Performance-Driven Worship

Introduction

When my wife and I went to an orchestral concert for our third anniversary, the conductor informed the audience that after hours of practice and preparation, after strenuous rehearsal, and after constant counting, the last thought of terror that goes through a musician’s mind before they play their part is, “Am I right?”

The conductor then informed the audience, “That’s what I’m for.”

As we sat watching the performance, I was struck by the absolute necessity of each musician to remain intently focused on the conductor. Eyes would flit from conductor, to sheet music, and back to the conductor, insuring every rest, every entrance, every note was perfectly in sync.

Why?

Because even though each musician could read their sheet music and play their instrument, they needed the conductor to perform what the composer had intended.

In our modern day, a false equivalence can be drawn between spontaneity and spirituality. It is true, yes, that Christians should be sensitive to the leadings of the Holy Spirit. However, it is equally true that genuine worship requires intentionality, because genuine worship is ultimately a performance, not for the sake of man, but for the worship of God.

Performance-driven worship …

I. Requires Well-Instructed Leaders (Lev. 6:8-7:38)

The Burnt Offering (Lev. 6:8-13)

The altar of the burnt offering must always have a fire burning on it.

The priest had to wear specific garments:

One set was worn to approach the altar and remove the ashes.

Another set was worn to carry the ashes outside the camp to a clean place.

The perpetual burnt offering speaks of the constant need for atonement, and the specific clothes demonstrate the need to approach God’s presence in a pure fashion.

The Grain Offering (Lev. 6:14-18)

The divine significance of the grain offering was the remembrance of and rededication of oneself to the covenant God had established.

The practical significance of the grain offering was God’s means of providing for His priests.

The Priest’s Grain Offering (Lev. 6:19-23)

The priests could not, however, benefit from their own offerings. Instead, the entirety of their grain offering had to be consumed on the fire (Lev. 6:22).

The Purification/Sin Offering (Lev. 6:24-30)

The blood is what purifies the altar and other sacred objects. As such, if it is spilled on anything else, that object must be washed.

If the object cannot be washed (e.g., clay pot) it must be broken.

The Reparation/Guilt Offering (Lev. 7:1-10)

The reparation offerings can be eaten by the priests.

Whichever priest offers the offering will receive it.

This section also gives greater detail to other offerings which the priest received.

The skin of the burnt offering was given to the priest.

Any cooked grain offering belonged to the priest who presented it.

Any uncooked grain offering belonged to all the priests.

The Peace Offering (Lev. 7:11-21)

Three specific types of peace offering are given:

The thanksgiving (confession) offering

This offering required unleavened cakes mixed with oil, unleavened wafers with oil, flour mixed into cakes containing oil, and leavened cakes.

The meat of the thanksgiving offering had to be eaten the same day.

The votive or freewill offering

The meat of these offerings could be eaten the day it was offered, or the next.

No blood or fat could be consumed.

The fat was the best portion and belonged to the Lord.

The blood was the means of atonement and the life of the animal, so it could not be eaten.

The priests portions of the peace offering

The priest was given the breast and the right leg.

NT Leadership

God has also left specific qualifications for those who lead His church today:

1 Timothy 3:1–7 NASB95

1 It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do. 2 An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money. 4 He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity 5 (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?), 6 and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. 7 And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

1 Peter 5:1–4 NASB95

1 Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, 2 shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; 3 nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

The result is the ability to equip the saints

Ephesians 4:11–13 NASB95

11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

Performance-driven worship …

II. Requires Faithful Obedience (Lev. 8-9:22)

Leviticus 8:4–5 NASB95

4 So Moses did just as the Lord commanded him. When the congregation was assembled at the doorway of the tent of meeting, 5 Moses said to the congregation, “This is the thing which the Lord has commanded to do.”

The Ordination of the Priests

This chapter follows the commands of God in Exodus 29. Verse 4 summarizes everything being done as obediently following “just as the Lord commanded”.

Moses washed the priests with water. (Lev. 8:6)

Moses clothed Aaron. (Lev. 8:7-9)

Moses anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it with oil. (Lev. 8:10-11)

Moses anointed Aaron’s head with oil. (Lev. 8:12)

Moses clothes Aaron’s sons. (Lev. 8:13)

Moses offered the purification offering. (Lev. 8:14-20)

Moses offered the burnt offering. (Lev. 8:21)

Moses offered the peace offering (ordination offering) [Lev. 8:22-30]

The blood was smeared on the right ear, the right thumb, and the big toe of the right foot.

