One of the Most Disturbing Trends of Our Day Is the Propensity of So Many Believers To

Numbers 28-May 25

God is a God of order. He has created a universe that is orderly. He has given us His Word in an orderly fashion. His plan of redemption that has unfolded from the beginning of time does so in His appointed order, and He desires to be worshipped in an orderly fashion. True, biblical worship takes place underneath true order. God orders His church beneath the leadership of His called elders who submit to the teaching and instruction of the Word of God. There is a time to sing, there is a time to preach, there is a time to testify, and all of these things are to be done “decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40).

One of the most disturbing trends of our day is the propensity of so many believers to disregard this truth as they worship “without limits”. Many have unfortunately bought the lie that God is somehow glorified in meaningless chaos. Some sing and dance to jibberish as others flail around believing that their display of emotion brings God glory in some unknown way. Unfortunately, God is not pleased with this kind of worship. In fact, one of the major purposes of His inspired book of 1 Corinthians was to correct this type of thinking in the church at Corinth. God desires orderly worship, and if we are going to truly glorify Him we must be obedient to His commands.

Numbers 28:2 reminds us of this truth as Moses writes of the various offerings that all of them must be offered at their “appointed time”. As we read the law, one reality that becomes incredibly clear to the reader is that God delivered to Israel a detailed plan regarding how they were to relate to Him as their God. Worship required specific sacrifices on specific occasions for specific reasons to be carried out by specific people in specific locations. All of these details had to be met before the offering was deemed acceptable by God.

Perhaps the best example of the consequences of neglecting to follow God’s ordained method of worship is found in Leviticus 10 as Nadab and Abihu (Aaron’s sons) offer up to the Lord “strange fire” that was not prescribed by him. For whatever reason, Nadab and Abihu chose to believe that the rules of worship did not apply to them and their decision cost them their very lives.

Let us remember today that worship is serious business. We are to relate to God in the way that He sees fit. Today, that does not mean that we are to offer specific sacrifices at designated times. Instead, it means that we are to come in worship to God through His prescribed channel of communication, Jesus Christ. Jesus was very clear in John 14:6 that no one comes to the Father except through Christ. Those in our day who would attempt to worship “god” without acknowledging Christ as their Savior will unfortunately find their fate to be that of Nadab and Abihu. Their worship will not be accepted and their very lives will be required of them. Let us remember to thank God for Jesus. May we enter into God’s presence with boldness because of the blood of Christ which cleanses those who believe and may we worship God in the orderly fashion that He has prescribed to us!