The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Chronicles 24:1-2,
"The sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. But Nadab and Abihu died before their father did, and they had no sons; so Eleazar and Ithamar served as the priests."
While recounting the divisions of the priests in David's day, the observation was made that two of Aaron's sons had died before Aaron did back in their day. The account of their deaths is provided us in Leviticus 10:1-3. They had been put to death by the Lord.
Aaron and his offspring were chosen by the Lord as Israel's priests. However, Nadab and Abihu had such little reverence for what the Lord desired, they approached their duties as priests without regard for the Lord's direction for them. Consequently, when they put "unauthorized" fire and incense in their censers, they were consumed by fire that "came out from the presence of the Lord." Leviticus 10:2.
I am reminded that in our worship of the Lord within the church today, our reverence for him is a critical factor in how we celebrate him. I suspect there are many motivations for differing churches in how they craft their worship of the Lord.
I am quite certain some have as a primary motivation those considerations that position themselves as "seeker friendly" within the community. While there is not necessarily anything wrong with that approach, I question whether that ought to be the prevailing motivation.
I'm quite certain some have as a primary motivation the notion that "this is the way we have always done it". Again, while there is not necessarily anything wrong with that perspective, I question whether that ought to be the prevailing motivation.
I suspect we could create a pretty good list of motivations in the approach to our worship of the Lord. The account of Nadab and Abihu points out that what moves us in our worship, what motivates us, what animates us in our worship of the Lord reflects our reverence for the Lord, and in their case it resulted in a dire consequence.
There are plenty of examples of biblical worship provided us in the pages of Scripture. If we take time to learn from them and if we examine our own hearts relative to the level of reverence within our own hearts, it would serve us well in our worship of the Lord.
"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our 'God is a consuming fire.'"
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
"The sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. But Nadab and Abihu died before their father did, and they had no sons; so Eleazar and Ithamar served as the priests."
While recounting the divisions of the priests in David's day, the observation was made that two of Aaron's sons had died before Aaron did back in their day. The account of their deaths is provided us in Leviticus 10:1-3. They had been put to death by the Lord.
Aaron and his offspring were chosen by the Lord as Israel's priests. However, Nadab and Abihu had such little reverence for what the Lord desired, they approached their duties as priests without regard for the Lord's direction for them. Consequently, when they put "unauthorized" fire and incense in their censers, they were consumed by fire that "came out from the presence of the Lord." Leviticus 10:2.
I am reminded that in our worship of the Lord within the church today, our reverence for him is a critical factor in how we celebrate him. I suspect there are many motivations for differing churches in how they craft their worship of the Lord.
I am quite certain some have as a primary motivation those considerations that position themselves as "seeker friendly" within the community. While there is not necessarily anything wrong with that approach, I question whether that ought to be the prevailing motivation.
I'm quite certain some have as a primary motivation the notion that "this is the way we have always done it". Again, while there is not necessarily anything wrong with that perspective, I question whether that ought to be the prevailing motivation.
I suspect we could create a pretty good list of motivations in the approach to our worship of the Lord. The account of Nadab and Abihu points out that what moves us in our worship, what motivates us, what animates us in our worship of the Lord reflects our reverence for the Lord, and in their case it resulted in a dire consequence.
There are plenty of examples of biblical worship provided us in the pages of Scripture. If we take time to learn from them and if we examine our own hearts relative to the level of reverence within our own hearts, it would serve us well in our worship of the Lord.
"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our 'God is a consuming fire.'"
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
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