1Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 3 And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, 4 to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, 5 in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of workmanship. 6 “And I, indeed I, have appointed with him Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and I have put wisdom in the hearts of all the gifted artisans, that they may make all that I have commanded you: 7 the tabernacle of meeting, the ark of the Testimony and the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furniture of the tabernacle— 8 the table and its utensils, the pure gold lampstand with all its utensils, the altar of incense, 9 the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the laver and its base— 10 the garments of ministry, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, to minister as priests, 11 and the anointing oil and sweet incense for the holy place. According to all that I have commanded you they shall do.” (Exodus 31:1 – 11)
23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. (Colossians 3:23 – 24)
Theme: If not You, then Who?
In our discussion of worship over the last two days, we have focused on a broad definition of worship that includes our adoration of God through our work or service. Your comments on the topic have been very helpful and inspiring. In fact, I thought I might have to modify this post significantly because a few of the commentators yesterday anticipated the topic I want use to close our discussion on Worship. The topic is excellence in worship.
There are many Biblical passages that address the topic of excellence in worship. Now, I will be one of the first to confess that sometimes when I read some of the Old Testament stories about the tabernacle and temple, I get bogged down in the detail. However, I have found one perspective to be extremely helpful. When I view the details as a window into the excellence of God, the passages and worship take on new meaning. God’s standards are immeasurably high and it’s no wonder that the Biblical depictions of worship reflect exacting standards of excellence.
To be clear, I am not suggesting that to worship God appropriately we must be perfect. Instead, I am suggesting that the more we understand God’s holiness, the more we are drawn to pursue excellence in worship.
Please read the passages above and answer the questions below.
Questions:
- What do you think about excellence in worship?
- How do you actively pursue excellence?