

We all carry different pieces, and we are all still priests. No matter how different my piece is from yours. No matter how different my church and denomination is from yours, all Christians are priests. God calls us to bring our different pieces together. That's worship.

When Moses put together the pieces of the Tabernacle, God's glory came down. The men who created the tabernacle in worship could no longer touch it.

Worship is dangerous. Worship brings God's glory down to earth. And it destroys our sinful, earthly lives.