The Aroma of Christ

So, I've been doing this Beth Moore study about the Tabernacle and I'm now realizing how awesome it is that I did a different study about the Tabernacle last summer. I'm getting more insight into God's plan for worship between the two than I would if I had studied just the one or the other. I now want to muddle through my thoughts; making no promises about the organization or coherency of this post.

This week in my Beth Moore study, God brought me back to thoughts and convictions I had last summer about His holiness and how we, as Christians, are to approach him in worship. Speaking generally, I think Christians (including myself) often approach worship flippantly, as if any ol' manner of worship will please God. However, if we believe the God of the New Testament is the same as the God of the Old Testament, then we need to tread reverently. When we approach the throne of God, we are walking on holy ground. Remove those sandals! Remember, our God smoked Nadab and Abihu (Aaron's sons) for offering "unauthorized fire" before the Lord. When Korah and his friends grumbled about their God-chosen work in the Tabernacle; thinking they should be able to approach God as the priests did, God opened up the earth and it swallowed them whole. (Korah's sons later penned Psalm 84..."better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere". No more complaining after THAT hard lesson).

The Tabernacle was, is and will remain God's design for our worship of Him. The Tabernacle itself pointed toward Christ; the ultimate and final sacrifice for our salvation. It is because of Christ's sacrifice for us that we can approach God's throne at all. The Tabernacle was designed by God (Exodus 25:9) and was an earthly copy of His heavenly dwelling place (Hebrews 9:23-24). We are remiss if we think we can worship God in any way we choose. Jesus made it clear that true worshipers worship "in Spirit and in Truth". We must have God's Holy Spirit in us, which can only come through accepting the Truth, Jesus Christ, in order to be a "true worshiper".

Well, I have both Spirit and Truth, so where does the Old Testament Tabernacle fit into New Testament worship? God's design for worship never changed, it was just fulfilled through Jesus. Our manner of worship does not change, rather the means by which we can worship has changed. I will try to draw some similarities between the old and new.

In the Old Testament, God dwelt among His people in the Tabernacle. His people could approach him by first entering the outer court of the Tabernacle through the gate. There was only one gate, one entrance to God's presence. This is still true. Our one way to enter God's presence is through belief in Jesus Christ. Jesus said "I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved" (John 10: 9). Upon entering the courtyard, the first item was the Altar of Sacrifice. A person could go no further toward God until God had dealt with their sin on the altar. God himself had lit the fire beneath the altar and it burned continually. The same is true today. We could not begin to approach God if Jesus, being both man and God, had not offered himself as a sacrifice on our behalf. As in the old testament, we must lay our sin offering on Christ, our sacrifice, to receive forgiveness.

Next was the Bronze Laver or basin where the priests washed their hands and feet. They were commanded to do this or they would die. Before the Passover Feast, the Last Supper, Jesus washed his disciples feet. When Peter protested, Jesus said, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me" (John 13:8). Jesus also referred to the Holy Spirit as "streams of living water" (John 7:38 - 39). After we have accepted Christ's sacrifice and have sought forgiveness of our sins, we are cleansed by God and receive the promised Holy Spirit.

Moving forward, the priests could then enter the tent which contained two sections that were separated by a veil; the Holy place and the Holy of Holies. Within the Holy place were the golden lampstand, the table of showbread and the altar of incense. Within the Holy of Holies was the Ark of the Covenant; upon its Mercy Seat dwelt the living God. I'll have to save my thoughts on most of these items for another post because it would be too much for now. Right now, I want to focus just on the Altar of Incense.

The Altar of Incense sat directly in front of the Holy of Holies. It was as close as one could get to God without actually being in His presence. In order to burn the incense, the priests had to obtain lit coals from the Altar of Sacrifice. One day Aaron's sons, for reasons unknown to us, decided to use any old fire to burn the incense, and God consumed them with His fire. I imagine the coals from the Altar of Sacrifice smelled strongly of the blood from the sacrificed animals. Maybe bits of burned flesh had fallen onto the coals. The coals were then used to burn the incense. Revelations 5:8 and 8:3 both state the incense represents the prayers of the saints. The Altar of Incense represented the prayers of God's people. The priests were to mix together particular spices to make the incense. While the incense burned, the people worshiping outside the tent prayed (Luke 1:10). The smell of the incense (prayers) combined with the smell of the fire (sacrifice) created a pleasing aroma to God. Notice, however, that sin had to be dealt with before prayers were offered. The incense could not burn without the coal from the Altar of Sacrifice. I love in 2 Corinthians 2:15 where it says, "For we are to God, the aroma of Christ..."

Finally, I'm to my point. As believers who have accepted Christ's sacrifice, we can approach God's throne with confidence, but have we forgotten we must still approach Him in the way He created. There was an order to how one approached God in the Tabernacle and that order still remains. We must first let God deal with our hearts and our sin, let him wash us clean, and then we can enter His presence with confidence to pray and worship Him. I guess I feel that our contemporary churches, in our attempt to draw large crowds, have focused too heavily on the production of worship rather than the creator of worship. If we were to follow God's design for worship and how we are to approach Him, shouldn't that begin with a time of bringing our sins to the altar of sacrifice? Of course, Jesus was the final sacrifice, but that doesn't mean we no longer need to bring our sins before Him so He can cleanse our hearts and minds. Isn't that how we are able to approach His throne with confidence? I'm not trying to be legalistic about this, I just think that if God designed a pattern for worshiping Him, both on earth and in heaven, then shouldn't we follow it? Not just at home in our personal lives, but also in corporate worship with fellow believers? Now, I love my church, but off the top of my head I can't think of any services that began with a few quiet moments for the congregation to let God deal with their sins. If we look at the Tabernacle and the fulfillment of that in Christ, we see that, before we can offer acceptable prayer and praise, we must let God deal with our sin. I wonder how much more meaningful our worship might be if we began our singing with clean hearts and minds; having let God take away our guilt and worries.

As a part of our church's worship team, I can not stand on the platform and lead others in worship without having first allowed God to search my heart and to confess my sins. It's such an important part of approaching God's throne and yet it seems to be grossly overlooked in contemporary churches.

What do you think?