From the very beginning of
human life on this earth we were
created with a purpose. We were
made for one thing, and this one
thing was God’s intended purpose
and yet throughout human
history we have failed in fulfilling
our purpose. For you see, we
were created to ‘give God glory’
to live in the context of worship
and praise as we speak about His goodness and
grace to everyone around us.
As the children of Israel made their way from the
generations-long slavery in Egypt to the land that
God had promised, it became important to God to
give them a way to experience worship. He told
them to the build a sanctuary, and just as He did
with Noah and the construction of the ark, he gave
very specific instructions.
The people worked together and the reality of what
God called a ‘sanctuary that I might dwell among
them’ became the focal point of their connection
with God. This sanctuary represented the process
by which they were reminded that God was faithful,
He could be trusted and He was committed to
them, and to their purpose. The sacrificial system
that He instructed them to follow hardly seems like
what we would call worship today.
This system drove home in a very dramatic way the
fact that the people needed to be forgiven for the
sinful results of their choices. Through the sacrifice
of animals God devised a way for them to see
that these choices lead to death. They didn’t fully
understand that this actually pointed forward to
when their Creator would hang on a cross and die
for the sins of all of humankind.
However, if we had always lived out our created
purpose we would never have required the death
of Jesus Christ. If we had lived lives focused on
worshiping God, and giving glory to Him we would
also have been obedient to Him. It is really our disobedience,
our failure to live out God’s created
purpose that represents our own sinful condition.
Obedience has always been what God desired for,
and from, us.
The Prophet Samuel counseled the people with
these words, “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings
and sacrifices as much as in obeying the
Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice and to heed
is better than the fat of rams.” (1 Samuel 15:22) As
we consider the sermon study today, may we
sense the call to ‘give God glory, to worship Him
Who made the heavens and the earth’ as we live in
obedience to Him.
Warmly,
Pastor Phil
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