My son and I have been doing a Bible reading plan together the last couple months, and the plan has us reading the book of Leviticus. If you’re getting familiar with the Bible, the 3rd book of the Old Testament records guidelines God gave the nation of Israel to help them understand how to worship Him, atone for sin, and worship Him with attitudes of holiness and reverence. However, the culture of ancient Israel can be difficult for a 10-year-old living in 2017 to relate to. My son’s comical reaction sounded something like, “Dad, why was God so interested in blood and fat?”
Here’s a short passage with some guidelines from Leviticus 8:31-35, as told in The Message Bible:
Moses spoke to Aaron and his sons: “Boil the meat at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting and eat it there with the bread from the basket of ordination, just as I commanded, saying, ‘Aaron and his sons are to eat it.’ Burn up the leftovers from the meat and bread. Don’t leave through the entrance of the Tent of Meeting for the seven days that will complete your ordination. Your ordination will last seven days. GOD commanded what has been done this day in order to make atonement for you. Stay at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting day and night for seven days. Be sure to do what GOD requires, lest you die. This is what I have been commanded.”
God made a BIG DEAL out of the ceremony to consecrate the priests who served the people and facilitated the worship life of the Israelite community. The priests had an amazing start with God. In those first days of consecration, there was total clarity about who they were and what they were called to do. God was establishing what holiness looked like for the people in very practical terms.
However…the books that follow in the Old Testament detailed many years in Israel’s history where the priests and people drifted far from God. There were some good seasons, but many generations of Israelites strayed from the commandments in Leviticus, resulting in painful consequences, as people experienced life without God as their King and provider. Worship of God started out as a priority, but it was not sustained across the years and generations.
I’ve found similar patterns in my own life. It’s quite easy to experience great MOMENTS with God...times of worship and consecration before the Lord, special services or events where I experienced the presence of God and the touch of the Holy Spirit. Then there are the ongoing days, weeks, and months that follow—ordinary days, hard days, days of sickness, troublesome days, or just monotonous days. These can either be seasons where PATTERNS and spiritual vitality are retained and cultivated, or seasons where my spiritual vitality fades into patterns of apathy, my great moments with God nothing but an irrelevant memory in my daily grind.
Creating good patterns in my spiritual life requires discipline and obedience. I need discipline to say no to distractions, but more importantly, creating patterns requires saying YES to God and his Spirit, even on days when it isn't emotionally captivating to do so.
If I make decisions based on emotion, my commitment will be fickle. I often find the cares of daily life and regular responsibilities cause me to simply focus on the mundane, robbing me of the presence and my ability to hear the Holy Spirit daily. However, when I intentionally stop and invite the presence of God into my heart and mind, He is faithful to meet me through His Word and His Spirit, and everything about my daily life is impacted by His power, wisdom, joy, and perspective.
God’s guidelines for how to approach Him in worship have changed a lot since Leviticus was written, but human nature has not. I’m susceptible to the same “spiritual drift” as the nation of Israel. For me, daily patterns of seeking the presence of God in worship are vital to maintaining the spiritual vitality I feel in the special moments and want to experience throughout all my days.
Brent
bmills@b4church.org
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