Ordaining that Aaron and his sons (the priestly line) would have consecrated ears to hear God’s voice. consecrated hands to do God’s work, and consecrated feet to walk in God’s ways.

These offerings were offered for seven days (Ex. 29:35) and the priests ate their portions outside the doorway of the tent of meeting.

Everything the Lord commanded Aaron and his sons did.

Leviticus 8:36 NASB95

36 Thus Aaron and his sons did all the things which the Lord had commanded through Moses.

The Consecration of the Worshippers

Verses 6-7 demonstrate the purpose of this section:

Leviticus 9:6–7 NASB95

6 Moses said, “This is the thing which the Lord has commanded you to do, that the glory of the Lord may appear to you.” 7 Moses then said to Aaron, “Come near to the altar and offer your sin offering and your burnt offering, that you may make atonement for yourself and for the people; then make the offering for the people, that you may make atonement for them, just as the Lord has commanded.”

“That the glory of the Lord may appear to you.”

“That you may make atonement for yourself and for the people”

Aaron first offered sacrifices on his own behalf (Lev. 9:8-14):

A bull as a purification offering

A ram as a burnt offering

Aaron offers the people’s offerings (Lev. 9:15-21):

A bull as a purification offering

A one-year-old bull and lamb for a burnt offering

An ox and ram for peace offerings

A grain offering mixed with oil

Aaron blesses the people (Lev. 9:22)

NT Worship

John 4:23–24 NASB95

23 “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. 24 “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Worship is no longer confined to a specific geographical location, or specific group of people.

Ephesians 2:19–22 NASB95

19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.

1 Peter 2:4–5 NASB95

4 And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Performance-driven worship …

III. Results in Reverential Fear and Awe (Lev. 9:23-24)

The Purpose of Performance

All of the ritual served one end: the appearance of the glory of God.

Each ceremonial aspect was intended to demonstrate the proper worship of God.

Each ceremonial aspect was intended to help the people appreciate the holiness of God.

The ceremonies themselves did not ensure God’s presence.

They helped place the people in the proper state of mind to worship.

1 Samuel 15:22 NASB95

22 Samuel said, “Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.

NT Application

Jesus prayed that the church would experience His glory:

John 17:22–26 NASB95

22 “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; 23 I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. 24 “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. 25 “O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; 26 and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

When the Holy Spirit was poured out at Pentecost, the result was a sense of awe:

Acts 2:42–43 NASB95

42 They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.

Acts 4:23–24 NASB95

23 When they had been released, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 And when they heard this, they lifted their voices to God with one accord and said, “O Lord, it is You who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that is in them,

Performance-driven worship …

IV. Must Be Orchestrated by God (Lev. 10)

Taking Worship into Our Hands

Reading Leviticus 10, the first question the reader asks is, “What is this fire, and what makes it strange or profane?”

We do not need to know the details. The only detail that matters is the fire was not commanded by God.

Worship of God is not something to be taken lightly, because God is holy.

Moses explains the problem to Aaron by relaying God’s words (Lev. 10:3)

In other words, the closer a man (leader) is to God, the more attention he must give toward God’s glory and holiness.

We must always remember that while worship is a performance, it as a performance to God, not for ourselves or anyone else. Leaders especially must remember that faithful obedience is what God desires most.

Aaron and his sons were not allowed to mourn.

The implication is likely that this was divine judgment, not a natural death.

The people however were allowed to mourn.

Instructions about the consumption of alcohol

Moses instructed the priests to finish eating the leftovers that had been granted to them.

However, the purification offering had been completely burned instead of a portion being kept back.

Aaron explains it was done out of fear after what had happened.

Moses accepts the reasoning.

This suggests, perhaps, that God is more gracious to those who make mistakes because they fear him than to those who carelessly and impudently enter his presence, as Nadab and Abihu did.

The Book of Leviticus, p. 160

NT Application

James 3:1 NASB95

1 Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.

1 Peter 4:17 NASB95

17 For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?